ORIGINAL: Scouser
I can't be botherd with waiting any longer for PCGB or going to the mags, watchdog etc. It's gone on too long
and without doubt Porsche are and always will be the winners. I am the mug.
Just want to appologise for this remark. After re-reading it, it sounds terribly condescending towards PCGB and Nic after all his and the clubs hard work. As you can imagine I am pretty low at the moment and I guess I am saying stuff I may regret later. What I meant to say is that I am so fed up with this whole affair that I can't be bothered with fighting it anymore. I did pursue it with BBC watchdog but have not heard back from them so I assume they are not interested in using it for their program. I think to get watchdog on to this we "all" and I mean every one of us must lodge a complaint with watchdog. This is the only way they will take notice and then maybe and only maybe they will take it on board. I was going to go to the mags too. I also have started the ball rolling with my solicitor but I have decided to drop the case. This bloody car has taken over my life and finances and is affecting my marriage. This last blow is the final straw for me. I simply can't afford to pursue a legal battle even if it meant I would win it in the end. Getting the car fixed is going to near bankrupt me so the best I can do now is get the RMS done, have the gearbox fixed at an independent then get rid it (if I can!) and set about trying to put my finances back in order. As I said I just can't be bothered with it anymore.
Adrian, your idea is a great idea. But I would write to PAG directly not your OPCs. One thing that we have learned from this thread is that the OPCs are NOT Porsche. They are just Franchises with the Porsche name. They have no connection to Porsche other than as a franchise outfit. This means they are accountable for their own service and sales. So you buy a car from an OPC and they become responsible for all costs associated with its warranty even if it's a brand new car and the engine blows up the second you take it out the door. If that was the case the OPC will of course request a replacement engine under warranty to Reading. But if for some reason Reading say no or Reading hold them up then you won't have a chance.
What has happeed to me is this, my car is a C16 import with full UK spec. Since it wasn't bought through the dealership, nobody is owning responsibility for it. My nearest OPC is Mann Island in Liverpool. I take it to them for service. They have been applying for good-will requests to reading for its RMS repairs. The 1st time I took it in they applied for good-will and Reading accepted the costs but asked me to pay £237 towards it. I did this of course but under protest. From then on, every other RMS replacement has been paid for by my OPC since they are the ones responsible for doing the job and they were
the ones who did the 1st replacement. After 4 RMSs they said they simply are not going to pay for any more and blamed it
on my gearbox. Reading said to me they instructed Mann Island to fix the RMS but they refused and there is not much more
they could do about it since Mann Island are only a franchise. After much pressure I finally got Reading to pay the bill to have it done (this is the curent RMS fix) based on the fact that I found out that Mann Island had not checked the bore tolerance with the mandrel tool. Mann Island have now established at last that a new engine is required. So they put the claim in to Reading. Of course Reading now have to decide if they will pay for the repairs or not. But as we all know this is unlikely.
I am telling you this because:
1) the OPC's are just the workers. They don't give two f*cks if your car falls apart out of warranty. They may put in for a good-will request but at the end of the day they either get paid by you or Porsche. They don't care either way. So writing a letter to them is a waste of time.
2) the good-will scheme is managed by a help-desk team in Reading (but for all I know they could be in India and probably will be soon
) who have little if any knowledge of the car's mechanics. They work off a crib sheet and are trained and marked on their performance based on their success in winning you over in response to your complaint or claim. They don't
give two f*cks about you or your car or your loyalty. They only care about winning you over.
3) I can't find any way of speaking to the "real" decision makers at Reading or PAG. But I did speak to Annett Barbara-wilke in Germany who is the worldwide service manager. But despite her seeming to be extremely applogetic about my car's problems she said that the ultimate decision is left with PUK. I explained everything in its gory detail to her including that I am a Loyal 3rd time Porsche owner. But it made no difference. I read this as "PAG don't give two f*cks" either.
4) PAG have really done their homework on this. They are entirely insulated from it all. They have built up a system in front of them that is unbreakable. A moat around their castle. Outside their castle they have distributors who are selling cars for them and pass back oodles of cash. Those distributors are driven by dealerships that make huge profits. Those dealerships are also taking a cut of this profit as well as being funded by their extortionatly expensive service and repair shops. In general everything works a treat. If a customer has a problem they go to the dealership. The dealer charges the customer or requests good-will from the distributor. The distributor calls the shots. Even if you bybass them and go directly to PAG they will only refer you back to your distributor. But then a real problem comes in like this RMS issue and the whole system is put on test. But in any case, the distributor is doing a great job for PAG and so PAG are insulated. What PAG don't realise is that outside the castle there is a big problem brewing.
The only way to win is to write your letters directly to PAG. Complain about PUK and their practices. Complain about the quality of the product. Tell them how unsatisfied you are. Bypass the OPCs and PUK entirely. We need to get to the heart and that is PAG. Stress your concern to PAG an nobody else. A flood of letters from us and a final big one from PCGB would make them stand up to this problem.
Anyway, I have had enought of it. I am tired, expired and broke. Time to hand my cards in. I wish you all the very best of luck with it all. I am all out.
Nic, I just wan to say I am most appreciated for all your hard work. Keep it going mate. I will send the survey back to you asap. If you need me in the future please email me and I will only be too glad to help out. For now, I can't wait to get my car back, get it fixed and get rid.
Cheers guys.
