droptop

the "Porsche Representative" said "you know, i could fix that car so you would love it". my question is, where the &*(@ were you when i cared about getting it fixed (ie, before getting hung up on by their badly misnamed "customer service" representative)? at least two of my problems with porsche are that they will force their dealers to put in a new storefront to match the "porsche image" and yet will not make them train and retain a decent mechanic. they are the "ultimate".... in the triumph of marketing over engineering and service.

when i pay more than i did for my first two houses, and more than i did for my airplane for a car, i expect to get a call from corporate when i take it in the second time for the same problem (they HAVE heard of computers in atlanta, right?), asking if the problem has been resolved, or if they need to dispatch a upper level tech to assure that it is fixed the next time. that simple monitoring of tickets would have headed off my problem, nipped it in the bud.

instead, they argue, make deals they don't keep and delay for months, and then finally capitulate, but even then they don't go for the proper buyback (thank god i didn't cancel the hearing).

yeah, i should have been born into the perfect universe.. i understand it is two quantum jumps in the charm+ direction. it's where porsche's are willed from father to son (because they last a million miles), where all the women are pretty and all the men are handsome...and there are never any speed limits because wrecks just don't happen.

ltc

Wait, say that again, I'm pretty sure I've heard this before....give me a minute.

Wait, I'm pretty sure Larry should be credited for saying that first.
Obviously you haven't read any of Dr W's books or memos.

That would be an air cooled Porsche.

bancu

PCNA does keep track of stuff like this. Their system goes beyond what you mentioned. They just don't to use it for the same thing you and I would.

When you go in for service the advisor should call and key in your VIN to see if there are any mandatory actions for your vehicle. If the there are any recurring issues, the first thing the automated system announces is something like 'WARNING...there maybe a customer satisfaction issue with this vehicle. It has been in more than X times for an issue in the same category.'

I've figured for years that the system was in place to try and dodge lemon laws. They give the service advisor the heads up and that lets them reword your issues so they don't match what's already on record.

Porsche/PCNA, like many companies today, wants to make easy money. Their continued actions convey a clear desire not to deal with 'troublesome' customers issues.

In the end Porsche seems to apply a perverted version of the 80/20 rule to 'problem' vehicles/customers. They look at things as: 'if 80% of our paying customers are happy with what we're selling, satisfying the other 20% isn't worth the effort. They'll just give up complaining or go somewhere else.' Why else would PCNA not only not contact you to address recurring issues but require that you submit your concerns in writing (no fax or e-mail for these guys)?

ltc

Hmmn, I wonder what it has to say about Larry's Cayenne......

bancu

I'll bet 'she' screamed the warning about Larry's Cayenne.

I don't think the service advisor that keyed mine in (with his speaker phone on) in front of me will ever do it again. I just chuckled and said that at least I knew that PCNA had gotten my message (via conversations or NHTSA filings) about the unsafe throttle response.

Of course that was two transmission control modules and two or three DME updates back. You know they're all better until you have to drive in traffic around town for a while. I'm waiting to see if these latest update will address the issue for the long term.

droptop

odd, my company's bank had the same outlook.

excuse me, i misspoke. my company's FORMER bank had this outlook. of course, they never noticed we left either.

well, i unsold about 30 audi's in the last 13 years. we will see what my record is on porsches. as my mechanic, my aircraft mechanic, a couple of netjets crews and assorted other folks know about it already... i would imagine the count is already up over 10.

read an article a number of years ago, specifically about cars. said a satisfied customer would sell you 3 vehicles, a dissatisfied customer would unsell you 8-10. of course, this was before the internet, and before i got cayenne-s.com.

bancu

I agree on satisfied vs. dissatisfied customer impact. It's also much easier to keep a customer then to earn a new one.

That's what blows me way about Porsche's approach. 'We' go way back. I watched rocket launches from a 356 and have had early '911's in the family so they've been in my blood for a long time.

