Another Porsche Boxster engine failure..
Discussion
It seems only 5 minutes ago i was looking on these pages, gathering info to help make my decision on what car to buy.
(pls excuse my grammar i am writing this on a mobile device)
I Chose the boxster due to its reliability, build quality and because it was a Porsche. My other considerations were an M3, S2000, Monaro or a TVR + run about.
Due to the amount of trouble i have had with cars in the past, and although my heart was tellin me to go for a more masculine machine, my head was steering me to the boxster.
this is why i am so gutted that after a years use, after taking precautions such as the 111 point check on the car at OPC prior to sale, that the engine has failed and i am facing a 6-7 thousand pound bill.
the car is a 2000 so i know its not new but surely this is not acceptable for a motor car of this kind.
I didnt consider a warranty because its a Porsche, which are not supposed to be a risky car to run.
the local specialist says its the usual intermediate shaft failure. Although the car still ran after it happened and there was no oil or smoke spurted out.
and for those that think this is not a common problem and that its blown out of proportion by the internet - call any independant and they will fill you in. The garage that looked at mine claimed to have 4 996s and a couple of boxsters in that week with the failed engines, and that was no different than a normal week.
I am in contact with Porsche and if they do not agree to help out i will put together a website (i have been a web designer for 10 years) that will be amongst the top results whenever a person types Porsche into a search engine, im not being naive i have done similar before, clearly warning potential buyers. This info is so near to being common knowledge outside the motor trade, Porsche's rep just needs a little extra shove to become the next Skoda or Alfa Romeo.
(pls excuse my grammar i am writing this on a mobile device)
I Chose the boxster due to its reliability, build quality and because it was a Porsche. My other considerations were an M3, S2000, Monaro or a TVR + run about.
Due to the amount of trouble i have had with cars in the past, and although my heart was tellin me to go for a more masculine machine, my head was steering me to the boxster.
this is why i am so gutted that after a years use, after taking precautions such as the 111 point check on the car at OPC prior to sale, that the engine has failed and i am facing a 6-7 thousand pound bill.
the car is a 2000 so i know its not new but surely this is not acceptable for a motor car of this kind.
I didnt consider a warranty because its a Porsche, which are not supposed to be a risky car to run.
the local specialist says its the usual intermediate shaft failure. Although the car still ran after it happened and there was no oil or smoke spurted out.
and for those that think this is not a common problem and that its blown out of proportion by the internet - call any independant and they will fill you in. The garage that looked at mine claimed to have 4 996s and a couple of boxsters in that week with the failed engines, and that was no different than a normal week.
I am in contact with Porsche and if they do not agree to help out i will put together a website (i have been a web designer for 10 years) that will be amongst the top results whenever a person types Porsche into a search engine, im not being naive i have done similar before, clearly warning potential buyers. This info is so near to being common knowledge outside the motor trade, Porsche's rep just needs a little extra shove to become the next Skoda or Alfa Romeo.
I am gutted for you, to get your new pride and joy and have it grenade must be heartbreaking :-(
I think the failure rate tho is blown out of proportion. People tend to go on the internet to find a solution to a problem such as a blown engine. Not many people at all go on the internet to say they have a car that works no problem, likewise the Porsche garages only ever see cars that are broken, who ever takes a fully working car to be repaired. I am not trying to be sarcastic, just trying to highlight why the internet may paint a distorted picture. It is like a hospital the only people you see there are unwell it doesn't mean the entire population is unwell tho.
I hope you get a satisfactory solution to your car, good luck.
I think the failure rate tho is blown out of proportion. People tend to go on the internet to find a solution to a problem such as a blown engine. Not many people at all go on the internet to say they have a car that works no problem, likewise the Porsche garages only ever see cars that are broken, who ever takes a fully working car to be repaired. I am not trying to be sarcastic, just trying to highlight why the internet may paint a distorted picture. It is like a hospital the only people you see there are unwell it doesn't mean the entire population is unwell tho.
I hope you get a satisfactory solution to your car, good luck.
