walterwu

My vehicle was expected to arrive at the dealer yesterday (4/21), but has been delayed for about a week, apparently from it not getting into port until 4/17. Of course, I'm completely paranoid now that the car had some transport damage that had to be repaired via a "port job". This begs the questions:

1) did you request a copy of the pre-delivery inspect report from the port? If so, did the dealer provide it?

2) how many of you went over your new car with a paint meter to confirm whether there's been any repaired body damage? Did the dealer let you use the paint meter that they used for trade-ins?

3) In California, dealers must disclose the smallest repair done to the car at port, regardless of cost. Did anyone experience a situation where a dealer denied any port repairs but later discovered that they had been done?

4) Anyone had a paint defect show up later, as a result of an overspray body repair at port, and have Porsche deny the paint claim, insisting that you caused the damage and had it repaired?

5). Is ignorance bliss? Should I just not worry? I have zero plans to mod the car (except maybe disconnecting the sound symposer) but after Nmurray22's experience with PCNA, I can't help but be suspicious.

wanderfalke

You are worried needlessly. Chin up, you will be driving happily very soon. If your car arrived late it needed to have the trucking rescheduled as well.

LexVan

U worry too much. Relax. All will be good.

That's a good policy CA has (regarding full disclosure). Here in Illinois, we don't have that. Dealers only have to disclose damage repairs during transport, delivery & dealer prep IF YOU ASK. If you ask, they must disclose. Therefore, I always draft a simple 1 paragraph letter, with the car's VIN, stating NO DAMAGE or REPAIRS during transport, delivery & prep; than have signed by dealership's senior manager (Sales Manager or GM). This forces their hand, and gives you some discourse in the unlikely event.

drcollie

walterwu - man, you got to relax a bit so you can enjoy the new ride! Don't worry, its a mass-produced machine that was built by men and is a compilation of parts that can be replaced by men if needed. It's not a priceless artifact that there is only one of in the world and can't be touched. Its not particularly rare nor is it especially difficult to work on if needed. Overpriced for what it is, yes - but at the end of the day it's just another appliance of metal, plastic, rubber and some leather.

Every car maker has a POE repair facility to do minor touch-ups that might occur on the transit aboard ship. These facilities are state-of-the-art equal to the production line and not just two or three guys with a Dr.Color Chip kit on hand. They do OEM quality work as needed and each maker has a threshold of damage that is tolerable in a dollar amount before the car is deemed too banged up for retail delivery and has to go to the press or executive fleet after repair. For BMW it used to be $ 2,500, but that was several years ago and I don't have any idea what it is for Porsche. The reason they have POE facilities is the work quality is much higher than a dealer body shop, and it comes to the dealer as OEM quality.

Things get bumped and bruised all the time, even on the production lines where the car is built. They just re-do it when that occurs, but its still subject to a rigid quality control standard both at the factory and POE facility. You have a right to that OEM quality control standard on a new purchase for sure.

I had a brand new BMW E36 M3 that arrived with a re-painted hood back in 1995. I did catch it about two months after ownership because the paint was on too thick and that's not good in a hood area because its more prone to craters with a rock chip (that's how I discovered it). Turns out the dealer had re-painted it, not POE, and the dealer just added a coat of paint whereas at POE they would have sanded it all down to metal to maintain the original paint thickness. We had the hood stripped at my preferred body shop and re-painted, they gave me a new loaner to use while that was in process and then BMW NA gave me a 'free' trunk-mounted $ 800 CD Changer for the hassle factor. I was fine with all that.

You can also buy an Aston Martin. They fly every car over here on Lufthansa and its wrapped in a cocoon! It shows up 4 days after its done at the factory. No steerage transport on a ship like the common cars...lol

Enjoy the new ride and don't worry!!

wanderfalke

In one year you will have a lot of little rocks chips and POE stuff will be a distant memory. I am still in the worry phase of ownership. I think every car behind me is going to rear end me.

MJBird993

#5

Congrats on the new car!!! Whenever it does show up, drive it, enjoy it!

It's just a car. Don't sweat it. Leave the paint meter at home.

