Doesn't matter what you spend - Boxster Disaster??

[Storm 0]

Okay here's my story.

 

Late 2001 I spoke to a UK dealer and was told by the salesman that a new model was not due until at least late 2003 so I ordered a car. Anyway a new model turned up for autumn 2002 and I knew that this was going to cost me in the future. The car was delivered on the 1st of March 2002 and the salesman chopped a further 2k off of my Boxster 2.5px. I was so excited I didn't care, the leasing still worked out to my budget.

 

On delivery the salesman said rag it from day one. I thought no way and proceeded to run the car in properly. At 900 miles the engine fell apart and dumped the oil on the side of the road. Porsche GB gave me a new car.

 

New car arrives and life is unbelievably good for the first few thousand miles, then the clutch starts to go funny. I have an intermittent problem with the clutch pedal. Sometimes its beautifully smooth, other times it feels as if theirs bubbles in the hydraulic fluid, I cannot be bothered to go back to dealer and put up with a car that is difficult to drive smoothly and only do 1-2k miles over 6 months. I fell in love with my recently acquired Corrado VR6 (rediscovered classic long story etc). Tried to book the car in at Reading what a disaster, no one ever available no ring backs etc. They kept telling me there was nothing wrong with it.

 

Eventually I got Porsche GB involved but I had to pay for a clutch, but not labour. They said the clutch had been abused. I said that it was difficult to swallow a new clutch being needed at 10K miles. Especially considering I am a travelling salesman and have probably done in excess of 500k miles without ever needing a new clutch. I also asked them to look at the tyres to show no abuse but that was ignored. Before the car went into Reading to have the clutch changed I span the wheels in the wet. This must have jerked something because the car drove okay for a day or so. I deliberately did this a couple of weeks ago and it had the same effect, almost as if the jerk had moved something in the engine bay that cured the problem. I did explain this but to no avail.

 

I have now done another 2-4k miles and the car is driving the same. I rang Dick Lovett in Swindon. The service advisor was extremely helpful and mentioned that if you hurry the change on an S, because of the DM flywheel it gets a little awkward. He said that they had introduced this to make the car easier to get off of the line, but meant that when changing gear you had to take it easy. I was buying into this, trying to be careful, having thought about it, the Boxster is a sports car and he must be wrong. Again I feel that I’m being told their nothing wrong with it.

 

My confidence in all things Official Porsche is at its lowest point, I am so unhappy with the way the car is driving that I had the car put onto a ramp at JZ Machtech an Independant for some advice. They told me that the rear engine main seal had failed and that the clutch can be looked at this point. I drive to Porsche Centre Hatfield (want nothing to do with AFN again) they booked it in with a 2 week delay for a loan car, they didn’t even look at it. I later find out that this is such a common fault that it is alleged that if the engine has this failure twice in a row Porsche will bite the bullet and put a remanufactured engine in the car. I tell Porsche Centre Hatfield about the clutch and they promise to look at it, as the gearbox has to come out for the RMS.

 

Whilst waiting for the car to go in at Porsche Centre Hatfield, I have a little bump. I thought to myself I’d send it to Dick Lovett Spraymaster in Swindon, a Porsche approved body-shop, as all I had ever heard about them was good, when I rang them I asked if the Lovett family still ran the business and they said they did; this gave me confidence. When I get the car back I notice that the rear wing has been damaged at the top as if something had been dropped on it, you could clearly see it in the nearside rear view mirror. I phone Lovetts and speak to Richard who effectively says I dont think we did it but we’ll have to repair it because we have a reputation. Makes me feel great. I have the car for a couple of hours, before going off for the work at Porsche Centre Hatfield. When I get it back it seems to drive okay. 3 days in a Saab, horrid, horrid car. A few days later the car goes off to again for 3 days to have the rear wing fixed. When I get it back 04/06/2004 I really start to lose it.

