experience with damage to loaner car

[maximumpanda]

Hey guys,

So my TTS ended up in the shop needing an entire battery replacement. They were great and did everything no problem. (Even got a new battery and the software updates that otherwise my car certainly wouldn't have been compatible with as its not a J.II )

They gave me a loaner cayenne to replace and I did a quick once over and it largely looked pristine, but the front bumper was close to the wall of the building so I never got in close to inspect it.

A few weeks later, I got the call my car was ready to pick up. I dropped off the car, we signed the paperwork, and everything seemed fine. About 30 minutes later I get a call that they discovered damage to the front grill cover that requires them to completely redo the bumper. They sent some pictures, and I cant for the life of me figure out how or where this damage could have come from while I had it (deep gouging on the inner edge of the front bumper cover that looks like someone scraped into the corner of a knee high wall, but they would have had to go into it at a very strange angle / it was a protrusion that stabbed into the grill and they had to reverse or it would have ripped the whole bumper off).

(Just to clarify: the bumper is by no means a write off, its not extreme damage, there's no cracking, its just a couple of deep gouges that go through the paint into the plastic, inside the lower air intake for the grill)

I certainly didnt hit anything, but i'm a letter of the contract guy. I certified there was no damage when I picked it up. While they certified there was no damage when I dropped it off, I can understand why they want to revise that after they discovered damage.

The part where I start to have my bullshit meter go off is that initially they wanted to claim about 3,500 worth of damage to insurance to repair and repaint the bumper, leaving me with the full 2000 excess fee. A brand new entire bumper is ~2000, and to repair should be closer to 1000. Additionally when I asked the tech if I could see all their documentation of damage and the quote they generated for the insurance statement, he got flustered in a way that jacked my bullshit meter to 11.


Now again, if I was an asshole, I'd tell them "you certified the car was fine when I dropped it off, this is your problem now", i'm not trying to screw them, but I'm wondering if its fairly common for prosche dealerships to overcharge for repairs to milk people / insurance for money.

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[MadCan]

Hey guys,

So my TTS ended up in the shop needing an entire battery replacement. They were great and did everything no problem. (Even got a new battery and the software updates that otherwise my car certainly wouldn't have been compatible with as its not a J.II )

They gave me a loaner cayenne to replace and I did a quick once over and it largely looked pristine, but the front bumper was close to the wall of the building so I never got in close to inspect it.

A few weeks later, I got the call my car was ready to pick up. I dropped off the car, we signed the paperwork, and everything seemed fine. About 30 minutes later I get a call that they discovered damage to the front grill cover that requires them to completely redo the bumper. They sent some pictures, and I cant for the life of me figure out how or where this damage could have come from while I had it (deep gouging on the inner edge of the front bumper cover that looks like someone scraped into the corner of a knee high wall, but they would have had to go into it at a very strange angle / it was a protrusion that stabbed into the grill and they had to reverse or it would have ripped the whole bumper off).

(Just to clarify: the bumper is by no means a write off, its not extreme damage, there's no cracking, its just a couple of deep gouges that go through the paint into the plastic, inside the lower air intake for the grill)

I certainly didnt hit anything, but i'm a letter of the contract guy. I certified there was no damage when I picked it up. While they certified there was no damage when I dropped it off, I can understand why they want to revise that after they discovered damage.

The part where I start to have my bullshit meter go off is that initially they wanted to claim about 3,500 worth of damage to insurance to repair and repaint the bumper, leaving me with the full 2000 excess fee. A brand new entire bumper is ~2000, and to repair should be closer to 1000. Additionally when I asked the tech if I could see all their documentation of damage and the quote they generated for the insurance statement, he got flustered in a way that jacked my bullshit meter to 11.


Now again, if I was an asshole, I'd tell them "you certified the car was fine when I dropped it off, this is your problem now", i'm not trying to screw them, but I'm wondering if its fairly common for prosche dealerships to overcharge for repairs to milk people / insurance for money.

My only experience was when I kerbed an alloy on a Cayman when the van I was overtaking swerved out into my path. I told the service advisor when I dropped it off and they kindly didn't charge me. Might be worth a face to face chat with them to explain your position and gauge from the interaction whether they are really feeling justified or not. Seems from your depiction and that they certified it undamaged on return that it's pretty unfair. Would the OPC carpark CCTV be good enough to identify the damage when you drove in? Also, did you not walk up to it from the front during your time with it?

 

[maximumpanda]

My only experience was when I kerbed an alloy on a Cayman when the van I was overtaking swerved out into my path. I told the service advisor when I dropped it off and they kindly didn't charge me. Might be worth a face to face chat with them to explain your position and gauge from the interaction whether they are really feeling justified or not. Seems from your depiction and that they certified it undamaged on return that it's pretty unfair. Would the OPC carpark CCTV be good enough to identify the damage when you drove in? Also, did you not walk up to it from the front during your time with it?

Its very hard to notice if you aren't down low, and its hard to describe but it isnt on an exterior surface, its on the inner edge of the lower lip, the external surface is completely spotless.

Porsche themselves admit it costs about 600 to repair the damage, but then somehow that balloons to about 3500. 2000 of which isnt even accounted for after you include their estimates on man hours. Like 30% of the cost is in reprogramming the pcm. And I want a job as a technician at porche if I'm getting paid 250/hr.

 

[whitex]

I've never been charged for any damage. I once pointed out a stone chip on a windshield when picking up a car, they swapped me for a different one because I was worried it might turn into a full crack, but they told me they would not have charged for that. I did have a loaner boxter smashed once (long time ago, when servicing my 911), but it was a dealer employee who drove into me as I was pulling back into the dealer parking lot (giant pickup truck, boxter very low hidden by the truck's massive hood - truck drove into drive's side door and pushed me sideways a little, low speed though), so the conversation was very brief "Are you ok sir? Yes, sorry for that, here are your 911 keys, we got it from here".

 

[rim23]

Always always always make pictures of a loaner car. If a damage is noticed, notify immediately.

 

[FlyingPoint]

First, I am not an attorney but I would tell them nicely to "pound salt". They certified the returned vehicle was damage free. You have no way of knowing if a driver from the service center hit something. I am sorry but you are not responsible. Additionally, the service center has insurance to cover damage that they inflict on cars. Tell them to place a claim with their carrier.

 

[kempez]

If they signed it off as having no damage when you dropped it off, anything other than that is their problem.

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