Edited by welshbikerduck on Saturday 26th July 13:07
Edited by welshbikerduck on Saturday 26th July 13:08
newboxsterS said:
It seems only 5 minutes ago i was looking on these pages, gathering info to help make my decision on what car to buy.
I didnt consider a warranty because its a Porsche, which are not supposed to be a risky car to run.
Any major failure like this with a prestige marque is not good & a disaster for the person concerned. However the failure you have experienced has been well documented on these pages in the past together with other Porsche sites. It's no big secret.Having run the checks on these pages you would have realised that. You could have taken a warranty which would have covered you. It's not as common as you've been led to believe, but even if it's only 1 in a million & it's you thats 1 too many.I didnt consider a warranty because its a Porsche, which are not supposed to be a risky car to run.
These cars are not the cheapest to run & if things go wrong then it's very expensive to fix. When you elect to take the warranty or not you have to weigh up the risks.
I have a warranty for the simple reason that if the engine goes pop I couldn't afford to replace it. I'd rather take the £900 insurance policy than risk the slim chance.
newboxsterS said:
I am in contact with Porsche and if they do not agree to help out i will put together a website (i have been a web designer for 10 years) that will be amongst the top results whenever a person types Porsche into a search engine, im not being naive i have done similar before, clearly warning potential buyers.
Sorry to hear your trouble, especially having been there myself.The website idea has been done before, most notably by a guy a few years ago who created a site called badboxster.com to highlight the failure he had and publicise Porsche's lack of interest. Their lawyers bullied him into handing the domain over with various threats. If you use any Porsche trade marks in the siteor domain name, this will happen.
I wish you the best of luck in trying to get something out of Porsche, but history shows they do not give much help if you meet one or more of these criteria:
1. You are not long term Porsche customer
2. Your car is out of warranty
3. Your car is more than 5 years old
4. Your car has a reasonably high mileage
My prediction is they will shrug their shoulders and tell you engines can fail and it's nothing to do with them. They won't admit liability in any way or admit there are any inherent issues with the M96 engine.
You will then have the choice of paying for a new engine, trying to find a s/h one or getting yours rebuilt by someone like Hartech, Ninemeister, Camtune etc. These choices have all been discussed here at length over the past couple of years.
Until a group of disgruntled Boxster/996/997 owners are prepared to get together and start a class action against Porsche to highlight the common failures and design flaws in the M96 engine, there won't be any real justice done. But I don't ever see that happening as most Porsche owners don't have the time or patience to start long legal battles over a minor inconvenience such as a blown engine. They tend to pay up, put it down to experience and get on with life.
Good luck and keep us informed.
Im sorry for your situation, engines can and do fail, People do get caught by the trap of assuming that a prestige car is bulletproof, and as has been said above, Unless you have some very good reasons why Porsche should help you then the simple fact is that past the manufacturers waranty, there is no obligation for any vehicle producer to stump up support.
As for threatening them with poor press, if Porsche are prepared to take on the likes of Red Ken then im sure that a 2nd hand Boxster owner who chose not to purchase any form of protection on his car will have them quaking in their boots.
Best of luck.
As for threatening them with poor press, if Porsche are prepared to take on the likes of Red Ken then im sure that a 2nd hand Boxster owner who chose not to purchase any form of protection on his car will have them quaking in their boots.
Best of luck.
POORCARDEALER said:
Sorry to hear of your problems.
At the end of the day a warranty is circa £800.............a used engine will be in the region of £3K.
Its a calculated risk you take not buying the warranty.
At the end of the day a warranty is circa £800.............a used engine will be in the region of £3K.
Its a calculated risk you take not buying the warranty.
I maintain a warranty. I have my suspicions that I am about to need it...not for the engine but for a different problem... In my experience all cars have stuff that goes wrong with them. It's usually minor but it will happen - and it does happen more as they get older. Hourly rates means fixing anything on my Boxster will be hideously expensive. So when the inevitable happens it will be pricey.