 

A) I notice a the near-side door has had Mr Dent type repair on it, the Pratt who repaired it cracked the paint and their are light wet & dry marks on the door. The question is who did the repair?

B) The radio code has not been entered. I am not told this, but I’m only the customer.

C) The clutch issue is back. Its also a sunny day and the roof is open. So no stereo and roof down means that I can hear a feint nasty noise like and old rusty spring hinge when pressing the clutch. I find myself pressing it over and over again and feel vindicated, as I will be able to demonstrate this to a dealer, who hopefully will be able to isolate the offending part and hopefully we should be over this. So instead of being told that there is nothing wrong with my car, I can prove their is. I feel like going out to the car to press it again!

 

Effectively I have not been happy with the car for over 16months. As it is coming out of warranty, I think I am going to moan. I am going to write to the board members at Porsche in Germany. Watchdog, Top Gear, What Car and anybody else who will listen.

 

Ultimately if Porsche loses the aura and mystique, they will have serious problems.

 

Any advice would be gratefully recieved, apart from this firmly believe that car is awesome and I love it, thats why I will persevere with the Marque.

[VR6 0]

That sounds like a total horror story mate!

 

Would you lost out if you just said 'stick it' and got rid of the car?

[Storm 0]

I lose 5K If I say goodbye. That is the deposit, I origianlly put in. It needs £500 for a service in 7 weeks + £420 for boots.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I think you've got an isolated case there. My friend has owned new 2.5s, an S and a 911 and never had clutch issues with any of them.

 

Porsche GB normally have superb customer service so get onto them ASAP and keep pressing them until you get a satisfactory outcome.

[Storm 0]

Kev the issues are totally sh1te customer service. A mate of mine summed it up when he said "if your buying a new car they are your best friend, otherwise you are a pain in the ass"

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Hmmmm, not good mate. I can honestly say my mate has never had any issues at all with Porsche. They even gave him more than his 2.5 Boxster was worth when he chopped it in for a 911. Whether that was because he was a regular customer at that particular dealer I don't know, but he was always more than happy with the service he received.

 

Well I sympathise with you and yes, *any* car dealer is more than happy to relieve of you of X amount of pounds when selling you a product, and then treat you like trash afterwards.........but keep on at them. Porsche had *serious* financial issues a few years ago, they cannot afford to brush off customers in they way they have with you.

 

Keep us posted with any developments.

[Storm 0]

Thanks for the support guys.

[kvwloon 0]

Damn right, give 'em hell and go to the top. I had many issues with Norwich Union Direct at one point, eventually got the name and direct office address of their Director, two page (but reasonably, never aggresively) toned letter straight to him got me a decent cheque in the post for my inconveniences! A drop in the ocean compared to your woes though, good luck with it, I reckon youl'l be fine if you persist, and remain a reasonable complainer at all times.!

[HiAsAKite 0]

Sorry to hear it mate.. keep at it and persist though..

[tonytiger 0]

Well, that's just disgraceful service from all the ompanies involved. I only ever expect bad service from everyone these days (apart from places I use regularly) regardless of reputation - what some people think is brilliant service could be what I think is crap.

 

I think contacting Porsche hq and a few car mags is the best idea - I think Autocar and Auto Express also used to get involved in disputes and usually got results. May also be worth contacting trading standards (if you've not already tried).

 

All you can really do is keep at them, and maybe threaten with legal action (possibly even pay for a solicitors letters).

 

Have been to the motor show this week? Would have been a good opportunity to complain on their stand in front of lots of potential customers.

 

If you're persistent enough I'm sure they'll sort things out eventually.

[Storm 0]

I spoke to another guy today who has had a number of 911's, his story is worse than mine. He said that Porsche has the Journo's over a barrell. Bad press = not toys to play with. They can slag the volume guys off, because they will always want to loan cars out for PR, no matter what has been said in the past. Porsche can pick and choose who gets to play.

 

Sent my fax off today to Germany and will phone on Tuesday morning if I havent had a response.

