Raul

I dont know what is going on with Porsche. Earnings and dividends are higher than ever: They can even pay their employees an extra bonus. They can spend money in social events ( i.e. Porsche has invested a lot of money in rehabilitating the church of a small town near the Cayenne`s factory). They also have extra money to develop new cars (i.e. cayman). Porsche is so obsessed with earnings that it was thrown out of the German DAX index because it did not want to publish their financial statements quarterly (According to Porsche, quarterly statements do not represent annual results, but other companies have the same problem and they accept DAX regulations).

But, What about Quality?. I think that Porsche`s quality is getting worse every year. When I bought my first Porsche four years ago, everything was perfect: They delivered my Boxster S on time (only three months). They even sent me the car`s instruction handbook weeks in advance, so I could start learning about it. In general, everything was perfect.
Now, four years later, My brand new 997s was delivered in eight months. And with only 700 kms, the car is at Porsche service waiting for a new fuel pump (see post :Problems with my 997s....). This time, Porsche did not send me the instructions handbook in advance , but rather, they sent me a DVD: "Porsche driving experience". But somebody forgot to put a DVD inside the DVD case. It was empty!.
Am I unlucky?. No ,I dont think so. I think that Porsche quality is going down. Maybe the need to earn more profits every year,and thus, increase the payout ratio to their shareholders is affecting the quality of the company´s products and services. Do you agree with me?, or maybe I am unlucky.

The_Phantom

Does anyone here own stock in Porsche?

Viken

I think you're out of line here. My '04 GT3 is my 6th 911 and every one of them has been better in quality than the one before. Now, I admit that early 996's and Boxster's were not up to snuff, but the latest versions are much improved. I also think the 997 and Boxster (987) are a huge improvement over the 996 and 986. But, if you want to bitch about manuals and DVD's, go ahead. Otherwise, the cars seem to be fine to me. At least, compared to other mass produced cars from Germany.

rss997

I think he is out of line too!

Be a regular contributor and then maybe we will believe you and you story.

This DVD and manual story seems a bit much.

Riad

My 2004 C4S has been rock solid, I have 20,000 miles on it so far and they only time it's been in the shop was for the 15K service.

Now, do you know how to spell troll?

JohnnyBahamas

She's just a girl. When she's fixed up and back in your stable your anger will pass ( if you let it ) and you'll be driving one of the world's finest sports cars... one that you will love. Seriously, it's a fuel pump... it's not a totally crushing disappointment like if the cupholders repeatedly punched a hole in your grande Frappuccino or something horrible like that.

Fine cars are like beautiful women... you always feel better when you're driving them.

jhunt@huntinter

RMS?

Paul_e

I do agree with you : there was a real improvment from the 996 3.4 to the 996 3.6 and even a much more perceptible one from the whole 996 series to the 997. The interior now seems to fit the perfect standards of what a "GT car" must be, while previous models were all kinda weak on some aspects (dashboard, doors interior...).

Blue S2

Porsche stock is very tightly held and quite expensive. I believe the stock they offer to public has no voting rights though. Im pretty sure they have a multi-class setup.

Giantviper

I thought porsche was a private company.

cabman4007

My 996 Cab is rock solid. I dont see a quality problem at all.

My 1995 993 (purchased new) was also rock solid.

It's the experience with the 993 that got me back to the 996. A great car that is a good buy for the money and compared to 95% of the cars out there,,, hold its value well.

Cabman

Raul

Sorry guys. Maybe I am out of line here. You are right!. I am upset, and logically, I cannot be very positive in my post. It is just that I dont feel that Porsche is better than other car companies. Let me tell you something: When I bought my 997s, I tried to get a discount , but the Porsche salesman told me : "Porsche is different. Porsche sells dreams, not cars, and dreams are expensive".
Anyway, I will try to be more positive in my next posts. But please, try not to be so "sensible" with the negative aspects of Porsche. Porsche build great cars, but sometimes they dont work. They don`t sell dreams, they just sell sport cars.

The_Phantom

No, the A.G. indicates that it is a corporation.

skl

I've been driving these beauties since 1970 but admittedly my first one was made by Karman (VW). The latest is put together as good as any of them and believe me, you'd hear rattles in a GT3... if they make that 4 door sedan it would sure beat the latest Bangle bimmers. The more our family drives the Cayenne (and I HATED the idea when they first came out) the more we love it...

Nick

Viken you may be out of line. He indicated his opinion and reasons for his judgment regarding Porsche. Also, recent quality surveys show Porsche has taken the biggest fall. Now I know the comeback line is quality is only an issue with with the Cayenne and that is the reason for the big fall. That may or may not be so.

BTW according to the today's Wall Street Journal , Porsche sport cars have sustained a 43% drop in sales from 2001. There may be more at work here than your ownership of a GT3.