Dealer lying about the car not being delivered by Porsche

[kokos]

My guess is that it is standard procedure to lie about cars arriving on Friday because the people to prep the car are not available on weekends. If the car is there, then you have to explain why the customer can’t have it, which could be awkward for a demanding/insensitive customer.

I got a simizlAr treatment but my car showed up on Wednesday, so they had time to prep it before the weekend. But they still didn’t tell me when it arrived. They waited till it was ready before they called me. I’m going to talk to mySA about it. I don’t like getting lumped in with the demanding customers.

I don’t think its in anyone’s best interest to build a business relationship based on lies. I’ve waited 6mo, I can wait for them for a week to get the car ready. To be clear; I never demanded the car right away or anything, just asked if they had it, and by when it would be ready (book me a delivery appointment).

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[OTPSkipper]

I don’t think its in anyone’s best interest to build a business relationship based on lies. I’ve waited 6mo, I can wait for them for a week to get the car ready. To be clear; I never demanded the car right away or anything, just asked if they had it, and by when it would be ready (book me a delivery appointment).

I agree. That’s why I am going to talk to my SA.

 

[B61]

I don’t think its in anyone’s best interest to build a business relationship based on lies. I’ve waited 6mo, I can wait for them for a week to get the car ready. To be clear; I never demanded the car right away or anything, just asked if they had it, and by when it would be ready (book me a delivery appointment).

absolutely.
I just think that salesguy wouldn’t lie to you, if you would say: On TYD, I’ve seen that my car arrived, so i’m just wondering when it will be ready for me…..

 

[tbinmd]

TYD still shows my wife’s CT4 enroute to the dealer, we picked it up 12/10/21

 

[mdrobc1213]

I don’t think its in anyone’s best interest to build a business relationship based on lies. I’ve waited 6mo, I can wait for them for a week to get the car ready. To be clear; I never demanded the car right away or anything, just asked if they had it, and by when it would be ready (book me a delivery appointment).

Some SA's are more diligent than others. My SA let me know when the approx arrival of my CT4 would be and we had a bunch of dates for him to shoot for to prep it for delivery. Easy but you have to do you due diligence especially in this market and with some WA dealers..I am afraid. Had a WA dealer sell my friends ordered Cayman GT4 out from under him in 2015 when they first came out due to him being out of state and supposedly unable to take delivery when the car arrived....sold it we found out later to another RL member in state at a significant ADM. This was after my friend spec'd the car, put deposit in place, and when car was set to arrive and he contacted them to make payment arrangement and have it picked up by covered carrier for delivery to him. SA went MIA and couldn't give him a status on the car then it was no longer avail for BS reasons and he eventually was refunded his deposit $$. Never dealt with them again and that was my friends LAST Porsche.....so be wary...just staying.

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.

That is not so...see quote/post above. Some dealers will do so given more opportunity to make more $$$ on a vehicle and use various misc reasons to deny the sale. Since they are independent PCNA cannot help much and many contracts have arbitration lines in them (read the fine print) that makes it forcing them the sell you your car an ambiguous and gray area. When they choose to do so from what I've seen its done and your car is long gone with you in just an argument with the dealership...they have the leverage AND your car when they choose to act this way. Not saying its right but saying I've seen it happen...

One hypothetical scenario: OP made deposit and has purchase contract at MSRP. SA sees opportunity to sell to someone else at MSRP plus markup. Purchase contract typically would have a ‘buyer takes delivery’ time limit. If SA had plausible deniability, could blame a mix up over OP delivery timeout and could shrug off a more profitable sale to another buyer.

Yep...occured when market was "normal" all the time for hot models and was basic ROE for a few dealers....what do you think happens in the current market given inventory and supply dynamics now? Likely more prevalent esp when there is someone in line who will likely definitely pay more!

What I have from them is:
- The configuration of the car (which is pretty much a print-out from the website)
- The Porsche confirmation of a Customer Configured car, with the commission number assigned to me
- A signed quote for the car (based on the config above) from the sales manager at MSRP plus taxes, and reg. fees.
- Receipts for my non-refundable deposit (10k$) plus the trade-in (~54k$).

So not a purchase contract, but sufficient documentation to provide a paperwork trail.

But not enough to keep a determined SA or SM or GM from pushing the best and most profitable deal for them in terms of $$ or maybe even keeping a multiple purchase customer happy. Lots of guys are waiting still on an allocation list at some dealers for just that reason as their orders keep slipping down in the line when avail allocations come in...this has been happening across the car world but esp in the 991 and now Taycan forums for the last 12+ mos now due to COVID19 and other external factors that have jacked up both production and economics of it all. So wouldn't hold a signed quote as gospel that I am getting a car till I am in the finance office with a check or signed contract and keys IMHO in the current market.

 

[whitex]

I don’t think its in anyone’s best interest to build a business relationship based on lies. I’ve waited 6mo, I can wait for them for a week to get the car ready. To be clear; I never demanded the car right away or anything, just asked if they had it, and by when it would be ready (book me a delivery appointment).

IMHO assuming that the SA lied is a mistake, which created an unnecessary reason for you feel angry. It is much more likely that they just didn't check thoroughly. The car might not even have been in the computer as in PDI yet, which means the only way they would know would be if they went to the parking lot to look. They might have even answered your call from home on their cell phone and had no way to walk into the parking lot. Maybe they forgot to say "as far as I know" before "the car is not here yet" (or maybe they did, and you just don't remember that detail). So many possibilities.

The SA's don't count days before your car is being delivered like customers do. So they don't run out to the parking lot, brimming with excitement, every time a delivery truck shows up with new inventory. You really should have just told them you were there and thought you saw your car, and/or ask them whether they checked in person on just looked at some computer report. Could have saved you unnecessary anguish.

