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Old 10-06-2004, 05:08 PM   #1
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Strike 2 at my Porsche Dealer

I live in Birmingham, AL and bought my 2004 Boxster new at Tom Williams Porsche-Audi in June 2004.

The sales staff have been excellent and I received a great deal on my Boxster. I traded my Infiniti G35 6MT Sedan also receiving a great trade in amount.

I have 7200 miles on it so far and I have autocrossed it once.

I brought my Boxster in today to schedule an early first service because I "drive" the car. I wanted mainly to have the wheels rebalanced and to have the oil changed.

When I approached the Service Advisor and explained what I wanted done and asked a few additional questions about servicing the Boxster.

This is where the attitude started. After I told him I'm bringing it in for my first service, he went into upsell mode. He wanted to look into the service history of the car and suggest some other things I might want to look at.

I explained to him again that the Boxster only has 7200 miles on it. Ignoring me, he insisted on looking up the "service history" on the car.

I said to him again its an 04 and it only has 7200 miles on it. It does not have a service history yet. He starts to bang on the computer keyboard attempting to look up service history on the car.

I snatched the keyboard from him and calmly said, " It is a new car, its an 04 Boxster, it does not have a service history yet."

His next question really pissed me off. He stated, "well we don't know what the previous owner has done to the car or what service has been done."

Now I'm getting loud. I said, "look, I am the original owner of the car. I bought it brand new here in June of this year. I'm bringing it in for my first service early, thats it!"

By this time the Service Manager comes out of her office, where she recognized me and asked what the problem was.

I went on to explain why I was there and had a chance to sound off about their first screw up in addition to this one.

The Monday before July 4th, I picked up a huge screw in my right rear 18" Pirelli tire. I called the dealership as soon as I discovered the problem and had the order a tire for me. Long story short, they never ordered the tire because there were 3 versions of that tire, and the failed to call me back to clarify the issue. When I came in to pick up the tire on Thursday, they did not have it and could not get it that day. That was strike one.

I ended up taking my car 170 miles east to Atlanta to have the tire swapped at Jim Ellis Porsche in Chamblee.

I told her this was my first new Porsche and my third Porsche all together. I went on to say how fed up I was with getting my car in for a near emergency back in July and a simple service today.

She attempted to remedy the situation, and I stopped her short. I explained that this was the second time in less than 6 months where I have had a problem with their service department. I also explained I live about 10 miles from the dealership, but I have taken my car 170 miles to Atlanta to get what I needed done which is rediculous. I told her I will be taking it to Jim Ellis in Atlanta again and will never come back.

I explained to her when I had my Infiniti, treatment in the dealership was consistent anywhere in the country. I also told her I don't have any hassel from Hyundai where I have my wife's new Santa Fe is serviced. I expected a little more from a Porsche Dealership.

I love my new Boxster but getting it serviced locally is a real pain in the ...

I have only had my new Boxster for 3 1/2 months and strongly considering going back to Infiniti and picking up another G35 6 speed sedan or coupe if service with Porsche continues to be a nightmare.

David
2004 Boxster, Guards Red, 18" Carrera Light Alloys

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Old 10-06-2004, 05:25 PM   #2
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Sounds like you got hold of an over-zealous service guy.
It is possible that the service (or warranty) history of the car can list things that were done pre-delivery, such as any damage that the dealer found when they first received the car. Things that you would not necessarily be aware of, even though you are the original owner.
I am not trying to make excuses for the dealer, just pointing out that a look at the service history can be can be educational. If it's blank, all well and good. But if it isn't, you might find out some things you didn't previously know.
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Old 10-06-2004, 05:29 PM   #3
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David,

Sorry to hear about your service department issues.

What is triggering your desire for a wheel balance? I have a 2000 that I've had for almost 3 weeks. It has a slight vibration around 70 mph. I'm going to take my fronts off and have them balanced this weekend to see if it will solve my problem.

Thanks,

Derek
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Old 10-06-2004, 06:07 PM   #4
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True,

PDI issues or TSB information can come up when you bring your car in for its initial service.