[aide 0]

My brother (git) has the 911 turbo sport, his last service cost him £3.5k and two weeks..... the car only went in for a regluar service!!! It seem the technicians in their efforts to fix a minor oil leak completely botched it resulting in the obscene bill... Porsches fault - NEVER.

[STORM 2 0]

Just read your tale of woe and you have my sympathies

My advice, however, is considering that the car has 'never been right' since purchase from new, I would not delay and seek the advice of a solicitor. Consumer law is on your side because you have been sold a documented faulty product which still has issues ongoing. The extra troubles you've been through strengthen your case shopuld the case go to court but quite frankly I doubt that would happen. Get a solicitor specialising in consumer law to fire off a couple of letters to the original dealership with copies to Porsche UK, and you'll see things move. If not, take the car to the dealership, park it outside their front entrance and give the keys to the manager stating that you are not satisfied with the product they have supplied and the subsequent customer service and you are returning the faulty goods. Also,you are hereby giving them notice that you will be pursuing an action in order to a) recover the original money paid b)seek compensation for personal damages related to the whole traumatic episode . Then let your legal advisor continue from there

 

Its sad that it has to come to this but faced with these multinational conglomerates, the ordinary person usually just 'puts up and shuts up' especially when in your case you don't want to believe that a Porsche and the marque in general has let you down. But if you don't let them know you have teeth then they will always assume that they will never be bitten.

 

Good Luck

[Storm 0]

Can this truely be the case when the car was fine for the first 4-5 months? I was hoping I could reject it but was told by a mate that because it was okay for such a long time, I couldn't reject. I will speak to the company lawyer tomorrow.

 

Cheers.

[stevemac 0]

STORM 2, - I agree with you. If the original fault (clutch) has still not been rectified, there is a very strong case for returning the whole car to Porsche. Unfortunately there are no "Lemon Laws" in this country as such, but the "sale of goods" act should be basis enough to form a good legal argument. i.e. despite sufficient opportunity, the clutch has taken longer than a "reasonable" length of time to repair & still remains unrepaired.

 

Storm - my advice would be to seek advice from a solicitor who specialises in this type of case.

[stevemac 0]

Can this truely be the case when the car was fine for the first 4-5 months? I was hoping I could reject it but was told by a mate that because it was okay for such a long time, I couldn't reject. I will speak to the company lawyer tomorrow.

 

Cheers.

 

The "sale of goods" act is worded very loosely. It refers to "reasonable length of time" & refers to "intended purpose" etc. If the clutch was repaired & okay for a period of 6 months - this is not a "reasonable length of time". From my own experience (13 years with Mercedes Benz) I think you'll find that the law would be on your side.

[Furkz 0]

i think u should keep pressing till u get a result,,,, im sure u will but u never kno how long it could take unfortunately :(

 

GOOD LUCK

[lizzie 0]

Sorry to hear your woes. Spend any time on a Boxster forum and you'll find that Porsche customer service is mostly poor and rear main seal failures are well known, considerably higher than the 3% Porsche will admit to. Not so sure about clutch problems, but they seem fairly common too. If I were you, if you've not already done so, I'd seek advice from the boys and girls on boxa.net, they will have seen it all before.

 

By the way, I picked up my brand new Boxster 550 from the factory on Friday. I can't stop smiling, even though I might have trouble ahead! Still keeping my Storm though (well, hubby's getting it actually!).

 

Hope the Boxa peeps can help you.

 

Lizzie

[Storm 0]

Lizzie, done already. My handle on it is ironically, VR6-er. Since we last spoke I have bought a storm project car. Funny that both having Storms and Boxsters. The clutch issue is not common, the RMS is. I'm not bothered one iota about the RMS, they'll deal with that even out of warranty. Its the clutch and the way I was treated. Up until now I had no evidence. I said it was there, they said it wasn't. I have spoken to someone in Germany and they are investigating. I have to wait two weeks. If I do not get satisfaction I am going to demand to speak to Gwendolyn Wonderkid, the bottom line is I have driven a car with a fault for 16 months and am unsatisfied. I still will buy again though.