The warranty means that the worst things that could happen are covered - the more minor things I still have to pay for! The cars take £2K to £3K a year to run IMO - that covers servicing, maintenance and warranty but not insurance, taxes and fuel.
newboxsterS said:
It seems only 5 minutes ago i was looking on these pages, gathering info to help make my decision on what car to buy.
(pls excuse my grammar i am writing this on a mobile device)
I Chose the boxster due to its reliability, build quality and because it was a Porsche. My other considerations were an M3, S2000, Monaro or a TVR + run about.
Due to the amount of trouble i have had with cars in the past, and although my heart was tellin me to go for a more masculine machine, my head was steering me to the boxster.
this is why i am so gutted that after a years use, after taking precautions such as the 111 point check on the car at OPC prior to sale, that the engine has failed and i am facing a 6-7 thousand pound bill.
the car is a 2000 so i know its not new but surely this is not acceptable for a motor car of this kind.
I didnt consider a warranty because its a Porsche, which are not supposed to be a risky car to run.
the local specialist says its the usual intermediate shaft failure. Although the car still ran after it happened and there was no oil or smoke spurted out.
and for those that think this is not a common problem and that its blown out of proportion by the internet - call any independant and they will fill you in. The garage that looked at mine claimed to have 4 996s and a couple of boxsters in that week with the failed engines, and that was no different than a normal week.
I am in contact with Porsche and if they do not agree to help out i will put together a website (i have been a web designer for 10 years) that will be amongst the top results whenever a person types Porsche into a search engine, im not being naive i have done similar before, clearly warning potential buyers. This info is so near to being common knowledge outside the motor trade, Porsche's rep just needs a little extra shove to become the next Skoda or Alfa Romeo.
Tough luck, but I can't see the wbe site making much difference. Most manufacturers have had some 'achilles heel' (In Alfa's case a whole Achilles body!) but they survive.(pls excuse my grammar i am writing this on a mobile device)
I Chose the boxster due to its reliability, build quality and because it was a Porsche. My other considerations were an M3, S2000, Monaro or a TVR + run about.
Due to the amount of trouble i have had with cars in the past, and although my heart was tellin me to go for a more masculine machine, my head was steering me to the boxster.
this is why i am so gutted that after a years use, after taking precautions such as the 111 point check on the car at OPC prior to sale, that the engine has failed and i am facing a 6-7 thousand pound bill.
the car is a 2000 so i know its not new but surely this is not acceptable for a motor car of this kind.
I didnt consider a warranty because its a Porsche, which are not supposed to be a risky car to run.
the local specialist says its the usual intermediate shaft failure. Although the car still ran after it happened and there was no oil or smoke spurted out.
and for those that think this is not a common problem and that its blown out of proportion by the internet - call any independant and they will fill you in. The garage that looked at mine claimed to have 4 996s and a couple of boxsters in that week with the failed engines, and that was no different than a normal week.
I am in contact with Porsche and if they do not agree to help out i will put together a website (i have been a web designer for 10 years) that will be amongst the top results whenever a person types Porsche into a search engine, im not being naive i have done similar before, clearly warning potential buyers. This info is so near to being common knowledge outside the motor trade, Porsche's rep just needs a little extra shove to become the next Skoda or Alfa Romeo.
This problem is widely known both in and out of Porsche circles and is (??) now resolved, which is also well known.
The only damage you might do is to the secondhand market for older, suspect models. Fat lot Porsche will care about that.
POORCARDEALER said:
Sorry to hear of your problems.
At the end of the day a warranty is circa £800.............a used engine will be in the region of £3K.
Its a calculated risk you take not buying the warranty.
I'm very sorry to hear about your problems.At the end of the day a warranty is circa £800.............a used engine will be in the region of £3K.
Its a calculated risk you take not buying the warranty.
I know I'll get slated here, but why on earth didn't you take the warranty? These are expensive cars, and when rare problems arise they costa fortune to fix.
If you'd researched on here, surely you'd have known about the issues and got a warranty to prevent getting stung??
