Recently, I went to a cocktail party that was hosted at the new North Scottsdale Porsche dealership. There was a lot of focus in the design of the dealership on orienting into the mechanics bay. I got into a discussion with some fellow cocktail party goers about the psychology of this. One person argued that this would create a negative perception. Imagine going to a Porsche dealership, prepared to spend a ton of money, and then seeing a massive mechanics bay with a lot of cars on the lifts. Does that signal the future pain of maintenance and repairs? Others argued that showcasing such a clean and well-organized mechanic bay would create a positive perception. Thoughts on this? I would imagine Porsche commissioned studies on this, and the right answer is showcasing the mechanics bay. But maybe that's giving too much credit for considering whether to display this or not.
I’d say that would inspire a positive reaction. After all, most people think this is what service bays look like. And in the majority of cases, I would agree.
Most of their clientele is well heeled. Especially in Scottsdale. I imagine it creates a positive impression.
It is impressive.
Everything needs maintenance, it's just part of ownership. Those customers appreciate a clean, well maintained shop.
I think it would be fine.
An organized and clean garage always gives you a better vibe. Does not need to look like an operating room, just organized. Chaos and clutter do the opposite.
I like it, but I can imagine the challenge it is as a mechanic there, doing major work and trying to keep it from looking busy and dirty with fluids on the deck and parts lying around.
It might be good for their business model, but I’ll bet the mechanics wish they weren’t so visible by customers
I'd probably get fired when a customer overheard me tell the apprentice "Try hitting it with your purse!"
There are many variations to that line.
From the mechanic's point of view. I love a clean and organized shop like that.
The last place I worked, you could eat off the floors, we kept the place very clean. The floors were polished concrete dyed red and didn't accumulate dust or oil. If you dropped a small part it was easily found.
My current shop has a plain concrete floor and it's very hard to keep clean. Anything dropped is harder to find and comes back coated in dust in spite of regular sweeping and vacuuming.
I'm honestly thinking of going back to carpet roll-ends which can just be thrown in the dumpster when they get dirty.
This is definitely coming from Porsche corporate from Stuttgart. Although dealers are independent franchise holders our last one was forced to build an entirely new building to service only Porsche (couldn't cross service other luxury brands he held) and the architectural design was dictated by Germany. Our current dealer is also forced to build an entirely new building because service and sales were on adjacent properties but not connected without running around the block; they expect clients to wander over to the showroom from time to time.... I believe the "glass wall" off a waiting area is what they want. It is understood that there will be cars in there and some may only be getting routine work done, not expensive replacement work - although we've had our share.😁
According to these guys the most expensive cars to maintain are German with Porsche in particular.
On the inexpensive side I'm not buying the hybrids. 3x time complexity of a straight electric or gas car. That will come home to roost at some point.
https://www.caranddriver.com/shopping-advice/g71630210/most-least-expensive-maintenance-cars-long-term/
I’m not sure Car and Driver’s 40k mile test is the best yard stick for maintenance costs. How many vehicles need anything more than oil changes in the first 40k any more?