Planet 9

New to this group. Hope this is OK for the group

Used to have Porsches in the past and looking into the Cayman

Is there any listing where members rate dealers for sales and service.

Any recommendations for the Dallas area

Now that's a great idea!! Actually, I suggested to the forum a several weeks ago that we come up with a short questionnaire to be completed by members outlining and rating their dealer experiences, there was no response to that idea whatsoever.... The purpose would be to help members like yourself, and reward the the good dealers by increasing their business, and help the others as well by pointing out things they may want to work on to improve customer satisfaction. Basically, like word of mouth but a little more organized and objective. Anyway, to answer your question No at this point there is not a dealer rating system, none that I am aware of anyway.

I know CarTalk has on their web site a place where people do the same for mechanics in an area, so shouldn't be too hard to do, unless .....

Being new I posted it in the general forum and got the below message that it was moved here:

It was moved to the Cayman Sales and Leasing forum.

We have several Porsche dealers as sponsors. That would be a good place to begin.

Santa Fe

So that maybe the reason as one of the sponsors may not like what is said.

Hope this did not step on anybody's toes.

I hate to move this again, but I have moved this into the Zone 5 forum where Texas is located - it will get more traction here and the people who frequent this forum will be more knowledgeable about what's available in the Dallas area. In fact, you might want to browse through the Zone 5 forum, and I'll bet the various merits of the dealers in the area have probably been discussed before.

We do have some dealers in the DFW area that are Cayman Club sponsors - I encourage you to contact them.

brad

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22-year PCA Member
PCA DE Instructor

Someone's not getting the point of this thread....

Uh, I thought the point of the thread was that failing the availability of a "dealer rating" listing, he's looking for recommendations for a dealer in Dallas.

brad

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22-year PCA Member
PCA DE Instructor

Was trying to get people's experience with dealers in Dallas area - two in Dallas and one in Fort Worth.

I had gone to the Porsche site and got the web pages of those 3 dealers which is the same as going to sponsors here (unless sponsors are screened regarding their product and service), but wanted first hand experience.

Since there is no registry in which people can give their opinions, then have to search through a zone or ask and wait for people to give an opinion - one opinion is not as helpful as multiple opinions. Some who were traveling and needed service and live in another zone might not even get the question.

Will wait and see if anyone gives an opinion.

I am in Plano and will give you my take, based on just a month of ownership.

I bought my CS at Boardwalk, mainly because it is just a mile from my house. I bought an Audi TT from Boardwalk in 2001. Sales was a no-brainer then, as TTs were selling for list. Boardwalk Audi did a good job of service on my car; really my only complaint is with the dealer hourly charges. I now have my Audi work done by an independent mostly due to lower price. I have not bought anything (yet?) from Boardwalk Ferrari/Maserati.

Boardwalk is known to never deal on new car prices. I bought a dealer loaner with 5,000 miles and I think got a good deal (almost 30 percent off new-car sticker), plus got more for my trade with 6,000 miles than its sticker price (it was a Smart and they are in demand). My only use of the service area was this week when a rubber piece (I know, I'm not technical) was loose under the car -- they jacked it up and quickly fixed it for no charge. So I am feeling good so far!

The other Dallas Porsche dealer is in the Park Place family. I bought my Smart there and was somewhat disappointed with sales, but Smart is an entirely different process (the sales people send you to the computer in the corner to go online and order your car). What disappointed me (I had ordered my smart months online before they had any dealerships) was that their main criteria for hiring "sales" people seemed to be previous experience as a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. I understand some may think that is a fine criterion. When I picked up my car, my sales "cheerleader" said "You probably know more about this than I do, so here are the keys -- enjoy!"

I can't speak to Park Place's Porsche sales side, but I do know one of their service managers well (he was at Boardwalk ages ago on the Audi side, and briefly was the Smart service manager; and I have gone on SMDs and weekend Hill Country drives with him). I can recommend him (Steve).

