I always hate when I hear this... All dealers are different and have different standards. If you are in the area, feel free to visit with us on your next service and we will be happy to accommodate any special requests.

David@Hennessy Porsche.

Feel free to PM me with any questions.

 

I was so frustrated with horrendous Porsche dealership service that I was going to sell my car to avoid having to deal with their incompetence again. Considering the price of the cars, and the cost of the service, I thought the service quality would be good, but I've never been as frustrated on that front with any other brand that I owned.

Basically, they managed to screw up EVERY job they did for me, sometimes in multiple ways. The last time I went there, my thermostat had to be replaced. They managed to damage my paint, and didn't install one of the covers under the car correctly. I then asked for details on the coolant replacement. It turned out that they didn't follow the right procedure, and also used tap water instead of distilled or de-ionized. They told me that all dealers use tap water because they don't want to spend the extra few dollars.

I found a good independent, so I kept the car. However, I'm always concerned that something might happen that would require the dealership to touch my car again. Still thinking about selling the car - too much stress owning a six figure car that can't be serviced properly. Some brands (like Lexus) are able to maintain a certain level of dealership service quality. I don't understand why this doesn't happen with Porsche.

 

If Champion is considered "top notch", then the bar must be pretty low.

 

Every time I take my car in for service they treat me with respect and fix my problems. But that's just my experience. Where do you take your car any better?

 

If your car remains on warranty, you're essentially stuck going to the dealership, whether good or bad.
I had good experiences with the dealer (Napleton) outside Chicago, ten years ago. Now? Who knows.

Once beyond this however, I have experienced capable service from carefully chosen independent shops in Illinois, and subsequently in Arizona.
Independents are going to sink or swim by virtue of client satisfaction.
Dealers? Not so much. There is always a built in demand for certain brands (MB, Porsche, Jaguar) that offsets individual location dissatisfaction. I had great service from an MB dealer back home. And, awful service from another. YMMV.

Think of the business model as the McDonald's at the interstate highway oasis. Do they REALLY care that much about individual customer satisfaction? After all, how much repeat business do they get?
The two examples are different. But not as much as a casual observation might suggest.

 

I go to my independent whenever possible even under warranty. Last time, I had him fix some things that the dealership messed up. Yes, I paid for it out of my pocket even though the car was under warranty. Worth every penny.

I wish that instead of spending $100M on the center in Atlanta, Porsche used the money for things like stocking parts, making sure their dealers offer an acceptable level of service, etc. You know, things that actually improve the ownership experience of their cars.

The cars are wonderful. The service (as I experienced it in the US), simply awful.

 

I can't believe the amount of dissatisfaction with the service department at Porsche dealers. Even though my issue is as simple as an oil change, it has the potential for disaster, a loose filter can cause an engine fire the same way that spilling oil into the engine compartment. A loose drain plug can have a major engine damage over time.

I wonder how many have taken their issues to Porsche NA and what have been the response. I know about Nick Murray whole debacle with his dealership and Porsche having a positive outcome maybe because his social media expose.

I am very reasonable and I give people the benefit of the doubt first before making any judgement. This is why I am giving this dealership a second chance. I am lucky that I live in Miami and I have four dealerships within a 150 mile radius. I can't imagine those who need to get service from one dealership because that's their only choice.

I wish that this experience turns out to be a great experience at the end because hopefully they will put me in touch with a professional mechanic. That's all I am asking. Time will tell and I will find out in the next 3400 miles when I go back to a second oil change at 5000 miles.

If not I will be going back to my original dealership in West Palm Beach where I have a good relationship with the sales manager and I know he will take care of me. You might ask why didn't you go there in the first place and the answer is convenience. I didn't want to have my car put in a flat bed, and be driven 150 miles plus paying $150 more for the same oil change.

i had my share of bad experiences with the dealerships from getting my iPod stolen at a BMW dealership to getting an used front brake pad in order to sell me a brake job at a Honda dealership. I know for a fact that's what they did because I told the SA who try to sell me a brake job at 3500 miles that I only will change pads when the sensor tells me to do it. Because of that, they stuck a used pad in one front wheel in order to activate the sensor. When I when in and I raised the issue they fixed at not charge but never again went to that dealership. This is how things work in Miami. No ethics, no professionalism, let's see how many people we can screw up in a day.

SAs have the pressure to meet their sales quotas therefore they are always trying to sell you what you don't need. The problem arises when someone like me and most of the member on this forums who are car guys and have the knowledge and expect the work done perfectly. You become a potential liability in the eyes of a SA. I am not about to bribe anyone to get work properly done either.

