C4S Trannies CLASS ACTION

Been dealing with this mess since 6/20/02. I finally called Porsche in Germany. They said they have trannies and could ship one day air to Chicago, but need to approve it with Porsche North America (PCNA) I call PCNA and get a complete run around. They can't speak with me, they only work directly with dealers. The dealer says he has to go through the rep. The rep is astounded I got Fritz in Germany. Had to give him my phone numbers. The casualness at which they address this problem leaves me amazed at how they all can even be in business. JUST ONE BIG CLUSTER ****. You would think that PCNA at this point would realize there is a problem. MAYBE IT"S TIME FOR CLASS ACTION?

I'd join in.

Well, good luck. As much as I sympathize with your situations, and the apparent callousness of PCNA, I don't think a class action suit has any merit, IMHO.

I have an 02 C4 Cab with 4200miles and everything is fine....except my stress level! when is it going to happen? On a trip to Montreal in July, etc.etc. Maybe some kind of letter writing campaign as **** as that sounds, might wake people up. I have to assume this kind of poor communications is poor management and most of us have seen this kind of thing. I'm always wary of word of mouth communication..ie....owner tells service man, service man tells service manager, service manager tells owner, owner tells zone or regional guy (gal), Regional tells PCNA (maybe), and PCNA tells PAG. Do you think ANYTHING gets communicated correctly? So maybe a letter from those of us who are activists, directly to PAG suggesting that the communications should be better between PCNA and PAG (duh!) This would either help, or place a black check mark next to our names (read blacklisted) for future reference by Porsche. <img src="graemlins/a_smil17.gif" border="0" alt="[blabla]" /> <img src="graemlins/a_smil17.gif" border="0" alt="[blabla]" /> <img src="graemlins/soapbox.gif" border="0" alt="[soapbox]" /> <img src="graemlins/icon107.gif" border="0" alt="[icon107]" /> <img src="graemlins/jumper.gif" border="0" alt="[jumper]" /> <img src="graemlins/icon501.gif" border="0" alt="[icon501]" />

What i am saying is Porsche AG is saying they have the Trannies. They will Air Freight over night with PCNA's approval. But get PCNA and they say you have to go thru channels. But, channels are useless. It has taken them a week to solve nothing. If anyone has contacts at PCNA please let me know so I can cut the red tape and provide a solution for everyone.

imo the most potent class action is for every owner affecte to insist on excellent treatment which should include a 996 or boxter loaner until your car is fixed <img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" /> you should also be given 1 or 2 months lease or loan payments rebate. finally--if your car is not ready in one month be prepared to insist on a new car or a full refund as per your state's lemon law. these all appear to be early failures related to some sort of manufacturing glitch of c4 transmissions. not everyone is affected since those of us withearlier build cars appear to have no problems. it is disturbing to me that PAG has not responded more effectively to your plight. i recently had a blown engine in a c32 amg mercedes that threw a rod at 9100 miles. the dealer gave me a loaner the same day-a toyota-sigh!. MBNA gave me lease payment rebate of $4000. i traded it in for my c4s--nowhere to hide!

[quote]Originally posted by Don Watson: <strong>I have an 02 C4 Cab with 4200miles and everything is fine....except my stress level! when is it going to happen? On a trip to Montreal in July, etc.etc. </strong><hr></blockquote> Just drive your car, Don. I've taken mine to one AutoX and one DE. I'm taking it again to a 2.3 mile road course on July 8, and maybe a two day event in a 2.5 mile course on August 17 & 18. Just look at the rest of the Porsche world and enjoy your car. As for PAG and PCNA, it's all about cost of business. Same thing with MB and BMW. The latter two have deep pockets, Porsche is a smaller company. I am not defending them or their actions, mind you. I'm just trying to put things in perspective. Somebody has to absorb the cost of the loaner, the air freight, the labor, the tranny, and any concessions given to the customer. The way I see it, PAG says PCNA has to approve it, ergo, PCNA has to pay for it. PCNA says it has to go through channels, ergo, somebody else (dealer?) has to pay for it. Reminds me of my 4 kids, and the unseen fifth kid called "Not Me". We can all make out own judgement.

Hey, Palting is right. If your not having problems enjoy the ride. I am just bitching about how they are passing the buck. Porsche builds great cars. In twenty years I have never had a problem mechanically with my porsches. and Paltings right, it does sound like pass the buck. A racing mechanic said the car is as good as new with the tranny swapped. (In this case better than new). So lets not rack up unnescessary costs for our favorite car manufacturer. But when I offer to pay to solve their problem I would expect a much better response. just to be fair, Porsche AG did call PCNA and told them to get their head out of their asses and suddenly there are some Trannies to be had in country. Should get solved by tomorrow.

[quote]Originally posted by Lucas: <strong>...A racing mechanic said the car is as good as new with the tranny swapped. (In this case better than new). ...just to be fair, Porsche AG did call PCNA and told them to get their head out of their asses and suddenly there are some Trannies to be had in country. Should get solved by tomorrow.</strong><hr></blockquote> Nice insider tip about my replaced tranny, thanks. It makes me feel better. FWIW, when my dealer called the dealer in Dallas and asked to have their C4 to swap trannies, they said no. PCNA then called that dealer and said yes you will give it to them!!

Lucas I admire your tenacity and approach to solving the problem. My C4S was built in Jan and so far I have had no problems, but believe that airing problems and experiences with dealers and PCNA helps all of us. Information is power, especially when negotiating with difficult automobile dealers to solve an obvious, major problem. None of us wants to believe that PAG builds cars with manufacturing or design flaws, but it happens. Too bad that PCNA does not have procedures and practices that comport better with their ultimate customers' reasonable expectations.

Lucas, I hope you get this all sorted out fast! With the high sticker price for these types of cars, you would think that Porsche would go out of their way to make sure their customers were satisfied. Then hopefully, you become a repeat customer. If Porsche's were mass produced like Honda's and Ford's you think there would be a factory recall on the C4S? Hmmm....