Head light fell out and Porsche won't cover it.
#1
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My drivers side headlight fell out on to the ground under very hard breaking while avoding a collision. I have a 2014 991.1 Carrera that is two months into the CPO warranty. I took it to my local Porsche dealer and Porsche is not willing to cover the replacement cost. My dealer has been great in the past with warranty items. They just got both my warped door panels replaced under CPO warranty. Their technician couldn't find any sign of why it came out. I bought the car from Porsche Santa Barbara with 14,850 miles on it and put 2,000 on it since purchasing the car including driving back to Portland Oregon. I am the third owner and the car was originally purchased at Porsche Beverley Hills. I have a clean Car Fax, the CPO paperwork and maintainace records from Porsche Santa Barbara with no accidents reported. I called Porsche Beverly Hills to inquire about any previous maintenance records and brought up the headlight issue. He looked up the Vin # and said was it the driver headlight? Of course it was. Apparently in 2016 at 12,000 miles it was brought in and had some minor fender bodywork done on the driver's side. It's great work because the local Porsche technician didn't notice it while evaluating the issue. I called Porsche North America to see what they can do for me today. It seams to me Porsche Santa Barbara should be on the hook if they sold a CPO car that had a improperly installed head light and a clean Carfax. What do you all think? Any ideas on how to get the $2,400 headlight cost covered ?
#2
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That sucks, man. I have no suggestions for how to get Porsche to cough up the dough/headlight cost, but I wish you luck in getting reimbursed and made whole again.
#3
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Did Porsche of BH give details about how extensive the fender work was. Obviously if the car was repaired, head light removed and car re installed that is where the liability lies. It really isn't a Porsche issue if this was the case. If it came from the factory like that then that would be their issue but obviously that's not the case.
Seems like Porsche of SB should have disclosed the repair and did a proper CPO if they knew. If not your on the hook.
Seems like Porsche of SB should have disclosed the repair and did a proper CPO if they knew. If not your on the hook.
#5
Burning Brakes
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hate to agree but there are trigger words that these companies respond to.
quick unrelated story: our Wifi from comcast had been spotty or out for days. Ends up our phone line from comcast was also out. I called for the 3rd time to get service and they scheduled me like 4 days away but I had work to do and its frustrating so I pushed for earlier and immediate help. The operator told be that if I call the Phone service line (instead of cable service) and tell them I have kids and we need the phone to be working in case of 911 emergency I would get a different response......they showed up at 8:30 the next morning.
quick unrelated story: our Wifi from comcast had been spotty or out for days. Ends up our phone line from comcast was also out. I called for the 3rd time to get service and they scheduled me like 4 days away but I had work to do and its frustrating so I pushed for earlier and immediate help. The operator told be that if I call the Phone service line (instead of cable service) and tell them I have kids and we need the phone to be working in case of 911 emergency I would get a different response......they showed up at 8:30 the next morning.
#6
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I would call Porsche and explain that the car was not properly fixed or reviewed and thus the headlight came out. They should replace it it not a biggie to them. But you need to escalate this even to their USA headquarters. I had an issue with the the driver side seat wearing out. They weren't sure it was covered? A brand new car with less than 3k miles? Anyway they replaced it. The service was great and Porsche stood by their product.
#7
Addict
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OP,
The manufacturer's warranty is against "defects in materials or workmanship". This applies to the product as it left the factory. It is not a warranty for crash repairs done by another party. The only "pocket" with any skin in the game regarding your problem is the dealer or shop that did the repair. Now if you lived closer to this dealer, you might be able to visit them and work someting out. But consider this. They sold a car to a person who lives out of state, claims he had a near accident and wants me to pay the cost of his headlight replacement. How the heck do I know whar transpired in the 2000 miles he has driven the car since I sold it.
Sometimes life sucks a bit, and for you this is one of those times. Sorry, but I'm afraid tour going to have to cover this one yourself.
The manufacturer's warranty is against "defects in materials or workmanship". This applies to the product as it left the factory. It is not a warranty for crash repairs done by another party. The only "pocket" with any skin in the game regarding your problem is the dealer or shop that did the repair. Now if you lived closer to this dealer, you might be able to visit them and work someting out. But consider this. They sold a car to a person who lives out of state, claims he had a near accident and wants me to pay the cost of his headlight replacement. How the heck do I know whar transpired in the 2000 miles he has driven the car since I sold it.
