Skytop

I had my car treated for the W301 wire harness recall. After a two week wait for the part, I brought the car in last Monday. I received a call on Tuesday that all was ready. There were no issues and the car runs wonderfully since I also took the opportunity to have all belts, wires and plugs changed at the time. I asked the mechanic to carefully inspect the harness with me. He stated he could find no trouble or defect in the harness.
Of note, Porsche is now using 4 tipped spark plugs instead of the previous 2 tipped model.

My Tucson dealer treated me promptly and professionally. I am a happy camper! Great to deal with authorized Porsche service. <img border="0" alt="[king]" title="" src="graemlins/r.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[bigbye]" title="" src="graemlins/xyxwave.gif" />

chris walrod

congrats!!!! why is it we all (myself included)have to hold our breath when we take our cars to the dealer for stuff like warranty work? The dealer is supposed to be the safest place to take our cars because 'factory trained' technicians will work on them.

I take mine in Sunday night for this recall. I am kinda scared to be honest. I dont want to get phone calls from them during the replacement saying 'we found this bad and that worn' etc.

I will be glad when this is behind me.

Have a great weekend everyone!

hn

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by chris walrod:
<strong>congrats!!!! why is it we all (myself included)have to hold our breath when we take our cars to the dealer for stuff like warranty work? The dealer is supposed to be the safest place to take our cars because 'factory trained' technicians will work on them.

</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">I'll tell you why. If you remember I posted about taking my car to McKena in Norwalk for the recall. The next day, I posted reporting everything was fine and I was all happy. I didn't look at my car, being a garage queen, until a couple of weeks later and found all kind of tiny scratches aroung the engine bay, on the same side where the harness located. Of course, I couldn't call back after 2-3 weeks to complaint something like this. I guess I am not too picky about cosmetic stuff, beside I had no real proof :-) . That was the first time I took my car to a dealer and didn't have a reason not to trust them until now.

STLPCA

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by chris walrod:
<strong>why is it we all (myself included)have to hold our breath when we take our cars to the dealer for stuff like warranty work?</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Stepping on <img border="0" alt="[soapbox]" title="" src="graemlins/soapbox.gif" />

I'm sure there are bad dealers, just as there are bad ______(fill in the blank w/any type of service/product provider). However, these Porsche dealer generalizations (IMO) unfairly castigate the very many excellent Porsche dealers, of which mine is one. There are usually at least 3 versions of every dealer complaint: the customer's, the dealer's & what an unbiased observer would report. Owning/running a car dealership is a tough business with substantial investment & risk. Those that do it well shouldn't be subjected to cheap shots.

Stepping off <img border="0" alt="[soapbox]" title="" src="graemlins/soapbox.gif" />

[Phil, can I get a better deal on that Volvo now?]

workitjr

Fair enough Dan, I tend to agree with you. I just had my service experience with a dealer, and it wasn't horrible, but it didn't meet my expectations.
In comparison to the Independent, there simply is no comparison to me. It's the little things. Scheduled my appointment for the harness well in advance, advised I needed a shuttle back to the office (2 miles) for a meeting at 8:30. I was there at 7:50, shuttle didn't arrive till 8:35. Very nice. I should have just had someone pick me up. I get over that, ordered the console tray from them, it arrives two days later, I am coming across town in traffic, parts shop closes at 5:00, stay on hold for 10 minutes to advise I will be there before 5:00, say screw it, and pull up at 4:50. Get there, see rude parts guy (different story) cruising down the sidewalk as I come in. Go in, parts are closed, Service Mgr says no one has the keys, he calls another Parts Mgr around the corner who comes over and gets me my part 15 minutes later. Point is (you knew I would get there), hours are 8:00-5:00, I told them I was coming, get put on hold, get to wait again, and parts guy leaves at 4:50 ish. Service Mgr says ' yeah, we have had that complaint before'. This is an authorized PORSCHE dealer. My expectations are a little higher, and just because most of dealers are great, doesn't excuse sub-par service from another one.

As a comparo, the next day, I take the car to be aligned at my Independent(oh yeah, factory dealer couldn't switch out a tire because they moved the tire machine and the electrician hadn't been out yet to wire it?). Night and day. Drive in at 1:30, out by 3:30, changed out a tire, aligned the car, road tested, perfectly dialed. Very nice. This same independent just did a 30k service on the car last week and came up with two detail items the PPI missed prior to purchase. Awesome.

It's all good, and ultimately, you go where you get served. Certainly, the Porsche Dealer will get another chance at some point to earn my business......only if there is another factory authorized recall!

chris walrod

Dan I do understand what you are saying. Its not fair to the good dealers out there, whatever brand car they sell and service.

Those were just my feelings based on experiences I have had in the past (other brand dealers).

And it goes for any service that you pay for nowadays, not just cars. It seems when someone is explaining a service or product that they are selling you, all is good or will be made good if problems or difficulties surface. Then, later you have a problem and the service and commitment went out the window and all you hear is 'who told you we would do that for you'?

This past Oct., my wife and I leased a new Volvo. I will say that this dealer was great. No games and everything as promised etc. This is the first dealer that I have bought a car from and would definately return to purchase again.

Sorry to ramble on, but I have customers of my own that I owe service and commitment to. I pour all I have into making them happy, to the extent of my authority that is. Maybe I expect too much as a consumer?

STLPCA

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by chris walrod:
<strong>Maybe I expect too much as a consumer?</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">No, I think maybe we consumers (& I will generalize) are all too willing to endure abusive or sub-standard behavior and instead of lodging our complaints where they belong, w/management, when our expectation aren't met, we whine to friends or on bulletin boards.

I've found that in most cases intelligent, polite, well written or articulated complaints directed to a business' owner & management are treated seriously & often result in changes. In the case of P & most other car dealers, customer satisfaction is very carefully solicited, analyzed, & tracked by outside service companies. Good CS numbers affect the dealerships' bottom line & are important.

chris walrod

Dan, that is something I learned from my father very early in life. Treat people how you would like to be treated. I am a believer in being calm,professional and calculated when addressing problems. I think it goes a long way. Especially when you can get up the ladder to someone who can make decisions.

I have 'gone up the ladder' when I was impressed with a service or whatever. I think outstanding service is worth letter writing as well. Its funny when you ask to see the manager, they always think its a bad thing, and a defensive stance is immediately taken. What a shock to them when they find that I am complimenting them for their actions.

It is unfortunate that you never hear from a happy customer, only the mad ones.