I'd advise aginst flinging mud at them publicly. Porsche have a phalanx of very sharp lawyers, and as the most proftable car maker in the world they will, I am afraid, not give a flying toss about you or your nine year old car which you didn't warranty, or buy from one of their dealers. And indeed why should they?
newboxsterS said:
the car is a 2000 so i know its not new but surely this is not acceptable for a motor car of this kind.
I didnt consider a warranty because its a Porsche, which are not supposed to be a risky car to run.
If it were me I'm sure I'd be gutted too, however the reality is that it's an eight year old car, and any bills relating to it are always going to relate to a £40k car and not £12k or whatever a 2000 Boxster S is worth.I didnt consider a warranty because its a Porsche, which are not supposed to be a risky car to run.
Do you have full OPC history or anything that might encourage Porsche to show some goodwill?
newboxsterS said:
I Chose the boxster due to its reliability, build quality and because it was a Porsche. My other considerations were an M3, S2000, Monaro or a TVR + run about.
I agree with what the others have said but this is the key thing: you'd expect a Porsche to be bullet proof and a TVR to require a runabout because you "know" it's going to break. It's only an 8 year old car (pretty new), very unlikely to be raced or rallied or red-lined by a boy racer from cold - and, in fact, I'd expect a Porsche to be able to handle dozens of trackdays and not break - so it doesn't bode well for Porsche. Yes, it's a £40k car and so you expect it to have £40k car services, parts and bills but you also expect it to have £40k build quality not £25k TVR Chimaera quality, which is partly why many chose a Boxster over a Chimaera (actually, in this instance, it's worse than TVR Chimaera quality because those Rover V8s are strong engines).Good luck getting the problem resolved.
PS If you were considering an M3 then read up about their associated engine problems. It's put me off BMW performance cars.
Edited by shadowninja on Saturday 26th July 19:10
Perhaps another way to look at it is if you'd bought the car new then once the factory warranty ran out at (an absurd) 2 yrs then you'd have paid 6x warranty payments since then - so you've lost out marginally, but not by too much.
Any idea of the situation in the US, where owners are much more ready to take action, regarding this failure - will Porsche contribute there?
Any idea of the situation in the US, where owners are much more ready to take action, regarding this failure - will Porsche contribute there?
Well, thanks for those who who offered sympathy. I just hope none of you are ever in the same position.
The fact of the matter is that i looked long and hard for info about possible faults on the car before buying.
I found nothing about serious engine failures, just the usual RMS issues, so i had the 111 point check to make sure the car i bought had no evidence of that.
knowing what i knew then the idea of getting a warranty was ridiculous considering the cost of it in relation to the value of the vehicle, especially after being led to beleive that the cars should be good for many many miles.
I ran an audi to 115000 miles and it had no issues (apart from a fortune on suspension) with the engine at all. Why would i expect a Porsche to fail that was a much newer car with many less miles.
I even ran a 10 year old nissan skyline turbo to 90000 miles, no serious faults what so ever. The exhaust needed fixing and suspension but the engine was runnin like a dream.
in my life i have also run a metro, a citroen bx, a punto and others to high miles and never had any serious engine faults.
what possible logic would there be for me, when buying the newest car i ever have, to come to the decision i must get a warranty on it?
I never bought one before for any car, why would i for the car i beleived would be the most well engineered car i have ever bought.
Ok, i have made the point.
the car has had full dealer history, and as i said - had the full 111 point check by the dealer where it had had most of its services. So, i am hoping Porsche will offer some goodwill.
or, the website and the bad press will start in a more aggressive, repetitive nature until its sufficiently well known that once Porsche have sold you a car, they will not care if it lasts more than a couple of years.
The fact of the matter is that i looked long and hard for info about possible faults on the car before buying.
I found nothing about serious engine failures, just the usual RMS issues, so i had the 111 point check to make sure the car i bought had no evidence of that.
knowing what i knew then the idea of getting a warranty was ridiculous considering the cost of it in relation to the value of the vehicle, especially after being led to beleive that the cars should be good for many many miles.
I ran an audi to 115000 miles and it had no issues (apart from a fortune on suspension) with the engine at all. Why would i expect a Porsche to fail that was a much newer car with many less miles.
