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Terrible customer experience with the Macan Diesel at Porsche Centre South Sydney

3K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  Gobbi 
#1 ·
Guys, I want to share my recent experience with is dealer in Sydney. I purchased our Macan S Diesel Jan 2017 - since then we have had nothing but problems with it and the car has been nothing but a disruption to our famiy’s lives. We’ve called or have been back to the Service centre 6 TIMES due to a fault in the Diesel Particle Filter. Since then we’ve had the car towed TWICE in the past month as the car went into limp mode. Until the car was towed the first time - the response from PCSS (Porsche Centre South Sydney) was “drive the car harder or on a freeway for 20mins to clear the fault:” - I don’t feel anyone should have to go out of their way and change their routines to accomodate a car - let alone drive it more aggressively to clear a known fault. I eventually took the car to Porsche Centre Willoughby to clear the code, from the back of a positive experience with them I purchased a Macan GTS there.


The first time it was towed their service centre manager and our sales guy Aquiles acknowledged a known problem with the car and offered a solution:

1). Wait for an update in the software - no timeframe given.Ie. Drive your LEMON until we figure out a fix.

2). Trade in your car for a new petrol version - GREAT! Happy to pay a little extra as PCSS and Porsche HQ would kick in a subsidy. My car is second hand so happy to meet halfway.

I went into to speak to the sales guy and was told the only available new Macan S petrols were sold (within a day) and the only option was to take a lesser model (read approx 20- 30k less) or spend an extra 70-80K to upgrade to a Cayenne S they had in stock. So now my only option was to take an inferior product or be forced to buy something more expensive I didn’t want.

I enquired about the half a dozen Used and Demo examples on the lot - again, happy to pay the difference, however Aquillies was adamant that we could only buy a new vehicle from their lot.

My car was towed for the second time today and I asked about accepting a Macan S that I’d been following up with him for 3 days and the text response from the sales person was: “Management have registered this car for a demonstrator now, not for sale” ie. they want to me wait for a fix and drive a potentially dangerous car or cough up another extra 70-80k (read: cornered ) into buying a more expensive car.

Porsche is considered a prestige brand, and it is so unfortunate that this is the experience I’ve had. I am willing to spend some money to upgrade this, but I feel you should have some flexibility on the make and model, knowing that your Macan S Diesel has a known fault, essentially making it a LEMON to drive.

When you have a prestige car that has a known fault in the industry it kills the resale value, and reflects poorly on your brand. Surely Porsche, known for its customer service, would want to look after their passionate invested owners? Can someone with some degree of authority help me out on this, so I’m not calling you every 3 weeks when your faulty car switches into limp mode, leaving my wife and toddler stranded on the side of the road starring at a $125k Lemon waiting for an Uber, and getting comfortably driven to their destination in a more reliable Corolla.
 
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#2 ·
Sad but common issue. There is a lot about the DPF issue on the UK forum if you have not been there.

In Australia Maurice Blackburn is looking at a class action regarding Porsche Macan, but have not commenced it as yet. It is taking details from owners for when/if they commence one.

The latest info I received is that it is waiting to see what happens in the US with the Macan, but as I understand it the Macan diesel was not sold there (perhaps others on the forum know for sure and can please advise). I think is is worth a call to them - they are pretty good with over the phone advice and you can register over the phone if you choose, but not with its online portal as no action has yet commenced. Details on this link:
https://www.vwclassactionmb.com.au/register-login.php?loginonly=1


Good luck!
 
#3 ·
Whats your typical single drive distance? I do not drive short distances at slow speed that often and from the last 3 years of owning a Diesel Macan I have only seen the particle error once. Once you drive more distance it goes away. Unless you often drive a mile or two in the city, constantly seeing the error is not ok. Your car should be on warranty and you should ask them to replace the filter and/or fix the bug. If you are urban driver - sell the diesel and buy a petrol one. May be shop around, Sydney should have a few dealers, no?
 
#4 ·
Sorry for the late reply, I posted this on their facebook and I received a reply from their General Manager in Sales who managed to "miraculously" find me Macan S petrol in similar spec within a few hours. The attitude of the sales person remained the same.. he was doing me a favour and he would receive "minimal sales commission" from this transaction. All in all he was trying to capitalise on my bad fortune rather than turn a bad experience around quickly and retain a life long customer.

Throughout the past few days I've had cordial exchanges with Porsche South Sydney and have been accomodating. They traded my car in a little under market price however the dealership and HQ Australia kicked in about 30k for a 122k car. I paid the balance which is fair as I'm swapping a 2 year old car with 24000km for a new one.
It's been a most unpleasant experience dealing with this particular dealership. I encourage anyone with with a similar issue to make some noise with their dealership to get action. They were dragging their feet up until I posted my experience on social media.

I'll be taking my business to Porsche Centre Willoughby in the future, their service has been flawless with my Macan GTS.
 
#5 ·
Glad it is working out for you in the end. It could been much worse, like in US, where Porsche buyers deposit money are gone with the wind. Greedy trader is better than MIA trader.
 
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