Planet 9

Champion Motors files Chapter 11 - South Florida Business Journal:

How does a Porsche dealer, the biggest in the world, go to this stage?

And why are the unsecured debts so SMALL?????

I suspect most of the debt from Porsche was secured by the cars in the lot (learned that from Fargo).

so, they aren't in bad shape. There's no bad receivables. So this is probably a negotiation tactic.

I know that you pay a premium when you go to any Porsche dealership... that's just a fact. But I have to say that Champion's parts and service departments charge a LOT more than other places.

Being that Champion is local to me, I figured that I would give them my business. I took my CS to them to get an extra key made. When I purchased my CS from a Mercedes dealership here in FL, one of the keys was missing and Mercedes told me to get a key made up and give them the bill so they could reimburse me for the cost. Well my Mercedes salesman almost passed out when I returned with a $450.00 bill for the key! Even after speaking with Champion dealer to dealer, they only reduced the charges by $50!

Every part that I've purchased from Porsche since buying my car has been priced out with Champion. I figured it would be my least expensive option since I could swing by and save on shipping... Not true. It turns out that Suncoast Motorsports in Sarasota Fl has out priced Champion on every part or item that I have ordered... even with paying for shipping!

It seems to me that that Champion has no real intent or desire to be competitive with their pricing. I even told someone in their parts department early on that "how could they be charging so much more" than other Porsche dealerships? The response was "Well Porsche parts are expensive"... so I dropped the subject and called Suncoast.

I feel that this attitude comes from a failure in leadership. Suncoast obviously has a desire and motivation to be number one, and that starts at the top. So I'm not surprised when I read about Champion's financial troubles.

Damn. I'm about to buy a car today and will have to w/t 55 grand. How the heck can I make sure the dealer won't go bankrupt before my car ships? With my freaking luck, I better take precautions, but how?

I took delivery of my Cayman from Champion on May 1. The (leased) car will be registered in NY, so I paid them the $2,000+ in NY sales tax and processing to get the NY plates on my behalf. Apparently, that's also the law with respect to leased cars.

It's been a month now, the temp tag expired and I was wondering where my plates were. I called and was told that they weren't coming because Champion didn't / wouldn't forward the sales tax payment to the DMV expediter. Yep, they apparently took my tax money, went chapter 11 and left me high and dry. Because the vehicle was sold in Florida and driven off the lot with temporary FL tags, NY can't go after them and the problem is MINE.

So, in order to register my car, I was told I would need to shell out ANOTHER 2K in tax for NY. Fortunately, I used amex to pay Champion and am disputing the charge. I would've been SOL if I had paid by check.

This is a major PITA. Not only was I ripped off, but now I have to act as a go-between with Porsche Financial and the NYS DMV because special title documents are needed when registering a leased car.

Moral of the story? In this economy, be very careful giving anyone money for anything they can't deliver upon receipt. If you absolutely must leave a deposit for something, make sure you do it on a credit card...preferably AMEX.

Will keep you posted as things develop....

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2009 Cayman
Carrara White
PDK
Sand Leather
Carpets in deviating color (black)

What a mess! I hope this doesn't cut into your enjoyment of the new car.

Where are you located in NY? Don't forget to check out the Nor'Easter section for local events.

Best of luck resolving this.

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Pete
2008 Meteor Grey Cayman S
2007 Blue Slate Infiniti G35s 6-speed

wow, this is pretty unbelievable ....... there was a 50% chance i'd buy/lease my next p-car from them ....... they have one of the best salespersons .... Larry Reynolds ... wonder if they'll move him to another division .....

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2007 Cayman S Tip ; Softronic Flash ; H&R Sport Springs

UPDATE....

Champion Porsche just sent me a refund check for my sales tax payment. I heard they're going to sell off their Audi dealership and emerge from bankruptcy soon....

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2009 Cayman
Carrara White
PDK
Sand Leather
Carpets in deviating color (black)

BTW does this affect Champion Motorsports, or just the Champion car dealership?

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K-Man S

From the original linked article:

The bankruptcy does not affect two related companies – the well-known Champion Racing sponsorship company and Champion Motorsports, which makes high-performance wheels.

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Dan

Called Champion three times thius week about the H&R spring "special" they are running. Have not be able to talk to a tech and no returned call. The folks are nice enough when you get to them but my next call will be to another shop.

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Michael Davis
2006 CS - Arctic Silver
Tubi exhaust, sport tips, Softronic Stage II Racing Intake and 4.1 flash, desnorked, Porsche leather GT3 seats, 6pt harness, DCM harness bar, sport wheel, short shifter, fire ext, track mats, H&R Springs, Enkei wheels, MPS Cup tires and Pagid Yellow (for track)