Disappointing collection of my 911

[molar explorer]

So , after finding the "right" car, in the right colour combination I bought it over the phone and looked forward to picking it up today .Got to the dealer, car all covered up awaiting the great reveal and then utter disappointment . The cover was removed to reveal a shiny 911 with a very chipped windscreen and front lights. Now the car has done 9k but I didn't expect this from a opc . Made matters worse when the sales manager ( very politely ) agreed it needed a new screen . Surely this was noticed before? Are they trying to reduce prep costs I wonder ?
I have to admit they were very good when I refused to take the car and immediately gave me a courtesy boxster whilst the repairs are done, but it's kind of ruined the excitement slightly :-((

[bridey0]

molar explorer said:

So , after finding the "right" car, in the right colour combination I bought it over the phone and looked forward to picking it up today .Got to the dealer, car all covered up awaiting the great reveal and then utter disappointment . The cover was removed to reveal a shiny 911 with a very chipped windscreen and front lights. Now the car has done 9k but I didn't expect this from a opc . Made matters worse when the sales manager ( very politely ) agreed it needed a new screen . Surely this was noticed before? Are they trying to reduce prep costs I wonder ?
I have to admit they were very good when I refused to take the car and immediately gave me a courtesy boxster whilst the repairs are done, but it's kind of ruined the excitement slightly :-((

Wasn't OPC solihull was it?

[CatJ]

Surely the light should be replaced too?

I had this with both Boxsters. Our first was brand new and when we drove 1 mile down the road for fuel we noticed a scrape on the front pu, no idea how we had managed to miss it.

The 2nd car an ex demo was supplied with 3 silver wheels and one champagne coloured.

Edited by CatJ on Saturday 18th February 17:35

[m33ufo]

CatJ said:

The 2nd car an ex demo was supplied with 3 silver wheels and one champagne coloured.

That's just bloody awful! I hope you insisted they were all sprayed champagne?

[Bill Stein]

Why would you buy something without seeing it first ?

[nsm3]

That thought had crossed my mind?

[khooni]

that's awful...
but not surprising. you are buying a used car and prep is part of the risk you take. I am surprised that the 111 point inspection allowed that through though

[doneitnow]

Bill Stein said:

Why would you buy something without seeing it first ?

I guess when you buy a car from an opc described as it was I guess you would think firstly that it would be lovely and secondly that an opc wouldn't treat you like that. Hope it doesn't spoil your enjoyment too much once you get it.

[CatJ]

m33ufo said:

That's just bloody awful! I hope you insisted they were all sprayed champagne?

[Manks]

Bill Stein said:

Why would you buy something without seeing it first ?

I bought my 997 over the phone from a private seller without seeing it. When I arrived it was under a car cover, which was removed to reveal an absolutely perfect car. It was and remains about the best example of the 997 I have seen. In contrast to the OP's experience the seller had gone to some trouble to make sure I'd be pleased with the car, which has made ownership a more enjoyable experience throughout.

[Bill Stein]

Manks said:

I bought my 997 over the phone from a private seller without seeing it. When I arrived it was under a car cover, which was removed to reveal an absolutely perfect car. It was and remains about the best example of the 997 I have seen. In contrast to the OP's experience the seller had gone to some trouble to make sure I'd be pleased with the car, which has made ownership a more enjoyable experience throughout.

Your very lucky, but i still would'nt make such a purchase without seeing what i was buying first. I think it's fair to say anyone doing this is taking a huge risk of getting burnt. No doubt many ten's of thousands of nice 997s exist in the world, and plenty of lemons also.
Second hand car purchase is a risky business why stick your neck out any further than you need ?

[molar explorer]

Perhaps I was naive to think an opc used cars would be prepared to the highest standards as have the other cars I have bought . Other cars were from Bristol opc so perhaps they are just good a preparing their used stock. How they thought i would accept the car in that condition I'm not totally sure. You would hope Porsche lay down what is acceptable and what isn't to safeguard the brand. Obviously not!!!

[doneitnow]

molar explorer said:

Perhaps I was naive to think an opc used cars would be prepared to the highest standards as have the other cars I have bought . Other cars were from Bristol opc so perhaps they are just good a preparing their used stock. How they thought i would accept the car in that condition I'm not totally sure. You would hope Porsche lay down what is acceptable and what isn't to safeguard the brand. Obviously not!!!

