RSJ Sports Cars - Three months on

Hi All, After 3+ months of ownership I thought I would post a follow-up to my RSJ buying experience review thread: HERE I still love the X50 and go out of my way to create opportunities for a spirited drive. The car has returned to me that driving for driving sake mentality I have not enjoyed for a while and now with a Tubi exhaust howling away behind me I tend to keep the window down, despite inclement weather. There have however been a few issues over the three months since I bought the car (I can be a pedant) so it has been back to RSJ under their warranty plan for work to be done. I believe that you can only truly judge a company's integrity by their behaviour when things go wrong. Rather than consider me a pain in the a$$ RSJ never questioned any of the issues. They simply sent someone over to collect the car and left me a loan car whilst they did the work. Here is what they have done for me since buying the X50: 1. Brake wobble: both front discs replaced, full set of pads and fluid change. 2. Slight leak on one of the radiators: replaced. 3. Rear wheel vibration: Removed, checked and balanced properly. (Quick fit told me it had been repaired due to buckle and could not be balanced but they were wrong. It had simply been repainted, probably due to kerbing). 4. Slight knocking from the rear on bumpy roads: This was a difficult one to rectify. RSJ ended up replacing a number of suspension components and the car went back a few times before finally getting to the bottom of the issue. Most of my rear suspension linkages are new as a result. 5. Clutch release actuator squeaking: Big job! RSJ removed the gearbox and replaced ALL of the release components including slave cylinder, release bearing and complete release mechanism. Whilst the box was off I asked them to fit a brand new GT2 clutch for which they only charged me the trade price for parts. 6. Clutch fluid reservoir squeal / whine: a faulty valve caused this. RSJ replaced the whole unit. 7. Petrol flap locking pin: A small plastic sleeve around the pin had disappeared causing the flap to be easily pulled open despite being locked. RSJ replaced the whole thing. 8. Knobs on PSM were slightly worn: RSJ fitted new ones. 9. Cigarette lighter showed signs of use: RSJ fitted a new one. 10: Slight clunk from gear surround when changing into 4th and 6th: RSJ fixed it. 11: Rattle from sunroof area: RSJ dropped the headlining and replaced all the felt strips within the sunroof mechanism. Now, I do not know how much all of this work would have totalled, especially at Porsche, but definitely a few thousand pounds. The cost to me has only amounted to being without the car for a few days here and there. RSJ did all the work, covered all the costs and never quibbled. Compare this to the "˜Gold' warranty we purchased from the dealer for our other car provided by Autoguard Warranty. After nearly a year of trouble-free motoring in a well cared for, low mileage car the head gasket let go on my wife's journey back from Cambridge. The first sign she had was that the temperature warning light came on so she stopped the car and had it recovered to our mechanics. They stripped the head off and discovered the head had warped too far for a simple skim so we needed a new head. The total in parts and labour came to over £2000. After two weeks arguing back and forth, hours wasted on the phone by both me and my mechanics, all our so called "˜Gold' warranty would cover was the cost of the head gasket. Their small print states that they will only pay for the original component that failed, no subsequent damage is covered. I put it to them that if a con rod bolt fails whilst driving, the piston smashes into the head requiring a complete new engine that this is all one failure. They disagreed and stated that they would only cover the cost of the replacement bolt. Thank God I put my dealer prejudices aside and bought my X50 from Joel at RSJ. I almost bought a 2005 Turbo S from a private seller a week or so earlier but a few points in Peter Morgan's report made me think again. It was lower mileage, higher spec and newer car which was a fair bit cheaper than the X50 at RSJ. Considering Peter Morgan said the X50 at RSJ had been much better cared for than the private seller's car; imagine how much more the Turbo S might have cost me by now"¦ I should point out that apart from buying a car from Joel, I have no connection with RSJ whatsoever. I know I keep banging on about how good Joel and RSJ are but in the past I have been known for naming and shaming companies when I have bad experiences, going out of my way to ensure as many people as possible are made aware. So it is welcome change to spend as much time and effort extolling the virtues of a company that actually provided me with a service that was better than I expected. I would also like to mention Martin, RSJ's workshop / service manager: His knowledge of Porsche and professionalism is about as good as it gets. Between them Joel and Martin have made Porsche ownership a real pleasure and when I am in the position to upgrade, I will be back hassling them once more. Whilst you are unlikely to find a cheap Porsche at RSJ you get what you pay for. They may be high-end prices but they sell high-end cars and back this up with a high-end service. B

That's worth a few extra bob when you buy the car, smashing service!

Excellent write up! Maybe I should have gone when I was looking but wasn't impressed with them on the phone! It was Joel I spoke to. Anyway, nice write up.

Nice to hear that RSJ have been faultless in their warranty support. Good to hear and it will help members feel secure with purchases from them. Only comment I would make is that numbers 1,2,3,6 & 10 should really have been picked up on pre sale inspection and fixed before sale.

Did the Peter Morgan report not pick most of this up ?

That's nice to hear, I looked at a 993 at RSJ and was so excited then got there and the wing had a massive dent/scratch they said they would sort it but it put me off thankfully, as I am pleased with my 996 purchase even though the 993 would be worth more now, they seemed to be a nice set up, and at the time were shifting a good few cars this was in 2003. I was given a business card and later when returning to my office I noticed on the back it had someone's credit card details on the back of it, so it went through my paper shredder but left a lasting impression on my mind which you have helped me to think otherwise. Enjoy your new car it sounds a treat. Phil

The PM inspection did pick up some of the issues and Joel sorted them before I took collection. The remainder (with the exception of the knobs and lighter) occurred post-sale as the car was used so would not have been picked up by either RSJ or PM. On the subject of the knobs and lighter, I should point out that these were not warranty issues. I mentioned them in passing to Joel when the car was in for some work as I wanted to replace them to get the interior looking perfect. I was after a price to get them replaced but RSJ replaced then FOC. A nice surprise when I picked it up!

one of my friends in work bought his 2002 996 from rsj back in 2006 he also speaks highly of them