Porsche MCL Motors : Service Reps are incompetent
 

Fail 1.

Drop my car off @ 10am to get brake light replaced due to condensation.
They call me to tell me car is ready for pickup @ 4pm.
I get there, see my car parked on the side of the street about 1 block up.
I go inside and service reps tell me car is ready, they will have someone drive it around for me and ask me to wait inside.
15 minutes pass.
I ask if my car is ready, the service reps hands me the key and tells me its parked 1 block up.
I get to my car and see the condensation is still in brake light.
I go back to to the service rep, ask him what is going on, I thought the brake light was fixed.
He NOW tells me, oh the part has to be ordered, someone will call you when its ready.

Fail 2.
Rep Name: RAY

I call to ask about my passenger air bag light which is lit up in the OFF position when I had a passenger in it last night.
He tells me the weight of the passenger affects the air bag.
Fair enough.
But, I tell him the person sitting in the seat weighs 125 lbs.
His response: YEAH, thats not enough.
Ok, so I ask him, what is the Porsche weight that is set in the system.
His response: It's about there.

Fail 3.

I call back about 10 minutes later and a different service rep answers.
I fill him in the problem and the info that his colleague just gave me.
I told him I have already done a test had a heavier passenger (150 and 180lbs) sit inside, and the air bag light goes back to normal.
However, that did not make sense. It's common that many female passengers may weigh about 100-130lbs or less.
His response: if the seat is set resting up against the back, it will affect the weight ratio.
Fair enough, at least I am receiving a response.
BUT - Seriously now. How is this making any sense from a safety perspective?

complain to the manager, instead of us

people who weigh next to nothing will actually be hurt from the airbag

that's why they recommend that if you don't meet the height/weight requirements you should be sitting in the backseat or have your airbag deactivated



as for the rest of it... i hate service ppl at any dealership.. thats typical bs that goes on like "oh ur car will be ready soon" when u see it parked out in the lot and when its finally "ready" its in the same spot etc

That's why I don't go to stealerships, unless i'm in need of a LOL.

Exactly.

^ I always thought the seat sensors are set to about 20-25lbs ie anything bigger than a baby. 100lbs sounds way too high.

A quick email to Porsche can probably answer your question.

I dont get why dealerships only seem to hire the most retarded techs... anytime i go to a dealership for anything, I have to deal with 4 different people to get 1 answer. I call any other shop and they have the answer for me right away. They also fix the problems right away instead of replacing useless parts they they think are causing the problem and creating more work...

On the odd time I bring in my car to the dealership, I ask to speak directly to the technician that worked on my car, not the service rep. I've found that the reps tend to be more customer service oriented and not necessarily mechanically savvy. I remember one time a few years back I had a throttle cable replaced in one of my Jetta's. It was causing havoc with the transmission so I brought it back to the dealership. The service rep flatly refused to admit that they installed it because it was a non-OE cable. I finally forced him to bring out the mechanic that worked on the car and the mechanic immediately piped up and said, "Yup, I installed that non-OE part because VW doesn't make 'em anymore." Boy was the service rep's face red after that. :lol

That's one of the lamer examples I have, but regardless of if it was at a VW, Honda or GM dealership, they all seem to have the same attitude. Must be a prerequisite for the job or something...

It's because when you are sitting down in a chair, not all of your weight is pressing down on the seat.. a significant portion of your weight are your legs and they are mostly resting on the floor. A 130lbs girl might only be putting 75% of her weight on the seat. Just FYI it is super super rare for the passenger airbag light to malfunction unless someone has installed a new airbag-less steering wheel and messed with the system.

Another FYI: Airbags came into existence because some retards in the southern states refused to buckle up. If you are wearing your seat belt, you don't really need front airbags. In fact, I'd rather the front airbags not go off, because they are just going to bruise your face. Buckle up, you'll be fine. Additionally, most 2002+ airbags are 'dual stage', meaning they sense how much you weigh and your seat position, and will use one of three settings for the airbag based on that. (Hi , Low , Off)

The service advisors at my dealership take way more abuse than I do in sales and they know their stuff too. It's not an easy job, but you do what you can. Even though I don't work at MCL and don't owe them anything, I feel bad that you're not happy with them. Phone them and talk to the general manager and let him know you were disappointed and are considering going to weissach or elsewhere for service... see what happens. I know our dealer principal would take it very seriously if a customer complained to him personally, and he would do something about it. Bitching about it on here only frustrates everyone and really only tells your side of the story.

its hard to find a service advisor that is also as tech savy as a mechanic.

thats why i love dealing with parts advisors or service advisors that are car nuts like myself. chances are, they are interested and or even know what ur talking about! unless you are complaining why the car doesnt smell like cantelope, but closer to honeydew.

when i was dealing with ford , the shop foreman and I knew each other on a first name basis

was pretty retarded cause my car was tied up with them for 3+ weeks

even the service advisor didn't want to get involved

im a service advisor and its funny how alot of customers come by and think they know what they are talking about, i got into an arguement with a customer that said timing belts dont ever have to be changed while a timing chain needs regular maintenance, so i just agreed with him,

^ lawl.

My backpack turns on my passenger air bag all the time. :(

^ You mean it turns on the passenger airbag LIGHT - which means it turns OFF your passenger airbag.

;)

Strap that bag in for maximum safety, man. After seeing someone get clocked in the head by their handbag during a panic stop I always keep bags on the floor behind the front seats or in the trunk. Never unsecured in the passenger cabin.

^ lol sometimes I have it on the floor of the passenger seat.


nope. 2 lights, one shows the bag inactive the other shows it active. one is always on at all times.

I know that for Hondas, anything over 65lbs will activate the airbags.

+1

my friend was killed when her laptop flew out of the back seat and hit her in the back of the head...

hiring competent ppl is not always an easy task tho

Take it to the Porshe dealership in Bellingham...see what they say.

my girlfriend weights about 100lbs and my light does not go on when she's in my g35 passenger seat.
definitely something wrong and the service reps are just plain idiots...

Since there seems to be a fair amount of dealership working people in here. Do you think volvo of coquitlam (or wherever) would want to "take a look" at my car and tell me "everything" that's wrong with it, would they charge me for this?

I've been very tempted to go in recently and just see what they have to say about my car.

Holy shit, sorry to hear man.

Unless they are super dead with no business, they will charge you minimum 1hr of shop labor the inspect and diagnose

if you know whats wrong and want a quote, they should be able to provide you with an estimate

I've got a long list... Thanks for the answer though!