rff15e

These forums are a great place to get information, context and perspective on all things Porsche, so I'd thought I share a recent experience of mine with a newly purchased (used) 991 from a Porsche dealership:

I was finally able to save up some money toward a dream car of mine since I was younger - thanks to saving for years, being stationed overseas for a while, and an all expenses paid vacation to a very dry, sunny place with a lot of fireworks. In any case, I finally found a great build - a 2012 911 C2S 7MT with SPASM, Sport Chrono, etc. It was CPO'd with about 27k miles on it priced at 74k, which seemed reasonable. Since I was still overseas, I decided to negotiate and put a deposit down without physically seeing the car. It was a gamble, I get it. I started the process of moving back to the US and finally picked up the car at the dealership. The salesman and dealership in Midlothian, VA were nice. Everything seemed great and I was excited.

On the drive to my next assignment (with a training stop in between), I had a coolant system fault in a Target parking lot on a Saturday. No big deal, the CPO comes with Porsche Assistance. I called them up and they said they would come in the next two hours and take the car to the nearest dealership (which was closed and opened up the following Monday). I told them that this was my only car on this trip, etc. They told me they were sorry, but I would be on my own for transportation for my wife and I. That didn't sound right. They said I could get a taxi and a rental car and then send Porsche the receipts and they would "decide" whether to reimburse me. Um, thanks. I started researching and diagnosing the problem myself in the parking lot - seemed to be just a vacuum system / change over valve issue and the engine seemed to stay cool, so I decided to drive it back to the hotel. The local dealership didn't have a courtesy car or an appointment available for the next two weeks. The passenger side window stopped working. The Xpel now has bubbles, and once I finally got it to my new home, the AC stopped blowing cold air and won't hold r-134a. All within 3 months total of ownership.

Porsche_nuts

Sorry, sorry, sorry. Hate reading stories like this. Hopefully, your future experiences with the car will be better and that you get to really enjoy the Porsche experience.

whiteducktail

Wow, sorry about your bad luck with the car and the service you've experienced. You, unfortunately, have picked up a vehicle that was just on the verge of needing several service issues addressed. Since it is CPO, you should have no problem getting everything sorted out, and it seems that you should shop around for a different dealer... Good luck, and hang in there, the car is worth it.

rff15e

Thanks! I guess you win some, you lose some. The things that kind of irritates me is that I think I've put more miles on the car going back and forth between porsche dealerships for service than I have actually driving it for fun.

All said - other than a bolt in the tire yesterday - the performance is awesome and it's a great fun, car. The forums here have been an awesome place for information, tips, and tricks so thanks for that.

PJ Cayenne

That first dealer who couldn't get you in on an emergency basis for two weeks should lose his franchise. Absolutely unacceptable.
Don't forget, the car is six years old and while the mileage is low, time takes it toll on it. A friend of mine has a 15 year old 996 4S. Besides a healthy ding in the drivers door, the car is still a complete knock out. 911s seem to age well. Good luck and use your CPO benefits!

snake eyes

Bud Taylor

So the upside is you have purchased one of the greatest cars ever produced (with the 7speed no less). The downside is porsche stealerships are crooks and do not provide support. The manufacturer allows them to exist in this manner. You just have to kind of accept that your support will be limited. If you want a real warranty try fidelity they have a good rep. For future P car purchases, always have an indpendent PPI with a paint meter reading perforned by an uninterested 3rd party and never buy a car sight unseen. Congrats on your purchase.

Bxstr

First off, thank you for your service. Everything that you said that the dealer did was basically unacceptable, specifically the fact that they aren't reimbursing you for any travel issues or a rental car and also that the dealer cant get you in for 2 weeks. Very surprising and that is definitely a dealership issue and maybe something to take up with Porsche.

As far as the XPEL, that is somewhat common especially if you just had the dealer install the film. The people that the dealer will choose to install the film are not always the best. I would request that any areas that are bubbling are redone by someone in your city, and also XPEL does have a warranty, which I have used, so I would go that route if the dealer refuses to do anything.

I would also agree with Bud Taylor that a mechanical inspection, even on a CPO car can be a good idea. I dont think many people do them, and I didn't, but some do like to. I personally just had the dealer show me paint meter readings since most dealers do have a gauge, mine showed one small area on a panel that was touched up but beyond that, nothing. A 2012 is still a 6 year old car, so some paint issues and even small mechanical issues are definitely common. I know on the 991 the change over valves are a common failure point, so hopefully since you get everything fixed you will be good to go.

Enjoy the car!

gellie

rff15e

Everyone - thanks for the comments and advice - all great points. My intent wasn't necessarily to rant (well...maybe a little to blow off some frustration), it was more to continue the perspective and context of real ownership and buying. Coincidently, my wife was on the verge of getting a CPO'd Macan, but the Porsche Assistance debacle turned her off to that so she leased a Mercedes GLC, since we've had good experience with Mercedes in the past. I'm sure everyone has different experiences and maybe it was just a series of unfortunate events, but the my key takeaways are that 1) the CPO 111 point inspection is more glossy brochure than practice. It is best to trust, but verify through an independent inspection. The maintenance paperwork seemed to all be in order and some of the COVs were supposedly swapped during a previous campaign. 2) Porsche Assistance apparently has quite a few caveats that aren't in the brochure.

bkrantz

Hey, vent here any time!

My past CPO experiences were all positive, but I think you are right about what the program really offers (and does not).

CSK 911 C4S

Well is it fixed yet? What was wrong with it?

Please note the dealer you reached out to that blew you off.

rff15e

Will be in for another appointment soon at the local dealership to troubleshoot the 5th issue (AC not working) in 3 months. Haven't heard back from Euroclassics.

gellie

Really makes you wonder how "extensive" the 111 point inspection is performed during the CPO process?

R_Rated

Just had my annual service. The people I deal with at the stealership are good but the franchise is shady.... I question the labor rates as they are so outlandish on the number of hours they take to get stuff done. Anyways, they sell this speech about how good they are and attention to detail and don't miss anything [and handsomely paid the techs are I imagine]. Oh, I was pretty sure resetting the service light interval was on that checklist somewhere - no?