Advice needed following shoddy OPC and Assist experience...

So, I started the week expecting to take my C4S into OPC Reading for an MoT. I have had the car 3 weeks and I have had a few niggles. So I asked them to take a look at them whilst it was in the shop. As this would take 3 days, they sorted me out a new Cayman PDK with Sport Chrono which reallym, really impressed me. The list of niggles were 1) PCM clicking problem in CD tray 2) PCM intermittant error message saying disconnected from AMP, SUB and Changer 3) Air Con blowing hot air 4) Passenger window intermittant getting stuck down and not able to go back up Plus the MoT. I dropped the car off on Tuesday and went throught the issues and we swapped keys. Flashforward 3 days, 440 miles in the Cayman and a very big grin after discovering the Sport Plus button and many launch controls! Returned to OPC to be greated by the service manager and sales man. The service manager went through the what was done 1) New PCM unit 2) New window motor bearing and greasing(something about friction causing the safety cut out) 3) New condensor and air con cylinder And once the bumper was off they saw the radiator was cracked so... 4) New radiators (are there 2 or did I mis hear?) 5) MoT - which they seemed pleased that it passed ??? 6) New fluids and gassing All of which pleased me greatly although I was concerned (which I voiced) that the car had passed all the pre-sale inspection and servicing only 3wks before. They were not sure how this happened either but advised me to come back if there were any further problems as everything was under warranty and they actually made money in doing warranty jobs(can this be right?). I slid into the expansive comfort of the 911(compared to the Cayman for a 6ft 4 large man) and pulled away and onto the M4. After 5mins of cruising at 50miles a warning came on the dash warning about low coolant levels. I called OPC and talked to service who assured me this was fine as it was an air blockage that had been dislodged and to top it up with tap water in the morning. This sounded feasible so I carried onto London with warning light on. I pulled off the M4 and slowed down and noticed some steamy smokey stuff coming up from the front of the car as I slowed for the filter lights. I actually thought this may have been the exhaust from the lorry infront at the time. The next set of light I was greeted by some people waving at me and pointing at the front of the car. Like a moron I waved back... I finally pulled up at home and reversed onto the drive and got out. I then realised from the sound, smell and growing pool of blackish liquid streaming down the road in front of the house that there was a problem. As the car cooled and bled out in front of me the pressure reduced and the hissing sound subsided. I was/am/will not be happy for some time, espescially as there was no problems with the radiator before I took the car in. I called Porsche Assist who were very helpful and 3hrs later a low loader arrived and towed my black beauty off to OPC Reading under the cover of darkness. Two "helpful" neighbours/passers by knocked on the door to tell me my car was leaking which was nice too. I then waited 5hrs for Enterprise to get a car sorted for me which involved picking me up and driving 18miles across London to pick it up at 11pm! They were nice about it and gave me a choice of a E Class or CLS. The CLS looked more my sort of motor which also pleased the wife. I had presumed the replacement car service would have been a little less time consuming with them bringing the car to me... So this week I have had my 911, a brilliant little Cayman go kart and a new CLS(very bouncy suspension) and I am waiting for OPC to tell me what is happening with the car for the weekend! The question to my fellow forumers(does this word exist?) is how much I should complain to OPC and Porsche Assist/Enterprise? Or am I being unfair and expecting too much? :?: If I had known things would have been like this in the first month of ownership I would have bought another Alfa Romeo...

Hi and welcome. To be fair I don't think it's that bad. Potentially a fixing has come loose on your new rads (yes you have 2, or maybe even 3) and dumped the coolant, hence why you saw the steam. They probably shouldn't have given you the car with those problems in the first place but seeing as everything was done under warranty all it's cost you for a new PCM and rads is your time. It's a PITA but no doubt Reading will put it right. I would make it known that you're not happy, that these things shouldn't happen on a Porsche approved car. See if you can get any good will like next service discount etc? Believe me, you could have had a lot worse experiences from an OPC, I know! :thumb:

I would have to disagree ... that is exactly the kind of service that I have experienced from the various OPC's that I've used in the past and the reason I won't put a foot in them if at all possible. If you have the energy and time I would complain, complain and complain some more!

Hmmm... Don't think I would be as tolerant or as polite! That is shocking on 3 counts: 1.) They let you take delivery of the car BEFORE it had its MoT test (and a proper PDI by the sounds of it) 2.) They did all that work under warranty within 3 weeks of selling the car (Porsche GB - are you watching?) Having been involved in Dealer warranty audits myself in the past (not Porsche), this would be borderline fraud - especially if they haven't shown due diligence throughout the PDI / Approved Used Car process (which my point No. 1 suggests they haven't), as they are getting an insurance company to foot the bill (and yes - it will pay them a reasonable profit) for used car reconditioning, instead of it coming off the dealer's used car profit margin! 3.) To have handed a car back to you with a fault from work that you never asked to be done in the first place is appalling! If ever there was a customer's car that needed to leave the workshop in perfect condition, it is one that has had to come in with a list of problems 3 weeks after purchase! I'm normally the first to defend dealers on here, as I work with them every day, but this is disgraceful: Especially as OPC Reading is wholly owned by Porsche GB themselves! Having said all that, you might want to get this thread deleted and take it up with Porsche GB privately instead... Importers and Dealers generally don't take too kindly to public embarassment - especially if you haven't tried that channel first... :thumb:

I'm only saying it's not bad for an OPC, granted it should never have been like this from the start but this is almost 'good service' from an OPC...

I think they have somewhat shot themselves in the foot, by their, albeit verbal, admission that they get paid for warranty work. And presumably have to do the pre-sales work at their own cost...... And that, as they say...... is all I'm gonna say bout that !!

Thank you for your responses. I now have the car back. There was a jubillee clip missing from a hose that caused it to lose all the coolant. This is strange as the MoT would have put the engine under pressure which should have caused the issue far sooner. :?: Everyone was very apologetic and they have offered a dinner to me and my wife at some fancy hotel which is very good of them. The car is running fine and we will take the expensive dinner as their apology. OPC also advised me to provide feedback on the whole experience back to Porsche on the website so they are not hiding anything so I doubt they are trying to cover anything up. If the admins of the site think this should be removed then this is fine with me but I can see how this could be a lot worse(Alfa and Fiat have treated me terribly) and OPC have done everything I can see to handle this. :thumbs: Now that I have the car back and had an evening of driving around B roads in Bucks I am far "calmer" over the whole thing. Although I am definately hankering a 997 PDK with Chrono in the next 2yrs. :grin:

Glad to hear that the OPC offered an acceptable apology... sounds like you've had good use of your warantee anyway !! Interestingly I had a 2010 CLS given to me by Porsche Assist recently and thought it was a great drive.... I thought the suspension was a great compromise for ride comfort and handling..... I've been overexposed to hard riding bmw's for too long and the ride comfort of the benz really was an eye-opener !!