Very Poor Dealer Preparation

[OllieW]

I took my father to see a 997 Targa 4S at the newly opened OPC in Thurmaston, Leicester just before Christmas, as he has had Targa's before and loves the new model.

The car they had in the showroom was well specc'd and a great colour, so the deal was done (no real deal to speak of there though). Car was taken into the back of the dealership to keep it out of the way of general public etc.

He went down on Saturday morning to pick up his new pride and joy and all things seemed fine, no scratches or anything...

I had a blast in it Saturday afternoon and noticed how dusty the interior was, trim scuffed or marked and how dirty the inside of all of the windows were, there was even a film build up on the inside of the back window. I also thought the car felt a little soft on the road and told him to check tyre pressures all round.

To our horror they were roughly 10-15psi below what they should have been according to the manual.

I personally feel this is unacceptable when spending serious amounts of money on a car, it seems that dealers are no longer interested in customer service and loyalty, instead it is all about shipping out volume.

Sad experience for my father on what should have been a great one []

Rant over. Sorry.

 

[dereksharpuk]

Totally agree your sentiments. Just don't accept bad service, after all, we pay enough. I would return with this attitude:

1. Ok, so you are going to fix everything that should have been done on the PDI, full valet, new PDI (after all, what else did they miss?)
2. Now... what about compensation for my trouble and my huge disappointment with what should have been a great occasion.

Last time I did that at a dealership I got a £350 leather jacket out of them. No, they were not Porsche Centre Swindon, their prep is first class.

 

[jason]

oh dear.

OPC dissapointment tale....no surprise there.

Get Glynn to detail it Ollie and get the OPC to pay for it.

How to lose customers quickly....

 

[OllieW]

Speaking to dealer principal this afternoon...

Will let you know the outcome this later on.

 

[Black80XSA]

At least he is safe - imagine what could have happened driving on a wet road with those tyre pressures - go back to the OPC, ask to rectifiy everything to as it should have been and some compensation (i got £300 of clothing vouchers, which i wasn't all that bothered about but sort of compensated for the disappoinment and inconvenience).

 

[adrian996]

........Why on earth am I even considering NOT buying my 997 privately and going to OPC instead...??!!

 

[Alex L]

ORIGINAL: adrian996

........Why on earth am I even considering NOT buying my 997 privately and going to OPC instead...??!!

Finance, piece of mind, etc etc.

If you insist on:

1) seeing the checklist they have done on the car when you buy it (either the new car one they do when they take delivery from the factory, or the 111 point inspection they do for used cars)
2) going round the car yourself and carefully checking everywhere

...then you shouldn't have any complaints.

 

[Mark_Bennett]

ORIGINAL: adrian996

........Why on earth am I even considering NOT buying my 997 privately and going to OPC instead...??!!

Because you can't collect your new car direct from the factory without going through an OPC...? []

 

[adrian996]

Finance, piece of mind, etc etc.

WHAT!!?? Yeah, right! Alex, There's only two things my OPC has consistently given me over the last 3 years - a pain the arse and a big 'phone bill. Let's say that I've called the service manager of my OPC 30 times over the last 3 years; I'm not exaggerating when I say that I've been told that "he's with a customer at the moment, sir. Let me get him to call you back" by some fit bird on the desk 28 out of those 30 times - and I've never got a return call and end up having to call them again!
There are so many sycophants who own these cars who just make matters worse by just putting up with abysmal service from OPC. They are nothing more than car dealers - crooks in suits. We just don't help ourselves enough: someone I know recently waited nine weeks to get a table in an expensive London restaurant and their starter was cold. Did they say anything to the waiter? Not a chance; "Well, you don't like to make a fuss, do you...?"
And that's the same problem here. Personally, I would just drive the car back to them, put the keys on the manager's desk and tell them to sort it out, pronto.
Ok. I think that's everything.

 

[adrian996]

Because you can't collect your new car direct from the factory without going through an OPC...?

No, Mark. Sorry. Even if I had Branson's millions I could never bring myself to buy any new car.

 

[Popolou]

Not surprising really. Fair enough, being a forum you logically hear about the bad affairs more than the good ones but how difficult is it to get the PDI done right? The issue with the tyre pressures is a common one and still a mystery as to how they let it happen.

Unfortuantely, there's been worse. I've heard stories of OPC's forgetting to remove the suspension blocks when handing over the car to the customer. [&:]

Pop

 

[Alex L]

ORIGINAL: adrian996
Let's say that I've called the service manager of my OPC 30 times over the last 3 years; I'm not exaggerating when I say that I've been told that "he's with a customer at the moment, sir. Let me get him to call you back" by some fit bird on the desk 28 out of those 30 times - and I've never got a return call and end up having to call them again!

I am sorry Adrian that your OPC doesn't give you the respect that you are after.

Although I too have been frustrated with my local OPC at times, I must say that they are very good at getting back to me. In the last 4 years I must have called/emailed several hundred times, and I can only recall twice where they didn't call me back the same day. Both of those times were from a person that had already left or was about to leave the company.

