DesmoSD

Wow, this is another unfortunate Porsche purchase sight unseen. Situations like these are what makes me want to get everything done before signing any paperwork, especially when buying a Porsche. From what I've read here, a CPO is a benefit but don't depend on it. How come you didn't fly there to see it in person and get a 3rd party PPI?

Was it the GT3 at Porsche Warrington or Porsche of The Main Line?

TurboPan

Whenever possible I go to the car and have a PPI done... but there's also times that I've bought cars without physically being there, you just have to set your expectations accordingly and do your due diligence. In this case I had been looking for a particular car with specific options, and this time one popped up ten days before I was supposed to go out of the country for a few of weeks. Seeing how certain cars can get snatched up quickly, I called the dealership before they had even posted the photos on the Porsche CPO website. I got the CPO inspection report from the salesperson as well as all the photos and details, and when asked about the condition of the brakes, I was assured that everything was totally fine and that I wouldn't have to worry about anything for a long time. Of course, the rest of the story has been well documented in the previous pages of this thread. Needless to say that I gave this dealership every opportunity possible to do the right thing, from the salesman, to the Pre-Owned Manager, to the Sales Manager, all the way to the General Manager, and each one failed spectacularly.

I have been spoiled these past few years though... I've been driving mostly Mercedes, and have seen so many good examples of customer service from the local dealerships, how they CPO their own vehicles, as well as how Mercedes of North America takes care of their customers. I have never seen a case where the customer was misled, ignored, and treated as poorly as the Porsche dealership that I bought my car from.

The first mistake I made was that I assumed that buying a "Certified" Porsche from a Porsche dealer was a safe way to buy a car. Heck, it even says so on the Porsche Website: "The best way to acquire a pre-owned Porsche — not to mention peace of mind — is to make it a Porsche Approved Certified Pre-owned Vehicle."

The second mistake that I made was assuming that Porsche of North America would stand behind the customer when presented with all the issues that my local Porsche Dealership found in the car I purchased. The car that supposedly had passed the "rigorous 111 point inspection", was clearly not delivered as promised, and the selling dealership refused to do the right thing and cover the repairs. As a lifelong fan of the brand, this is incredibly disheartening.

Ultimately dealership experiences will vary, but that in itself wouldn't turn me off from the brand. However, the fact that Porsche of North America did nothing to help resolve this situation, is something that would make me reconsider ever buying another car from them again.

SRQ-Porsche

TurboPan - Sorry to hear about the PIA you have been through. And I hope things ultimately workout for you. I'm glad that you posted this as I buy allot of my cars over the phone without having personally physically inspected the car prior to reaching agreement. I've been lucky in that the "surprises" I've experienced have been fairly minor expenses and minimal delay's. Your story has made me start to think because I, like you, would make certain assumptions when looking to purchase a CPO vehicle from a franchised Porsche dealer. Your experience showcases that those assumptions are not well founded and could easily be wrong. I'm fortunate in that I live very close to Suncoast Porsche and have purchased vehicles from them - a stand-up, very reputable Porsche dealer.

Thank you for sharing your experience and putting a spot light on a less than reputable dealer. With the power and reach of these forums, a dealer’s reputation travels far and wide these days.....

Best -
Scott

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TurboPan

Thanks SRQ-Porsche, with any luck the issues will be resolved in the next couple of months. Hard to believe I got this car in September, and it's been sitting in my garage since October. I have two good dealerships here in my area, but unfortunately their inventory selection isn't as good as some of the other dealerships, which is why I ended up buying from that less than reputable dealership in Pennsylvania. At this time I don't have much to update... the legal paperwork was filed with the sheriff's office, so once they serve the dealership they will have 20 days in which to respond. Let's hope they finally decide to do the right thing this time!

drew01182

TurboPan,
I'm also shopping for my first Porsche and live in Pennsylvania. Can you PM me the name of the dealership you dealt with so I can avoid them? Much appreciated.

F1CrazyDriver

I'm not surprised with PNA action. I have purchased 3 Porsche cars, i have needed them to help me in two instances in my 12 year affair with Porches. They told me very politely, please call your dealer and talk to them again. Sadly, i'm looking at a 4th Porsche. Maybe i shouldn't do that mistake for a 4th time.

