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.

  • TheEndlessEnigma Of course they should unionize. US based automotive production component production and auto assembly plants with unionized memberships produce the highest quality products in the automotive sector. Just look at the high quality products produced by GM, Ford and Chrysler!
  • Redapple2 Got cha. No big.
  • Theflyersfan The wheel and tire combo is tragic and the "M Stripe" has to go, but overall, this one is a keeper. Provided the mileage isn't 300,000 and the service records don't read like a horror novel, this could be one of the last (almost) unmodified E34s out there that isn't rotting in a barn. I can see this ad being taken down quickly due to someone taking the chance. Recently had some good finds here. Which means Monday, we'll see a 1999 Honda Civic with falling off body mods from Pep Boys, a rusted fart can, Honda Rot with bad paint, 400,000 miles, and a biohazard interior, all for the unrealistic price of $10,000.
  • Theflyersfan Expect a press report about an expansion of VW's Mexican plant any day now. I'm all for worker's rights to get the best (and fair) wages and benefits possible, but didn't VW, and for that matter many of the Asian and European carmaker plants in the south, already have as good of, if not better wages already? This can drive a wedge in those plants and this might be a case of be careful what you wish for.
  • Jkross22 When I think about products that I buy that are of the highest quality or are of great value, I have no idea if they are made as a whole or in parts by unionized employees. As a customer, that's really all I care about. When I think about services I receive from unionized and non-unionized employees, it varies from C- to F levels of service. Will unionizing make the cars better or worse?
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