Gotta New Motor Mate?

[Lancerlot]

Just landed from Planet Porsche!

No snide remarks now, guys. Remember - it's a ladies' car! The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed 2 different wheel designs. The rear quarter photo shows the summer setup, whilst the shot from the front quarter shows winter wheels and tyres fitted - these will be the running kit for the next few months. It'll be nice to be mobile once again! [] Regards, Clive

 

[dpoynton]

Clive

Good to have you back, no snide comments here, unlike some geezer who was pulling my leg on here about speeding the other day. []

Is that sapphire blue? If so, good choice. []

ATB
David

 

[Lancerlot]

We ordered night blue met. but it's looking a little lighter there. Have yet to see it in the flesh, though! []
Regards,

Clive

 

[dpoynton]

Have yet to see it in the flesh, though! []

Yes, the first Macan we had was night blue.

D

 

[Peter_Bull]

I like it Clive - looks classy!

I see you have gone for the Porsche in black on the tailgate. I chose that for my 992.

 

[Lancerlot]

Many thanks Peter, though the classy bit is much more to do with Judy than myself, I'm thinking! []

The matt black tailgate logo is standard on GTS, so not something specifically ordered, but I think it looks pretty cool anyway. []

Regards,

Clive

 

[Lancerlot]

Next week promises to be a long one. [&:]

Chances are I won't be collecting our new Macan until next weekend, even though it's all ready to go and we've been waiting since June, so are anxious to get our hands on it!

But my detailer can't get there until Thursday and, forgetting the fact we have ferried kids around wherever and whenever they wanted to go for 18 years or more AND we currently have a total of 6 cars and drivers in our immediate family, I can't get a lift up to Bristol. [] It's a bummer, but I guess with no transport at all for 7 months, a few more days won't be too much of a burden. []

Regards,


Clive
[h1] [/h1]
[h1] [/h1]

 

[dpoynton]

Clive, you're in line to gain yet another virtue, that of patience. []
As you know, it'll be worth the wait.

D

 

[spook]

Looking Good Clive- nice colour combo!
Look forward to seeing you both and the new GTS next year as soon as some sort of normality returns?
Meanwhile enjoy running in around the Devon lanes.
ATB, Mike

 

[pwebb]

Looks great Clive, is your detailer doing ceramic again?

 

[Lancerlot]

Thanks Mike and Peter,

Our sales exec's opinion is "It looks cracking - she's a beauty!" but no doubt he says that to all the girls! []

I've not as yet seen it myself and, although you could probably say I'm an old hand at this, there's always apprehension whether you've got the choices just right - or not! [] There seems to be an ever more bewildering (and expensive) options list nowadays.

Yes, my detailer is Gtechniq accredited and I'll go on to explain the process in a little more detail later.

Regards,

Clive

 

[Peter_Bull]

Our sales exec's opinion is "It looks cracking - she's a beauty!" ...............

That is until you come to trade it in !! "Wrong colour sir". "That model is not popular".

I take it all with a pinch of salt and I've heard it all before.

 

[cymro]

Very nice Clive, looks good.
we are in lockdown here for another 2 weeks, So frustrating.

huw

 

[Brian_Innes]

Clive,

You'll love your GTS. Very wise to have the winter tyres fitted.

Has your GTS the air suspension or steel springs? The reason I ask, is that the air suspension needs the self levelling deactivated on the console before lifting the car.

Brian

 

[Lancerlot]

Well, the day prior to collection proved to be one of high drama!

The Centre submitted an invoice that was incorrect. It took virtually the whole of the rest of the day to come up with an amended one. But I was still unhappy. Clearly there were differences in interpretation as to what had been originally agreed. It escalated to dealer principle level, culminating in an email, the gist of which was "our way or the highway". I was given the option to walk away if I wanted. But I didn't want. We've been without transport since June now and were really looking forward the new motor. Maybe a personal 'phone call to talk things through might have been more helpful and a shade more diplomatic too. I shall be purchasing 2 new Porsches over the next 6 months so there's every reason to be a little miffed at this outcome. Common courtesy seems thin on the ground nowadays. []

Collection day arrived and the car sat resplendent in the front of the showroom, unwashed and complete with its wrappers as I had requested. No senior management appeared at all during the couple of hours we were there, so an opportunity to smooth down ruffled feathers was also lost.

Handover went reasonably smoothly. A Porsche pen and a case for the top-up oil are apparently on back order, so it remains to be seen if these will put in an appearance at some later stage.

