In the last week or so I have become aware from several independent sources of a scheme where certain Porsche dealers are defrauding new car customers. Here is how the scheme works:

An unsuspecting customer buys a new car from the dealer. The dealer, unbeknownst to the customer, has reported the car "sold" at an earlier date to PCNA to inflate sales figures and has "punched" the warrantee. So the 4 year/50K mile warrantee starts running once the warrantee is punched. There is no disclosure from the dealer as to this practice and nothing is written on the customer invoice to advise the customer as to the practice.

If the customer doesn't catch the fraud, they are left with a reduced warrantee period. Interestingly, the EPA Emissions Warranty also starts with the "punch" and I'm not sure if the EPA would get the joke.

So the new Porsche owner learns he will not be receiving a 4 year warranty when he brings the car to a dealer for routine maintenance (or a catastrophic failure) and the dealer’s service invoice reflects the actual "Warranty Expiration Date." I'm sure many owners never even notice, till something breaks like a rear main seal or an intermediate shaft bearing. Then the customer is left holding the bag.

I believe that this fraudulent practice would be of interest to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). I encourage the Rennlist readers who have purchased new cars to determine if they have a warrantee that extends 4 years from their actual purchase date. If not, you are a victim. Perhaps a class action lawsuit would be appropriate.

 

I've seen this before - but the dealer was very clear and upfront about the warranty date and when the clock started ticking. They didn't try to hide it. I was considering a Cayenne S at the time.

The thing you need to worry about is buying used. I looked at a 2008 C4S at a CarMax. They were assuming the warranty started with the first owner. I knew Porsche was doing this called Porsche to check the warranty status - sure enough - the car had 6 months less warranty then CarMax thought.

 

fraudulence at any level just pisses me off.....they will get what they deserve.....one way or another.....you just have to believe in it....

 

Punching a car to meet allocation targets is standard practice for all brands and dealers. Honest ones will disclose it and provide a discount or some form of compensation up to an extended warranty.

 

The warranty in service date is in the PCNA database so you can always have the dealer verify the date specific to your VIN and not be surprised (or misled).

 

You have a signed sales agreement listing the date of the sale. I don't get how the warranty would be affected by whatever the dealer entered after-the-fact into their internal or Porsche sales records?

Your state also has the records of when the sales taxes were collected and when the car was intially registered by the initial owner.

 

That happened to me once. I purchased a Cayman S out of state and discovered the issue a day later. My local dealer, Porsche of the Village, helped get the issue resolved. I've purchased two new cars from POV since they helped me. I wouldn't purchase anything from the other dealer.

 

KARMA "What goes around comes around" I totally believe in it

 

Even with cars from Porsche these types of shenanigans going on? Wow, talk about grimy car salesmen/saleswomen... My father is about to buy a new car, I will let him know and if it turns out that this has happened to the car that he is about to buy, we will notify our county's Department of Consumer Protection.

 

That practice should be against the law. Unacceptable.

 

Bob above says its common. But I have purchased many vehicles from many dealers and only my Porsche has had a different warranty date than the purchase date. In my case there is less than ten days so hopefully it won't be an issue.

 

When I bought mine and had it shipped out from New Hampshire they sent me the VIN decoder which shows all options including New Vehicle Warranty Date From and To. No matter who you buy your car from you must look at all paperwork!

 

How does the VIN include the date the car was put into service? It may have the manufacture date but that says nothing about the in-service date.

 

VIN Decoder

Your Porsche VIN Decoder Form Has Been Submitted
from to
New vehicle warranty 04.Jan.2010 04.Jan.2014
Corrosion warranty 04.Jan.2014 05.Jan.2020
Emission warranty 04.Jan.2014 04.Jan.2017

 

Regardless it has to be in violation of the dealerships agreement with the manufacturer as it potentially takes allocated cars out of the hands of legitmate dealers who have earned their volume and do not need to cheat the system.

I would report this behavior to the manufacturer.