Sep 22, 2008 10:04:23 AM
- easy_rider911
- Rennteam VIP
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- Loc: London , United Kingdom
- Posts: 22190, Gallery
- Registered on: Nov 8, 2004
997 C2S: 2nd birthday 10th Nov 08
Hi guys 
It's not long now till my 997 C2S Mk1 reaches its 2nd birthday: 10 November 2008 
It's been another year of pure pleasure owning and driving this wonderful car. I haven't driven the same kind of distances in 2008 as I did in 2007 (no Europe tour nor trips to Wales and the Lake District 
). The weather in the UK nearly all year has been so awful (mostly cold, grey and miserable) 
so I haven't felt like planning any adventurous drives in the UK or Europe. As a result, I've ended up driving only around 2500 miles in my 911 this year. Very, very little! 
Also, I've not travelled as much this year (just brief trips to Berlin and to Rome plus a truly wonderful tour of the USA but that was in a rental car rather than my 911). By the way, my photo diary of my USA tour is coming along nicely This time I hope to post 1016 photos (out of the 2511 that I took). It will probably take another month or so before I'll be ready to post it. I've been very busy at work But it's on its way
Anyway, back to my 911, I'm planning to keep it for some time to come. So I will be buying a 2 year extended warranty here in the UK for Pounds2495. This includes 2 years of Porsche Assistance (breakdown assistance) and a 111 point check of the car. I am having this done in mid October which also gives them time to do any warranty repair work, any recall work and any service campaign work before my manufacturer's warranty expires. (I didn't get the 1 year warranty extension which costs Pounds1350. By the way, this warranty extension seems to be cheaper in the UK than it is elsewhere in Europe. I was quoted 2305 Euros by various European dealers for the 1 year extension and 4610 Euros for the 2 year extension). So I will be buying this from my local OPC in East London. NB: the prices have gone up everywhere in Europe since 1 August 2008 since the warranty now covers far more items (including the PCM).
With the 2nd anniversary approaching, it's now time to get the 2 year Minor Service and brake fluid service done. I was simply shocked by the prices in the UK for these: Minor Service (Pounds473), brake fluid service (Pounds153). Total Pounds626 
So I am booked to get my car serviced in the first week of November at Porsche Centre Knokke-Heist in Belgium. The same 2 services will cost me only 400 Euros inc tax (about Pounds317). Plus if I need to change brake pads etc, I am sure these will also be much cheaper over there.
So my wife and I decided to mix a bit of pleasure (a brief visit to Brugge) into our Porsche service trip Here's our schedule:
0230 wake up
0330 leave home (75 miles from London to Dover)
0500 latest time to check in for ferry
0530 ferry leaves Dover
0800 ferry arrives in Calais
0930 arrive at OPC Knokke-Heist (85 miles from Calais to Knokke-Heist)
(Need to wait 1 hour for the fluids in the car to cool down)
1030 work on the car starts (3-4 hour job)
1200-1300 OPC stops for lunch break
1530 latest time that work should finish (but hopefully earlier than this )
1630 complete all paperwork, drive to Brugge. Spend a few hours there (including dinner) before driving to Calais (85 miles back to Calais plus a bit extra for visiting Brugge)
2010 latest time to check in for ferry
2040 ferry leaves Calais
2110 ferry arrives in Dover (75 miles from Dover back to London)
2230 arrive home in London
Including my Pounds29 return P&O ferry ticket and Pounds70 for fuel (total driving distance is 320 miles plus a bit extra for visiting Brugge i.e. still less than 1 tank of fuel), so I will still save over Pounds200 (a third of the cost of doing the 2 services in the UK) with a day trip to Europe included Can't wait to enjoy some handmade Belgian chocolates and patisserie Sounds great to me If the cost savings stay this way, I can imagine regular trips to Belgium in the future 
Another example of how we get ripped off in the UK But there are ways to avoid this thanks to the EU
It's also time to renew my PVTS Cobra subscription (Pounds176) and my annual road tax (Pounds400) too so it's quite an expensive time right now Thank goodness my annual car insurance isn't due till February 2009
I also have over 4mm of tread left on all 4 tyres after 12000 miles of driving so my tyres should be fine for another year
Oh well, it's the cost of enjoying IMO the best all round, daily use sports car so I have no complaints.
All the best,
Easy
..As you know, I did the same thing yesterday.
Bruges (or Brügge for us Germans 
) is one of my fav places also - simply beautiful, even more so in the summertime with all the street cafés and restaurants. Maybe a good place for a meeting next Spring/summer - half way for both of us 
