Burned by a Boston dealership - long rant

[Wrecked944]

Well, I used to be happy with the service I received at Herb Chambers Porsche in Boston. They had a great service manager there named Justin who was a true enthusiast who gave special attention to owners of older cars. But Justin left a year ago and so I thought I'd give them a try with some simple repairs as a test. And boy, did they ever fail.

It starts on December 1. I called up for an appointment. I told them which car I was bringing (year and model) and gave a short list of things I needed done - including new rear brake pads, replace some throttle linkage bits, tighten the hand brake, fix a dim headlight. Nothing serious.

So they gave me an appointment on Tuesday December 14 - two full weeks. But I figured this was a sign that they had a grip on their scheduling. So I said, "okay" and showed up on my appointed day. They set me up with a rental car and I drove away.

But then I didn't hear anything. No phone calls, nothing. So I called THEM on Friday and was told that nobody had yet LOOKED at my car. Hello? I reminded the service manager that I was paying for a rental car while they did nothing and he said someone would look at the car by end of day. So I pointed out that I'd be paying for the rental car all weekend and he said, "Yes." I tried to give him every opportunity to offer to pay for the rental but he would not bite. He only said the car should be done by Monday or Tuesday.

Fast forward to today (i.e. Monday). I called again and was told my brake and throttle parts were on backorder and I'd have to wait beyond Tuesday. BACKORDER? Since when does a dealer not have brake pads in stock? Since when do brake pads go on "backorder"? I bet I could get the pads from Pelican overnight if needed.

So I said, "No thanks and please button up the car. I'm picking it up tomorrow." - a week after I dropped it off and no repairs done. Oh, sorry, they fixed the dim headlight.

Well, I'm completely frustrated. I don't have a garage and I need a place where I can get simple repairs and maintenance done - especially in winter. I liked the dealership in Boston because they could hook me up with rental cars. But obviously, this time I got burned by it. So I am at a complete loss. I don't know where to go for simple maintenance and repairs. I'm dumbfounded.

[yelcab1]

A person who opened up a tranny (and wrote a book about it) should not have to rely on a dealer to do a brake job. Find some time, do one thing at a time in the drive way if you have to. Or, find a friend with a garage in Boston.

[NoLift911]

Janus - sounds like poor customer service, I am sure most of us have been down that road (I know I have).

But a couple of counterpoints...

I am not sure I would go to a Porsche dealer to have work done on anything that was not 1.) Under warranty and 2.) more than 10 years old.

Dealers are in business to sell cars not service them...plain and simple.

I am sure there is a reputable "John Walker" type of shop in Boston somewhere that could treat you right...

Maybe try to track down Justin - maybe he went to another dealership?

-Jeff

[JSDSKI]

Janus, Sorry to hear about this. Jeff made some good points especially the part about finding an enthusiast independant like TRE or JW. You know there are some great techs with Porsche tradition in your area -you just have to find them....

I'm going to make some other points from a dealer's POV. Not only do you have to "sell" cars. You are contractually obligated to sell and "support" the cars under warranty by the franchise agreement. Parts represent cash to a dealer but parts do not earn interest like cash. So dealers stock parts that move fast and meet the manufacturers requirements. Unfortunately for us this does not include 10, 15, or 20 year old parts - they just don't sell fast enough. A dealer's cash (in the part) is a depreciating asset - AKA a liability. Not a good thing.

Regarding rent a cars. Manufacturers do not like reimbursing dealers for "good will". They will do it for a car under warranty because they have already purchased the insurance to cover the "anticipated" cost. But, again, not on older cars.

Anyway, someone with your talent as a writer - the trans rebuild is one of the funniest things I've ever read - ranks with Jean Shepard or Dave Barry - shoud be writing more .... IMHO.

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

Dealer? Dealer? What's a dealer? I bought a new Audi a couple of years ago and I'm vaguely aware there's some kind X-year, X-mile warranty where the "dealer" fixes all sorts of stuff "free." Sorry, I do it myself, in the driveway, with a factory manual on a CD and an OttoScan OBDII reader. So far, it's cost me $50 for a failed water-temp sensor that I replaced in 10 minutes.

Our even-newer Boxster hasn't been to a "dealer" yet and won't be unless it's something I can't handle.

Self-reliance is the key.

Stephan

[porschenut]

Originally posted by nolift911
Dealers are in business to sell cars not service them...plain and simple.

Jeff, believe it or not you've got it backwards. The vast majority of a dealer's profits come from parts and service, not new car sales. A useful way to think about it is that they only sell cars so they can service them and sell accessories.

[jorian]

A good friends' family used own the Porsche dealership where I live. Dealers are actually in the business of selling cars so they can make the real money on service. Margins in the auto retail business are not what they once were and most dealers try to subsidize their showroom sales costs by doing service work. Witness the advent of the "Idiot Light" in the dash of every new vehicle. No hint as to the cause, just a check engine light that costs at least $20 just to reset. My Volvo dealer still calls me (electronically pre-recorded message) every 90 days to schedule a service. They have a computer program that "estimates" my milage and calls me on the off chance I'll just bring it in like the other lemmings. Service is where the money is.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Janus, I recommend taking your cars to Rensport in Framingham. René is a one-man shop who does good, honest work. And although you would never guess it from his shop, he's been developing really hot bolt-on EFI systems for SCs to 3.6s that are nearing the end of 1 year of dyno and development time, and the sheets look good, so he knows his stuff. He's not set-up for rental cars, but Enterprise will meet you there.

