first trip to the dealer - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

ageranger · 03-14-2007, 01:20 PM

well i have had my 986 for a little over a month and had to take it to the dealer finally. my wife was in town and the car was having a hard time starting so she went to the dealer and told them and they said bring it back tommorow. well of course she listened to them and we all know what happened next. she got about 7 miles away from the dealer when it finally went. altenator and battery both shot. no warning lights or anything. got it towed and luckily it is still under warrenty. the thing that gets me is they wouldnt give the wife a loaner car so she could go and finish her errands for the day. is this normal or is it possibly because i am in an army town and they just dont trust the army guys around here?

mach schnell · 03-14-2007, 01:56 PM

When I had my 987, it was interesting, the Porsche dealer closest to me (not the dealer where I bought it) always gave me a loaner car thru the enterprise at their mercedes dealer - I could upgrade at my cost for nicer cars, but usually drove off with a c230 which was fine for the day or so. However, the dealer where I bought the car, always made me pay for the loaner if I took it there (which was 83 miles from house, 1 way) and the loaner was stupid Mazda 6!

Now, with my BMW, I only get a loaner car if I return to the dealer which is down in Newport - about 45 miles from my house. If I go to local BMW (about 10 miles) they tell me I need to arrange my own transportation, cuz I didn't buy the car from them - it's a CPO 2005! Service as a whole has taken a tremendous plummet. Whereas you would think that one of the reasons for buying a european sports car that costs more than the domestics is that you are also buying a level of service - and with that I don't just mean that they have a fancier waiting room with ESPN and a starbucks coffee machine - in my opinion, that just says F you even more, but enjoy a cup of coffee on us while u wait for 8 hours!

But, I imagine if you ask the Carrera or M5 owner, they never have to worry about a loaner car - we're all playing on the playground, but WE'RE on the bottom of the hierarchy, if you know what I mean

ageranger · 03-14-2007, 02:08 PM

that just dont sound right to me. we buy these cars and expect to be taken care just like everyone else with a porsche. it shouldnt matter how much we spend on it. a porsche is a porsche. i spent 3 years in germany with the air force and i know they dont treat there customers like that over there. maybe i should write a letter to porsche and ask why us boxster owners are treeated like that at there dealers. probably wont do any good though

husker boxster · 03-14-2007, 02:36 PM

My local Porsche dealer, Woodhouse, always provides me with transportation. They have a Cayenne courtesy car and if it is already spoken for, they hook me up with a Hertz car free of charge (except I have to return it with full gas). Up until my last visit when I got the Cayenne, I have always had rentals and they range from a Mazda 6, Ford Fusion, or Buick something. Maybe not a Porsche or a Merc like Schnell, but I'm not left stranded or begging rides from someone. And I did not purchase my Box from this dealership. I just assumed this treatment was std for Porsche dealerships everywhere. Thought that Lexus had raised the bar and Porsche had stepped up. Maybe I'm just lucky to have a good dealership...

kelly1005 · 03-14-2007, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mach schnell

But, I imagine if you ask the Carrera or M5 owner, they never have to worry about a loaner car - we're all playing on the playground, but WE'RE on the bottom of the hierarchy, if you know what I mean

Not true. My boss took his 911 into the shop for it's first service, and he got a 4-door metro as a loaner, and he paid for it. Just because you drop $100k+ on a car doesn't mean the dealer doesn't treat you like crap.

pbanders · 03-14-2007, 04:59 PM

I took my '03 that I recently bought to the dealer for some minor stuff, and to get a second key (promised to me by the place I bought the car from). I paid $10 for a rental Taurus (a truly fine machine). Best part was the bill for the key head and body, plus cutting - $277! And that didn't include programming! "Stealer", indeed.

Oh, and I when I called to ask if the car was ready, the guy asked me if I wanted them to wash it. Seeing as I brought it to them totally clean, I figured no, it didn't need it - big mistake - you'd have thought they'd entered it in the Baja 1000 when I picked it up.

And note - this is coming from a BMW owner - it's not like I'm not used to getting reamed for parts and treated like trash.

But what can you do? The German cars are the ones with soul. If you buy a Lexus, Infiniti, or an Acura, the dealers treat you like royalty, you get a like or better car as a free, your car is clean when you pick it up, and it's reliable and loaded with features. Too bad it's a dull slab to drive....

vouvoune · 03-14-2007, 06:48 PM

Or, if you are a chick, and play your cards right, you just get a free loaner anyhow

A few weeks ago, I got a brand new BMW suv with 80 miles on it...fun!!!!!!!!!
Anytime we have car problems, I always go in since I get better service than my husband (I don't think that either our BMW's or Porsche's mechanics know what he looks like)...Usually, if the car has a problem, I do my homework first and make sure they don't screw me...usually they are extra nice though

longislander1 · 03-15-2007, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ageranger

that just dont sound right to me. we buy these cars and expect to be taken care just like everyone else with a porsche. it shouldnt matter how much we spend on it. a porsche is a porsche. i spent 3 years in germany with the air force and i know they dont treat there customers like that over there. maybe i should write a letter to porsche and ask why us boxster owners are treeated like that at there dealers. probably wont do any good though

It sounds like you're new to Porsche. If so, you're going to be surprised at how crappy the dealer service can be for a car that costs this much. I get much better service at my Mazda dealer for my Tribute, which cost about a third as much as my 987S. I've also owned BMW, Audi, Saab, Infiniti and Nissan, and all of those ownership experiences were better than what Porsche offers.

When I had my 968 and my dealer went out of business, I took it to another dealer and expected a loaner car as you did. No dice. I can still remember sitting outside in the broiling sun waiting for a cab (at my own expense, of course). After that, I took the 968 to independent shops, where the expectations are lower and so are the prices. (That's my advice to you. Scout around on these forums to get recommendations for good independent shops in your area. People are only too glad to help.)

When I took my 987S in for its one-year service, the conditions in the back of the dealership were Dickensian. It was a real dump. A 911 owner there told me it was customary to tip the help. As a result, she got one of the four Cayenne loaners sitting there (we were the only two customers in the shop) and I got an Enteprise Chevy Malibu. They took four days to do less than four hours worth of work on my car. Not once did the service manager or anyone else call me regarding the delay. I had to make the calls to them. When I picked it up, I heard them yelling back and forth that another guy was there to pick up his car and they had forgotten to replace his battery. I never did get a call from them about the replacement windstop that was supposed to be installed under warranty. It would have been laughable, except for the $250 oil change and the fact that I rode around for four days in a piece of junk that smelled like Febreeze.

Don't bother writing a letter to Porsche. They truly could care less that you didn't get a loaner car. And don't try calling their 800 number. The policy there is to route you right back to the dealer. Porsche is an arrogant company that's interested in peddling its "engineering mystique" at overinflated prices. The competition, by and large, has far surpassed them on dealer service and I suspect that's why new Boxsters and Caymans are selling so poorly. These models are entry-level cars that attract not only Porschephiles, but people who've owned other makes. They come to Porsche with high expectations and they're disappointed that they've spent so much for such lousy treatment.