AutoHaus West - Retailer of Fine Gernades

OK, this is long overdue, but I had to finalize everything with my new engine first. I only hope to inform everyone on this forum so they don't have the headache I had buying my first and second porsche for Auto Haus West in Irvine California. Last May, I find my dream 1999 carrera 4 with every option at a great price, so I sold my supercharged miata and bought it for 36k. Later that night the oil seperator went and after bringing it back, I find the engine is toast.....Not to mention all the harassing Chris, the manager, did to my friend who brought it back for me since I couldn't get out of work. Also, Chris was overheard talking alot of crap about me, my personality, and driving abilities when he thought my friend was out of hearing distance. So then they take it back for a 1999 carrera 2 which I still own. I was kinda screwed with negotiating much because of the situation. So I pick it up for 34k with 75k miles on it and buy the warranty. I was told this weird bracket under the passenger seat was something to do with a child seat. I was also told they would take car of my airbag light being on. 800 miles later, it requires a new valve cover, covered under warranty. I call them about fixing my airbag light and they said they couldn't find it on the due bill, and it was passed 30 days so they basically told me they were going to do nothing about it. 500 miles after that, the clutch goes and it requires new brakes, big deal, this is just wear and tear. But then I learn that the "child seat" bracket under my passenger seat is actually a fire extinguisher mount. Then 4000 miles later, my engine goes. At first, the warranty company denied my claim, so when I called the dealership to ask for a little help talking to the warranty comapny, I was told by chris that It was my fault and porsche engines dont fail, especially 1999 motors. He then said that is was my problem and they would do nothing about it since I was the cause for all of this suspicious engine failures. So thanks to having a great mechanic (Otto's in Venice) who went to bat for me, The warranty company finally covered the engine minus the $2500 core charge and I am on my way. Never in my life have I been treated so poorly and talked down upon by someone who I just paid 34k to. I can assume that part of it is because of my age, but I bought that car with my hard earned money and age shouldn't have a thing to do with it. So This thread was pretty much just posted to explain my bad experiences with such a large used porsche and exotic car dealership and hope that no other fellow rennlisters have to go through the same problems.

I almost bought a car from them. When I said I wanted to take it to my mechanic first, they said I could after I BOUGHT the car!! They said not to worry because they are knowledgeable and would never sell anything but the best. I just shook my head and walked out. Sorry to hear of your bad experience. tw

I bought mine from there and have had zero problems and am very happy with the whole experience.

The shop I bring my Porsches to, Hergesheimer in Lake Forest, has so many horror stories concerning that outfit, they could probably write a book. They told me when I was looking at 996's to stay as far away from them as possible. Laura, who's one of the co-owners and a personal friend of mine basically told me she'd disavow me as a friend if I bought a car from them (she was kidding of course, but she was trying to make a point). The point was well taken. I'm sorry you went through this hell. It's par for the course with these guys apparently.

I bought my 02 C4S in May 2006 from them, it had 51,000 miles and I paid $58,000.... (Ouch). I had one problem with the Airbag light and they fixed it immediatley. Also, the switch covers for the electric seats were also missing and I had them put it on the due bill and they fixed it within 30 days. They had lots of nice P cars to choose from, and trust me, I paid retail but they treated me very very well. This is a retail operation, but I have nothing bad to say about Chris or Victor. Sorry you got treated so badly

Holy crap, okay, if a co-owner tells you this, there has to be a lot of weight to her statement.

Yeah, Both Chris and Victor are crooks there, Victor even tried telling me the C4 was only 50 pounds heavier than the C2. The only postive thing about this whole experience is that I have a new engine.

Most car salesmen are.....they are doing what they gotta do to sell a car....soem go farther than others....

Makes me feel a bit lucky. I will however agree that Victor can get overzealous sometimes, Chris was a straight shooter with me.

wow, I almost bought a 4S from there when we were searching around. Thanks for the info. How old are you, if you don't mind me asking, since you mentioned it could be your age or apparent age?

i was looking at C2's over there a year ago... Victor was pretty easy going & didnt apply a lot of pressure on me, maybe just a bit. I test drove a bunch of 996's, buut ended up buying private party.

