Dealer lying about the car not being delivered by Porsche

[kokos]

I have been patiently waiting for my Taycan for >6mo. On Friday (6/3) TYD showed that the car was delivered at the dealer. I called my SA to schedule delivery and ask if the car arrived there. He said car is not there yet, and he will give me a call whenever the car got to them.

Today (Saturday 6/4) morning I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I would drive by the dealership. I saw my car (confirmed via VIN), still wrapped in the protective sheet from the factory. At that point I haven’t received any communication from the dealer.

A few minutes ago, I gave them a call again, only for the SA to tell me that the car isn’t there (!!!). I asked him if he was sure since TYD shows it there, and he said no car yet.

I do not understand why is this person lying to me. Is this incompetence or something more sinister going on? How should I deal with this? I am paying a lot of $$$ for this car, but this is beyond what I would have expected!

I have the car already in the Porsche App too (via an invite from Porsche).

Sponsored

 

[Torv]

Never overestimate the competence of the dealer or the salesperson. From my experience, there is a bottomless chasm of incompetence at many dealers--some are terrific and knowledgeable. Others are appallingly ignorant of even the simplest aspects of customer service or the car itself.

I'd recommend you drop by and physically point out your car to the salesperson before they inadvertently (or purposely) sell it to another individual for "additional dealer markup" as these cars are becoming harder to obtain.

 

[WattTurbo]

Not sure why he would lie, but I’m a straight forward type of guy and would have just come out and say hey I saw my car there. I did exactly that when I bought my 911 and I was happened to be at the dealer and saw my car even though he says it’s not. He wasn’t at the dealer when I called him so I gave him the benefit of the doubt that he didn’t really know.

 

[kokos]

I called back, saying I was in the neighborhood, and saw my car there (30mins after we spoke), and he changed his tune. He said the car was there and he just plugged it in to charge. I will rule this as incompetent — why would he lie? I just can’t fathom I am paying 6-digits $ for this kind of experience.

 

[satchurator]

I agree with @Torv and @WattTurbo that the simplest explanation is incompetence, or a breakdown in communication between service and sales for receipt, PDI and handoff for delivery.

That said, against the risk that something dodgy is happening, IMO you need to tell your SA as soon as possible that you know the car is there and have seen the car and confirmed by VIN with your own eyes. Hopefully you’ve already taken a photo that will have location and timestamp. But better to go there and do it in person. Even if your SA is not present, it’s totally fair game to go to the dealership and ask someone (the GM if necessary) to show you your car.

If you continue to get the runaround, be aware that PCNA have dealer liaison people who can help. If it comes to it, try to figure out who the PCNA (not dealer) regional manager is for your area, and make contact. They should be able to advocate for you and apply pressure on the dealership.

Good luck!

 

[zzy45]

By joining this forum, I quickly learned I know more about the ins and outs about the car and the whole ev ecosystem, and sometime what’s going on at the Porsche factory such as upcoming delay, option that could further prolong production/pickup date, etc.

If I am in your shoe I probably would point that out right off the bat; but I am glad it works out 30 minutes later. If you like the dealership in general (maybe not your SA due to this particular instance) then I think it was the right thing to do not to deteriorate the relationship.

 

[kokos]

Thanks for your suggestions & support!

I emailed the SA & Sales Manager saying it was great to catch a glimpse of my car today, attached the photos I took clearly showing the VIN, and I was looking forward to delivery date.

Hopefully that rules out any possible shenanigans.

 

[RCorsa]

I assume the salesperson has no idea the car needs to be dealer prepared before it’s sold which is probably why they didn’t know it was there. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. If you ordered the car and placed a deposit they aren’t going to sell it to someone else.

 

[kokos]

I assume the salesperson has no idea the car needs to be dealer prepared before it’s sold which is probably why they didn’t know it was there. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. If you ordered the car and placed a deposit they aren’t going to sell it to someone else.

No, he knew about PDI. We talked about it before.