Don't forget you do have more rights to refuse to buy it under distance selling regs when you have not bought it in person/at their premises

[doneitnow]

In addition to above post grabbed this off the net:

Buying a used car on the internet - Distance selling
31 December 2007

Latest News

A useful piece of legislation offers additional protection when you buy over the internet or phone.

It's called the Distance Selling Regulations and gives you a cooling-off period of seven days after you've taken delivery of a car.

This law covers internet purchases from a business, but not from a private individual.

Depending on the terms of the sales contract, you may also be covered if you place a deposit online or over the phone, then complete the deal at a dealership.

The law also applies if you choose the 'buy it now' option offered on some online auctions, but it does not cover you if you buy it as the highest final bidder.

[jackliebling]

This post resonates with my experiences.

I bought my first Porsche at Bristol and they were first rate... Totally fantastic...

My second was bought though another OPC. Within a hundred miles of owning the car I found some pretty serious problems with it and I took it back. They spent over a month fixing the 9 issues I had with the car, one of them a pretty dangerous fault... (still, they treated me with respect and I got a Panamera S to drive around in while they fixed the problems). It strikes me that they just gave the car a wash and put it on the market without really checking the car over, the warranty covered the problems.

On the plus side, somehow, and they couldn't explain why, the car came with THREE years approved used warranty (it's a 2009). So I am pretty secure, plus they gave me a years road tax to make me feel better about the ordeal.

Fault list:

Squeal/whine from car at low speed
very noisy brakes (squeal)
Brake lights not working (danger!)
difficulty engaging 1st and second gear
paint fault (side of car was resprayed to fix that)
windscreen wipers smearing - they said they fixed them, but yesterday I bought new ones because they were still smearing
swirly paint work (needed a proper polish)
door leak (wet carpets)
The engine cover (bonnet) was not sitting flush
The Targa trim on the rear hatch was kinked (not fixed because "they all do that", true, every Targa I have seen has a kinked trim on either side of the rear hatch - you win some, you lose some)

Anyway, car was delivered to me again, in the showroom like the original delivery a month or so earlier and it looks much better. Pity it had to take them a month to get it right...

I wonder if we were dealing with the same OPC???

Edited by jackliebling on Sunday 19th February 00:50

[jackliebling]

Distance selling act is brilliant, you can secure the car/deal over the phone with a small deposit and then make your mind up when you collect the car. Works very well...

[Martian O]

molar explorer said:

Perhaps I was naive to think an opc used cars would be prepared to the highest standards...

You should see how OPC Cambridge prep their cars! Whenever I've popped in there for the odd part, I've always had a browse around their forecourt only to be shocked at the poor standard of prep. I bought my car from OPC Colchester and it was in good order, but have since seen cars there in a similar state to the Cambridge cars.

I think many OPC's are cutting back on their costs prepping cars to a good standard.

[rog007]

It's a recognised business approach, sadly. It revolves around the risk/reward theory whereby they take risk in one area (say in this instance not prepping a car to perfection and acruing the associated costs) in the hope that most, but accepting not all, punters will accept the car as is and then only rectify faults identified by the punter to meet the punters satisfaction level that may ideally be lower than some arbitrary dealer directed level. The risk to this strategy remains reputational damage and thus reduced sales. This judgement lies with each individual dealer to determine. I don't agree with it as a business proposition, but I understand it. Prepping all cars to perfection is expensive, particularly as many punters, Porsche buyers included, would not always spot the difference. Good luck!

[Schnellmann]

My own experience of OPCs mixed. First Porsche (many years back) was a 944 Turbo. Bought from OPC. I went to see car. Asked salesman whether tyres were okay. They were fine I was told. Being young and pretty inexperienced at that point I didn't check myself. Only after I bought the car and experienced some serious oversteer did I get it checked. The rears didn't look bad on the edge of the tyre but in the middle they were just 2 mm. Strictly they were still legal but given the rate that 944 Turbos go through rear tyres (if you use the 250 bhp) they would have been illegal in about a week.

[g7jhp]

CatJ said:

Our first was brand new and when we drove 1 mile down the road for fuel we noticed a scrape on the front pu, no idea how we had managed to miss it.

This is my first hate when they don't even fill the tank up!