Sometimes life sucks a bit, and for you this is one of those times. Sorry, but I'm afraid tour going to have to cover this one yourself.
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#8
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OP,
The manufacturer's warranty is against "defects in materials or workmanship". This applies to the product as it left the factory. It is not a warranty for crash repairs done by another party. The only "pocket" with any skin in the game regarding your problem is the dealer or shop that did the repair. Now if you lived closer to this dealer, you might be able to visit them and work someting out. But consider this. They sold a car to a person who lives out of state, claims he had a near accident and wants me to pay the cost of his headlight replacement. How the heck do I know whar transpired in the 2000 miles he has driven the car since I sold it.
Sometimes life sucks a bit, and for you this is one of those times. Sorry, but I'm afraid tour going to have to cover this one yourself.
The manufacturer's warranty is against "defects in materials or workmanship". This applies to the product as it left the factory. It is not a warranty for crash repairs done by another party. The only "pocket" with any skin in the game regarding your problem is the dealer or shop that did the repair. Now if you lived closer to this dealer, you might be able to visit them and work someting out. But consider this. They sold a car to a person who lives out of state, claims he had a near accident and wants me to pay the cost of his headlight replacement. How the heck do I know whar transpired in the 2000 miles he has driven the car since I sold it.
Sometimes life sucks a bit, and for you this is one of those times. Sorry, but I'm afraid tour going to have to cover this one yourself.
#9
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If the crash was not communicated to the CPO dealer or reported why is it Porsche’s problem. I feel for the OP but this looks like it’s on his dime or the repair facility which will deny any culpability.
#11
RL Community Team
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From prior sad experiences:
Crashed cars can be CPO, they don't have to tell you. Carfax is useless.
Aftermarket junk can make to CPO cars.
While a collision issue is not covered by warranty, original, extended or CPO, you could argue that either the fix is not in par with CPO standards or the CPO inspection itself is not up to standards. In that, they charged you for a product/service (CPO) and are not delivering according to their description. That could easily be a small claim. You either claim the fix or the CPO value.
My guess, PCNA will cough it up upon enough persistence. The squeaky wheel gets the oil.
Crashed cars can be CPO, they don't have to tell you. Carfax is useless.
Aftermarket junk can make to CPO cars.
While a collision issue is not covered by warranty, original, extended or CPO, you could argue that either the fix is not in par with CPO standards or the CPO inspection itself is not up to standards. In that, they charged you for a product/service (CPO) and are not delivering according to their description. That could easily be a small claim. You either claim the fix or the CPO value.
My guess, PCNA will cough it up upon enough persistence. The squeaky wheel gets the oil.
#12
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While the fender work is certainly the first place I'd explore for recourse, was a clear bra ever installed (recently or prior to your ownership)? That is sometimes another reason headlights fall out (installer forgets to secure it).
#13
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PCNA 1st level will offer you a $500 gift certificate. Refuse, mention lawyer. Call gm dealership mention lawyer. Spread their name (CPO dealer here Twitter, google, yelp reviews). End of the day lawyer will cost more than light but you can do some on your own to mess them up. I would be very pissed if I bought a wrecked CPO car. that perhaps is a claim to original dealer but CPO cars can be wrecked. NEVER buy a car without a paint meter reading on all quarter panels
#14
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Buying a Porsche Approved Certified Pre-owned Vehicle means that your dream will remain unbroken. In fact, we are so confident in our high standards that we put our name on it: Porsche Approved. Their is a 111 pt checklist. However, as mentioned earlier it appears to be a problem for Porsches in that group of the headlight problem in hard breaking.
Porsche Approved means
- 2 Years / Unlimited Miles Warranty coverage after the expiration of the new vehicle limited warranty or from the date of sale if the new vehicle limited warranty has expired
- The vehicle meets the Porsche preparation standards
- The certification vehicle has been inspected in compliance with our 111-point checklist
- All work has been performed by Porsche trained technicians
- Only Genuine Porsche parts have been used
#15
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CPO is the key. Keep pushing hard. Or maybe go to a completely different dealer and see if they will work it.