 

[RCorsa]

Granted if you are buying from Bellevue autonation maybe Im wrong - I haven’t bought a car from them for nearly a decade.

 

[outie]

I feel you. My car arrived to the port same time as yours, and on the same vessel etc. Mine was stuck in port processing longer than yours, but TYD showed the car was enroute to dealer yesterday so I hit up the SA. He said they got a bunch of cars in but nope yours wasn’t part of it with certainty. I was thinking TYD may not be accurate then. We went back and forth for a bit then he said TYD may be more updated than what he shows and he’ll go check for my car again.

Later in the day TYD showed the car arrived at dealer. He also said he thinks he found my car, and asked for more info to prepare the PO.

Today I asked for the purchase agreement as I needed it to my credit union. He said he still hasn‘t physically located my car, but later in the day he said he finally saw my car on the mechanic bay being worked on. He is not sure if they are clearing the active Stop Sale on the car. His computer showed the stop sale is still active but my understanding is that they’ve resolved the Porsche Connect issue from Rennlist.

I learned that this place where they do PDI is 5 miles away from the dealer, so my conclusion is that they don’t really know where the cars are for the most part until they are “brought down” from PDI. He showed me what he saw on his computer which only shows ETA of dealer arrival.

 

[kokos]

This person didn’t tell me “i am not sure”. He told me explicitly the car isn’t there (and insisted). Furthermore, it’s a small parking lot, only two new cars. He didn’t need to go hunting across a lot of cars, and they do PDI on-site. I would have been OK with a “sorry was busy, didn’t check” or a “not sure, but I will check soon”.

 

[abrookesuk]

Always wise to have a good relationship with the Dealer Principal - always make sure I feedback irrespective if he asks for it or not.

 

[RAHRCR]

I have been patiently waiting for my Taycan for >6mo. On Friday (6/3) TYD showed that the car was delivered at the dealer. I called my SA to schedule delivery and ask if the car arrived there. He said car is not there yet, and he will give me a call whenever the car got to them.

Today (Saturday 6/4) morning I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I would drive by the dealership. I saw my car (confirmed via VIN), still wrapped in the protective sheet from the factory. At that point I haven’t received any communication from the dealer.

A few minutes ago, I gave them a call again, only for the SA to tell me that the car isn’t there (!!!). I asked him if he was sure since TYD shows it there, and he said no car yet.

I do not understand why is this person lying to me. Is this incompetence or something more sinister going on? How should I deal with this? I am paying a lot of $$$ for this car, but this is beyond what I would have expected!

I have the car already in the Porsche App too (via an invite from Porsche).

Keeping in mind that most salespeople will simply look at a computer screen to determine whether a car is delivered or not. If the vehicle isn’t fully or properly logged into their system, they will simply say that its not there yet. Few will actually walk the lot to determine what is and is not there. For the type of people that are on this forum (including myself) once TYD shows delivered, my recommendation is to let the SA know that you are coming down to see the vehicle…whether its been prepped for sale or not. This is also a great time to remind them of how you want your vehicle prepped. In my case, I only want my car lightly washed (no wax or goop on my tires) so I can take care of the paint and other things properly myself. It is ok for us to be a bit eccentric or even high maintenance when you consider all of the factors involved in purchasing these cars at a time like this.

 

[FlyingPoint]

This person didn’t tell me “i am not sure”. He told me explicitly the car isn’t there (and insisted). Furthermore, it’s a small parking lot, only two new cars. He didn’t need to go hunting across a lot of cars, and they do PDI on-site. I would have been OK with a “sorry was busy, didn’t check” or a “not sure, but I will check soon”.

A far cry from my experience one year ago when my RWD was delivered. My SA called me on a Friday night at 8pm to tell me my car was being rolled off the car carrier as we spoke. There were no real supply chain issues except TPMS being a bit scarce. Some SA's are customer centric, others are not. It is a sign of the time we live in today with demand exceeding supply.
Hopefully, this will all be a distant memory for you shortly and you will be enjoying your new ride.

Sponsored