If you were Porsche CEO, how would you respond to this?

A quick summary of facts first:

• Porsche 911 2003 model purchased in Australia with only 70,000 kms on odometer - no warranty
• Added 15,000 kms during which time a few repairs required, from replacing the water pump to other smaller issues (eg engine mounts, remote keys, etc). Spent about $5,500 - acceptable and understandable
• Then on 85,000 Kms, engine fails. Intermediate Shaft bearing failure causes catastrophic engine failure. Required either a new engine $44K or an engine rebuild - $20K. This is a known issue. Porsche North America class action settlement agreed to cover all the costs for owners of vehicles (2001 - 2005 models) with this issue.
• A key provision (s54) in Australian Consumer Law 'is a statutory guarantee of acceptable quality enforceable against the suppliers of goods (i.e. retailers, dealerships, etc.), as well as manufacturers.'  The determination is the 'reasonable consumer' test that is whether it is is reasonable to expect an engine to last more than 85K. If not, should a car be sold to a new buyer when it has 70K?

Owner in the above scenario sends Porsche CEO the following letter:

PORSCHESTRAßE
71287 WEISSACH
GERMANY

Dear Mr Matthias Müller,

I would like to share with you a story to show you how powerful your brand is and what a strong impact the team behind Porsche have on the average person. I hope you find this story worth sharing with your chief of engineering and chief brand officer.

EVERY kid has a dream. Mine was to own a Porsche 911 one day. Richie (my good friend in high school) and I spent countless hours in Algebra drawing 911s in our notebooks. Richie’s drawing were always much better than mine. And that’s not all he was better at.

About thirty years later Richie was a seasoned motoring journalist who would get called up by all the big car companies. He would get invited to test drive the latest models in exotic locations. He spent his days travelling to places like Monte Carlo, California and the Australian outback to test drive Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Porsches, Bentleys and other more mainstream cars. Occasionally, over a beer I would get to hear from him what was wrong with the latest Aston Martin.

Meanwhile I had spent those thirty years making a living the more traditional way. Not only were all those cars a distant fantasy, I knew that the cost of one of the wheels on a car like that was more than what I had paid for any of my cars.

I quietly made a wow to one day experience being behind the wheel of my dream car. The dream came true when I visited a good friend in Germany and he knew how I loved Porsches. So he took me to Avis and we drove off in a 911, down the autobahn and around the Rhine. Thank you Mr Ferdinand Porsche – Germany never looked so beautiful.

This was such an experience I decided to write about it so I could share that with Richie. I sent him the link to the blog, but didn’t even get a courtesy response saying he was happy to hear from me.

Little did I realise, the dream car itch had been far from scratched. In fact, I had only aggravated the itch. So I decided a couple of years later to dabble in nice cars that had been depreciated enough for me to afford them but not so much that they would be a burden. I started cautiously. First a used Jag. Richie didn’t even let out a healthy yawn when he heard about that car. Then it was a pretty powerful Lexus sports car. That got a small nod from Richie although I wasn’t sure if he was actually dozing off or approving of the purchase.

The thing with Richie was he could abuse those dream cars as much as he liked and then return it to the dealer who would kiss his hand as he handed over the keys. I, on the other hand, had to kiss the dealer’s hand to get them to agree to a test drive.

After a few years of owning a couple of awesome vehicles I decided it was time to get more than a yawn or a nod from Richie. It was time for the dream car. The benchmark.

Finally there was a Porsche 911 in the garage. Thirty years of dreaming had materialised. No other brand in the world has had that power. Not Ferrari, not Lamborghini , not Aston Martin.

This is where it gets interesting. After buying the 911, I decided to keep it quiet. I didn’t want clients to think I was charging too much and also wanted to avoid all the head shakes and murmurs of ‘mid-life crisis’. Unfortunately the only way to keep a purchase like this quiet is by keeping it hidden in the garage and never letting it out. That wasn’t going to happen given I found myself spending more time in the car than at home.

The response to the ‘mid-life’ crisis comments was prepared. I told people it was my third mid-life crisis and by far it was the best one. My wife’s response was better – she would tell people that at least I still had the same wife.

My neighbour commented on how I appeared to have a smile on my face every time I got home. I agreed and suggested that may be everyone should buy a Porsche to make the world a happier place. He laughed out loud and suggested Porsche run an advertising campaign with the slogan ‘buy a Porsche and create world peace!’

This little purchase was resulting in numerous conversations. Old clients started sending me text messages telling me they heard about the car. They asked me if business was really that good in such a crappy economy. They suggested we catch up for a coffee. They wanted to know what I was up to. I was glad to catch up.

In the one year I owned my 996 (a 2003 model) I actually managed to convince two other people to buy a Porsche. I had to replace a few things, which was completely understandable and acceptable. On one trip into the country, the water pump gave up and started leaking – no problem – fixed. The engine fan failed and had to be fixed. Done. The engine and transmission mounts gave in and had to be replaced. All understandable.

My plan was to upgrade the car to a newer model every 3-4 years. But then, catastrophe. The worst thing you can think of happened.

Oil started gushing out of the engine. I had to get it towed to the mechanic and learnt that the Intermediate Shaft Bearing unit had failed and the bearings had gotten into the engine and done some damage. Reading about this issue on the Internet, it appears to be not as uncommon as one would expect from a car of this cost and quality. Because the car is not new, there was no dealer warranty.

Shattered! My two friends have put their decision to buy on hold until they learn more about the situation. My wife is concerned about having a car with an expensive engine that could give away at any time. Most importantly, a dream of over 30 years has ended in tears.

So I write to you in the hope that you can help me make sense of this situation. I beg of you to not ignore this letter. I still harbor hopes of being a life-time customer. Please help me rebuild the trust in the Porsche brand. Please help me to convince everyone who’s asking me about the car that when you buy a Porsche, you’re in good hands.

Over to you…

PLEASE TELL US HOW YOU WOULD RESPOND TO THIS LETTER IF YOU WERE THE PORSCHE CEO... HERE'S HOW HE RESPONDED...