CarraraWhite
Barcelona
- Joined
- 6 Apr 2008
- Messages
- 1,341
a shocker of a story from PH.
AnjumI will post the details - and pictures - but just need to be clear what I can and cant say. I'll have it posted in the next couple of days.
Sorry - it's a bit long. Get comfy - and enjoy the warmth of my Porsche experience:
11/05/07 Previous owner acquired vehicle – orange Porsche reg EA07 VMC .
05/10/07, car rolled car during track day at Brands Hatch – damage see pictures. Owner uninsured. Local OPC declares car uneconomical to repair - so owner sells to a bodyshop.
Pics Below:
At Track
You tell me where?
June 2008: AW sees car on internet on Porsche approved used cars Centre Leicester then owned by Nick Whale Group, approaches Porsche, as their website says 'Mileage and vehicle provenance checks including Insurance write off/accident damage** ', he believes the car to be in A1 condition and pays £100,000 (i.e. over list) on 16/06/08.
At PCL:
When picking car up from Porsche Centre Leicester, AW notices during on-site inspection, drivers side wing mirror trim is broken, despite assurances over the phone that the car is immaculate. It is agreed that this will be repaired on return from pre-planned visit to Germany and Belgium.
June 2008 (i.e. less than two days later) Rear windscreen seal fails en route. This is temporarily held in place by tape, performed in Germany. Porsche Centre Leicester notified whilst AW is in Germany, who help to arrange repairs on my return. AW also notes that dashboard is very 'noisy" – and informs Porsche Centre Leicester.
July 2008. P C Leister unable to co-ordinate with P C London (Chiswick). AW establishes that PC London (Chiswick) are not authorised to perform repairs on RS models. AW then arranges with PC Reading directly.
July 2008. AW receives car back from Porsche Centre Reading (unclean, with substantial amounts of plaint flecks in the interior with hand prints all over the interior of the rear windscreen). Notices issues with paint, front and rear (overspray, quality, hardening – or lack of). Photographs taken (front bumper and rear engine air inlets) and reported paint 'runs" to Porsche Centre Reading , who confirm that paint issues were present when they worked on car.
Paint Issues:
Nov 2008 On reviewing Maintenance documentation, AW notices that the documentation is new and does not have original or previous owners information. I am also made aware of rumours that Porsche was a 'write off' through trade contact.
Nov 2008 Porsche Centre West London do a '111 Point check' – all OK (with exception of tyre tread).
Nov 2008 AW calls previous owner, to put his mind at rest as worried about paint defects etc – however, previous owner confirms that the car was damaged beyond economical repair. AW also traces who chain of 'keepers" of EA07 VMC – including the non-Porsche approved repairers – all the way to PCL.
Nov 2008 AW called the Principle of Porsche Centre Leicester, to ask tell him of findings and asking him what he was prepared to do remedy the situation. Principle of Porsche Centre Leicester confirms that car was not purchased from last registered owner, but from 'someone else".
Nov 2008. It is suggested that paint defects are down to me – and that I had the car resprayed and am responsible for the poor condition of the paintwork. At this point, I am not getting any satisfaction from the dealer in question – and am alarmed at where conversations are going.
Nov 2008. AW appoints a solicitor. The solicitor's advice is to immediately reject the car and cease any finance payments. However, as there was finance on the car, case is with Porsche Finance who technically supplied the vehicle not the OPC. Solicitor sends rejection letter to Finance, OPC and Porsche GB. V5 is signed back over to dealer. AW sends the car up to Porsche Centre Leicester so they can inspect the car at their request, along with all vehicle documentation, spare keys, services book etc. Their inspection (carried out by Chartwell) shows minor paint damage 'and light, minor damage to the roof rails". OPC do not accept rejection, Finance and Porsche GB do not respond.
DEC 2008/JAN 2009 AW engages a Porsche specialist to perform an independent inspection. In summary, the findings are that it has been re-shelled.
Jan/Feb 2009. Contact Porsche GB and Porsche AG (Germany) to find out when and to whom the shell was sold to. Porsche GB and Germany refuse to release any information as it is a legal matter.
Mar/Apr 2009. Barrister advises we get another inspection done to check how well the re-shell was done (i.e. torque settings for all of the bolts, tolerances etc.). However no inspection engineer(s) can get information from Porsche as to factory fitting requirements, despite previous assurances that this information can be obtained by the factory.
Mar 2009 – Finally Porsche Finance respond! PF refuse to write off any of the arrears since the rejection and issue a default letter.
Sytner take over Porsche Centre Leics, from Nick Whale group and say that they are not responsible for problem.
PCL offer to buy car back at current market value. Much discussion between solicitors as to what 'current' means.
May 2008, AW finally accepts a figure substantially lower than what he paid for car, and has to pay for his own legal bills and all inspections. The alternative would have been protracted court battle, with the possible risk of still ending up with the car and huge arrears and the black mark of the default notice over my head all the time.
Porsche Centre Leicester (now under new ownership) in my opinion failed to appropriately check the provenance, which brings into question what levels of checks the OPC dealer network actually makes.
You may wonder how a car that was re-shelled with a bodyshell supplied by Porsche AG/ Porsche GB, supplied to a non-approved Porsche repairer was sold in the OPC network?
This also has implications for Porsche Finance, who financed a car which is now worth materially less than a original, non-accident repaired example.
June 2009 – Nick Whale contact me asking me for V5 etc..........
Frankly - with what I've experienced - I will never own another Porsche just to stay away from the detritus associated with the brand. I lived the dream - and had a full on nightmare.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=48&t=698367