Main dealer vs independent specialist
Having now sat on both sides of the fence, Gold-certified technician Scott Gardner discusses the ins and outs of the main dealer vs independent specialist debate
At the start of the year, I would never have imagined being in the position I am now. I was going into my 15th year at my local Porsche Centre as workshop manager and Gold level master technician, yet I’ve just received the keys to a premises of my own. Myself and my business partner, James Belbin, have embarked on a journey to set up a new Porsche specialist on the UK’S south coast, named Bahnsport. It’s a journey which has been a dream for years and is now turning into reality.
Bahnsport started trading in April 2021 as a mobile Porsche specialist offering honest, transparent and professional services for all Porsches, specialising in the water-cooled era. In offering the mobile service, we could trade straight away while the journey began to find a premises and arrange a lease agreement – a challenge and time-consuming operation in itself. We secured a modern space in the heart of Dorset, which is now our base. The next task was getting our name out there to establish ourselves and our services.
It’s a daunting task, starting a new business, with many hurdles to overcome. However, James had a loyal following of Porsche owners from his previous specialist business, JMB Automotive. His customer base, paired with my privilege of personally knowing a lot of Porsche owners in the surrounding area and attending local meets, meant that inbound bookings were immediate. The response to Bahnsport has been overwhelming with the influx of enquiries and demand for our services more than we could ever imagine at these early stages of starting out.
And what of the main dealer versus independent specialist debate we all hear so much about? It’s apparent that the all-important main dealer ‘stamp’ isn’t as crucial as you’d believe, with many two-yearold vehicles coming to us for their first service. Some still prefer the main dealer for servicing and choose us for the advisory work though, as the cost savings can be significant, plus you’re far more likely to get a more personal service from a specialist, where you’ll enjoy direct contact with the technician who worked on your Porsche.
From our side too, another bonus of being outside the official Porsche network is the wide spectrum of aftermarket parts, upgrades and solutions now at our disposal (a main dealer can only install genuine parts). It’s given us a few more options to explore when recommending upgrades to enthusiasts!
However, setting up an independent enterprise has also presented challenges to overcome, for example insurances, diagnostic equipment, specialist tooling, and existing relationships with suppliers. These have all previously been at my disposal with full access to workshop manuals and wiring diagrams, something we no longer have immediate access to. Now we have the keys to our own workshop though, we have a blank canvas to work from – it’s exciting and daunting at the same time.
A big thank you is in order to everyone for their support and help so far, and to our new customers for being so positive, kind and loyal. It’s been an amazing journey over the last five months and I invite you to follow us on social media (@Bahnsportltd). As the saying goes, the best is yet to come…