cphelps

I'm incredibly frustrated right now - I took my car in to Porsche of Boulder to have the "trunk clunk" and a rear window seal repaired. When I picked the car up, someone drove the car around front, handed me the key without checking my paperwork, and I drove off to get home for a meeting and parked the car in the garage. The next day, my wife went into the garage and noticed a ding in the passenger side door, about 20" off the ground. The ding was not there prior to going to service.

I called the Porsche of Boulder and left a message for the service manager Rick (a very friendly message). He called and immediately jumped on me about them not taking responsibility because the car had already left the lot and I should have noticed it before I drove off. He stated that they do an inspection before it leaves (which they didn't), hand wash each car (which they didn't), and ensure everything is in order before the car leaves the lot. He has told me he will not do anything about the damage other than check with sales to see who they use for repairs and get me a number. Obviously this is incredibly frustrating.

Is there any recourse other than no longer using Porsche of Boulder as my dealer? This is my second Porsche, and I went to Porsche of Boulder rather than my local dealer in Fort Collins because I had heard great things about the sales staff (which was true, Paul was great and gave me a better deal than my local dealer).

Any advice is greatly appreciated, but I'm at my wits end with the blatant rudeness and refusal to discuss anything. I pointed out to Rick that he immediately went after me without attempting to have a dialogue or discussion, or even talk to me about what happened, he went solely off my message that stated my car had a ding that I believe happened while it was in for service.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Chad

eqs

I feel for you, and you have a right to be p_ssed. Try moving up the chain of command gently.

In some cases, you may find a sympathetic soul who cares about customer service and can try to do something for you, but it is tough though.

I'm sure they get people coming back from time to time with complete bogus claims so I can understand their reluctance.

Hope that you can get some traction.

Cheers

Reddy Kilowatt

Drive to the dealer and visit with the service manager first. Discuss the inspection and wash that weren't done. I assume the car is still dirty, right? Remain friendly and calm, and ask lots of questions, like "How would you handle this if you were me?" If no action, escalate gently, as already suggested. Just my two cents.

MikeBat

When eqs and Reddy mention escalate gently, I may have my own person tip on how to do so.

In cases where I feel I have been not taken care of in a proper way by a supplier/dealer/retailer etc, I have successfully used this method..... Making sure that you are speaking to someone who can make a decision I say....

"Do you think it is fair that X." No matter what the other party says to get out of it, I always hammer back home with "Do you think it is fair". All the while keeping a strong but calm tone and unflinching eye contact.

I modify it on a case by case, but I have yet to come out on the short end with that approach.

-"Do you think it is fair to me as a paying customer to come to this dealership and pay you for service and have my car returned back to me damaged? Is that fair? Do you see that as fair?"

Good luck.

cphelps

I spoke with Paul, my salesperson, and he is going to take care of it for me. Paul's a great guy and is paying for it out of the sales budget to take care of a customer. I'm gald I'm getting the problem fixed, but I have to say I'm still frustrated with the fact that the service department refuses to take part in the solution.

Thanks to everyone for the advice and feedback, I very much appreciate it.

Chad

wf758

good luck. had a similar issue with Audi of Fairfield (on an Audi). I had multiple dings after leaving their shop. Never got them to assume responsibility. Audi USA didn't care either. Hope your p-car Dealer or PCNA does. Good luck!

YYC930

Geez.....it costs a lousy $75 to fix a dent with the paintless dent repair technique in my local market. It is cheap goodwill.

Talk about a crappy customer service scenario. You will eventually get a survey from PCNA about your service experience.......mark it accordingly.

Tom M'Guinn

There is always small claims court -- you will just need to prove your case, which might be tough.

I hate leaving my car with anyone for just this reason. Although annoying, it is always a good idea to make the service guy inspect the car and agree on any dings/scratches before you leave. That way, any new ones are on the dealer... I've had at least one dealer refuse to do this -- telling me dings are a fact of life that they can't be responsible for. I left.

GT3 Chuck

if your service rep doesn't walk all around the car and note any existing damage don't leave the car with them in the first place...also...when picking up the car take a minute to check it over...it is amazing how many slugs try to slide something like this by you...when we took my girlfriend's new car in for first oil change/lube they brought it out with a huge ding in the drivers side door just below the keyhole....how could they possibly think we would miss that? but they brought it out that way anyway...that was fun....

fast1

Here's a lesson I learned from the school of hard knocks. Always have the service writer thoroughly inspect the interior and exterior of your car prior to the Dealer working on your car. If the Dealer does anything to your wheels, have them thoroughly inspect the wheels for any damage. Have the service writer document the inspection and his findings on yourt service order. Thoroughly inspect your car inside and out, prior to taking delivery.

This proceedure may seem like a pain, but it protects both you and the Dealer and is well worth the effort IMO.