What I was getting from this service advisor was he was assuming I owned a used Boxster. I firmly reinforced the fact that I bought it new. (people of color and other nationalities can buy a new Porsche too) Bottom line, he just didn't care to slow down enough to listen and acknowledge what I was saying to him.

As for the balance issue, I'm extremely sensitive to vibrations in a car. My nickname was "silkshorts" when I worked for Chrysler and Mercedes as a NVH tech (noise, vibration, harshness).

The Boxster is extremely smooth, and I'm noticing a slight increase in tire vibration as the tires wear. I have a really noticable steering wheel vibration from 78 - 84 mph even with the tires warm. It just happens to be in the speed range I travel most. I get the typical cold tire flat spots in the morning, but it goes away once I hit the highway for about 5 miles.

Dave

Last edited by bamaboxster; 10-06-2004 at 06:30 PM.
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Old 10-07-2004, 06:40 AM   #5
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Dave, my dealer service guy is exceptional, and has quiety told me how to save money every single time I go in there. Moreover, Hans, my German mechanic at the dealership, ALWAYS comes out, visits with me and talks to me about what he's finding with my old, 1997 early edition Boxster.

Write a detailed letter to Porsche USA complaining about the service you've received at your local dealership. They take this stuff seriously. I would also cc the letter to the owner of the dealership.

Between the two letters, both the company and the people screwing up will get the butts chewed off and they'll realize that not listening to customers does not pay.

I did this with a crappy paint job at a Mitsubishi dealership after they balked at a request to repair and repaint my hood a THIRD time to get the job done right. The body shop manager got his butt chewed good by the owner and I got a call from the owner of the dealership appologizing and wanting to make it right.
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Old 10-07-2004, 07:42 AM   #6
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My dealership is very good, very nice all the time, always a cup of tea when i go. I am trying to get a good trade in on a 996 turbo so its all smiles at the moment.

I hate it when people just dont listen its very annoying...
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Old 10-07-2004, 10:47 AM   #7
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cup of tea ? this is sooo British :-)
here they are very friendly too...and we get coffee instead...Had no problems so far...very friendly Porsche garage..despite the typical client here tends to buy VERY expensive models...they still spend plenty of time with a poor second hand boxster owner and they are easy on giving car for test drives...
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Old 10-07-2004, 01:21 PM   #8
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Dave-

This story alarms me. I'm moving from Syracuse, NY (where the service has been incredible, very professional and almost eerily friendly...) to Columbus, Mississippi.

As you know, the nearest dealership to me in Columbus will be the very dealership that you are talking about!

So PLEASE, for my sake at least (ha!) write a letter alerting the higher-ups as to what's going on. Its a sad story, and I hope that I don't post on this thread in a month telling you all about STRIKE THREE of this dealership.

-Kevin
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Old 10-07-2004, 03:04 PM   #9
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Wow, I have had nothing but super professional service from the two Porsche dealers that I have had work done at (HBL of Tyson’s Corner VA and Plaza Motors in St. Louis).

The last time I had my car in at Plaza the service manager actually talked me into getting a cheaper service than I had made an appointment for due to the relatively low mileage of my Boxster.

