If anyone was keeping track, tonight was supposed to be the Cayman launch at my local Porsche dealership. Granted they are late to the game, most other dealerships having had a launch event by now, I was still very active in helping them pland and advertise the event. Additionally, my car was supposed to be on the dealership floor for the event along with a poster of my car advertising our local PCA club race and DE in April.


I dropped the posted by the dealership yesterday after picking it up at Kinkos. At that time I confirmed the time I needed to drop my car off at the dealership. This afternoon I called both my sales person and the sales manager to let them know I was on the way with my car but that I'd likely need to clean it up a little due to the weather today.


I arrive at the dealership and the twin doors to the showroom floor are open so I am going to drive in when one of the sales guys flags me to hold up, my saleswoman is getting another Cayman to bring onto the showroom floor. So I wait and she drives up in a black car and puts it on the showroom floor. Then she proceeds to start closing up the doors to the showroom. I lower my window and call out to her letting her know that I'm ready to park the car inside. At this point it is beginning to snow lightly.


She responds 'we don't need your car, we don't have enough room on the showroom floor for it'.


WTF? This after I confirmed with them yesterday, called to let them know I was coming up, and cut short my work day and projects I was involved with to make a special trip to bring the car up early. In my disgust I drove off and called my wife to tell her that there was no need to rush over to the dealership after picking our son up from daycare (which she was going out of her way to do since I was going to be at the dealership) that I was not going to attend this event. There would be no car in the showroom, no sign showing www.caymanclub.net, nothing, nada, zip, zilch.


She suggested Mexican food and Margaritas at our local favorite Mexican restaurant, so we met up some some neighbors who are big Mercedes buyers (this dealership is the only Porsche and only Mercedes dealership in town) and we relayed the story to them over dinner. They informed us that they've been disgusted with the dealership for some time for doing shoddy service work (I have no complaints about the Porsche service currently they've been quite good), and that they won't buy another Mercedes there.


Unless something were to change I don't think I'd buy a Porsche there again either. My 'deal' changed at least 3 times during the waiting process, supposedly due to new management, and items that were initially going to be included with my car (such as yellow seat belts that I am getting from club sponsor Suncoast) were suddenly an additional charge and at a price that was supposedly discounted but yet was somehow more expensive that other sources such as Suncoast.


To add insult to injury my local dealership has not ponied up with a sponsorship check for this website despite several statements that they would and despite me sending and re-sending the information to them every time they 'lost' it and needed another copy. If I could do it over again I would be much more likely to purchase from someone like Mitch at Woodhouse who has been kind, responsive and willing to work with me on items depsite the fact that I've never bought a car from him before (I have purchased from my local dealership before).


I don't know if this treatment is intentional or just a lack of concern for past buyers. At one point the sales manager will talk about wanting to work closely with our local PCA chapter and meanwhile their sponsorship check for our upcoming club race / de is still tied up somewhere. If it were up to me I would dump them and find another more 'reliable' sponsor.


So my apologies to anyone who was going to the event tonight to see me or my car, I know there was at least one individual who was going to introduce himself to me tonight. I simply wasn't there due the treatment that I received. A simple return phone call to say 'we don't need your car today despite telling you yesterday that it was ok to put your car on the floor' would have gone a long way to preventing this latest slip-up on their part.


Ok, off my soapbox, [img]/fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/argue.gif[/img]another margarita is sounding pretty good about now... [img]/fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/drinkers.gif[/img]

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K-Man S

Hey there is no accounting for some folks behavior. My dealer didn't even have an event for the Cayman but that sounds better than your experience. Sorry.

Hmmm really makes you wonder doesn't it.



Have another margarita on me - and I'm sure that should be a yellow one, not a pink one.

man that sucks...almost humiliating how they treated you. i would be pissed, and I would call the sales manager and tell them that they lost any future buisness from you.


so far i have been very, very impressed with the dealership where i bought my cayman...hendrick porsche in charlotte, NC...just a little plug for the guys. im a new porsche owner, and they treat me when i call like i have a long history with them.


sorry your experience hasn't been better. i am sure you willmake lots of contacts and probably a great deal on your next porsche after running the best cayman site on the net.