So for me, I went to the closest dealer. However, when I bought my second MINI, I went to the Arlington dealer (twice as far as the Dallas dealer) because of its reputation and that of its service adviser, so I have traveled for better service. (MINIs also were and probably still are selling pretty much at sticker.)

Anyway, I don't think this has helped you much. But I understand your wanting info on various dealers so thought I would share my experiences.

I bought my 08 CS at Park Place Porsche in Dallas, and I live out of state. From my perspective, they were flawless. They had the car with the options that I wanted in the correct color, and we did all of the negotiation over the phone. Once I purchased the car, I flew my father to Dallas to pick up the car and drive it out to CA for me. He is very detail oriented about cars, and went over it with a fine tooth comb before he left since I bought it sight unseen, except for picture of course. The car was perfect, just as advertised.

The dealership really took care of all of the details, including picking up my father at Love field. I would definitely buy from them again if they had the correct car. It is always good to have a good relationship with your local dealer, so distance is definitely a factor to consider. Good luck!

Originally I was going to buy from Parkplace Porsche since the sales person is also a sponsor here. He is very knowledgeable and provided the most competitive pricing I found out of all 3 dealers in the DFW arear. I had service some work done at Boardwalk and thought the service was pretty good, sales was fine but just seemed a bit unwilling to lower the price to be close to the others.
However, I did end up buying from Autobahn since they had the color that I wanted and the options was close. I personally thought the sales was easy to talk to but felt like he was only trying to sell and didn't care much.
If I were to do it again, probably choose Parkplace over the others.

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Proud owner of Midnight Blue Cayman S. (06-30-08)

Well, I have only purchased a car from one of the Dallas Area Porsche dealers, so I can only comment on my experience at Park Place. I purchased a "left-over but new" 2007, and got what I consider to be a very good deal (not the best, as I saw a slightly better optioned car for the same price at Boardwalk about 2 months later). The sales experience was excellent from Michael Ferris. Delivery of the car was my only major problem, as they installed the front license plate drilling 4 holes into my front bumper without asking me first. I didn't notice it until I got home or I would have cancelled the deal (that's how much it bothers me!). But all-in-all, I'd definitely recommend Park Place Sales.

From the Service side, I've had experiences at both Boardwalk and Park Place, and both left me a little flat. I wouldn't say they were worse than other places I've dealt with, but they weren't that much better either.

Based on my experiences, I'd subjectively rate them as follows (1 to 10, 10 being the highest):

• Park Place Sales: 8 (would have been a 9 or even a 10 if delivery had been better)
• Park Place Service: 7 (probably could be an 8 or a 9, but they need to work out a few "kinks")
• Boardwalk Service: 7 (felt that I was charged for a warranty item, but otherwise OK).

Well, this is completely subjective, so take it for what its worth. I don't have any experiences with Autobahn, but I may give them a try at some point in the future.

I hope this helps!

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I purchased from Boardwalk in Dallas. Found car on-line, negotiated best price by phone, flew in, picked it up, drove it home. I was looking at Caymans in stock at every dealer in Texas and Louisiana, they made me the best deal. No unpleasant surprises.

If you will be tracking your car, Boardwalk has the best Cayman mechanic - John Gladwell. PM Glenn for info, but John is at the track a lot, really knows what will make a Cayman fast.

Thread with lots of impressions of Park Place:

Park Place

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....its even SAFETY YELLOW! What could be more practical???

Bought from Boardwalk Porsche internet sales department, they did what they said they would do over the phone and got right on my trade and FI department was 1st class. After the sale... ummm not so happy with either sales nor service department. I had to track down my tag's and the sales person was never to be heard from again ever! I'm pretty sure my deal was a split mini, because the person I worked with on the net was leaving work early that day.

Service at Boardwalk was a joke, I had the left rear window replaced due to a creaking noise and they didnt know that the door seal rubber is a track system. After the service advisor took my car back to the tech twice, I told him forget it I will do it myself, will try Autobahn or Parkplace next time for service needs.

