Another couple of thoughts. If you don't get satisfaction, contact your local BBB or the state commerce department.

ChuckJ

 

Huh, I don't know of anyone who involves a lawyer when buying a Porsche Other member chime in. Do you think it's necessary to have a lawyer double check the paper work before signing?

 

I guess that depends on your pain threshold or the depth of your pocket

 

I believe he is not suggesting that everybody should seek legal counsel before buying a car. I believe he is suggesting that for those who have lower risk threshold, be aware of what they are getting into (due diligence - means something different for different parties).

... just in case things like this happen.

I'd leave the deposit. And guarantee that I can use it towards another car purchase at that dealer at a later time.

Kind of a - "keep my good-faith deposit (even though that wasn't what it was), I'll be back for my car later" This guarantees that you'll be back, and pleasantly spread the good word about the dealership.

 

You ordered a NEW Car, a NEW Porsche, not a used car sitting on the lot. They special ordered that car just for you, had it built then shipped. You should know you are out your $5k. If you have the smarts to afford a New Porsche then none of this is a shock. I do agree that you should go to the CEO of the dealership and share your story, that will probably actually work!

 

I think if you want your money bad enough you will have to put the pressure on them including calling a lawyer even though you don't want to do so. You could also say that you will be posting this on every porsche and car message board if you don't get your money back. There's been cases where people were screwed by dealerships and got enough pressure from sites like autoblog or jalopnik reporting it and they gave in. But you might need to find another porsche dealer to buy from in the future if you want to go all in on pressuring them and making yourself an enemy of the dealership.

 

Sorry to hear about your situation, but like others mentioned, get in touch with a lawyer and see if they can do anything for you. Good luck

 

I once put a deposit on a 2011 bmw 1M. I had to back out for financial reasons and I got my deposit of 2k back. However, I had a history with the dealer so that helped.

If they don't give it back, I like the idea stated above. Have them hold the deposit for a future porsche purchase when things get better. Good luck.

 

I would take the latter from our doc and your employer and contact Porsche USA customer relations. They are based in the Atlanta burbs right next to Hennessy Porsche. They may be willing to help. Another more hard-nosed approach would be to tell the dealer sales manager that you are going to use Facebook, Twitter, yelp and the local TV news outlet to let everyone know how consumer unfriendly they area and to not use them for sales or service.

 

Lot of great advice! Wish you all the best and am so sorry to hear it.

 

While driving to DC this morning (in my wonderful radar detector equipped 991) to retrieve my daughter from graduate school for the weekend I thought about your comment. What I do not think you and many others seriously appreciate that the dealer involves a lawyer before selling you a Porsche or Honda or any other vehicle. I've been on that side of the "fence" and I can tell you, it's a serious endeavor.

I hear incredulity in your comment, but, consulting a lawyer can help you to prepare for or avert a financial disaster (such as the fellow from Georgia may experience). It is the ounce of prevention you may need.

So, then next time you go into a dealership to sign a contract drafted by their lawyers (believe, me, a lot of us reviewed, redrafted, researched and revised that contract) without having your lawyer look it over, you are going to a gun fight with a butter knife.

By the way, I had a lawyer look over the contract that I was really excited to sign (as I was in full "Just give it me, give it to me now and I'll sign anything to own that absolutely gorgeous Porsche, come to momma.....gimmie gimmie gimmie" mode). My lawyer even accompanied me to the showroom....I took my lawyer out to dinner after the transaction....My lawyer even gave me permission to buy the car....My lawyer is my...wife.

 

I was not expecting that ending... I thought your story was headed in an exactly opposite direction.

 

Well, my lawyer is my longtime girlfriend and she specializes in contract law, so I guess I'll bring her along too.

 

Instead of saying I was backing out for financial reasons, I would have told them to cancel because I had to have the Turbo; Telling them I would be back as soon as it was out. They would have probably given you your deposit back.

 

Sheesh...Again I bring up the state by state thing. In Texas you will see pretty much the exact forms and contracts at ANY car dealer you go to. There is a lot of legalese mumbo-jumbo on it but it's also written BY STATE LAW to bullet point the major aspects of it. It will have sales price, fees, taxes, etc all spelled out down to the bottom line. If there's financing or leasing involved, all of the numbers pertaining to that are also there in very plain english. An ordered car will start with a form called "Buyer's Order" which may have some ?'s left in some spots (i.e. price of future car is not known yet) but even it is pretty straightforward. I have bought close to 30 new cars in my life here and have never had to consult a lawyer before buying it. Has nothing to do with my "risk threshold," more to do with my literacy and common sense.
So many things pertaining to car sales are regional and maybe that's why we don't all agree on things here. There are three Porsche dealers in Houston all within 20 miles of each other. I doubt any of them would demand a deposit for a special order unless it was something very high dollar/weird options (my purple/orange example with $20K of Porsche Exclusive options). They all have cars on the lot at all times and allocations/new cars in the pipeline. If a buyer wasn't treated right at one, it's not too hard to move on to the next and they all know this, no collusion going on. The OP is the one who always gets forgotten in these threads. I see he's moved on in trying to get someone to pick up his ordered car, he's being proactive. Hope it works out for him and he gets his $5K back. Let this thread be a future lesson to anyone thinking about ordering a car. Make sure you read the fine print, bring a lawyer if you're not comfortable doing this yourself, and ask why a deposit (or at least one for more than $500-1K is really necessary.)