Do I or Don't I? 997 C2S PDK Cabriolet

[amer911]

Hi

I'm looking at buying a used 2008/2009 Porsche 911, specifically this one: http://www.gpcars.co.uk/used_car_porsche_911_conve...

But really want to have peace of mind of Porsche Extended Warranty.

Porsche Silverstone said to get one on a car that's original is now expired the following is necessary:

- full major service by Porsche, regardless of whether due or not (£610)

- 111 point check and if passes ok then £1485 for 12 months warranty (the 111 check cost is included in the £1485 warranty cost)

Obviously the service is only £610 is nothing needed to be repaired. This sounds alot of money (and more importantly risk because I worry that they will do a £610 service and point check and tell me £££s of stuff to do before warranty can be added...therefore I am left out of pocket and with no warranty).

They also (I think strange) said I can only do all above after owning car for 3 months? It's like they want to wait until they can blame me for things that are wrong with it (as opposed to the dealer that I got it from who under law has to give 3 months warranty)?

Any thoughts, help appreciated!

Basically - and I'm sure you've guessed it - I want to buy at non-main dealer price and get main dealer peace of mind!

Best

Amer

[alexisn]

Why spend all that money on mech insurance for a 08/09 car ? The major mech problems are addressed on the DI engines. Should also get a coupe of course.

[amer911]

Simply for the reason I mentioned namely, peace of mind.

Bear in mind, I should admit I am not a 'pistonhead' and on here because I am keen to seek the knowledgable opinion of those that are in the know. I am more part of the (I hear, large number of) people who buy Porsches for lots of reasons many of which are a bit less geared towards the full driving experience than the aesthetics, brand image, popularity, etc etc. I'm sure you know what I mean!

So basically I would definitely want a full warranty because I'm not comfortable without ... maybe just because of my own lack of understanding of the workings of cars and what £45k means to me personally (ie I need a big brother peace of mind guarantee with it to feel comfortable to spend that amount)

[Magic919]

Just stick it through the 111 point check and see what comes up. You could ask the seller to do that.

Don't believe the "DFI engines never fail" story.

[m33ufo]

Unless you're buying the car via OPC or purchasing a privately owned car which has extended warranty remaining then the installation of warranty requires the 3 months wait. The 111 point inspection is valid for that period though so you don't have to get another inspection as it still applies - there's no reason why you can't get the inspection completed now.

Not sure why it needs a service unless it's overdue?

[williaa68]

Was the 4 year service done at an OPC? I am guessing not as the advert says FSH not main dealer SH. As you have identified getting a car that has been services outside the network back in could be expensive - eg if it had disks and pads and they aren't OEM then you'd need to change them. With a non Porsche Service history (if that is correct) and without the 2 year warranty I think you'd want this to be about 5k cheaper than an OPC car. I am not sure it is at that price.

[Ian_UK1]

Magic919 said:

......Don't believe the "DFI engines never fail" story.

Interesting comment as anecdotally, they'd appear to be relatively bullet-proof. Is DFI engine unreliability something you've experienced?

[amer911]

williaa68 said:

Was the 4 year service done at an OPC? I am guessing not as the advert says FSH not main dealer SH.

I'm guessing that's why Porsche Silverstone said they want to do a major service as yes it appears the 2nd service was done out of the Porsche Empire.

Thank you for all the responses, very helpful. Still looking for the right car but I've definitely learnt that it seems a 111 point check is a good idea to get done if I want to have a warranty in due course.

[Magic919]

Ian_UK1 said:

Magic919 said:

......Don't believe the "DFI engines never fail" story.

Interesting comment as anecdotally, they'd appear to be relatively bullet-proof. Is DFI engine unreliability something you've experienced?

I'm on my second engine. Many of the people that go on about them being bulletproof don't seem to own one.

[Ian_UK1]

Magic919 said:

I'm on my second engine. Many of the people that go on about them being bulletproof don't seem to own one.

So far so good where mine's concerned (3 years and 34,000 miles so far)! What happened to your engine?

[Magic919]

Bore scoring.

[mollytherocker]

Magic919 said:

Bore scoring.

Thats disappointing to hear. I thought that was gone forever! Could you share more info about it.

[philcray]

Like yourself, I wanted the comfort factor of the official Warranty but fancied the potential economy of buying outside the main dealer network.

Shopping around though, I certainly found that OPC prices are not that different if at all to other dealers, factor in the 2 year warranty at about £2,5k as you say, and they are often cheaper...

Also the Porsche warranty does include Porsche Recovery as standard, which is good but you are paying for it, so you can remove this option and save about £200 a year if you are a member of the RAC, AA etc. Obviously if buying from an OPC then no need to worry about this as they are paying for it.

[f1ashgordon]

mollytherocker said:

Magic919 said:

Bore scoring.

Thats disappointing to hear. I thought that was gone forever! Could you share more info about it.

Hi magic, from my research before buying my gen2 I didn't read any reports of bore scoring, I'm interested to hear of your experience if you don't mind sharing?

[Magic919]

It's hard to work out where the value is in telling the story. In other words, with no real explanation of what caused the problem I can't relay information that would help others.

The car is my C2S 2008 and had done just under 16k when I bought it. A month and about 1,000 miles later the engine was in trouble. When it 'happened' the car flashed up a warning and told me to drive it to the workshop. The drive had been unremarkable up to then.

I felt it.was using more oil than my 996s had; needed a litre in 1,000 miles. Indeed our 997 C4S hasn't needed any in similar mileage.

I got it recovered to the OPC and they boroscoped it. Cylinder 3 showed some heavy scoring. Once it was dismantled you could see matching scoring on both sides of the corresponding piston. The five remaining bores looked perfect.

I didn't see much evidence of other afflicted cars when Googling. But given 90% of the people that own these probably don't go near Internet forums, I'm not sure what that proves.

I skipped Gen 1 997 in the hope of avoiding engine woes. Hopefully the C4S will be fine and I'll be half right.

[f1ashgordon]

Fair enough, appreciate your response.

That said, not sure the logic you use to dismiss the lack of gen2 bore scoring reports as a result of the low percentage of owners on the internet is valid, given we only know about the 997 gen 1 horror stories because of the Internet!

[spyderman8]

I think that's a very nice car for the money. I can also understand your desire for the Porsche warranty as it really is the best you can get. An OPC-sourced used car can cost up to £5k more than via an indy and once you see the cost of a Major plus warranty, you start to see why. OK, so the DFi engine appears to be a more reliable lump than the M96 and M97s, but just think of what it would cost to have your PDK box replaced...?