Porsche... just another car company???

[Postesla]

By most accounts, Porsche has a superb reputation for high-end cars. But I'm pondering what I value more, just a high end car or a great car company? Objectively measuring a great car is routine (safety/reliability/performance/longevity/value), but measuring a great company is more complex (financials/quality/service/honesty/integrity/culture).

As my first Porsche experience, the poor transparency and communications I’ve endured (and expressed by many others) is quite a surprise. Doesn’t paying the $$ premium warrant a premium experience from beginning to end? Sure, new EV startups and new tech are difficult and expensive, but integrity is free. No good excuses for the poor launch communications (at best) and hiding problems (at worst) from customers.

Really thought I was buying into a great car company, no longer sure about that. Great companies and brands do better.

 

[daveo4EV]

their cars are their triumph card - their behavior is rarely world class - you overlook it because of their cars and once you drive them it's hard to drive anything else

my 911 GT3 is masterful - there is frankly nothing in it's class when you balance _ALL_ factors - but the company itself - well lets just say if their products were weaker sauce then they'd be in trouble…

this is the risk with how they approach digital - much of their "advantage" does not translate to digital platforms - and then their weaknesses tend to dominate - and that's a huge risk to the brand…

my $0.02 - YMMV.

but frankly there is no substitute for a 911…others have tried.

 

[krissrock]

mmmm i don't think you'll find any car company that's gonna be as transparent as you want.
I get that you may be frustrated with this experience...I'm assuming maybe your order was delayed or something... but i think you'll find this "need to know" mindset with every mfr

 

[Postesla]

their cars are their triumph card - their behavior is rarely world class - you overlook it because of their cars and once you drive them it's hard to drive anything else

my 911 GT3 is masterful - there is frankly nothing in it's class when you balance _ALL_ factors - but the company itself - well lets just say if their products were weaker sauce then they'd be in trouble…

this is the risk with how they approach digital - much of their "advantage" does not translate to digital platforms - and then their weaknesses tend to dominate - and that's a huge risk to the brand…

my $0.02 - YMMV.

but frankly there is no substitute for a 911…others have tried.

Yep, I hear ya. A consistent view for sure from past/current owners. Guess I was hoping their passion for performance and mechanical engineering excellence would translate into the next generation of tech.

 

[shawn]

mmmm i don't think you'll find any car company that's gonna be as transparent as you want.
I get that you may be frustrated with this experience...I'm assuming maybe your order was delayed or something... but i think you'll find this "need to know" mindset with every mfr

somewhat agree. I bought 2 Tesla’s and the lack of communication and customer service was astounding. I grant them some slack because they were new and they have improved, but still lots of issues remain .On the other hand I bought a Volvo xc 40 and found that experience very good (with some small issues..still waiting for my Promised NACS Adapter). I am now going through my first Porsche experience. Better than Tesla but on par with Volvo. I think the SA is a key factor. If you get a good one then your impression of the company will be more favourable (at least in the communication side).

 

[Awaz]

Definitely, SA is a key factor. They are people, some very good and efficient, some not so.

 

[Postesla]

somewhat agree. I bought 2 Tesla’s and the lack of communication and customer service was astounding. I grant them some slack because they were new and they have improved, but still lots of issues remain .On the other hand I bought a Volvo xc 40 and found that experience very good (with some small issues..still waiting for my Promised NACS Adapter). I am now going through my first Porsche experience. Better than Tesla but on par with Volvo. I think the SA is a key factor. If you get a good one then your impression of the company will be more favourable (at least in the communication side).

Yep, I can see how the SA could be a key factor. But well run companies should drive consistency when it comes to the customer experience. Incidentally, I've also had 2 Teslas over a decade and have had nothing but positive experiences some how...which ive read differs from many

 

[shawn]

Yep, I can see how the SA could be a key factor. But well run companies should drive consistency when it comes to the customer experience. Incidentally, I've also had 2 Teslas over a decade and have had nothing but positive experiences some how...which ive read differs from many

Exactly …consistency is the signature of a mature company so I would expect Porsche to be more consistent as would be the case for Volvo. As I said, I’m too new to the Porsche experience to give a fair assessment, but can say it hasn’t been a smooth as expected part of which I think has to do with the Macan being a new product, but I may be too generous. This may be the case because I just came back from an event and saw the cars and suddenly forgot about the experience leading up to it.