Thanks to all the above posters

I have tried all three dealers for service, however bought the car from Autobahn because they had the car I wanted and they are a smaller operation and they have a Fort Worth attitude instead of a Dallas or Plano attitude.....much more down to earth and unpretentious. Bob Hall was my salesman. I did shop Boardwalk but they were just too pushy to make a deal.....it was a good deal but just did not like the approach. The service so far was the best at Park Place. Take the car right in you wait they fix. Small minor problems they get to right away and you are done. Have not used them for anything major so hard to say if they are head and shoulders over the rest. I used Boardwalk for an oil change and a new set of brake pads and rear tires and an alignment. Very satisfied with the tech but the service writers leave much to be desired. Nice guys but don't know much about the car. Now John Gladwell is one of the best techs around but you don't always get him to work on your car. But if you catch John he will not do you wrong, but then there is only one of him and you have to be lucky enough to have him work on your car. Now if you are having mods done to your car you can ask for John. He has done hands on work for a number of CC members. Other than John I have my concerns about the others. I used Autobahn for warranty work and it was for the noise in the back deck lid and they fixed it without an issue however, I took it in for a headliner rattle but they did not fix it. I asked if they took the liner apart and they said they did not because they did not hear the noise. The noise is still there and I may just take it back to them and insist they take the headliner apart and fix it. Not to keen on their level of service but I will give them one more try. This may not be what you are looking for but simply my experiences at all three dealers. I have used Ruf for a LSD install and they were flawless. Now if I could get that level of service from one of the dealers then you would have the best of all worlds.

Bought my Cayman used from out of State, Warranty work both at Park Place and Boardwalk was ok,
typically i have non Warranty Work done at RUF, great Service and costs less

I know all these guys pretty well. Bought 4 Porsches in the last 3 years and spent thousands for parts and service.

SALES
Autobahn - Paul Gardner - Easy to work with all around. - Small selection, but seems to always have the right cars. Bob Hall the manager is very helpful. Shane Hatcher, Sales is also a good guy. If you want, the Guy that makes the pricing decisions (forgot his name) will come and sit with you and explain what he can do.

Boardwalk - Steven Rosenplatz - Extremely honest guy. I highly recommend Steven. I looked at a 2004 GT3, he told me all of the problems with it. So I ended up buying one at RUF. Very good selection.

Park Place - David Campbell - very nice, honest guy. But something wrong with the management at the Porsche store. The MB side of the store is honest and customer friendly. HUGE selection. Oh my god, the stories I could tell you. But that is where I bought my SLK350, different manager.

RUF - Wayne, Jonathan, Carl - If you are looking for a used Porsche, they can find the one you want, IF they think you are serious.


SERVICE
Boardwalk - Service Writers: Tim and Brian are very easy to work with. Techwise, I only allow one guy to work on my track car, John Gladwill. He is the suspension and brake expert for 944, GT3, GT2, CarreraGT, Cayman, Boxster. He is the overall Porsche modification expert. Cliff the Tech foreman is very honest and straight forward. Larry the parts manager will find the mod part that you want, with a discount.

Autobahn - Tech - Jeff has been servicing Porsches for 30 years. Knows everything about the car and the factory parts. A fast but laid back place to get a street car serviced. Not a place to go for suspension work or Mods. Beth the Service Manager gets the job done, but not the most user friendly.

Parkplace - I only know Randall Johnson. Honest guy. They do seem to know Porsches well. If I had electronics problem or needed audio system mods, that is where I would go. Not the place to go for engine or suspension mods. fine for standard factory work.

RUF - Hans, Jackie, Mark - Also a great place to take an out of warranty car. They do they know engine mods, have great RUF custom parts and are willing to experiment. Nice guys.

Mayo - Place for classic Porsches to be serviced. They have done suspension work for me.

PST (Performance Speed Tech) at Motorsport Ranch in Cresson. Joe, Mike and Kevin do the work. Jesse and AJ give great advise for free. Track Suspension, Brake, Wheel, Tire experts. Not for oil changes, unless you supply the oil and filters.

Autoscope and 5thGear - Places DFW I have never been. But some guys use them for track car maintenance.

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CaymanS Track Videos
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