2004 Porsche 996 C2 - Woeful Dealer not fixing problems - Help Needed!!

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Thu 15 Dec 2011 17:07
2004 Porsche 996 C2 - Woeful Dealer not fixing problems - Help Needed!! - Chinnor

Hello all

I purchased a 996C2 from Stratstone in Aylesbury on the 26th November, after a 300 mile shakedown run on the 29th November I reported 3 problems back to the Dealer:

  • Air Con Not Working
  • Steering Wheel Wobble at 65 plus
  • Appalling Headlights (Porsche Li Tronics)

After finally getting the car back to the dealer the Air Con has been fixed but I am told that no problem could be found with the 'wobble' or the lights, in fact i have been told 3 times that the car passed its MOT which I agree with but, they do not test for brightness. To explain further I have about 20ft bright visibility to the n/s kerb and a total beam reach of about 35-40 metres!

As the car is under warranty I offered to take the car to a Porsche Dealer to pay for the wobble and lights to be examined, If all is OK then i pay the Bill, If they identify any issues then the car is returned to Stratstone and they fix as part of the Warranty....makes perfect sense to me!

I had a call from the Sales Chap at the dealer this morning who had spoken to the Dealer Principal about my suggestion, I have been informed that as far as they are concerned the Car has no problems and they will not entertain my suggestion.

I am outside the 14 day cool off period due to them not providing me with a hire car the first time I arranged to take the car to them, and have a very pretty Car I cannot safely Drive between Dusk and Dawn!

Help, any ideas what i can do?

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Thu 15 Dec 2011 19:26
2004 Porsche 996 C2 - Woeful Dealer not fixing problems - Help Needed!! - Dave N

I don't suppose they've fixed the A/C. It probably has a leak and they just filled it with gas. Come next summer it will all be gone again.

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Thu 15 Dec 2011 21:26
2004 Porsche 996 C2 - Woeful Dealer not fixing problems - Help Needed!! - Chinnor
AC was the only thing they fixed, it needed a new radiator so all is good. The fact it is a nightmare to drive in the dark makes it dangerous.

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Thu 15 Dec 2011 21:28
2004 Porsche 996 C2 - Woeful Dealer not fixing problems - Help Needed!! - tony g
Hi chinnor,
You would think that being a premium dealer selling a premium product they would try harder.
Anyway first the air con,it's likely that your air con just needed regassing.
The gas that's in an air con system contains a lubricant that helps to seal the joins in the pipework.Because air cons not used much in the Uk , the joints dry out and the gas seeps out.it costs about £40 to do a regas.To avoid a regas, it's a good idea to run the air con for a few minutes on the first day of every month.That will keep the system lubricated.
Second, the wheels on a Porsche are huge ,some wheel wobble is inevitable.But it can be reduced.First have the 4 wheels rebalanced .if that doesn't work have the wheels balanced while their on the car.Performance car specialists usually offer the service.Tyre pressure is critical.Check at least once a week.

Regarding the lights ,I'm not sure how good the original lights are ,again have it checked by a performance specialist ,perhaps xenon bulbs and have the headlamps realigned to cast further .

The whole process shouldn't cost more than £150 .it's not really worth getting into a dispute with the dealer for that.

However if the problem with the wheels persist ,take the car into a Porsche specialist,have them diagnose the faults, ask Stratstone to pay .If they refuse recover the money through the small claims court.

If possible please let the forum know how you get on

Good luck

Tony g

Edited by tony g on 15/12/2011 at 21:30

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Fri 16 Dec 2011 07:50
2004 Porsche 996 C2 - Woeful Dealer not fixing problems - Help Needed!! - bonzo dog

Hi Chinnor, the first thing to say is that many "specialist" cars have their own charactoristcs which someone new to that make / model may not be aware of; so what you percieve to be a fault may not be so.

Of course it may be that you are au fait with the handling of the 996 & / or their is a fault (I'm not suggesting you are dim!).

What to do - take it to an independent specialist garage & ask them to check it out. Yes this will cost you but if there is a problem they will be able to give you a written report which you can take back to your supplier & ask for remedial action, demand your money back or (worse case) use this to go legal. The RAC would do something similar.

Good luck

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Thu 29 Dec 2011 12:36
2004 Porsche 996 C2 - Woeful Dealer not fixing problems - Help Needed!! - thunderbird

Concentrating on the wheel wobble you are right to be concerned. No car, expecially a car capable of over 150 mph should do this and any competant tyre supplier should be able to balance them correctly, being big is not an excuse. Porsches and any other high performance car can and normally will have led a hard life and due to the high speed they can achieve may well have seen the wrong side of the hedge on more than one occation. If this has happened it is possible a wheel or wheels are bent and this can make balancing difficult or imposible. On any car of 2004 vintage there may be suspension wear or if it has been in an accident damage that has been repaired badly or not at all, this can cause wheel wobble. You need to get the car assessed by a Porsche specialist and then move forward with the info. If it should be unsafe and you have an accident how would you feel if a 3rd party were injured or killed, the Police would be looking at you initially since you were driving the car.

With regards to poor lighting they made just need adjusting, if the car has been in an accident they may not have been adjusted correctly afterwards, providing they are not to high or pointing right it will pass an MOT.

With regards to the aircon hopefully its sorted, had to have a car regassed in the passed an never had another problem.

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