I must say the coffee at Plaza is quite excellent, sorry I didn’t try the tea. Maybe next time . . . Ill let you know
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Old 10-07-2004, 08:55 PM   #10
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Ive had the same problems with my porsche dealers... i went to pacific porsche in torrance(where i originally bought the car) because less then a week my inner headliner comes down on me. I take it in and they say they need the car for a day to inspect the problems with the top, when clearly with a visual inspection that takes less then a couple mins could of found a remedy to the problem. With my Bmw, and my mercedes, I usually get a call at least once a day letting me know what has been done to the car and what is expected. I didnt recieve one call. I called my service advisor the next day and I left at least 3 or 4 messages.NO REPLY. On another attempt to call the service department on the second day of service I finally get through to my service advisor and they said they havent even looked at the car yet. I am pretty agitated at this point. The 3rd and 4th day goes by and I ended up chewing out the service manager for keeping my new car for almost a week. They had told me they had ordered the part almost every day from day 3-6. Everytime service department called me they said they expected overnight delievery. Obviously they were lying. About another week goes by, my inner lining falls off again, my stitching has broken on top of the passenger side. I take it to newport porsche and they fix my stitching and not my inner lining. I take it back a couple days ago to fix my inner lining and when they were bringing the car out, the person bringing my car out hits a sign. MY NEW BOXSTER!!!!!! Pretty pissed off but its just a couple clear coat scratched that got buffed out and on top of my troubles I got a free 15k service agreement. I am not done yet, as I was pulling out the driveway of newport porsche(just when i thought nothing can get worse), they didnt finish putting my top together. I take it back and wait another hour. Im starting to really dread porsche service. I love my porsche though.
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Old 10-07-2004, 10:23 PM   #11
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Now that is one of the funniest stories I have read in a while.

Sorry to laugh, Bud but you gotta love those dealers.

Talk with you later.
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Old 10-07-2004, 11:31 PM   #12
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At the time it wasnt funny! But I swear..some of those people are just plain idiots without common sense
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Old 10-08-2004, 01:11 AM   #13
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I always go for the tea... i may try there cof next time hehe


That would have made my blood boil. Its so annoying when you keep ringing and you cant speak with anyone. I must admit i have had good service at my dealer but i can understand this isnt the case worldwide... very petty salesman...
In my area they offer a stunning service.

the point is... how can a porsche salesman look down a second hand boxster driver... the nerve of it.. he is only a salesman that works for a car firm, he cant afford a boxster or a porsche but they must assume that because they work on these cars all day they can afford an attitude. Just because they drive porsches from one part of the showroom to the other they think there loaded... which isnt the case..

the sad thing is they proberly take a 996 or boxster home with them as a company car and brag its there car to there friends...

and judging from the story above they cant even drive properly..
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Old 10-08-2004, 10:19 AM   #14
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Take a deep breath, this is not worth getting all worked up about.
Let the guy look it up find that there is no prior service record and keep your blood pressure under control.
lucky the guy did not hit you with the keyboard if you truly did rip it out of his hands.
life is too short, put the top down and enjoy
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Old 10-10-2004, 07:01 PM   #15
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I used to have an Audi and had tons of trouble with the service department at the Audi dealer in New Orleans that was also a Porsche dealer. They kept replacing a gauge in it for me that was broken when I bought the car and every time I got it back another gauge was broken! I took it in about 3 times. I recall commenting to my neighbor at the time that maybe they didn't care about me because I had a used Audi. She said it didn't matter. Her husband had a Porsche and a Saab they'd taken there on numerous times and got the same service. I actually called Audi to ******************** and all they did was say "okay" and that was it.

My brother bought a Lexus. He said part of the reason he bought it was when he went to the dealer he noticed that the service was awesome. Everyone was treated with the utmost respect no matter what they looked like or acted like. I still want a Porsche but after going with him to Lexus it is easy to see why they sell so many cars. They were so UN-pushy about the sale of the car he practically had to beg them to buy it!
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Old 10-12-2004, 03:55 PM   #16
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Going in tomorrow morning for service

I've had days like phrankandbeanz at dealerships. I have also seen the drama unfold working at dealerships.

I normally work on my own car in warranty or not. The only reason I didn't do it with my Infiniti was because of their initial and continued fantastic service.

Running a new business, I don't have the time to work on my own cars.

I don't have some of the specialized tools I would love to have to totally ignore the Porsche dealer at this time.

The service manager will be monitoring my entire service experience at Tom Williams Porsche tomorrow. If I have the typical hassel I've been getting, I will be taking it to Jim Ellis in Atlanta for service if I want to keep the Boxster. Don't get me wrong, I love my Boxster. If service continues to be difficult and inconveinient, I will have a beautiful 2004 Boxster for sale with 7300 miles on it and I will have another new G35 tomorrow night.


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