I finally got a final answer from Porsche UK regarding my multiple RMS problem
and my threat of legal action.
I won't go into my gearbox problem in any great detail except to say they will only offer me a 50% good-will offer
for a 996 that had done only 30,000 miles :-(
The basics are the car was not bought from the UK dealership, it's a C16 UK spec import. So they don't
feel that it is their responsibility. The car is out of warranty but they feel they are being "more than fair"
by offereing 50% (cost to me of £3000) when they don't legally have to offer anything (according to PUK).
(BTW: I wrote to PAG months ago but never got a reply. I even offered to drive it to Stuttgart to have
them fix it if required.)
In regards to my RMS problems, they said the only thing I can do now is take it up with the
OPC that did the RMS replacements as Porsche UK (Reading) cannot direct or force them
to replace.repair the RMS for me. They said that the OPC is a franchise business and while
PUK can offer to provide some good-will in certain circumstances they cannot force
a service center to carry the repairs out. My original 1st RMS was done under good-will where I had to
pay £237 towards costs. Since then all the others have been done under warranty. The guy
at Porsche Reading said that it is unfortunate and surprising that Porsche Mann Island in Liverpool
didn't follow the recceomended procedure using the mandrel but since they haven't the only
thing to do now is to down the gearbox and check/repair it again. But they are asking me to pay for this
since Porsche Mann Island won't do it gratis and Porsche UK won't foot the bill (depsite 3 other RMSs
being fitted under warranty). Furthermore, while they have asked Porsche Mann Island to
consider fixing this under warranty they cannot force them to do it. I asked that if and when
the RMS is checked again, they should find from the test result that my engine block is warped,
who will pay for the replacement engine. He said that it would go through the good-will process.
I asked if that meant me paying 50% like the gearbox. He said he cannot comment on what good-will,
if any, will be offered but yes it would probably be 50%. However since the car is out of warranty,
they don't legally have to offer anything. "If" they offer any good-will it will be offered out of the goodness
of their commitment to supporting Porsche customers.
As for the PCGB RMS Survey, I discussed this in detail with the chap at Reading (Mr Phil Hattam). He said
that this survey was not conducted by Porche UK or PAG so while the results "may be interesting to PCGB members" they
are not a true indication of any problem and there is no evidence from Porsche's data that the problem
is so prevelant. He said that if there was as many cars with this problem as the Survey so purveys then they
would have been called back so the Survey results should be seen to bare no meaning.
All up it is clear to me that in the UK, Porsche UK are a waste of time dealing with since according to them
the OPC is the interface we must deal with. And as for my car, well I think PAG produce
crap technology that we should not be investing in, they don't answer their letters and they don't back up their customers.
While my car drives like no other, the "Porsche experience" is extremely tainted by the "bad customer experience"
and it is one which I do not wish upon anyone. So the slogan "there is no substitute" is hearsay as I
will certainly substitute all of this, the car, the bad experience, the expense for a better deal in another marque....
Aston Martin AMV8 springs to mind [
]
Finally, it is also evident to me that PCGB despite their greatest efforts with this survey are dealing with a rather
thick and obscure wall called Porsche UK who simply won't be broken down despite being threatened with legal action.
I would not be betting that it will get us anywhere. I sincerely hope I am wrong.
There you have it.