I want to thank all the positive feedback and all the different advice given.

 

Wait a minute. Are you saying you bribe them with money?
Christmas gifts are one thing but actually greasing their palms with cash....now that seems very wrong.

 

Its called a TIP... To Insure Prompt service...... only a few bucks but I'm treated great. If I pull in the tech comes over to talk, do I need anything, etc. Well worth it to me... if it's not your style, no worries... you will be waiting, and pissed when I'm taken care of first.... I kid.... well not really.

 

Somewhat a startling and interesting read.

I collect both Porsches ( 10 ) and Audis ( 6 ) ...... vintage stuff. Not anything new; my first and only new Porsche was purchased 32 years ago from a dealer 200 miles away from my location; not the one in my local city who has always had difficulty retaining good customer relations on a lease , or sales , or service basis.

Funny thing is some of their business comes from 2 states to the east and six states to the southwest on both sales and service. AND, from Canada. All because THEY have problems with THEIR dealers ( huge eyeroll ).

It seems this is a nationwide/global issue which may or may not have anything to do with customer expectation or perception. Does this issue also seem to have any bearing on what latitude Porsche extends to marginal dealerships ? In my mind it seems to ring true, because the dealership I have experienced problems with has been in business since the mid 60's....... and deals in M/B, Porsche, Audi, VW.

The issues I have encountered as well as several Porsche owners I am friends with, encompass soiled or dirty interiors ( oil and grease on light colored seating and carpet areas ) after the service work was performed, scratches, chipped and gouged Forged Alloy wheels, crushed bottoms on cars from improperly aligned pads on the lifts, service writers laying clipboards on the roof of Porsches or writing on painted surfaces with ballpoint pens on their write up sheets, placing computer laptops on the roof of a car with no padding under it, leaving the cars sit outside in unsecured areas, etc.

The final straw for me was the barely tight oil plug on a fairly rare vintage Audi. I could see the oil drips on the parking lot under the engine when I walked up to the car and knelt down and could tighten the plug with my fingers. I promptly went inside and brought both the service advisor AND lead mechanic who did the service out to show them, eliciting embarrassed excuses offered up on long hours and management pushing for productivity. ( second larger eye roll )

Haven't been back since. Never will return. But one friend gave them one last chance with his 930---- and the overfull condition on the oil level promptly filled his muffler with several quarts of oil.

THAT took a while to burn off ........ ( even tho they drilled a couple of small holes ! ! ! in the muffler can and pipes to let it drain ~ )

It is a track oriented, secondary, Porsche independent now for me on all those items which I cannot address myself.

Someone who actually gives more than a single rat $hit

 

After reading these and many other posts I've decided to cancel my order and get a bicycle. I did my own oil changes for decades until Mercedes gave free maintenance for 4 years on my ML2000 and SLK 2001. Made me very lazy.

 

My 5000 miles came and I decided to do the oil change myself. I feel much better knowing that it was done the right way. Torqued the drain plug and filter housing to specs and used Mobil 1 5W50, used the right grease on the filter gasket as per Porsche recommendation. Made sure that no oils spills into the engine compartment when taking the filter out and when filling with oil.

Now my car has reached the year mark and it has only 6400 miles. Soon the service reminder will show up and I will have to reset the computer. Lucky me, the dealer already told me that they won't reset the reminder if no service is performed. I even asked a different SA about this and I have been given the same answer. That's one way of turning customers away. I guess once you tell them that you have done your own oil change they figure that they don't want this type of customer because their work will always be scrutinized. I asked the same SA about what was involved in the 10,000 miles service knowing that it's basically an oil change and visual inspections, I was told that windshield wipers and fuel system cleaning was part of the service. I told him that by Porsche Maintenance literature a Fuels System Cleaning was not requiered. Here is another example of a dealer trying to sell you what you don't need. I have decided to take my business somewhere else and do the basic maintenance myself. I will invest in the Durametric tool and the next time I will visit the dealership will be for the spark plugs change if that. I rather support an independent shop like Parkhause in Miami than the local stealership.

 

Goddamn that sucks dealers can be so negligent. I'm moving to another city and one of the perks is that I don't have to deal with the incompetent dealer where I live. Won't put enough miles on my car to warrant a visit and would prefer they don't even touch my car.

 

So now that they've tried to screw your over twice, perhaps it's time to name them so the rest of us in SoFla know to stay away or at the very least be wary, don't you think?

 

I don't like naming a dealer based on my personal experience. If you live in South Florida you can draw your own conclusions.