TurboPan

I can tell you that in the two decades of driving Mercedes and BMW, the treatment of it's customers by Porsche of NA is extremely disappointing, (and quite frankly, surprising in how aloof they are) and certainly nothing like what I've experienced with the other German brands. These are supposed to be luxury cars (read: not inexpensive), with a high standard for both quality and dealership service. Porsche cars are what many would consider 'aspirational items' meaning that you get one for yourself as a reward for a lifetime of hard work and/or to treat yourself. Does any of this treatment by the dealership or Porsche of North America sound like what you would expect from a premium brand? My original intent was to drive this CPO Porsche for a couple of years and then trade it in on a European Delivery car, but this whole situation has made me reevaluate my decision. When the time comes to trade this car in (or sell it), I will most likely be going back to one of the other German brands. Very sad that this is how Porsche NA treats its customers.

TurboPan

Finally have an update to share... on January 26th the dealership was served by the sheriff, so they now have 20 days from the date of service to respond. That makes the deadline a week from today, so we'll see what happens.

Top Jimmy

Good luck TurboPan. Total BS what you are going through.

-TJ

Randy V

Good to hear it all worked out!

TurboPan

Nothing has worked out yet, this is just the next step in getting them to (finally) do the right thing for the customer. They could potentially drag this on for many more months, but I'm hoping they will settle before the deadline. If this goes to court and they lose, then it becomes public record, which I'm sure they want to avoid. Stay tuned!

dl_amg

Thanks for sharing and sorry for what you need to go thru.
Me 2 had just join the P community with 1st C2 just 2 week ago and already calling PCNA few days after delivery.
Reason of call was to check why my 2015 CPO come with NON-N rated tires and need PCNA to confirm they are okay with Non-N tire under CPO but Porsche Warranty claim N tires is needed for the car. I'm still patiently waiting. Its just weird PCNA should just say Non-N tires are fine but that will ruin its marketing of N-rated tire for sure.
I'm also a MB guy, as u can see my username, and my MB C63 CPO experience was better (at least is over now), after one year of ownership and 1.5 month driving loaner for dealer to fix odor issue, MB bought the car back in full minus the time between purchase day thru 1 visit to dealer for the issue (just 15 days from purchase), which is nice but still have to visit dealer more than 4 times. ( I did have to go 3 diff. dealers and finally one recognized my concern and trying to fix with no result).

It is a long battle and sorry you can't enjoy the car. Keep us post and I will prompt back if I heard anything for my tires issue.

BigRed911

TurboPan

Yes, it would appear that no matter the make, it's up to your local dealer on whether or not they will do things correctly. I've seen examples of good service from all the luxury German brands in my hometown, in particular the Porsche dealer here went above and beyond the call of duty in dealing with the PA dealership that sold me the car with all the problems. It's sad that there is no oversight from Porsche NA, since the PA dealership is essentially cheating the Porsche CPO system.
I am still on the fence as to what I will do with this car once all the legal matters settle out. Obviously it needs the pads/rotors fixed, as well as the nav update and recall stuff on the engine that I just got notification of... in the meantime it's just taking up space in the garage.

dl_amg

Just FYI. PNCA just replied me with this
"per Porsche CPO eligibility requirements regarding tires, a vehicle passes CPO inspection (and will not void out your warranty) whether it has N-Rated (OEM) or Non-N-Rated (NON-OEM) tires provided that all four tires have more than 50% of the original tread remaining."

PNCA has ignored me when I question them this:
https://www.porsche.com/usa/accessor...tion/warranty/
See page 13:
" Your tires have been designed specifically for your Porsche vehicle. They are identified by an N-specification (N-0, N-1, etc.) on the sidewall indicating that the tires have been tested and approved for release by the Porsche engineering department"
See page 15:
"If your Porsche has aftermarket tires and/or wheels installed or has had the suspension modified, Porsche Roadside Assistance will assist in setting up transport of your vehicle, but this expense will not be covered under the Porsche Roadside Assistance program."

It looks like it's time to complaint to BBB and also put comments on people should ignore using N-spec tires since PNCA doesn't care.