Porsche Cayenne Owner Stages Massive Protest At Dealer In China

Tycho de Feyter
by Tycho de Feyter

An angry owner of a Porsche Cayenne staged a massive protest at his local Porsche dealer in Shenzhen in Guangdong Province. He had bought a brand-new Cayenne two months ago for he astounding price of 2.7 million yuan, or $428,000 (at least that’s what he had told MOP.com.)

Unfortunately, the Cayenne owner experienced a lot of trouble. The owner claims that the car’s problems made him almost crash on two occasions.

He took his Cayenne back to the dealer who promised to fix it, but the problems didn’t go away. He went back again, and again, but there was still no fix. In the end, the owner could not take it anymore. He rented a flatbed and hauled his SUV right in front of the dealer, flatbed covered with banners accusing the Porsche dealer of all kinds of bad, including discrimination… He also rented a crowd.

The owner argues that this sort of thing would never happen in the US or Germany. Therefore, he says, the Porsche dealership in China “discriminates against Chinese consumers”. Discrimination is a very sensitive thing in China and still appeals to many. Chinese people easily feel ‘discriminated against’ by ‘the West’.

According to reports in Chinese media the dealer tried to solve the problem by offering the angry owner a new Cayenne in exchange for his troubled car. The owner didn’t want another Porsche, and asked his money back.

Porsche reluctantly agreed, but only if the owner would sign a confidentiality agreement stating that he wouldn’t tell anyone why he gave his Porsche back. The owner refused to sign and the deal fell through.

As for now, there seems no solution in sight…

(ED: If I would have paid $428,000 for a Cayenne, I would want my money back also.)

Dutchman Tycho de Feyter runs Carnewschina.com, a blog about cars in China, from Beijing, China. He also collects die-cast models of Chinese cars.

Tycho de Feyter
Tycho de Feyter

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  • Beemernator Beemernator on Jan 17, 2012

    First they offered to fix it. Then they offered him a new car. Finally they offered him a refund. Some people will never be satisfied. What will it take? An apology? From Porsche? Ain't gonna happen.

  • Nick Nick on Jan 17, 2012

    I know people who have had VWs, Audis, and Porsches. I had a Mercedes Benz. The truth is, they build cars that are great for test drives, and that's about it. They feature overly complex, shitty engineering, are beleaguered by electrical problems (and more) out of the starting gate, coupled with abysmal dealership experiences and outrageous parts prices. In short, if you buy one, you are a sucker. So there.

  • Lorenzo Yes, they can recover from the Ghosn-led corporate types who cheapened vehicles in the worst ways, including quality control. In the early to mid-1990s Nissan had efficient engines, and reliable drivetrains in well-assembled, fairly durable vehicles. They can do it again, but the Japanese government will have to help Nissan extricate itself from the "Alliance". It's too bad Japan didn't have a George Washington to warn about entangling alliances!
  • Slavuta Nissan + profitability = cheap crap
  • ToolGuy Why would they change the grille?
  • Oberkanone Nissan proved it can skillfully put new frosting on an old cake with Frontier and Z. Yet, Nissan dealers are so broken they are not good at selling the Frontier. Z production is so minimal I've yet to see one. Could Nissan boost sales? Sure. I've heard Nissan plans to regain share at the low end of the market. Kicks, Versa and lower priced trims of their mainstream SUV's. I just don't see dealerships being motivated to support this effort. Nissan is just about as exciting and compelling as a CVT.
  • ToolGuy Anyone who knows, is this the (preliminary) work of the Ford Skunk Works?
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