Very poor service at Porsche dealerships - advice

Hi everyone, not sure where to post this, but I'd appreciate anyone's guidance on this issue. Please bare with me as the story may be a little long. I have a 992 C4 cab and live in the NYC area. A couple of months ago I got a flat tire (rear passenger) after hitting something on the road. Had the car towed to my local dealership, got new tire. I have wheel and tire insurance, and they paid for it. Within a few days after the tire replacement I noticed a mild air leak, about 1 PSI decrease per day, so by the end of the week I brought the car back for service, and they told me there was nothing wrong, that the decrease in tire pressure may be a mix of new tire and changes in temperature. Took the car home, and the problem persisted exactly the same, with having to put air after a week. Brought the car back to the dealership, they 'checked everything', and told me no issues. Problem persisted. This time, being frustrated with that dealership, brought car to a different dealership in the area. They said there was a nail in the tire, and had me replaced tire. Insurance, again, paid for it. Went back home, and the same problem persisted. Took car back to initial dealership, really complained to them, this time they said it was the valve stem, which they had me replace. This time the Insurance didn't pay as they said they didn't cover valve stem, but fortunately it was only about $50-60. After taking car back home, exact problem persisted. Took car back, and they said at this point the rim had to be replaced because they couldn't think of anything else. They told me they saw no physical damage, but that probably there was a bend on the rim from which air was leaking. After filing claim to my insurance, because no pictures could show any damage, they had me come back to the dealership so that technician could show problem to an insurance appraiser the insurance company had sent. After the appraiser went to the dealership, the insurance said that since there was no evidence of damage they cannot pay for it. I was very frustrated with this, and even called Porsche North America customer service. They just said that they stand by their technicians. Today I found a wheel/rim local shop in NJ recommended by a friend of mine. Just took the car there, they took the wheel off and immediately found a very obvious damage on the inside of the rim (see photo attached). The bubble test was obvious. All of this took literally a few minutes. I am honestly shocked that a Porsche dealership (in fact, two different ones) couldn't find this problem. In particular, they had me go multiple times and in the end the problem was not solved. Any advice on what to do? Of course, my priority is to get a new rim and that the insurance see the damage. So thinking of going back to a different dealership and this time show them the pictures so they know where to look. Hopefully insurance will see the damage this time. But aside from this, any kind of complain I can do to Porsche? I find this totally unacceptable, with very poor technical support. Would appreciate any feedback.

Be calm and clear till the final steps. Start back with Porsche NA, show them these photos and make a concise fact only report, if possible find out who the Porsche factory representative for that area is and relay the same information through that person. If they still stand with the technicians I'd tell Porsche you plan on making a report to NHTSA about them returning an unsafe vehicle to the road. A friend of mine who works as a factory representative for another marque tells me they hate that and usually will do the right thing to avoid that scrutiny. Go back to the original dealer, show them the evidence, if they give you the "Heisman" then I would tell them you plan on contacting both the state AG and the NHTSA to report them for putting a dangerous car back on the road. If that doesn't work then write the state AG, use the NHTSA hotline and burn the house down. Then eat the repair and move on. At least the insurance company came through so it wasn't a total wash.

Thank you for your reply. When you say to contact Porsche NA, you’re saying calling back the customer service number? Or do I ask them who is the factory representative?

Edit read the last sentence first, might handle everything. Do you belong to PCA? Join that, there are resources and contacts listed, maybe you can work through PCA, remember be as polite as possible even though you have every right to be angry. Otherwise I'm not sure which contacts to Porsche to utilize. Or start at the dealer, politely and if needed calmly tell them about the AG and NHTSA plans if they don't offer a solution. Don't be surprised if they balk, so then follow through. I wrote the AG about a boat dealer once and by the time the AG was done with them they were offering me a full refund when all I wanted was a legitimate repair. PS Not shocked at all many dealers in this country are scallywags, that goes for ALL marques. PPS I'm dumb, start with the wheel insurance company, they might take care of it all.

Boristhespyder, Thanks again for your reply. I'm just really shocked two different Porsche dealerships missed it. It took the guy in this independent wheel shop 5 minutes to show me the problem, which was obvious. I have been dealing with this for almost two months and it's been so frustrating. This is my first Porsche, and i'm totally disappointed but their service. In any case, I just used the Porsche NA customer support contact form and wrote them. There was no option to upload pictures, but hopefully they'll get back to me.

Appalling. They gladly take your money for the insurance, but when it comes time to submit a claim they don't want to be bothered. Unfortunately, this is all too common a theme with dealerships these days. Years ago, when I had an Escalade, I was part of a Cadillac forum. Don't remember exactly which forum it was, but there was a Cadillac backed customer service forum member who would handle issues like this. And, get results! Some Porsche factory support on Planet-9 would be fantastic. I won't hold my breath. Sorry I couldn't be any help.

After spending thousands of dollars in our overpriced cars I had my local dealer damaging my interior leader steering wheel, after that I have all done my service at an indi, I say never porsche dealer any more.

In the days of yore, my dad's dealership? We kept a generous supply of good condition used parts we stripped off of wrecks. If you bought your car new from us there was a very good chance something like an alternator, starter, any cosmetic repairs like lenses or marker lights were going to be free, including labor. We didn't know how long these used parts would perform but today your car is back in service free, as you can imagine this was wildly popular. I remember a guy who bought a USED car from us, didn't know how to shift, dumped the clutch and six months after purchase my dad did a clutch job for parts only cost. My dad survived an explosion and that experience made him a saint and cost our family real money but that's how he ran it, period. If I found a loose wire as the problem? Solder that and go park it, no charge. Now I'm not suggesting that a business run this way now (it did produce a conga line of customers I'll tell you that, we were booked out two weeks sometimes) But what I am saying is in modern times dealers have gone too far the other way, being greedy and underhanded. My local Ford dealer tried to charge me for a free recall, you have to be vigilant out there in the slipstream and when you find an honest place, keep them, praise them, bring them some muffins now and then, Amen.

Just to be clear, was the rim damaged by the nail, a manufacturing defect or something else?

Mike_in OH: Rim was likely damaged when I hit something on the road and got a flat tire. They replaced tired without ever inspecting the rim. They ignored the rim damage after multiple different visits to the dealership since after they replaced the tire there was a leak. Once taken to an independent wheel shop they saw the damage immediately. Basically I went a total of 5-6 times to the dealership with the air leak complain only to be told that either nothing was wrong, or that it was the valve stem, or that it was the tire.

Disturbingly bad service for a premium brand car. I'd start with PCNA and let them know how unhappy your are with this dealer.

If there is damage to the rim and you have a picture of the damage shouldn't it be covered by your wheel and tire insurance? They should pay for a new rim.