 

I really like the 550, nearly had one. I keep meaning to phone Chapelgate to place my order for next year. I'm going to have midnight with special order beige and metropole blue interior.

 

Enjoy your car, they are magical.

[lizzie 0]

Must be getting senile, thought the story sounded familiar but then decided I'd imagined it!

 

Well, you're obviously a man of taste with a Storm and a Boxster. Like the sound of the next one too.

 

Hope it all gets sorted. If you spend the sort of money that Porsches cost, I reckon you can expect a little more in the way of customer service than seems to be the norm though.

 

Time for home I think, the Boxster's outside with the top down and I can't resist any longer...... have a good weekend :)

[Storm 0]

Just a quick little update on this.

 

I wrote to the really big cheese in Germany, He referred it on too Porsche Cars GB. I got a lovely letter back from them saying that whatever dealers did they couldnt get involved with and that if I had any issues with them I should approach them. As to my car I should contact a dealer and get them to sort it too. I rang the guy up and screamed at him

 

"If I am fxcked off enough to be writing to main board members about what goes on in the UK surely you could get a dealer to ring me and ask how they could help as opposed to just saying call a dealer - What fxcking level of customer service is that". "All you are interested in is getting rid of the problem and not solving it, you have made your mind up"

 

Any way the following happened.

 

1. The car went in to have the clutch sorted and whilst the noise has gone the viration is still there.

2. I usually have the car washed at a hand carwash place, but decided to do it myself last weekend, what do I find out?? One of the grill panels on the side of the car has been miraculously replaced from a different model year Boxster.

 

So being a little annoyed I went into Porsche Cars GB reception on Tuesday to speak to the guy that wrote to me, fortunately he wasnt in but his boss was and he recognised that Porsche has to do something. I have said that I dont want the car anymore and he is getting back to me with what they can do.

 

I think I want the new one just about to come out pictured below, possibly a 993 but the VX220 is calling me. What do you think, give me some ideas but remember.....NO RICE!!!!!!!!

[jedi-knight83 0]

im not really into the new 997 or that new boxter ...look wierd...

 

the 993 is a real thing of beauty though and will be my personal choice when i make it to that level of car ownership :lol:

 

the porsche story sucks!!! im very suprised and shocked at how they treated you!. my friend has a 964 and they treat him like the king! come and pick it up and drop off a merc courtesy car and then bring back the hand washed, serviced prosche a few days later..never had any probs.

 

hope you get it fixed.

 

whats the corrado like compared to the boxter out of interest?

[Storm 0]

These cars really are chalk and cheese. I would go as far as saying that if you were brought up on front drivers it feels a little weird to start with getting into a RWD. Both of the cars are capable of fully telling you whats going on. The boxster can bite, it begs you to drive it hard and there lies the danger with rear wheel drive. The 3.2S is seriously quick so if you do lose it you know you're in real trouble.

 

The corrado is very good on a country road and awesome in town. The Boxster is harder to chuck around in the cut and thrust of modern motoring, but is incredible out of town. Red line it in third and then look at the speedo..... :oops: The performance is so accessible.

[jedi-knight83 0]

well no disrespecting the boxter...or you for that matter but i never REALLY liked it all that much... as a car its great im sure but as a porsche its just a bit to...i dont know...soft. my friends dad drove one after his 993 and said it was alot softer...just felt like a normal run of the mill quick car...like a bmw or something...the 911 has always felt it has the extra something.

 

im going for the 993 c4s when i have the money :roll: :lol:

[Gman 0]

sounds a bit like a Monday or Friday car.

my mother had one like that. everything was wrong with it and they always claimed to have fixed it but it never realy was fixed.

It is sh*t I know.

Feel really bad for you.

Hope you get it sorted

 

G