Hammer911

Relax and enjoy the anticipation of delivery day! If you are married, I hope you weren't asking these nervous types of questions of your bride at the rehearsal dinner! Wouldn't it be much more nerve-wracking if Porsche demanded perfection of us in terms of car maintenance and driving skills before they released the cars to us?!

The "Nick" episode was an interesting phenomenon, and quite unusual. If every satisfied customer went to the effort to post multiple lengthy youtube videos professing their happiness and satisfaction it would eat up vast volumes of server space to no end... no one would watch them...because that is the expectation, and the norm. Simple probability projects your car, and your experience, will also fall into the norm, which is a very good thing.

MarcusG

Listen to the boys Lau Ban.

If you want to hold a paint meter over the car at the dealer before you sign on the dotted line go for it.

Otherwise, just get used to using your left wrist to turn a key and get on with it.

You're gonna love every min. of it. Life is too short.

socalsteve

Post of the day...made me laugh out loud!!!

docjohnM

I had a car they said needed a new clutch at port. It was also 2 weeks delayed. I get the car and the intake falls off in the first day, then heat shield, then the exhaust hanger, and then the seat belt failed. I tried everything to get the manufacturer to tell me why the clutch went bad, and what they did. They had a solid legal answer. I did not own the car at port, and it was none of my business until it reached a certain threshold. So here is the good part. My dealer fixed everything. The car has been utterly rock-solid and perfect for over 12K miles. Of course, I am trading it in around september, so we will find out if any paint-work was done!

wanderfalke

Since you did not own it did you have a right of refusal?

docjohnM

If you are referring to my situation (not the OP's)...

My rights were somewhat limited. I could have refused the car and lost the deposit. I need to find my post on the M3 forum about this issue.

Remember that I would need to prove that the car was not up to the standards of other similar cars being delivered. The word "prove" is a big deal according to my lawyer at the time. Since I had major issues the day after I took the car home, I was now into lemon law territory. And, the car was fixed to perfection by the dealer within 3 days.

There is a certain number, which I think is 10% of the value of the vehicle, where repairs can be performed by the manufacturer without disclosure to buyer. For example, when a car fails tech or QC at the factory, they can be brought back to the line, repainted and so on. The bitch is when the paint gauge comes out and shows irregularity. Then it is a "he said, she said" issue.

freeman

I picked up my 1995 993 at the factory in Stuttgart On July 6, 1994. After a European delivery and my redelivery to the factory for shipment, the car did not appear in Charleston. In those days Charleston was the delivery port from Emden. I called the port in Charleston when the car was overdue. Porsche Cars North America (PCNA) returned my call. The ship had a rough Atlantic voyage and though the car was tied down, the left rear quarter panel had been destroyed in shifting seas. PCNA and we agreed that if the repairs in Charleston were unsatisfactory to me, the sale was voided. I flew to Charleston to inspect the car once I was notified of its repair. The visit was as spectacular as the visit to the factory. The Porsche storage area was directly next door to the airport. When I landed in Charleston, I called the PCNA facility. They sent a beat-up old pick up to transport me to the Porsche receiving facility. The facility was a spectacular candy store. I spent two hours inspecting my repaired 993 and other newly delivered vehicles. I could not find a flaw in my vehicle. They replaced it to factory specifications. Rather than have it shipped, I drove it from the port of Charleston to my home in Tallahassee. I saved the delivery fee and had a blast on the drive. The bottom line is that the factory repairs at the port are better than you can find elsewhere.

walterwu

Thanks to everyone for the posts. I hope this reflects that this problem is rare. Rennlisters seem like an OCD crowd, with some who don't even want the dealer to take the white wrap off, or to wash the car. I've read enough stories here about the horror stories of port jobs, but it seems the denominator is low.

DocJohnM - what state are you in? California has a three percent limit or $500 (whichever is greater) for port jobs for which there is a mandatory disclosure. However, in California, there is no minimum amount that does not have to be disclosure. If you ask, they have to be truthful.

I'm mainly concerned with body work, but it seems that isn't a big issue unless the ship went through a big storm, but those seem to cause delays of weeks, not days.

wanderfalke

So Walter what happens when you ask if there was any damage? Considering the full disclosure act they will have to tell you even if it is very minor.