hi - after some help with a terminally ill boxster

chriszammett · 30 Mar 2009

Hi

I'm on here on behalf of my dad who is a bit long in the tooth for forums!

He's got a 2005 boxster s special edition. He's just had an intermediate shaft failure and is pretty distraught. The car is only 25k miles, and has been serviced at porsche and an independent.

He only recently took it to porsche for a rattling noise which they claimed was an exhaust related issue. I have read somewhere else that this 'can of marbles' noise can be a warning of a shaft failure.

Has anyone got any experience of this on their boxster or 911, and do you think my dad has a case for asking Porsche to pay or part pay for the repair. I understand it's a case of a new engine?

Thanks in advance
Chris

MQ · 30 Mar 2009

If it is that and it does sound like it from your post then it is fubar'd unfortunately. You can get recon engines for them for around £3k if you do your searches and these are from reputable non dealer Porsche specialists with warranties.

Looks like garage queen Porsches really don't last, they like to be driven and warmed up correctly.

We seem to be getting quite a few posts like this for some reason at the moment.. I hope they are posted genuinely by all these new people/posters but I feel for you if it is true and terminal.

Why would they pay for it out of warranty, you wouldn't expect that to happen on say a Vauxhall Zafira or any other car would you.

Hope it is just the exhaust rattling.

chriszammett · 30 Mar 2009

Hi,

Unfortunately I am genuine, and this has definitely happened!

I think the feeling of getting some money out of porsche is that (within the last fortnight) the car was with them as my Dad heard a strange noise, if this was the pre-cursor to the engine failure then should they not have spotted it? If it is an unrelated issue, then I guess it would be a fight to get anything out of them.

I think to have a terminal engine failure at 25k miles on any car, even a vauxhall, let alone a porsche, is unacceptable. If you can prove it has been serviced correctly anyway.

The car is currently at a specialist independent, so we will see what he says. But I'm just looking for any info about this problem in the mean time.

Cheers

chriszammett · 30 Mar 2009

incidentally, my dad does drive it on a regular basis, it was the previous owner who didn't use it so much.

MQ · 30 Mar 2009

Yep same with my 2005 Carrera 4S at 13,000 miles when that went bang. It was still in warranty thank goodness but the previous owner did no mileage in it and I suspect laboured the engine to death rather than running it in properly.

wizard993 · 30 Mar 2009

The thing with the "it always been serviced at Porsche" angle is that an oil and filter(s)/plug change won't stop/prevent an RMS leak or an intermediate shaft from letting go. Sadly there appears to be a trend in failures on the 3.2S engine and more recently >3 year old 997's

They(OPC's/Porsche UK) may have a Boxster goodwill £pot which the OPC has to progress on your Dads behalf. One tip I would give him is to have a nice calm(but direct) approach with the dealer vs going ballastic(which he probably feels like doing). Tell him not to give-up and be prepared to compromise if required, ie meeting 30-50% of the cost.

Also - a call into Porsche customer services is also a good shout....again take the softly softly approach as he might just talk with the right person who will push the right button....but it appears to be a bit of a lottery!

Sadly when economic times are difficult and margins are being cut some manufacturers appear to less "interested" in goodwill.

Good luck and sorry to hear about this.

Wattie · 30 Mar 2009

chriszammett said:
I think to have a terminal engine failure at 25k miles on any car, even a vauxhall, let alone a porsche, is unacceptable. If you can prove it has been serviced correctly anyway.

OK, so if I happened to have a 1954 Alvis that had only done 20,000 miles and serviced properly every year, would you expect the directors of that now extinct company to cough up for a new engine?

Sorry mate, but manufacturer's warranty is only for the duration stated precisely because they cannot control how the car is used (or abused): It is notoriously difficult to prove negligent use within the warranty period, so most manufacturers breathe a huge sigh of relief when it has expired and can sell you an Insurance based product instead! As with all Insurance, they can then charge an appropriate premium to cover the costs (and a chunk of profit for Porsche, the insurer, the dealer, and Uncle Tom Cobbley and all... :hand: )

Having said all that, most manufacturers will have a 'goodwill' kitty, and if they believe that a failure will stop you buying any more NEW cars from them, they will usually make a contribution... But if your Dad bought his used car from a non-franchised trader or privately, and has contributed very little income to Porsche Cars Gmbh, why the heck would they want to bail him out? (unless he's a journalist or fleet buyer for RBS or something

)

Sorry not to say what you would like to hear, but I work in the Motor Industry and my livelihood depends on manufacturer's profitability!