Bottom line, I honestly think you are making way too big a deal out of this. I think your worst case scenario is your SA was just lazy, but even if, it did not affect your actual delivery date, so who cares? 6 months of waiting has got you bothered? That's nothing - a typical wait before COVID was 4-6 months. I've been waiting for almost a year now, not even an allocation yet, and just found out that during that year I moved up the list by one spot, only to be moved back again because Porsche merged Taycan Sedan and Cross Turismo allocations, meaning Sedan and CT waitlists were merged (so someone waiting for a Sedan Turbo longer than I have been waiting for CT Turbo ended up ahead of me on the list). The SA who took my original deposit no longer works at the dealership either, which is a real possibility nowadays with low car volumes and long wait times. My most optimistic delivery is a year from now, so 2 years after initial deposit. There is not much I can do about this - such is life, got to roll with the punches and enjoy life.

 

[B61]

The SA's don't count days before your car is being delivered like customers do.

That's right.... but, in my world, SA check "inventory" when (s)he get a call from a customer, who paid (large!) depozit months ago....

 

[whitex]

That's right.... but, in my world, SA check "inventory" when (s)he get a call from a customer, who paid (large!) depozit months ago....

I get what you're saying, but in this case the SA might have checked inventory on the computer. Computer databases don't always update in real-time. Maybe the car was not yet processed by whoever enters it into the PDI system. Who knows.

The customer has a contract and a VIN number, whether the dealer told them the car is there and not yet ready for pickup, or said the car is not there doesn't make any difference. This is in Washington state where I live, and (unfortunately) had an opportunity to learn the legal rights the dealers association managed to secure for themselves by lobbying (read "bribing") politicians. In WA state, the dealer can back out of the deal any time before they hand you the keys, and their sole obligation is to return your deposit. I only know this because it happened to me once - the dealer started asking for more money than our purchase contract stated, so I got some lawyers involved and found out there is nothing I can do. I could have paid more, or take my deposit and walk - my only two choices. I walked on principle by the way, and after contacting the manufacturer got a $900 credit direct from the manufacturer towards any new car or theirs (which I used at another dealership) This by the way means the SA in question here didn't have to play any games if they wanted to yank the car from @kokos to sell to someone else. Bad PR, but totally legal.

 

[B61]

I get what you're saying, but in this case the SA might have checked inventory on the computer. Computer databases don't always update in real-time. Maybe the car was not yet processed by whoever enters it into the PDI system. Who knows.

Agreed.
But still... I guess that they are not getting hundreds (or even tens) of Taycan every day, so...

 

[satchurator]

Since they are independent PCNA cannot help much

In the US, PCNA have regional managers who are liaisons with dealerships, and help with pre/post sales issues. There are stories on Rennlist of buyers getting help in this way. If a dealership is misbehaving repeatedly, or doing something to harm the brand, PCNA can penalize them by reducing their next batch of allocations.

I still think most likely explanation in this particular case is incompetence/ laziness/ communication breakdown. Here’s hoping this is a non-issue for OP.

 

[Darius]

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).

You have the car in your Porsche app so they just seem incompetent as sadly many are. Considering the prestige of the brand i have had a few disappointing experiences but they generally make up for it.

 

[AyTifosi]

I've purchased a few cars from Autonation Bellevue (Porsche & Mercedes). I haven't found them to be dishonest, for the most part. When I was buying my Taycan, I didn't know much about the car. The F&I person tried selling me the brake package saying that such a heavy car goes through brakes. I was able to cancel that.. Other than that I've found them to be straight forward.

Having said all that - What have you been waiting for that you get to pick up, hopefully soon?

 

[Peter W]

Sounds like an incompetent sales agent to me. I wonder how many SA's actually read these forums, they should, it might help them getting more professional.

As for all references to 'my car' and 'your car', the car is not yet 'yours'. It will be 'yours' when you sign the final paperwork and send the final $$$. That said, the dealership and SA should not play any shenanigans with your ordered / deposited car, but as a prospect buyer (not yet an owner), you should not make any claims to 'your' car. When it sits in the lot or is in the service bay prior to you taking ownership, it is still the dealership's car (or PNA, I am not sure how they work).

 

[B61]

Sounds like an incompetent sales agent to me. I wonder how many SA's actually read these forums, they should, it might help them getting more professional.

As for all references to 'my car' and 'your car', the car is not yet 'yours'. It will be 'yours' when you sign the final paperwork and send the final $$$. That said, the dealership and SA should not play any shenanigans with your ordered / deposited car, but as a prospect buyer (not yet an owner), you should not make any claims to 'your' car. When it sits in the lot or is in the service bay prior to you taking ownership, it is still the dealership's car (or PNA, I am not sure how they work).

Couldn’t agree with you.
Track Your Dreams…is about Your (his) car.
also, he paid a huge deposit, so he‘ has rights to say MY car.
finaly…we are saying ”my” car since the very first post…

 

[satchurator]

As for all references to 'my car' and 'your car', the car is not yet 'yours'.

Unfair to argue ownership semantics IMO. If you want to take it to the extreme, if OP is leasing or financing, he can’t say ‘my car’ for years. But we all understand what ‘my car’ means in this context.

OP’s name has been attached to this specific car since the allocation became a commission number to build the car that he specced. In a US legal sense, OP has a reasonable expectation that the car will become his if all parties honor the purchase contract.

Who would commit to this kind of purchase with a dispassionate mindset that the car could be sold to another person at the whim of the dealership?

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