I even ran a 10 year old nissan skyline turbo to 90000 miles, no serious faults what so ever. The exhaust needed fixing and suspension but the engine was runnin like a dream.
in my life i have also run a metro, a citroen bx, a punto and others to high miles and never had any serious engine faults.
what possible logic would there be for me, when buying the newest car i ever have, to come to the decision i must get a warranty on it?
I never bought one before for any car, why would i for the car i beleived would be the most well engineered car i have ever bought.
Ok, i have made the point.
the car has had full dealer history, and as i said - had the full 111 point check by the dealer where it had had most of its services. So, i am hoping Porsche will offer some goodwill.
or, the website and the bad press will start in a more aggressive, repetitive nature until its sufficiently well known that once Porsche have sold you a car, they will not care if it lasts more than a couple of years.
I'm surprised you didn't see the exploding Boxster/996 threads. Really sorry for you, I wish you luck with the 'goodwill' and agree with others that Porsche won't be worried about your website.
A friend of mine has a five year old 2.7, I always assumed he had the warranty but he said 'engine problems, what engine problems?' so you're not the only one.
Did I imagine it, or are 9 year old 'watercooleds' suddenly so much cheaper?
A friend of mine has a five year old 2.7, I always assumed he had the warranty but he said 'engine problems, what engine problems?' so you're not the only one.
Did I imagine it, or are 9 year old 'watercooleds' suddenly so much cheaper?
Sorry to hear of your issues, can I suggest you see if Hartech can do you a repair without need a full rebuild?
BTW mine blew at less than 1k - Bring it on....
Vesuvius 996 said:
I'd advise aginst flinging mud at them publicly. Porsche have a phalanx of very sharp lawyers, and as the most proftable car maker in the world they will, I am afraid, not give a flying toss about you or your nine year old car which you didn't warranty, or buy from one of their dealers. And indeed why should they?
Hey Porsche, IMHO you sell an inferior product that is not fit for purpose. You cover yourselves with long warranties in the US. We in the UK get shafted with the highest price on the product and only 2 years warranty. It is reasonable to expect a MASS produced car to easily reach 100k miles on an engine. I cannot remember seeing Porsche advising of a serious likelyhood of engine failure in the adverts or show room. Block exemption was a way the EU stopped us having the ripped off on servicing. Just because we use independants that does not absolve the most profitable car company of responsibility.BTW mine blew at less than 1k - Bring it on....
I think that it is outragious to expect to 'need' a warranty on an expensive car of that age. Porsche has made it's name on the reliability of the marque, and you presumed that a car with a 111 pt check would be good. I don't think that is unreasonable, however, I'm not sure that Porsche think that way. I will not consider buying a modern car without a complete warranty, and that says volumes about the Porsches of today. ( GT1 block excepted )
Good luck with your quest.....start off gently to see what response you get from them.
Good luck with your quest.....start off gently to see what response you get from them.
paultje said:
I think that it is outragious to expect to 'need' a warranty on an expensive car of that age.
Absolutely!! - nail on the head. Go to any Audi or BMW forum and ask how many owners of high performance cars from these marques have extended warranties and I bet it's a very low number - same question on here I suspect would yield a significantly higher number.newboxsterS said:
what possible logic would there be for me, when buying the newest car i ever have, to come to the decision i must get a warranty on it?
Complex electronic and mechanical machine. They break. You took the risk. It broke. Sorry, I feel for you, but you have to take it like a man - just beacuse it is a Porsche doesnt mean it wont break - a 111 point check cant forsee mechanical failure before it happens. If you had researched you would have know this (like any failure) was a posibility. it is an 8 year old car.BMW had isses with their V8, Mercedes have had issues with some of their engines, Audi/VW et all had issues with Coil packs. These things will continue to happen. This is why I would never run a modern car that wasnt in warranty or extended warranty.
I cant see Porsche chipping in for this.
Edited by eowen on Sunday 27th July 22:09
Edited by eowen on Sunday 27th July 22:12
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