Hello. I wanted to share my experience with Porsche of Austin in connection with my recent purchase of a 2018 911TTS. In a word it was “disappointing”.

In addition to combing through the available photos, during the pre-purchase diligence process of this 4k mile CPO car I asked the salesperson, Nick Gentile, whether the car had “any scratches, defects, dings etc. of any kind”. I was assured that the car was thoroughly inspected and would meet my expectations; no imperfections.

When I took delivery of the car a couple of weeks later I found more than one spot on the car that was noticeably off, the most significant being a quarter sized abrasion through the paint on the driver’s side rocker panel. It was impossible not to notice this, and it was photographed and noticed by the delivery driver before he took possession of the car. It was not possible to see this in the photos and, as I stated above, it was not disclosed.

I immediately shared my dissatisfaction with Porsche of Austin regarding the way the car had been represented to me. Nick and I spoke in real time. He assured me he had indeed put eyes on the car and that he had just missed it because “he was more focused on the front of the car”. I remarked that this was odd, because the front of the car also had an imperfection, a spot where the clear bra had been penetrated by a stone and this too was missed. It too was easily noticeable upon any routine inspection. You may divine what you will from the facts about what care was taken to inspect and represent this vehicle fairly, what is indisputable is the customer care that followed.

Porsche of Austin, via Nick, to its credit, told me that they would reimburse me for a repair to the rocker panel imperfection. I felt that this was a fair way to resolve the issue, as most cars have some imperfections and I just did not want to argue about clear bra conditions, stone chips etc. It took me time and effort to find someone who could do a spot repair. I don’t like doing major paint work on a car, and I also felt that this was wasteful. So, I found someone who did a great spot repair and it only cost $800. This could have been the end of it.

• On August 6th I emailed Nick the receipt so they could reimburse me. No response.
• A week later I emailed Nick to confirm that my payment was on its way. No response.
• A few days later I emailed again, this time copying Brant Wimpee from Finance and the General Manager, Aldo, asking for a reply on the following Monday. No response.
• I texted Nick and asked if he had seen my emails. He said he had sent the receipt over to accounting and that “Our accounting department usually operates at this pace, unfortunately. As soon as I get confirmation your check was sent out, I’ll update you. Thank you.” No apology for ignoring three emails, no apology for the way this was being handled and the lack of follow through.
• On August 19th I emailed again for an update, same group. No response.
• On Monday the 24th of August I called the General Manager Aldo and left a voicemail. No response.
• On August 29th I sent another email, same group. Nothing
• Finally on September 9th I sent another email. I also Copied Christian Ames from the dealership (first time copying him). I threatened to go public with my concerns. And I got a reply from Christian the next day.

So the three emails and a text before were not enough to get a reply? My continued business is not worth getting this done for me in a timely manner? I had to threaten to go public with my issues? And I decided to do it anyway. Why? Mistakes are common in life. I believe most people are trying their best. This showed me that this default was not warranted and that the next person should be aware of who they are dealing with.

I’ve purchased about a dozen cars from dealers across the country. Only twice has a car not arrived in the condition it was advertised. So, while I consider myself fairly fortunate (for owning an amazing Porsche too!) I wanted to make sure that we hold this dealer accountable. This car was not sold as promised. While an agreement was made to fix the mistake, I had to spend time and effort over a month to get it honored.

A note to the Porsche of Austin Team: You are never better than your word. If you represent something, it should be true. When there is a problem or you make a mistake, admit the error, fix the mistake and learn from it. Don’t make excuses and then when it comes time to follow up, make the customer feel like you don’t care by ignoring their concerns and not engaging. Get the check cut. FedEx it. Answer emails and calls in something remotely like a timely manner. Any show of remorse and/or follow through to ensure I don’t write this and I don’t ding you in the Porsche customer survey. And to the GM, Aldo, how about you personally respond to this and explain why you never responded to any email of mine at any time.

I buy a car every two years. I won't be buying from Porsche of Austin again nor will I be recommending Porsche of Austin to anyone.

The end of the story: After the 9/9/2020 email I got a response on 9/10/2020 and the check was sent by FedEx 5 days later. Thanks, Christian, for cleaning up after everyone else. And, after I buy a six figure car we shouldn’t have to work this hard to make things right.

I’ve owned 4 Porsches. I love the brand and what it stands for. I wish Porsche of Austin did too.

 

Those delivery drivers must have a stressful job, with all the stuff that isn’t disclosed by sellers.

Hope you enjoy your new car

 

I tip delivery drivers very well, this one included. He was super professional about it, showed me his onboarding pictures and could not have been nicer about it. We should never blame the messenger. He has a hard job and in a pandemic no less.

 

I had one with Ferrari San Antonio where they said it was an accident free 2004 GT3 and yes the carfax was clear but 6 months later when I went to trade it in on a Carrera S the sales guy at Scottsdale Porsche said he sold the car new and it had been in a major accident where the driver ran the car off the road and hit a fence. The car was repaired and the guy sold the car to another person in San Antonio. I found the owner because of the wonderful internet and when I checked with him he said he found out when he was going to trade the the car in at San Antonio Porsche but they checked the car and saw it had been in an accident and would not give him the money he wanted. He then traded the car into San Antonio Ferrari on a 360 and they knew the car had been in an accident at the time of trade. Knowing this they still sold me the car as if it were an accident free car. When I called and emailed the sales guy he response was, "mistakes will happen". Will never do business with them ever again and like you I have bought a dozen or more cars online without seeing the car.

 

Wow, that is a rough one. Nothing that serious here, and you must have been sideways on it. I would have been. Buyer beware.

 

Its been about 14 years and I am still pissed off. Originally left positive feedback on Ebay and then when I found out I added the accident info to the feedback. Lasted a few weeks and then Ebay took it down when Ferrari San Antonio complained. If I remember correctly I also left a buyers experience about the sale which was also taken down. I can guarantee you I have told more people and posted more then I can count. I think the only positive is the car came with Texas plates that were paid for about 8 months so I never registered it in CA and them move to AZ where all I had to do was get a new title for $8.00 when I traded it in. Still have a photo copy of the Texas title with the last owners name on it and that is how I was able to find out about the past accident.

 

The sales guys always lie they need to sell cars. Over the years the years I have come to the conclusion that there is no good reason to buy a car sight unseen. Worst case scenario pay a third party to inspect vehicle.

 

Seth,

Sorry to hear about this buying experience. I bought a 991.2 Turbo S from Porsche Austin as well and it was a long process and I had to reach out to many different people to get answers on anything. My plates finally showed up a day after my tags expired. I was really disappointed with the overall service and lack of caring they seem to show at all levels there. The few people I spoke to were nice enough but as you mentioned just didn't seem to care I was buying a car from them. I have dealt with Porsche Albuquerque, Porsche of Colorado Springs and Lamborghini Dallas for my last 3 purchases and they all were so much better. Very nice and happy and treated me good, Even if there was an issue or something that was not disclosed they followed up and made it right. I even got thank you cards and swag from all of them after I bought the car. I didn't even get a follow up email from Porsche Austin asking how the car was or thanking me. Needless to say I will not use them again. The car shipper was a really nice young kid who actually stays in touch and treated me the best.

 

Sorry to hear about your experience, and I'm glad that other deals went better. I shared this thread with National Customer Service so that the attention on Porsche of Austin continues until such time as Porsche of Austin responds to this and owns its conduct. I will wait sitting down.