With the Cayenne and upcoming offerings, at the time, my plan was to move to a c4s followed by a v1.5 Cayenne and Panorama (passing the old vehicles on to the family). I told my sales guy and PCNA quite a while back that wasn't going to happen. Not because of issues with the Cayenne (Porsche could address them if they wanted) or a dislike for it (it is an incredible vehicle when I can push it or take it off road) but PCNA's/Porsche's anti customer oriented attitude.

Someone here summed up my feelings when they wrote that what really amazed them is that Porsche kept on 'fixing' things that didn't bother him but wouldn't address the things he brought the Cayenne in for repeatedly. It doesn't make sense to me either but I'll keep driving and keep on filling people in when they as me.

Rider1

I couldn't agree with you more! The "anti customer attitude" is the main reason I sold my last CTT. I bought the ML63 from Mercedes. The customer service at MBZ is excellent...for the two times I've brought it in for service anyway.

Thanks for your post "bancu" !

Dave

yetis

This is only going to become worse for Porsche due to the internet. On the 997 GT3 forum, they have determined that 1/3 of all RS buyers are on Rennlist. While I suspect that barely 1% of Cayenne owners are on Rennlist, the numbers will grow.
Yesterday, while getting the car washed, someone came up and asked if the CTT was as cool to drive as it was to look at.... I had to laugh, and gave him the answer that there is always something wrong, typically minor, but always something wrong. If its not the horn or a directional, its something else. So far, I have been lucky, I just hope when the car has something major, Porsche/dealer steps up... Based on this thread and others, I am not so hopeful.
Unfortunately, my experience with MB was worse.

sigs

Rider1,

It's good that you are happy with your MB dealer after 2 initial service visits, but let's be specific, so as not to mislead any of the assorted newbies on the board who are looking to buy a vehicle. What you seem to be describing so far is the difference between your two dealers' service. Local service and company attitude are thoroughly entertwined, but still separate. For most owners who don't have an experience as bad as Droptop's, it is the local service that determines much of their joy/frustration of ownership, up to the point where the local dealer is hamstrung by the company policies.

In my experience with both, and from following both the MB and P forums, I'd give a slight edge to both P and my P dealer (vs. MB) in terms of company and local service, but only slight, and only because my (and many of my friends') experience with MB (at least in the past decade) has ranged from fair to lousy.

Then again, this thread has had me trying to think of all the different companies/dealers I've dealt with over the years to come up with one that really offered good overall customer service. Of the "mainline" companies, Ford was the worst, Toyota and Volvo were the best. Of the "luxury market," only Lexus truly shined for me (and we wonder why Toyota is overtaking GM?). So I guess I'm not too surprised that my Cayenne experience has been less than stellar, as far as service. Already knowing about P, I tried hard to make myself want an SUV other than the Cayenne, but couldn't.

My advice to you: 1) enjoy your ML63, it sounds like a great vehicle for your wants/needs; 2) visit us on the P forums, but watch those ML forums liike a hawk.

bancu

As soon as Porsche realizes that Cayenne-S.com is out there, I'll be amazed if they don't come after you. They've had their lawyers write 'you're tarnishing our trademark' letters to folks over similar domain names.

Given that domains like mercedes-benz-usa.com have been out there for quite a while it's clearly a game of staring them down but...unless you're really up for a fight...

MadFox

Be happy.. let it go.. chalk it up.. get over it.. see a therapist.. whatever, schitzu.. life is too short to keep this schitzu up.. you're wearing it out.. I am/was in your corner regarding your overall situation.. but now MOVE ON, dude.. but having "unselling" pride is YOUR opinion that it "unsells" lots of folks.. when someone goes over the top on how bad something is.. I tend to ignore them and think it was more THEM than the product/service. As a former owner of a service company, I can assure you that there are customers who are NEVER happy. We smiled and thanked them for their business and then PRAYED they never came back.

droptop

well, them actually taking it would be a good first step for moving on.....

MadFox

If Larry's was "taken" by the PAG extra-terrestials.. certainly, your's can be too!

ltc

I would just like to testify for the record that I have no knowledge as to what happened to Larry's Cayenne.
I have never owned a Cayenne, so I don't know how these things work