I will agree, Chris seemed to be a straight shooter at first, but once things went bad, he completely changed. I was 23 when I bought the car, and a reason that I bought it from them was because unlike other dealerships, they treated me like a regular person, but once the engine went on the first car, immediately I was a kid in their eyes.

Yeah I was going to buy a car from them too, but they mark their car up 10k over wholesale book. I work at a dealership too. Im happy I didnt, I didnt get a good vibe from them so I went with my gut instincts and went elsewhere.

first of all" ALL 2ND HAND CAR DEALERS ARE SCAM ARTISTS!!!!! If you go to a dealership with this thought in your head...you have an advantage!! They are selling used cars...and no one can tell you exactly how the "user (s)" treaded the car!! They bull**** their way to a sale!!! They are car salesmen!!! They are BULL**** ARTISTS!!! They tell you want they think you want to hear and make it even better! I bought my P from Autohaus west, knowing all of the above!! And have been very lucky! My passenger side mirror wasn't working and I had to bring it back twice...but they fixed it....one of the salesguys saw that my ashtray was broken during a visit and without any problems replaced it. I asked them for a wind diffuser and they gave me one. My handbrake was superlose and it got fixed as well. They even put in a new rear window (plastic in '99 cab's and they tend to fade). Chris was pretty honest with me...he told me he bought the car at an auction...when I asked him how do you know it is a good car....he replied he didn't want to lose he reputation and sell bad cars! BUT like I said before....I know he is full of s.... ALL CARESALES MEN ARE BULL****/SCAM ARTISTS!! So I got lucky...would something else have happened like the thread poster....I would have reacted the same way!!

Nicolaasdb is correct. It' always a risk buying a used car and most used car sales people are just out to sell the car and make $$. I found my car online at Allen Motors in thousand Oaks CA. I paid carfax $100 to fully check out for me and I was ready to make a deal, fly down there and drive it back home. We agreed on a sales price over the phone and I asked them to fax me a sales contract of what we agreed on as I didn't want to get into any negotiations once i arrived there with not other way home. They tried to convice me that wasn't needed and once I insisted they said in order to sell the car at the agreed on out the door price they would have to put down half the price down as the sales price and they would make there money from the sales tax savings. They even added that they do this all the time. Putting down $30K for $100K 996 tt's. Talking about shady. I wasn't about to take that risk and how would these guys treat me if something went wrong with the car. Not a chance! Lucky, the car was consigned and the first sales person I talked to accidently gave me the name of the owner. I looked him up and informed him of what happened and said if you want to sell the car to me, I will only buy it from you directly and for less money than I origanly offered for it. He pulled the car out of the dealership and we made a deal. It turned out that he was a great guy to deal with and a huge pcar enthusiest. Anyways, it's amazing what these used car dealers will pull. Good Luck

I also bought a C4S there two years ago and fortunately it still is terrific, in fact it's great. I think Autohaus West treat people better when they think they have a lot of money to spend as all dealers would. One just has to be careful (and a little lucky) when buying used, excuse me, previously owned Porsches as some lease owners (users) usually have no respect for the automobile and real owners cherish theirs. My C4S didn't start it's life in southern California so I believe it was better cared for before I got it. I would possibly purchase another car there as long as it was the one I wanted.

I bought my 02 Targa from them and have had nothing but fun with it, an expansion tank replacement and that's it. I loved dealing with Victor, I would buy again from them in a second.

those guys are jerks to treat you like that...the just made money off of you, you went through the proper channels and this ends up happening... i hope later on no one buys from them....... just because i would really hate it if i i was in your place.... hope all turns out better after.....

sorry to revive this old thread, but has anybody dealt with these guys since last year? thanks.

I got a newsletter in the mail from them when they moved inviting me to their new place, not sure, threw it in the trash since all they sell is trash and all they are is trash.