I just picked up on this discussion. I am Peter Morgan and I want to correct some inaccuracies in this text concerning my inspection service that are misleading.
We do not get mixed reviews from the vast majority of our customers, because the vast majority of our customers (including our Porsche trade customers) are very happy with the results we provide.
We are always looking at ways to improve and it is true that in order to maintain our quality standards, we only cover central southern England. Both I and my colleague Bob Spratley have long experience in Porsches (mine goes back 30 years!). We do inspections at OPCs, independent dealers, pre-auction and at private sellers. We are not infallible but we've been doing mobile inspections for over 15 years and we aim to provide a class leading service. I am confident we inspect as many Porsches in a year as the busiest Porsche service shop. We are Porsche people and we only inspect Porsches.
We always give estimates as to repair cost when asked. We can't out guess what questions customers may have, but we're only too happy to answer them if asked. In the example quoted regarding 964 Turbos I would most certainly have provided valuations, because that is part of our service. We would also have provided guidance on whether the condition/asking price made purchase worthwhile.
The reason our inspection is more expensive than an inspection at a fixed based operator is that we go to wherever the car is, plus we try to give you a more comprehensive result than a 'ticked box' deliverable often given by many others. The extra cost covers our travelling time, overheads and
Insurance costs of being mobile. As with most things in life, you only get what you pay for.
Very few sellers will agree to having their cars taken to a third party, especially as there is a potential uncovered loss liability if the car is damaged in any way.
It is quite wrong to say you need a ramp to inspect the underbody. This is the argument that fixed base operators always trot out when trying to criticize our service. You do need to be able to get right under a car safely and check the car with the wheels off the ground in a variety of locations. A ramp is nice, but if you are not actually working on the car, it isn't essential. We have been doing this a long time, so we know what is required. Other inspectors may use less practiced methods.
The 111pt OPC review is focused on wear and tear (as it is the entry requirement for the warranty), not general condition or whether the car has been involved in any adventures. It won't look at spec variances or even its ID validity. A fixed base inspection isn't always independent for the buyer as more often than not the workshop will be looking to get work out of the inspection. From the other viewpoint, a selling dealer may also say an inspection isn't necessary on their retail stock, but that's because it can cost them money rectifying issues. Our experience is that when buying used from some OPCs, there will be cars that would benefit from more investment before delivery. The cars are frequently trade-ins and the main emphasis is on cosmetic preparation. Warranty claims would come out of a different cost centre so the dealer isn't always bothered about issues being found after delivery. This doesn't apply to all OPCs, but some are under a lot of pressure to sell quickly.
Our USP is that we don't have vested interest - we work only for the buyer.