Pulling out from the Centre, immediately a warning light came up on the dash. The TPM wasn't working. I put this down to a technician forgetting to programme the PCM after fitting the winter wheels and tyres, so resolved to fiddle around with it on my way home. However, I found the reset system to be different from the earlier model and I couldn't find the appropriate menu on the screen. Driving back home on the M5 through monsoon conditions wasn't really the right time the be scrolling through PCM modes, so I decided to leave it for calmer waters and a more convenient time. The suspension seemed quite firm on the way down - even in normal mode, so I do hope they've remembered to remove the transportation blocks from the road springs! [&:]

Judy hasn't seen it yet, since I dropped it off directly at my local detailers on the way back. It's been having its ceramic coatings and front-end PPF applied over the last couple of days and I pick up later today. I do hope she likes it. [] If not I may have to take up that offer and walk away after all!

Regards,


Clive

 

[pwebb]

Clive, that’s not a good start??
My experience with the DL group has always been that every time I made a change to the spec of a new car I was issued with a new Order Form which then had to be signed off by both parties and that then formed the basis for the final invoice. Was your experience different?

 

[Brian_Innes]

Clive,
That's a sorry tale indeed. Not the handover experience expected from an OPC. Poor communications seem to be at the heart of the matter. As for the TPM not being reset after the winter wheels fitting, that is very sloppy treatment from an OPC.

My Turbo has air suspension so I can't comment on the firmness in normal mode on your steel sprung model. I would have thought it unlikely that the transit blocks would have been overlooked, especially as your car had the winter wheels fitted when raised on the ramp. They would have been clearly visible to the technician.

You'll be hoping the bad start is not an omen for the future.

Brian

 

[Lancerlot]

The detailer's job done, the car was looking fabulous under the workshop lights. Ryan has done a brilliant job - nearly brought a tear to this gnarled old driver's eye (well not really, but cars are emotional, aren't they - even SUV's! []).

From new, many people would regard professional cleaning and polishing to be a little OTT, but surprisingly work more times than not is needed and looks can be improved - even straight from the factory. The process comprises a wash using PH neutral shampoo . The wheels are cleaned using a non-acidic cleaner and horse hair brushes, door shuts, petrol cap, arches and lower sections parts are all cleaned. The vehicle is then hand dried and the paintwork treated with a clay bar to remove bonded surface contaminants. The paintwork has a machine polish to remove minor imperfections (3 or 4 rectified in my case), tyres are dressed as are exterior plastics and door trims.

After another wash, the paintwork is then protected with Gtechniq Serum light ceramic coating and after allowing time for curing, a layer of Getechnq Exo v4 provides additional hydrophobic protection. The wheels, brake calllpers and tailpipes get C5 sealant and preservative.

Inside the cabin is vacuumed and surfaces cleaned with light, non abrasive solutions before the carpets and leather are treated. The latter is particularly important since the specialist coating prevents clothing dyes being transferred onto the light leather seating. I chose not to have the glasswork treated.

The 20 minute journey home in dampness and gloom ensured the car was filthy again once we arrived. So it's going to be another wash just as soon as it finally stops raining! The PPF didn't materialise due to technical problems, so the car will need to be returned in a few days time for yet another clean, re-polish and installation of the paint protection film to the front end.

Just another day in the life of...

Regards,

Clive

 

[MartinP]

That looks fabulous Clive, great choice of colours. I was wondering if I would have to look out a pack of needles but I see it won't be necessary

 

[Lancerlot]

Thanks Martin,

Not sticking any pins in my eyes to drive this little beauty just yet! []

Monsoon weather conditions continue in the Southwest, so not conducive to driving for pleasure. I did take a little trip around the coast on Saturday, but had 2 ladies on board so wasn't able to explore the roadholding and handling features too much []. There's a noticeable increase in grunt, 380ps/520nm as opposed to 260ps and 560nm, from our earlier Macan SD. There's perhaps a slight reduction in pulling power up steep hills, but hardly noticeable and I suspect the engine will become more flexible as it frees up.

The TPM warning has finally been extinguished - turns out the road wheel programming is accessed via a sub/sub TPM menu, discovered more by trial and error than handbook instructions, which are not overly clear on the subject.

Still perplexed by the dratted apps for My Porsche and Porsche Connect or WHY. Seems I've activated one, but still need to activate the other and needs to be done at the Centre - leastways my phone currently refuses to talk to my car, so I may need to revert back to my most helpful Centre for its assistance !

I'm planning a visit to friends in Dorset in the next couple of days. The weather improves on Wednesday, so should be able to put in a couple of hundred miles and allow me to become more reacquainted with Porsche motoring before Thursday's second lockdown. I've been driving my daughter's manual Nissan Quashqai just recently, so will need to pay attention to the pedal action for a while! []

Regards,


Clive