Usually, if I don't get an immediate response, I just escalate direct to their boss - and that soon get's a reply!

If you build a good relationship with your OPC they tend to look after you very well.

What with all the fraud recently in the news, there's no way I would part with that much money to a perfect stranger myself. So buying privately is not something I would ever consider.

As for buying new, my Turbo is my first (and probably my last) new car. I had to do it just once! And getting the perfect spec car makes SUCH a difference.

 

[2fast4u]

I can top that.............when I went to see a 997 I had requested my local OPC get from another OPC down south, the car arrived, I arrived totally excited as you'd expect. The car was filthy inside, looked like someone had spat on the speaker in the door, the plastic on the back of the sports seats was all scuffed and scrapped and to top it all, my husband put his hand inside the front 'boot' looked at his hand and it was black. Black as in black paint......yes, they'd sprayed the black carpet to make it look new. I burst into tears and told them to stuff their car as I wasn't willing to entertain them when they should've had the car looking imacculate for me.

Saying that, the manager and salesman bent over backwards the following day, but that was to be expected after the carry on we'd been through.

Kim

 

[garyw]

Bearing in mind that only the bad news ever tends to get posted on the forums, however its no concelation when it happens to you..
I had an awful time with the dealer I purchased my car from, luckily I did a factory collection - one of the many reasons was to keep my car away from the OPC as much as posssible.. I knew I would have to deliver it to them once back in the UK but hopefully they couldn't screw that bit up.. well not that much hopefully.
Even at the factory collection myself and the Mrs went over the car (OK I missed the heated screen with a line out) but we did spot the oil on the seatbelt which was dealt with swiftly by getting us lunch whilst a new seatbelt was fitted.. my point is that we still looked the car over, not just taking their word for it..

Leicester is a new OPC and I'm sure they will point this out and say the new procedures are still settling in... However not an excuse as far as I'm concerned.
Ollie point this thread out to Patrick R8,, he has been talking to the DP at Leicester, whom I'm aware is an Enthusiast of Porsche not just an employee..

I'll repeat the words said to me by a salesman a while back which puts things into prespective for me, "we don't see them as Porsches, they are an asset for us to make money"

I don't go to that OPC any longer and I doubt I ever will (apart from to drink their coffee[])

garyw

 

[chrismouzou]

i have bought all my porsches from east london opc-never had any problems with my opc ( iam not the easiest of customers to deal with) always return my calls-always supply me with courtesy cars (always porsches) they always use there insurance on courtesy cars i use- i collected my new car oct 07 they gave me free mats -flowers for my wife-porsche beauty case for my wife even sent me a christmas card

on the other hand another opc dealer who i wont name and shame never returns my calls-but always want you to buy a new car from them-any warranty work- you have to use your own insurance

some you win some you lose

hope you have some luck with your opc- i am on your side

 

[okellyt]

Its always a real pig if your the one that gets the bad service. I fully sympathise

I agree with the sentiment that if its not good enough complain, and if the repsonse it shoddy make the point. I also belive that if you get good service regonise it and say thank you - if you get exceptional service make sure its rewarded (Porsche do have staff schemes where you cna nominate people)

If we as customers in large enough numbers consitently praise the right behavious, reward going the extra mile and make poor service painful (+ hit their pockets) most offening garages will change

I am not the easiest person to keep happy but have bought three cars through OPC Colchester. luckilly all three were mmaculately presented and checked properly when I picked them up (only the first time did I get a free bottle of bubbly though). to date when i ahve had problems, including needing a new enging fro my first Boxster S, the service guys ahve if anyhting been more responsive and helpful than the sales guys

I found a couple of real enthusiasts there, who I normally try and deal with - they even wanted me to come back and give them a run out in the powerkit when the engine was run in because they'd not been in one before.......

Of course knowing murphy's law, next time I go in................

 

[jason]

Ollie - can you point out I expect better treatment when I collect my trial car for the weekend[][]

 

[OllieW]

ORIGINAL: jason

Ollie - can you point out I expect better treatment when I collect my trial car for the weekend[][]

I think I need to have a word with Nigel over that...

I've just added over 80k to their turnover through my family and you bloody win a weekend hooning in one of their loaners!!!

Where's the justice []

 

[jason]

There is no justice.

And tell them I want it to be a GT2 / Turbo or GT3....I'm not going downmarket for anyone[][][]

 

[Jamie Garside]

I have bought two new Porsche's from two different OPC's now and the process was fantastic both times, I have negotiated the purchase of several used 911's for clients through trusted OPC's without a hitch however I have clients on to me all the time with complaints of OPC's where they have sourced direct.

If they look after me better as I am in the business, then I appreciate it but everyone's dollar is as good as the next mans and it disgusts me when people get sub par service when buying a premium motor, and in the case of OPC's at a premium!

My advice to clients who have been through the complaints process at the OPC to no avail (i.e. sales manager then dealer principle); call Porsche HQ at Reading to complain and they are very quick to kick the franchise up the backside.