Botsy67

I posted few days ago about my frustration with Stevens Creek dealership... Well it got worse when I saw my invoice yesterday. To quickly summarize, after replacing the coolant expansion tank and seat/mirror control module under extended warranty, went home to find out that my ignition switch was broken, cannot pull the key out nor lock the car down. Also noticed that a bolt was missing on the air-pump that the Tech had to removed in order to replace the expansion tank. This already showed how sloppy they are. For this one, I had to go back to them and asked them to make things right. The advisor candily said "that's a coincidence that your ignition switch broke-off while at our dealership", oh please! It was working fine before and someone had to turn that thing ON/OFF many times with force that the springs inside had broken off, right? Let me ask this: How many of you had a ignition switch gone bad w/ normal use? I did not find nothing from the search engine.

Anyway, they replaced the ignition switch under warranty and for the missing bolt, they charged me another $75 to give me back my bolt WTF? They said, that bolt broke off and needed to be fix huh? Have you guys heard about broken attachment bolt from the air-pump? I believe that thing has no stress on it, how can it brake from normal use? This car has less than 29k miles with no track history. This seems unethical and not good business to me. I will not go back there again, that's it. Though I must say that their customer service is good taking good care of giving you rides to and from work or home anytime. It could just be me, my bad luck, had a bad experience with this dealership but I want to share this with all of you to keep you alert of their business practices, anything to make few bucks even for the migthy Porsche delearship. Thanks all for listenning...
Cheers,

Joe2000C4Cab

Hi Botsy,
I've read this a few of your other posts with puzzlement. I used SC for 6 years now and have not had anywhere near the problems you've had. I did buy the car there new (ordered it actually). Their customer service, while they're not falling over me, has always been above average in my experience and the workmanship, again not stellar, but always done well (and I check). Whenever I've had an issue, I brought to the attention of my advisor and it was handled in a prompt fashion.

However, now that my car is out of warranty, I do not use them as much anymore and have found a good indy (I'm also starting to do more of the regular maintenance on my own too). If an indy wrench is not the way to go for you, the next recommendation anyone makes is going to be Carlsen in PA. However, make sure you have $100 bills sticking out of each pocket before you enter that establishment lest they ask you if your Daddy is with you!

Oh, by the way, this thread may help with your ignition problems:
https://rennlist.com/forums/996-forum/218902-ignition-problem-can-some-one-explain-this-to-me.html

Good luck!

cdodkin

Just a suggestion - call the service manager, and ask for the contact name & number for the local area rep for Porsche.

Give them a call, and lay out your issues calmly, stating that the dealership is not performing to the standards you expect from Porsche.

Explain the damage to your vehicle while in their care, and the poor service.

Ask them to call the service manager for a full refund.

Chris.

Botsy67

Thanks Joe for your feedback... This is my first P-car and actually my first visit to SC and truefully I did not expect this at all based on their prestigious image and name. Since I have extended warranty I was excited to bring my car there and expect a good treatment from the service department. Again I think the overall customer service is good, but I was disappointed by their workmanship and lack of honesty. That bolt worth nothing and even if it broke-off as they stated (I don't believe it could), as a courtesy they should replace it for free. Mind you that they already pocket $2000+ from Warrantech and $800 from my pocket, looks like it was not enough... When I told them the Tech forgot one bolt on the air-pump, I though they would be apologetic and would offer a new one to replace it. Anyway, I am not sure yet if I should go the extra mile to try to get back that $75. As you said, if it's not for the warranty, I would not use the dealer. BTW I have a friend who is a master tech for Smythe Mercedes across from SC and he has always done a great job for the past 3 years on my 5-serie.

Thanks Chris again for your help and support. I am thinking about going back and talk to their general manager Mark Wood about this unethical behavior. Not sure if it's worth the time and frustration for a measly $75. It's true that this is more of a principle thing. I may write them a letter instead with some facts attached to it.

Cheers,

Joe2000C4Cab

Botsy,

As Chris said, I'd take up with the GM.

As for the friend who's a master tech at Smythe, ah-ha!, ask him how he liked driving around (or was it fixing?) my e55 for the last three weeks! Three weeks to replace a brake assembly - for a "service campaign", I think they should have had more of the parts available... Or at least not taken my car apart to find out they didn't have the parts available to fix it.

jb26jb

The bolt that broke off is common when doing the coolant tank. It is a 2 dollar part and takes three seconds to install. The back of the nut for the bolt is rubber which usually decays and cracks and thats what needs tobe replaced. It happened when I did mine picked up the new nnut for two bucks from the parts counter and put it in 3 seconds later.

Botsy67

Thanks for your feedback, I hear what you say...it's cheap and easy to replace, right? The 1st Tech at SC removed my air-pump to make room for the coolant expansion tank replacement and if that bolt broke-off, he should have replaced it and charged me for it, no problem right? But no, they gave me back my car without the main attachment bolt, forgot about it??? I can even shake that pump around with my finger. What I think happened, is that a different Tech worked on my car when I complained about the missing bolt the following day, so the 2nd Tech did not know that the pump was previously removed, so the only way it got lost is the kroken-off occurence, which is common as you mentioned right?, and charged me more labor for it, easy money... Things start to make more sense, thanks...

Botsy67

Oops sorry to hear that, Mr. Quang who works at Smythe is really good. He did all the work on my 5-serie from his own garage --> shocks/springs, brakes rotors/pads, water pump, radiator, thermostat, coolant expansion tank, idler pulley, all belts, Crankshaft/Camshaft position sensor, fuel filter, transmission/diff fluid replacement, sway bars and links, window regulators, etc..etc..etc... He can work on any problems, I think heh heh. The good thing about him is that he can diagnose the problem very well with a stethoscope for rattle and weird noises If I have no warranty I would go see him without any hesitation for a job well done and cheaper. But of course, he told me that Porsches are special cars and he won't be able to do everything without the proper tools. At least he is honest about it...

Joe2000C4Cab

Mr. Quang, hmmm. I will remember his name next time my car's in for service!

djantlive

As I previously stated, SC does not offer the best customer service or technical repair. I'd not go there for anything that is straight forward like an oil or tire change.

They should not charge you for the bolt. It should be part of warranty. I'd not let it slide. If you don't complaint, they will keep doing this.

Try Carlsen next time. I've found their service and repair work to be pretty solid.

Botsy67

Thanks Djantlive, I take note on Carlsen but hopefully I can enjoy my car for awhile without any major issues. As for the bolt issue, I will go back and talk to the service advisor (Russel) first and see if he can do anything about it. If not I will escallate higher...

jb26jb

I agree it is unbelievable that the air pump was not reinstalled with correctly with all the bolts. I assume the bolt you are talking about is like on top of the bumper and goes in vertically? If so it is very common for the rubber grommet on the nut to age and crack off requiring a new one. It is total BS for them to charge you for a second repair when the bolt should have been replaced when the coolant tank was done.

Botsy67

YES, that's the missing bolt, you got it right... I immediatly noticed it with the enigne lid open, because you can see a large open hole without that bolt and you can figuratively shake the pump side by side. I will go back there when my service advisor (Russel) is back from his vacation next week. This board is great, I learn so much every day about this amazing car.