I'm curious what people think of Porsche dealer warranty service. In my experience, Lexus is the gold standard. It doesn't matter if you're a harried mom or a big hitter they just always have a nice facility, a clean loaner ready to go and do what they say they will. For me, Benz is just behind that. With both the Lexus and MB I'm always pleased with the experience. If I'm honest about it, with the P car I've always had to beg a favor to get a loaner, the facilities haven't been as nice and it just feels like the customer service is mid-pack. I'd call it better than Chevy but about at the Acura level. Have I always been around smaller dealers or are there some out there that you think play at the Lexus level?

 

Two factors: personalities of the staff, and volume.

Lexus sells a boatload of cars, they can afford 100's of loaners, and the right leadership means the staff gives white-glove treatment.

Porsche sells a fraction of that number, but can still deliver white-glove or near that level of service IF the personalities are right, with proper training, etc.

I've seen a dealer go from first to worst, and back to first, in a matter of a year or two, simply due to some personnel changes.

 

I think maybe it's personality. I've got a Lambo and when I take it in for service it's mind bending it's so good and not any more expensive than the P. They've got no volume and a Gallardo isn't that much more than a 997tt.

I wonder if the smaller P dealers are just caught in the seam where they can't provide good services due to low volume?

To me, the punchline is still the same. The service experience isn't as good in my market.

 

Haha, I had a Lexus RX330 before, the truck was one of the worst I have owned, I cannot adjust the driver seat to a comfortable position no matter how hard I tried, the car is so down on power even with a double kick down it's still standing still, not to mention it makes a cheap sounding growl when doing that, on the serivce side man I had better service in a Ford dealership, staffs have eyes on the top of their heads, they think they are Lexus and even with bad service people will still flog to them just because of the badge.

And don't ask, I didn't buy that car, my wife did and she had gotten so much **** from me you won't believe. I promised myself to NEVER buy a Lexus, ever, even if it looks like a supermodel, 1000hp and can go 100mpg, do the ring in 5 minutes and can make me live 100 years longer.

My local Porsche dealer however is one of the best I have encounter, second only to my Merc dealer. Locally, Merc service is the gold standard, Lexus is not even on the radar.

 

Good on you for the Porsche service. My wife has a rx350 and I more or less agree with your remarks. The service is amazing here though.

The latest P service I've had bothers me. If they were my daily drivers it would be a non-starter.

 

I"m in Albq. NM, city population 800k +/- fairly small city USA. Our Porsche dealer is also MB and Audi, only one in the state. Their new facility is state of the art modern Porsche design all connected together. Their volume isn't that high and I know due to their allocations. With all my p-cars even ones I purchased else where the service has been impeccable. My loaner is always a p-car and I have the techs cell phone # to call with ?'s or status. Very satisfied with this dealer.

 

Lexus is Toyota no matter what.

The cars are bland, the design is always some Daimler copy, their technology is ok but nothing breath taking. The make their money with the entry level offerings which is almost exclusivly based on the Camry with some slight variations, yeah , the RX is a ES which is a Camry. They underpriced everybody when they came out in 89 with the LS 400 which was a quality bargain product at that time with a base of about 35K if I remember correctly while the Germans were at 50k plus and sleeping on their laurels.

Once the Germans adjusted it was game over for Lexus in the high end market. As mentioned above , their volume cars are the entry models. The sales volume of their high end models like the LS is absolute miniscule in comparison to offerings from Daimler or BMW.

So , in a nut shell, their philosophy is geared towards customer retention with good service not better technology or refreshing designs. Their target audience are older people (Cadillac/LIncoln crowd), customers not very much into cars but want luxury at a bargain and buyers who would like to get a German counterpart but cannot afford it.

Toyota is very CSI oriented and takes it to the extreme with the Lexus brand. This level of service also covers up their large share of problems they encountered in the last few years aka it keeps the noise level of the problems down.

Toyota declined several of their dealers in the 80's to become a Lexus franchise because of poor CSI showings and consequently handed those franchise points over to non Toyota dealers with a superior CSI record.

 

That's great to hear. Makes some sense being able to provide better facilities and support with the multi brand dealership. Talking to the techs here can't be imagined. You just always have the feeling they are overwhelmed. Really glad it's working for you in ALBQ. No reason it shouldn't in the Denver market.

 

When I take my BMW in for service, I get a BMW loaner. When I take my MBZ in for service, I get a BMZ loaner. When I take my Porsche in, I get a Mazda loaner. What's up with that.

 

Lexus simply have the best service so far.. no other dealership have this level of service. Period!

 

No dispute on the loaner issue. As a multi-decade Porsche owner, I have found that the best path to service is a card with a check at Christmas to the service manager. My circumstance is a bit different, as the dealership is 60 miles from my home, but my Porsche mechanic is only about 7 miles from me. He picks my car up (I have enough cars so I don't want a loaner), and when he brings it back, I leave something for his time, plus a little more at Christmas.
The just bill my credit card, so the whole thing is painless from a hassle standpoint, and within my pain threshold on cost. So, I give my dealer an A. AS

 

Depends on the dealer...my wife has driven Lexus SUV's for years and the local dealer, which is Lexus Elite, is open like 16 hours a day, requires no appointments and routinely provides Lexus loaners for any type of service. When I take our Mercedes in for service we get a Mercedes loaner without question. My local P-Car Dealer, which is a "Premier" dealer, provides easy appointments and quick service, but uses Enterprise ****boxes for loaners. Which is better? It depends on what's important to you.

 

I only buy a new Porsche every 10 years, and take it to an independent as soon as the warranty is up. Glad my dealer separated from the Audi co-dealership. We also have an '07 Lexus IS 350 and '07 CLK 550. The Lexus service is in another league from P and MB.

 

You've got the deal I want.

 

My Merc dealer have mobile service so basically the tech comes to my house to do oil change and stuff, pretty neat deal, and if I had to go in I get a E or S class loaner, if they ran out of those I just talk to my salesman and he will find me a demo to drive, definitely top notch.

My BMW dealer reserved me a 745/750i as a loaner everytime I go in, definitely no complaints there.

The Lexus scumbags only gives out Toyotas, not even Lexus, definitely a no no.

Porsche don't do loaners, they do rentals, it's doesn't bother me as the only time I went in for service my wife picks me up on her way back from dropping my son to school. The Turbo has been trouble free and I like it that way.