 

[Duke95]

Was going to post last night and didnt have time...agree with all that has been said...in the end car companies are 90% all the same and 10% different. And, I wanted to post elsewhere to someone who was frustrated at lack of communication that, it is the norm in all in that managing comms do "selection, reflection, and deflection" it is just the reality. Even in my own company. That is just what companies do. ESPECIALLY with new product roll outs...the most stressful of all things companies do, the most risk, and where 90% of hiccups occur. Lots of people like me would love companies to just be honest, I am a grown up, I get it and can accept issues with good explanation. Problem is many are just to opposite...so companies cater to the lowest communication common denominator. SA like has been said is a huge variable too. You can train people on the "Porsche way" (or whatever) but people all vary greatly too in personality and such. My SA has been the best SA I have ever worked with buying a car...sends me screen shots of progress every week for 3 months. Texts me out of the blue ("hey just drove the 4 at a PEC, it was so much fun" etc). And when my delivery had a delay (container ship broke down and 3 week delay to get another in the pipeline) she was totally communicative. In the end, other than that delay, everything has been wonderful, smooth sailing, on time and very positive communication.

All that said I am taking delivery today...so hopefully I did not just jinx myself!!

 

[gramorris]

I would add that the Porsche Experience you get with a new Porsche (at Silverstone in the UK) is something else and something I’m not aware you get with other manufacturers. That beats any test drive or handover in terms of getting to know the car.

I’m staggered my local Audi dealerships are still in business and would find it difficult to believe they’re representative of all Audi dealerships. I tried tooth and nail to get in a GT went round 4 local dealerships (all the same group) and had missed callbacks, failed appointments and never managed to even see one let alone get a test drive. Vowed never to waste my time with them again. Anyway thought I’d check out the Q6 eTron, apparently someone in the dealership had taken their only demo on holiday left my details, promised a callback for a test drive, nothing. Put a deposit on the Macan the following week. What hope do you have if you had real problems if they can’t be bothered in the sales process.

 

[Salmonfisher]

I don’t know if it’s the same in USA but in UK all your interaction is with a private dealer not Porsche so it depends how good (or not) the dealer is. The above post is interesting as I have dealt with several different Volvo dealerships with my Polestar. Two have been fantastic, one perfectly OK and one dreadful so it’s not a Volvo thing but a dealer issue. In a similar vein my wife has an Audi and our local dealer is fine.

 

[Postesla]

Was going to post last night and didnt have time...agree with all that has been said...in the end car companies are 90% all the same and 10% different. And, I wanted to post elsewhere to someone who was frustrated at lack of communication that, it is the norm in all in that managing comms do "selection, reflection, and deflection" it is just the reality. Even in my own company. That is just what companies do. ESPECIALLY with new product roll outs...the most stressful of all things companies do, the most risk, and where 90% of hiccups occur. Lots of people like me would love companies to just be honest, I am a grown up, I get it and can accept issues with good explanation. Problem is many are just to opposite...so companies cater to the lowest communication common denominator. SA like has been said is a huge variable too. You can train people on the "Porsche way" (or whatever) but people all vary greatly too in personality and such. My SA has been the best SA I have ever worked with buying a car...sends me screen shots of progress every week for 3 months. Texts me out of the blue ("hey just drove the 4 at a PEC, it was so much fun" etc). And when my delivery had a delay (container ship broke down and 3 week delay to get another in the pipeline) she was totally communicative. In the end, other than that delay, everything has been wonderful, smooth sailing, on time and very positive communication.

All that said I am taking delivery today...so hopefully I did not just jinx myself!!

Ha, consider yourself lucky if your SA has done that. Besides not a single proactive communication since the late Jan deposit I made, often took multiple emails/texts to get a response to my occasional inquiries. Ambassador is quite the generous title in my case. That said, best of luck today and send us "waiters" a pic of ur new EV.

 

[byebye]

Not depending on the SA, is the ability of Porsche to communicate details to the SA.
Porsche doesn’t communicate details to SAs, they just try to solve issues by giving orders without explanation (do that, change this part, try again, give us logs, wait 2+ days until I will give you new instructions)
Porsche has no incentive to communicate about problems because they bill the car to the SA, even though it’s not possible to deliver it!

in the end, this is catastrophic for customers and SAs…

 

[Postesla]

I don’t know if it’s the same in USA but in UK all your interaction is with a private dealer not Porsche so it depends how good (or not) the dealer is. The above post is interesting as I have dealt with several different Volvo dealerships with my Polestar. Two have been fantastic, one perfectly OK and one dreadful so it’s not a Volvo thing but a dealer issue. In a similar vein my wife has an Audi and our local dealer is fine.

Pretty sure it's the same, dealership model. That said, like franchises, should be a strong set of rules and norms to follow to protect any mothership brand.

 

[byebye]

IMO with this macan launch, Porsche is in panic mode…

After that, they will activate damage control mode