You can reach him at win@rensport.com or 508-875-8911.

I'm sorry to hear of your dealer experience, there is a young parts guy there who tracked down all new brake lines for my 73, but in general I would never take any car to a dealership for service.

Good luck.

Edit: he won't work on 944s no matter how much you pay him.

[NoLift911]

Originally posted by porschenut
Jeff, believe it or not you've got it backwards. The vast majority of a dealer's profits come from parts and service, not new car sales. A useful way to think about it is that they only sell cars so they can service them and sell accessories.

I guess I should have clarified

...dealers are not going to make any money servicing a 15 year old car for any reason.

-Jeff

[porschenut]

Originally posted by nolift911
...dealers are not going to make any money servicing a 15 year old car for any reason.

That I certainly agree with. They very rarely ever have any techs experienced in older cars and they are most definitely not interested in servicing them. That's what independent shops are for.

[Zeke]

Originally posted by porschenut
That I certainly agree with. They very rarely ever have any techs experienced in older cars and they are most definitely not interested in servicing them. That's what independent shops are for.

Too bad, isn't it? They don't get it. How many missed opportunities are there for the sales dept to say, "How would you like a 997 to go with your early car? Best of both worlds?! Let's go for a short ride while they look your car over."

Never underestimate brand loyalty.

[porschenut]

The ironic thing is that brand loyalty is what Porsche has counted on and enjoyed all these years. I think I've read that about 70% of Porsche sales are to previous Porsche owners.

Porsche AG has been very attentive to owners of older cars. It's a pity their dealers haven't been. At least the U.S. ones. I wonder if the European centres are more accomodating.

[dickster]

Our even-newer Boxster hasn't been to a "dealer" yet and won't be unless it's something I can't handle.

stephan,

what about the warranty?

[khyden]

You can get a picture where the dealers make money. Here the Toyota and so on dealers charge about 65 e/h for servicelabour, the english car service (doesnt sell cars) next door charges about 70 e/h and the local Porsche dealer 95 e/h. In 2002 the netnet profit for every (new and used) car sold was about 170 euros, so selling cars is not the most profitable business.

KH

[Quicksilver]

I fail to see any reason for this other then screaming stupidity on the dealership's part. The bits about "not going to make any money servicing a 15 year old car" and "rarely ever have any techs experienced in older cars" are silly.

It is a rear pad replacement. That is one of the most profitable jobs they could do. They were told up front what car it was and what service was required. Hmmm... How complicated is it to order parts? I would bet they are doing brake jobs in less then 1/2 the time the book says (and the bill is always for the time the book says).

As far as experience; I would bet you could take the car to any Honda or Nissan shop and they would be able to do the brakes correctly in less time then the book says. These cars have the easiest brakes to work on in the world.

This is nothing short of bad, stupid management. They need to get "smart and greedy". It wouldn't be that hard to make that dealer's service department organized and efficient enough that people would show up and want to give you money.

It still amazes me how badly you can run a business and still make money. Sometimes it is nearly impossible to run yourself out of business.

Vote with your dollars...

Wayne

[rkh3]

Try Autobahn Performance in Peabody, 978-536-2667. Used them several times, they not only do great work they are true Porsche nuts too.

[kqw]

Good service sells cars....Some dealerships don't get it. Apparantly, they are busy doing something in the shop if the lead time is two weeks.

Here's a theory: They only want to support/employ a certain number of technicians and schedule accordingly to keep them busy and highly paid.

It just supports the theory of becoming a pelicanite because of being forced into the DIY mode.

[thrown_hammer]

There has to be a Pelicanhead in MA close to Janus? Someone with a garage help him out. Heck if anyone in northern IN ever needs a garage to do a brake job or something let me know.

[Halm]

BTDT. The dealer here n Charlotte won't even take an appointment for an early car. Instead, they give you the name and number of a former employee that will do the work. He has so much business that an appointment is hard to come by. Some dealers clearly don't get it.

[Wrecked944]

Thanks very much for the replies. I was ready to burst a blood vessel last night when I wrote it. As for making money on older cars, Herb Chambers charges $99 per hour and I know I spent thousands while Justin was there just on my 944. And yes, when I decided to buy my 964, the first person I asked was Justin. I knew he had recently had a 964 in stock but it had since been sold. And when the day comes that I buy a new Porsche (probably when the boxster coupe comes out), you know where I would have gone.

But I guess it was all about one guy. It certainly shows the importance of individual contributions to the success of a business, eh? I bet there is a book in there but I'm sure it has already been written.

And thanks for the recommendations on a local shop. I really would do this stuff myself except there are times when job, house, weather, etc etc make it unfeasable. I prefer wrenching to be a hobby, not a chore.

Anyway, I'll pick the car up today. I guess I can be excited about the brighter headlight, right?