bluehorseshoe

I hear Dave Maraj's son inherited Champion. I also understand that Dave's son and Shiraaz 'were like brothers.'
Personally cannot attest to either of these statements, just what I've heard through the grapevine.
Wish the best for all affected parties, including all uninvolved Champion employees as my biz with them was rather first-class.

bittrl1000

That's interesting, and I'm glad you didn't get screwed. It seems like many brokers (such as those listing build slots on this forum's marketplace) are effectively buying the slot from a dealership, and then turning around and selling it to the customer.

usctrojanGT3

Please post it up or if not just PM me the info.

chachee

A little late to the party but this is completely nuts.

I hope there is no impact to customers that have a current V200 allocation.

Maybe @PCNA will do something about the crazy ADM issue.

Manifold

Legally, maybe not, but from a practical standpoint Porsche and PCNA bear responsibility for shaping the system, and if they're smart they'll make the changes needed to restore and preserve their reputation, and prevent this sort of thing from happening again.

Also, we can't say that the dealer didn't have adequate controls simply because of this outcome. We're not just talking about error, this was intentional crime by a person who took years to build credibility and rise to a position where he could pull this off.

sampelligrino

IMO doesn't matter. Bad bad idea to let all GT sales channel through a single person knowing full well the market for these cars, especially if there were prior incidents like with the R allegedly. The fact that Porsche/PCNA has allowed it to become the wild wild west where any game you can think of is used to get enthusiasts into GT cars means it squarely falls on them. They could have easily controlled this, I don't buy the "arms length" relationship PCNA is trying to emphasize with the US dealers as anything but trying to avoid liability/fallout. Whatever the US laws/regulations are, if PCNA can use the GT cars as a carrot on a stick to facilitate sales they can also use them as a carrot on a stick to facilitate customer service/good actions by good dealerships (surprise I know).

Thanks hope everyone can reach out to Ryan and continue to publicize this in the car world. No mercy

Martin IMO your credibility went out the window when we saw the PTS Golf Blue .2 @ $25K over for a good price with no sales tax paid on the car @ PNH (which I also don't agree with but a completely different topic of course), I'm sure PNH appreciated that and the profit to get you into that .2 3RS @ MSRP

I don't buy this, read above. Champion's hands very dirty IMO and hammer time especially with the alleged prior R etc. Also with laws of agency when you act under the apparent authority of the employer, the employer can likely be found liable

I would support that!!!

Absolutely agreed

I am with you I am now even thinking of my GT3 and if I want to keep it or move into an Fcar (will likely keep it). Was considering a Macan or Cayenne purchase but I'm putting the brakes on that as well, don't know if I want to support Porsche/PCNA anymore. I might start looking backwards at 993 instead of 992, get one from an enthusiast and service independently alternatively

I disagree - this falls squarely on the lap of PCNA/Porsche for enabling and almost incentivizing this type of scam. They have repeatedly told me (I have tried to contact them) that they keep an arms length relationship with the US dealers and don't get involved with the US dealers & their sales process whatsoever (when in fact they are using the GT cars as carrots on a stick to incentivize sales). They know the market for these cars and they are sitting in Atlanta watching this unfold across the country. It always should start and end at the top whether there are rogue actors or not if you want to be a good leader. If I had a rogue sub do something on one of my sites God forbid, I would immediately take action to do whatever it takes to rectify the situation & bring a huge hammer even though the sub is 2-3 "layers" down. Not just sit at my desk with my hands behind my head saying my hands are tied and I keep an arms length relationship with my subs. Different worlds I understand but I still have PCNA squarely in the sights for this mess with the 991 GT cars.

ADMs are not unique to Porsche but the prevalence of them to the GT cars which are now the only option your forced to buy if you want an NA engine is rampant. Also it's not just ADMs but the how uncontrolled the ADMs are in terms of amount, who is collecting them (dealers AND/OR brokers), and the types of ADMs. It's not just cut a check for 15 over. It could be political. It could be games. You could have customers who have in writing an allocation @ MSRP to only watch as they get passed by people willing to pay an ADM or buy a Panamera Turbo S e-Hybrid Performance Pack Leather to Sample Paint to Sample etc. You have people not getting their deposits back for GT cars. You have people who are willing to cut that check for 15 over and still getting an absolute **** experience. You could be lead to believe that because you have a V070 order demand in the system that if you wait patiently you'll get the call while the SA is behind your back selling allocations at substantial ADMs. You have SAs hinting that this could be the last manual/NA furthering the hype around the car and fanning the flames. It's not clear but in fact deliberately murky and a grey area so that the dealers and salespeople can extract and squeeze as much profit out of the customer as possible which is the absolute wrong way to operate this customer centric business and likely led to this mess. ETC

That is different and not acceptable in my opinion

FORENN

I'm surprised by sentiments such as this. I feel bad for the guys who got bamboozled by Champion Porsche. But this situation has made me feel even more fortunate to lock up a PTS GT3. Between the difficulty of navigating the elusive PTS schedule, the endless ADM charges/dealer games/flipping, and this Champion Porsche debacle, I'm amazed and thankful to have landed one with no problem.

TeutonicCarFan

It would raise a red flag to me that a sales manager drives a rolls Royce unless he was driving cars from the lot on dealer plate - that isn't uncommon.

CamsPorsche

Do it.

There's almost so much information already out in the public domain that I doubt we've even seen the tip of the iceberg yet.

GT3RS-Fan1

WOW this thread flourished to 30K hits in three days!

It started with "Fraud/Swindling" headlines!

Now it transformed to "INSIDER TRADING" !

Drive safe,
GT3RS-Fan1

promocop

THIS IS not going away soon and its going to affect the Porsche brand long after these crooks are found. It's bad for us enthusiasts!

mwar99

You could easily pull this off with out any inside help. It's really just a matter of for how long could you pull it off.

Archimedes

If there were even decent controls in place, this could have been prevented. Dozens of cars with no deposits? Constantly changing builds? One person in charge of GT cars with no controls in place to verify his actions? I agree that we don't know all the facts yet, but I'd be willing to bet that we'll find out that this fraud could have easily been prevented, or at least uncovered earlier, if good controls were in place. Trust, but verify.

STG

This will have to be verified by someone or a police report. Take it for what it is. Comes from a credible source.

Shiraaz was the only person with Dave Maraj (owner of Champion) when he hit his head on his boat and drowned. The police have supposedly opened up the investigation again after this embezzlement news.

Don't flame me here ... just passing a lead on. Not a verified fact. Not meant to detract here, but could be a big piece of the story here.






* I will retract if not accurate.

bluehorseshoe

Wow.