Main dealer damaged my car

[FirstSeaLord]

As said above, I would put everything down in one email to the DP. Polite but very clear re issue and what you want doing about it.

Then if no joy go to the Ombudsmen. Most dealers are members. You can check whether yours is here: https://www.themotorombudsman.org/garage-finder

Best of luck

[wab172uk]

Had a service at the local main dealer, they accidentally knocked off the sunroof drain pipes and the car filled with water, car went back to have this sorted now they have damaged the paint on the bonnet with a jet wash and expect me to foot the £3k bill. P.UK virtually useless as well. Pretty peeved to say the least, anyone else had similar experiences. The paint had apparently been repaired prior to my ownership, I bought from another main dealer 18 months ago, all looked good so I don't blame them, however now that my local MD has caused the damage whilst checking for leaks they suddenly got all prickly and don't want to know, I have only seen the car about 5 days now since Xmas, it's still at the dealership in this dispute.

If they have damaged it, how can they say you should pay for the repair?

I’d get the selling OPC involved as well. If MD2 is saying the paint was defect, then MD1 should pay for the repair cost as they sold you a car with defective paint.

[Red Gauntlet]

Porsche UK have offered me £500 as long as I sign a disclaimer not to pursue it, ( the damage estimate was £2766.32) but I have decided to put it in the hands of my insurer who will recover the costs from the garage. Really puts me off the marque completely, will probably sell the car after this as I just don't trust the UK Porsche dealership network any more. TBH I am totally shocked at the poor quality of mechanics and the shoddy service I have received so far from them I am glad I don't have a £350000 911 special or something, there is no way I'd trust this shower to look after it.

[Neil1911]

Which OPC?

[Red Gauntlet]

Without prejudice: Bought the car off Leicester, good enough dealership but failed to note that it had not been serviced properly in 28000 miles, only ever had minor oil changes nothing else, although pdk oil had been changed along with a new transfer box, went to Bournemouth and then things just went seriously down hill from there, these guys are so incompetent I would never go back, the satnav was rubbish so I asked if it could be upgraded, charged me £300 for upgrade to the same level as it already had, they did refund me but they should have checked first, abs sensor fault, it went back a few times before eventually they replaced all under warranty, booked for full service, got 3 different quotes as they could not decide what the car needed, in the end they did the service which was a major one, the PDK oil got changed again for £300+ however they wanted to unblock the sunroof drains as this was part of the service, I was not going to pay £400 for this so in the end they did this for free to keep the 40 point check up to date for the warranty, they only drained the brake fluid from one half of the front calipers and meanwhile they completely forgot to change the 38000 miles old original fuel filter ( had to go back and they did it for free) and I asked for the service history for the car which did not arrive, meanwhile the car which had never leaked developed two bad leaks into the drivers footwell and into the rear fuse box, back it went, and they had it 2 weeks, it was apparently fixed but then I drove the car and the windows steamed up and the instrument cluster fogged along with the chrono clock so back it went, another 2 weeks and the car came back with jetwash damage to the front wing area of the bonnet, the denials started from there 'oh sir we will get you a quote for the repair', 'it is an old repair and the water has got underneath it' 'not our fault' etc. when the car came back there was a rattling in the boot and I discovered that everything that had been under the boot floor had just been chucked in the boot not even tidied, just a poor show and no customer care whatsoever. I eventually chiselled the service history out of them and discovered the sorry story. I am never going back to them nor would I recommend them either.

[HertsMacan]

Your experience here only serves to reinforce my opinion of opc's. Look past the glitzy premises and outrageous prices and what you have are monkeys holding spanners. These are not Porsche trained specialists in the main and the service you get is often no different, if not worse, than a back street garage.

I wouldn't be claiming on my insurance as either way it will constitute a claim and your premium will rocket. I doubt they will bother to pursue the dealership for reimbursement and just pay out. Spend 100 and send the incompetent idiots a small county court claim for the full amount and compensation. Good luck.

[wab172uk]

Without prejudice: Bought the car off Leicester, good enough dealership but failed to note that it had not been serviced properly in 28000 miles, only ever had minor oil changes nothing else, although pdk oil had been changed along with a new transfer box, went to Bournemouth and then things just went seriously down hill from there, these guys are so incompetent I would never go back, the satnav was rubbish so I asked if it could be upgraded, charged me £300 for upgrade to the same level as it already had, they did refund me but they should have checked first, abs sensor fault, it went back a few times before eventually they replaced all under warranty, booked for full service, got 3 different quotes as they could not decide what the car needed, in the end they did the service which was a major one, the PDK oil got changed again for £300+ however they wanted to unblock the sunroof drains as this was part of the service, I was not going to pay £400 for this so in the end they did this for free to keep the 40 point check up to date for the warranty, they only drained the brake fluid from one half of the front calipers and meanwhile they completely forgot to change the 38000 miles old original fuel filter ( had to go back and they did it for free) and I asked for the service history for the car which did not arrive, meanwhile the car which had never leaked developed two bad leaks into the drivers footwell and into the rear fuse box, back it went, and they had it 2 weeks, it was apparently fixed but then I drove the car and the windows steamed up and the instrument cluster fogged along with the chrono clock so back it went, another 2 weeks and the car came back with jetwash damage to the front wing area of the bonnet, the denials started from there 'oh sir we will get you a quote for the repair', 'it is an old repair and the water has got underneath it' 'not our fault' etc. when the car came back there was a rattling in the boot and I discovered that everything that had been under the boot floor had just been chucked in the boot not even tidied, just a poor show and no customer care whatsoever. I eventually chiselled the service history out of them and discovered the sorry story. I am never going back to them nor would I recommend them either.

Sound like a right sorry state of affairs.

As HertsMacan says, don't go through your insurer. You are making a claim then, which (protected or not) will go against you come renewal.

Personally, I'd be contacting a Solicitor and seeking advise. If Porsche UK have offered you money not to peruse it further, then surely they are admitting liability, no?

I guess its easy just to claim, get it repaired, sell it, and move on. But then it's you that is losing money out of it.

See what a Solicitor says, and then decide from there.

[Red Gauntlet]

Just got a call from my insurance company (Churchill) who state that because it was negligence that caused the damage then they will not cover it, they just delivered a hire car too which has to go back now otherwise I have to pay for that as well. So looks like I have been without my car now for 2 months and get it back requiring me to foot the bill. Solicitor says my word against theirs and it may not be worthwhile for me to pursue although obviously good for him at £150ph+ the legal protection from the insurer only covers accidents not negligence as well. Caveat Emptor as they say..... Probably take the £500 and get a bucket shop repair and flog it on, although that seems a pity to do. I am not getting any younger and this has aged me quite considerably in a month.

[Veraldan]

I haven't had the exact same experience, but I've definitely had my fair share of dealership headaches. It's really disappointing when they try to avoid taking responsibility for their errors.

[Jon A]

I would think you could get a body shop to inspect the area concerned and confirm if it indeed has been repaired before? If it has you may want to revisit Leicester, if not, then Bournemouths assertion that it was previously damage repaired is groundless.