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My Cayman may be gone...but not forgotten.

Ken,


I looked for you tonight there and was told that none of them knew where you went! Sorry that I missed you and hope to see you at a local event in the near future.


Jason.

Of all the folks this had to happen to, it was the principal person who has put the entire Cayman act together. Things similar to this happen to the rest of us, but in different styles.. it may be that the dealership may not want the responsibility of a customer's car when others have access to it, unless... the car is in vor recognized and approved service. Also, you car is not for sale where theirs can be sold on the spot. Some of the rationale they used makes some sense, BUT never in a blue moon the way you were treated. Believe it or not, we always have a way to handle this type thing... hit em in the pocketbook, e.g. sales opportunities. A few days ago when the new Turbo was introduced, we felt if we wanted to buy one, the salesman who handled our Cayman might not be the salesman who handled a potential Turbo purchase, nor the dealership either. But we can dream....





Good luck wiith your Cayman -- and the other potential owners who read your posting.

K-Man S,


What a bummer. Here is my $.02 worth. The typical person that buys a new Porsche has had 3-4 used ones and is 40-50 years old. I don't know the demographics for a 2nd new one, but it might be way out on the end of the bell curve.


PCA members ask alot of questions, but are generally in the 1-3 car zone and don't put food on the table for the sales staff. Promoting PCA( and our new'club') is something that appeals to Porsche andestablished dealers. Newer dealers (IMHO) are too'now'oriented to have the vision to see ahead 10-20 years, when all the PCA memberswill get to their first time!!


With a brand new model, the dealer doesn't need to promote us. Porsche, however, does.The firstfew buyers of Porschesin America founded the PCA. And PCA has always had an outstanding relationship with Porsche. That is why the dealer experience is A+, when it comes to service.


Your dealership is small time, compared to your Porsche. That is what they should understand. If that had happened to me, I would write a letter to PCNA and let them know that that dealership isn't making me feel like part of the Porsche family.


I purchased my Cayman S from Michael Stead Porsche, in Walnut Creek, CA. And everyone that I have dealt with there: sales, service, parts, etc, has provided me withstellar service - even moreso, after the sale.


K-man S, you have done an exceptional job putting this all together. And I, for one, appreciate it greatl y. It is very possible that this site has persuaded someone to purchase a new Cayman, that otherwise may not have. And for that, you should be proud. Does your salesperson own a new Porsche?? maybe she isn't truly one of the family ...


Hold your head high and speak the praise of Porsche. Time will take care of the unworthy.




Edited by - fmarshall on 02/16/2006 7:31:25 PM

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LL

Jason,


You just confirmed my fears, that you showed up looking for me and I wasn't there. I got some even WORSE news about 30 minutes. My mother called to tell me that my cousin (who I had not seen in a few years) had also stopped by the dealership looking for me tonight because he assumed I would be there. He is a long time Porsche owner and enthusiast. He was kind enough to drop off some Jaguar magazines for my father who was not home.


I now feel like I disappointed Jason, as well as I disappointed my cousin whom I have not seen in some time all because I was ticked off at the dealership for not communicating their change of plans.


I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to Jason, my cousin Terry and anyone else that showed up looking for me. On a positive note maybe that should put a pin in the side of the dealership personnel to know there were people there looking for me, not the car and perhaps they went away disappointed and the dealership was to blame.


As for musgrove's point about my car not being available for sale, the initial plan was to have it roped off so people wouldn't be touching it, but they could see it (and the www.caymanclub.net sign on it). Who knows that might inspire someone to order a speed yellow car since my dealership had only black and silver available to purchase. I don't see how having my car there would have been a negative to their event, given some of its options and unique add-ons it might only spur more sales related questions.

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K-Man S

That really does suck - I'm pissed off too now.

I wouldn't buy there either - and that's how we vote.

It's amazing how short sighted these dealers are - some things NEVER change.