Finally fulfilled my childhood dream and took delivery of my new Carrera White 997 C4S. Too good to be true. It turns out it was too good to be true.

The car had sustained minor damage during transport: a cracked splash guard and rubbed lower side panel; scratched wheel; cracked vertical fin on wing; and scraped rocker panel (interior). The wing and interior rocker panel/cover looked like factory defect.

My mistake was to accept the car. The dealer promised to make everything 100% correct, since there was no body or underbody damage. True, the pieces were minor in nature and easy to replace, so I took delivery.
A couple of months later, and many trips to dealer, the splash guard and lower side panel, interior piece, and wheel were are replaced to 100% of my satisfaction. The wing, which was replaced, and came in factory finished, but with a slight different hue. Cleary visible in sunlight, which renders the wing with a bit of tan undertone compared with the rest of the car.

Have yet another appointment Monday for the Service Department manager to take a look. At this point I am ready to call Porsche and make my case heard. I have 300 miles on the car, 275 of which are to/from dealer.

The car at this point means nothing to me and I am ready to move on and make my experience with Porsche something to be forgotten.
Regards,
“Disappointed”

 

That really suck. But I agree that once you took delivery you gave up all your leverage. I'd call Porsche NA and see how they would like to remedy the problem. Good luck

 

Sorry to hear that. Where are you located? Are you in the US, and if yes which State?

Usually Porsche dealers will go through a detailed inspection before releasing brand new cars to the customers. I am surprised that the dealer would hand you the keys with all these damages. It is because PCNA will usually follow up with the new car owner with a survey; these damages will sure give the dealer a poor survey result, and that is one of the last things a dealer hopes.

Regards,

 

Yeah, I am just about ready to give PCNA a call. I want to wait until Monday, after I meet the maintenance manager first. I'd really hate to give these guys a poor mark on their record, but they are giving me little choice to do otherwise. I really feel like I have a used car, but for the stinking price of a new. I guarantee that I could have bought any 911 from any of you guys in this forum and would have less wear and tear than mine with 11 miles on the clock.

 

How can a part come from the factory, after being ordered by code and VIN#, be so different in color? I understand that the new wing comes from a different batch of paint, painted at a different time than the original, but the difference is immense. It’s like Carrera White vs. Pearl White or something.

 

where are you located? doesn't sound right at all

 

North Jersey.

 

The mistake you made was accepting the vehicle from the truckline. I get this call all the time from my distributors who say they received some of my product damaged. On a vehicle I would have refused delivery and let it go back to the dealer. This way they are responsible for supplying you a vehicle that once you sign for you are accepting it as ordered.

 

Very sad story. If it were me, I would never have accepted a new car in that condition. But that's water under the bridge at this point.

On the wing paint color, the wing is made of different material compared to the fenders, doors, roof etc. It will be difficult for a factory pre-painted replacement to match exactly. Your best bet maybe to have them use a local paint shop to respray the wing to be an exact color match.

 

Call the dealer sales manager.
Use the phrase "lemon law" at least 10 times and at least once every other sentence.
Things should get fixed quickly as the dealer will have to eat a $20k depreciation if it triggers.

 

You need to relax and drive the car. Really drive the car. Porsche is not necessarily about "perfection" in the sense that you seem to be aiming for. If you are not a "driver looking for a drivers car" (my emphasis) you will not get it. As for the aesthetic problem I agree with the above poster: take the car to a good shop, have them match the paint, and give P the bill. You give up much to easily imo. What will you do about the inevitable chips, scratches and such that come with use? Congratulations on your new car. Get on with it.

 

I would not take this advice - personally. Make the dealer and PCNA make it right. You paid for a brand new car that should be perfect - i would accept nothing less. Pity you accepted it. But now that you have, they must make it perfect (and they said they would). When you are paying $100K for a dream, it should fulfill that dream and make you like a little kid. Your tone is exactly the opposite. If they arent prepared to make it perfect, have them take it back (lemon law) and get another one that is perfect.

I bought 3 used ones before i bought my latest one new. It was an awesome experience and i still love the car 18 months on.

I agree you'll get a chip here and there. I drive my car in almost any condition and it no longer is perfect (Its in great shape, like about a 9.5). But you want it to be perfect when you get it. Plus, you may be more **** than me or this poster and may want to spend hours washing, waxing, detailing etc. to keep it perfect. If thats the case, this car will never meet your needs as is.

 

Colors can vary a bit by the way the clear coat is put on. That may account for the difference. It's a problem for non-metallic solid light colors. BTW, your color is CARRARA white, not Carrera White. It's named after the color of marble that comes out of Carrara, Italy.

 

Guys, lemon law only applies the mechanical failures that disable the vehicle on multiple occasions. There is no lemon law for cosmetic problems. Your option to receive a new undamaged car was only at the time of delivery. You could have refused delivery. But since you accepted delivery of the car, the only option is to repair the damage, which apparently you agreed to. So, for a wing with a paint color that doesn't match, the dealer should be arranging for a qualified body shop to do a perfect color match repaint. It can be done easily by the right shop. And you will never be able to detect that it was repainted. That is really the only option at this point. You're not going to get a new car out of this situation. That opportunity is long gone. Sorry but this is reality.

 

I don't think you are asking for a new and different car out of this, are you? You took delivery of a new car. It should have been perfect, or the dealer that you bought the NEW car from will make it right in every way. I am so sorry that you have gotten off to such a bad start in this...these cars should be exactly your dream, as they are with almost all of the Porsche owners. Don't compromise on it, this Mfgr. and it's Dealers are going to be there for you...ya may have to drive a ways to the next one though.