Wattie · 30 Mar 2009

PS - I just noticed the car has also been serviced at an 'Independent': SO your Dad has made a conscious decision to take his business (and profit) away from the official dealer network... and yet he still expects a handout from Porsche? :dont know:

chriszammett · 30 Mar 2009

I appreciate your argument, but I don't buy it.

I'm not saying Porsche are duty bound to replace the engine. All I'm saying is that for a marque which is renowned for it's reliability it is unacceptable to have a catastrophic engine failure after 25k miles. I don't think many people would agree with you that it is an acceptable level of reliability.

My Dad's self-employed and relies on not having to spend £7k to get his car back on the road! :roll:

Anyway, thanks for the advice that has been posted, I think an initial call to customer services might be a route.

chriszammett · 30 Mar 2009

Wattie said:
PS - I just noticed the car has also been serviced at an 'Independent': SO your Dad has made a conscious decision to take his business (and profit) away from the official dealer network... and yet he still expects a handout from Porsche? :dont know:

He doesn't 'expect' anything. I am simply enquiring the options on his behalf. Using a reputable independent doesn't excuse Porsche from their engines letting go at 25k miles.

wizard993 · 30 Mar 2009

The OP is correct to assume his old mans engine should last longer than 25k miles......if the car has a good/proper/up-to-date service history with a reputable indy who has used Porsche parts and approved oils and serviced the car as per the manufacturers specifications then under European law the car is deemed to have been serviced to Porsche standards.

If it's not been serviced in accordance with Porsche standards/intervals etc and it's not running with Porsche parts then your Dad is almost certainly onto plums.

993C2S · 30 Mar 2009

Chris, you and your father have my sympathies, I'm with you, absolutely no way you can accept a quality brand such as Porsche producing engines that let go after only 25k miles. It's wholely unacceptable

Hope you get some joy from Porsche GB. Definitely approach it calmly as these failures are sadly quite common and I bet the advisor on the end of the phone is fed up of irate owners venting their anger.

Wattie · 30 Mar 2009

chriszammett said:
Wattie said:

PS - I just noticed the car has also been serviced at an 'Independent': SO your Dad has made a conscious decision to take his business (and profit) away from the official dealer network... and yet he still expects a handout from Porsche? :dont know:

Click to expand...

He doesn't 'expect' anything. I am simply enquiring the options on his behalf. Using a reputable independent doesn't excuse Porsche from their engines letting go at 25k miles.

Good luck, but I disagree - unless you can prove that the engine has not been abused at any time in its life. You can terminally damage an engine in about 500 metres if you run it without any oil and full throttle from cold is almost like not having oil in it - as it hasn't yet reached the bores, bearings, and tappets (and the cylinders are being nicely washed with excess V-Power!)

I have just posted elsewhere that I had a rally car engine wrecked by just driving it 200 yards out of a workshop having forgotten to put oil in it first! And that was at a 'reputable independent' at the time.

chriszammett · 30 Mar 2009

Wattie said:
You can terminally damage an engine in about 500 metres

So does Porsche's responsibility end as it leaves the showroom? We'll have to agree to disagree on this one!!

In answer to the other post, as far as I know, the servicing has been carried out as it should.

Wattie · 30 Mar 2009

chriszammett said:
Wattie said:

You can terminally damage an engine in about 500 metres

Click to expand...

So does Porsche's responsibility end as it leaves the showroom?

No, but it does as soon as you take it to an Independent... :thumb:

Can I just ask why your father chose not to extend the warranty if cashflow is so critical? :?:

hi - after some help with a terminally ill boxster

chriszammett

New member

MQ

Sao Paulo

chriszammett

New member

chriszammett

New member

MQ

Sao Paulo

wizard993

Donnington

Wattie

Zandvoort

Wattie

Zandvoort

chriszammett

New member

chriszammett

New member

wizard993

Donnington

993C2S

Zandvoort

Wattie

Zandvoort

chriszammett

New member

Wattie

Zandvoort

Similar threads

Latest posts

New Threads

Porsche Model Range

Porsche 911

Porsche Hypercars

Other Current Porsche Model

Porsche Legacy Models

Forum statistics