GT car / Salesman - Shiraaz Sookralli - Champion Porsche's VP of Marketing
#602
If I was PCNA, I would arrange to get all the people who were scammed the car they wanted at MSRP (or discounted) less the lost deposit they lost. This would stop most of the litigation, be good press, and put the issue to bed. They could then resolve the $2.5m Champion owes them out of court.
#603
Instructor
After this, Porsche needs to forbid the practice of its dealers requesting deposits against cars that are not guaranteed. This is now fully and squarely on Porsche. These dealerships are agents of the brand, and while this is a practice that’s not directly managed by Porsche corporate, now that Porsche corporate has notice of this fraud, they are responsible for putting a stop to this practice. It’s always been a shady practice but after this it’s absolutely unconscionable for Porsche to allow it to continue.
#604
Agree 100% with this statement. As a former very satisfied customer of Champion (bought my 996 from Jim Hahn back in the good ole' days of the dealership) and the owner of a law firm right up the street, this can get very ugly, very quickly. If anyone else in management had reason to know this was going on over time (which is likely with all of the accounting reports and controls available today), then it could very well be game over. And, I find it very hard to believe that nobody knew this VP was taking more orders than he could fill -- which obviously means more deposits -- which means some set of controls should be in place wrt those deposits. If this goes the distance, we're going to see many instances where reasonable controls were either not in place, or were purposely or negligently disregarded (or too easily defeated). If I were Champion, every last check would have already been in the mail immediately upon discovery of this very unfortunate situation.
Champion should return all money that was stolen, and then work with customers securing the cars they thought they were order as best as they can. They do need to have someone in place to address these issues with the customers and be transparent with what is currently going on.
#605
- The latest revelation with Champion Porsche is simply the preverbably '....tip of the iceburg............'.
- IMO, it is caused in how PCNA has created & allowed the mark-up of all of their GT cars, especially to anyone who is not a 'VIP' customer
- Each dealership establishes their own 'market', and PCNA has been well aware of this for some time
- PCNA has essentially created & allowed 2 different 'Classes' of Buyers through their VIP program
- It does not matter how many Porsche's anyone may have purchased in the past, nor how loyal they have been to the 'brand'
- If you attempt to purchase any GT type Porsche, the 'Surcharge' is $60K [at a minimum] to $150K-250K+/-
- That fact can be easily documented
- This was a predictable event............and Porsche [PCNA & others] have allowed it to develop
- Personally, I may simply purchase another brand of vehicle after decades of loyalty to Porsche, and after acquiring several different cars from them.
#606
This is not on Porsche or PCNA. This is on a dealer that, at a minimum, had inadequate controls in its business. Fraud and embezzlement are not all that uncommon in the auto dealership business, given ample opportunities presented by the very nature of the business. IIRC, one of the prominent dealer sponsors on Rennlist had a nasty little embezzlement incident a few years back. It happens. It's on the dealer and the perpetrators of the fraud. Porsche/PCNA should advise/assist the dealership in dealing with the situation effectively, but the idea that they owe anybody any cars is a bit of a stretch. As a pure PR move, making cars available, if they even can at this point, may be a good thing, but it's likely better for them to just let Champion handle the situation.
My guess is that Champion is currently simply trying to assess the exact extent of the fraud and crafting a plan to deal with it. If I were a gambler, I'd bet they reach into their pockets and reimburse everyone for their loss and offer some measure of compensation beyond that, such as a future GT car at sticker, etc.
The wild card would be if their investigation uncovers a much larger fraud.
My guess is that Champion is currently simply trying to assess the exact extent of the fraud and crafting a plan to deal with it. If I were a gambler, I'd bet they reach into their pockets and reimburse everyone for their loss and offer some measure of compensation beyond that, such as a future GT car at sticker, etc.
The wild card would be if their investigation uncovers a much larger fraud.
#607
The broker was getting his cut from them. He passed me Shiraaz's number and asked me to get in touch with him. Broker never mentioned me he was with Champion, but with a little bit of googling I found out. I was kind of amazed because I had reached out to Champion directly prior to this and was told they don't have any open allocations.
#608
RL Community Team
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
- The latest revelation with Champion Porsche is simply the preverbably '....tip of the iceburg............'.
- IMO, it is caused in how PCNA has created & allowed the mark-up of all of their GT cars, especially to anyone who is not a 'VIP' customer
- Each dealership establishes their own 'market', and PCNA has been well aware of this for some time
- PCNA has essentially created & allowed 2 different 'Classes' of Buyers through their VIP program
- It does not matter how many Porsche's anyone may have purchased in the past, nor how loyal they have been to the 'brand'
- If you attempt to purchase any GT type Porsche, the 'Surcharge' is $60K [at a minimum] to $150K-250K+/-
- That fact can be easily documented
- This was a predictable event............and Porsche [PCNA & others] have allowed it to develop
- Personally, I may simply purchase another brand of vehicle after decades of loyalty to Porsche, and after acquiring several different cars from them.
#609
RL Community Team
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
With a fluid case and investigation here there of course is speculating. Part are opinions people have the right to share. It's a given. "Must have known" and "Did know" are two different things.
The reach of this thread and publicity it has garnered will help those who have been ripped off. That's a FACT and NOT speculation.
Sorry if you see me as doing a disservice here.
Continue on ...
The reach of this thread and publicity it has garnered will help those who have been ripped off. That's a FACT and NOT speculation.
Sorry if you see me as doing a disservice here.
Continue on ...
You know the voice you have on here, and that is a good thing. I've watched you uncover tons of facts and bring stories to light on here and it's served many people well. I would just urge you to be cautious in what you speak as others take what you say to have a large element of truth to it. The TRUTH is that this situation sucks and that there is much more to it than we all know. In time we will all know many more facts than we do now. I (and I'm sure others) appreciate you helping to shine the flashlight into the dark and murky corners for all to see.
#611
The broker was getting his cut from them. He passed me Shiraaz's number and asked me to get in touch with him. Broker never mentioned me he was with Champion, but with a little bit of googling I found out. I was kind of amazed because I had reached out to Champion directly prior to this and was told they don't have any open allocations.
#612
#614