996 engine/transmission failures - action time
Discussion
Vesuvius996 said:
£15 a week is CHEAP AS CHIPS for peace of mind.
Yes, give them more money to defend the faulty design of the engine!
I agree the warranty gives great piece of mind, but I believe the point here is that they are still making cars, 997 etc, with the same fault which is really is not on.
Wouldnt buying this warranty also mean that you would need to have the car serviced by an OPC?? thus adding £000's to the running costs?
I cannot fathom this logic of "buy a £70k car and pay £700 for extended warranty" -the USP of Prsche used to be that (as opposed to Ferarris) you could use them everday-get reasonable fuel economy and not worry about seeing a dealer. Design and engineering integrity of the 993 allowed this. As said before, Porsche cars would suffer certain hiccups eg bad flywheels, stretched headbolts etc but these would not lead to catastprophic engine failures that appear to be RELATIVELY frequent for 3.4 996s (ie more than for an average car).
The point now is that the cars are at around £25k and suddently £700 for a warranty plus Porsche labour rates make the purchase non viable. If the market factors these costs in then the values will only drop further
>> Edited by kamal996 on Tuesday 13th September 11:23
I cannot fathom this logic of "buy a £70k car and pay £700 for extended warranty" -the USP of Prsche used to be that (as opposed to Ferarris) you could use them everday-get reasonable fuel economy and not worry about seeing a dealer. Design and engineering integrity of the 993 allowed this. As said before, Porsche cars would suffer certain hiccups eg bad flywheels, stretched headbolts etc but these would not lead to catastprophic engine failures that appear to be RELATIVELY frequent for 3.4 996s (ie more than for an average car).
The point now is that the cars are at around £25k and suddently £700 for a warranty plus Porsche labour rates make the purchase non viable. If the market factors these costs in then the values will only drop further
>> Edited by kamal996 on Tuesday 13th September 11:23
To answer the Phelix post, you can have an official Porsche Warranty at any time up to 10 years old and 125,00 miles.
You take it to OPC, get it inspected, get any issues sorted (fair enough I guess) and then Bob's yer Uncle you can renew it indefinitely until 10 years or 125,00 miles.
I have to disagree with Kamal on two counts - firstly that you pay through the nose for dealer servicing (20% uplift on a specialist I reckon....) and good value given you recoup the extra outlay with a full set of OPC stamps come trade in time.
At the end of the day, Simon is right. You run a 180mph £70,000 car you have to expect bills.
Depending on your attitdue to risk and how much you have in the bank you either insure against the risk of a problem or you don't.
I chose to insure myself against a blow up and I don't regret it.
>> Edited by Vesuvius996 on Tuesday 13th September 13:59
You take it to OPC, get it inspected, get any issues sorted (fair enough I guess) and then Bob's yer Uncle you can renew it indefinitely until 10 years or 125,00 miles.
I have to disagree with Kamal on two counts - firstly that you pay through the nose for dealer servicing (20% uplift on a specialist I reckon....) and good value given you recoup the extra outlay with a full set of OPC stamps come trade in time.
At the end of the day, Simon is right. You run a 180mph £70,000 car you have to expect bills.
Depending on your attitdue to risk and how much you have in the bank you either insure against the risk of a problem or you don't.
I chose to insure myself against a blow up and I don't regret it.
>> Edited by Vesuvius996 on Tuesday 13th September 13:59
simon138 said:
700 notes a year for peace of mind on one of these wonderful cars is peanuts...
running anything fast is going to cost cash...
also, bare in mind that porsche are in the BUSINESS of making cars...
no. if a car costs 60-70k it should be properly engineered. just cos other are bad doesnt excuse it. a standard 996/boxter is a mass produced, faster than average car but its simply not fast enough to excuse poor longevity.
agreed. ironic though that the fast porsches turbo, gt3 and gt2 dont suffer these problems...
yes BUSINESS. they make just under 100k cars a year and are one of the most profitable car companies in the world. like mercedes it appears short term profits are taking prededent over the long term quality of the marque.
No. They are properly engineered. The fact that I can have it warranted until 125,000 (and even boynd that ata a price) shows that.
BMW M3s had engine problems, their late 90s sixes had Nikasil bore wear. Engines break, gearboxes break. It is the nature of them. And even the ardent air-cooled boys have to concede that 964s and 993s have their known issues too.
Even if you buy a £300,000 Zonda things can break, as a colleague fo mine knows.
So just insure the risk and enjoy the cars.
Properly engineered! Engines are suffering catastophic failure not wear and tear! Fine-you can buy a £800 warranty-now I'm not an expert on insurance but if Porsche is charging £800 a year to effectively cover the £8000 engine replacement then in insurance terms the they see the odds as pretty high (I know it covers other stuff but these seem to be almost incidental when compared to the failure issues of the engines)! My accidental and theft cover which has £1m of liability cover to third partires costs the same! My breakdown cover for my Mercedes costs £280! (am comes in useful quite often!)
How is it that even now a Japanese car or the old german cars of the 80s and 90s could go for 300-400k miles! Yes they may have worn their valves etc but they did not catasrophically fail.
As for the Nikelsal issue-this is another example of recent poor German engineering. BUT it never caused catastrophic engine failure and was fixed by using a new block (and ususally paid for by BMW for up to 70k miles by which time the problem had usually manifested itself). At least BMW acknowlege the problem and redesigned to get around the problem.
How is it that even now a Japanese car or the old german cars of the 80s and 90s could go for 300-400k miles! Yes they may have worn their valves etc but they did not catasrophically fail.
As for the Nikelsal issue-this is another example of recent poor German engineering. BUT it never caused catastrophic engine failure and was fixed by using a new block (and ususally paid for by BMW for up to 70k miles by which time the problem had usually manifested itself). At least BMW acknowlege the problem and redesigned to get around the problem.
So don't buy one then! As I said, machines break. My mate's Zonda had problems and he paid £300k for it!! And no he didn't have a warranty - he just bought a Koenigseggseggsgeggsggegeggsgeg instead and laughed about it in the pub afterwards (git 
)
I love mine!
Seriously, I think that the warranty is excellent value for money, and at least I can mash the loud pedal without worrying about a thing.
I am sorry your experience with Porsche's was bad, but maybe you just bought one that had been abused?
) I love mine!
Seriously, I think that the warranty is excellent value for money, and at least I can mash the loud pedal without worrying about a thing.
I am sorry your experience with Porsche's was bad, but maybe you just bought one that had been abused?
My own 996 didnt fail but then I only covered 4k miles in it over 12months. The local Porsche specialist to myself (near SE1) used to have 996s for engine replacement every week and this really worried me. Then I saw lots of adverts for cars with new engines. Ninemiester (also a well trusted Porsche specialist) has also seen a number of failures. I suddently didnt want to get a bill for £12k for a new engine but am unprepared to spend an extra £700 a year on yet more insurance for an already expensive to insure item. Add that to new rear tyres every 6k miles or so, expensive annual services etc etc just didnt make sense. SAYING ALL THIS I REALLY MISS HAVING A PORSCHE-and dont get me wrong I like 996s
The engines dont actually cost Porsche £12k, so if the unit fails due to bad design, inconsistant quality or faulty piece parts then they should supply a replacement unit at cost (proberbly about £4k.
Remember Porsche have the MTBF figures, they know exactly how many units will fail and the cause, the only thing they dont know is when!
Remember Porsche have the MTBF figures, they know exactly how many units will fail and the cause, the only thing they dont know is when!
My 2002 Porsche Boxster has just suffered an engine failure on the M40. It's only done 14k and been serviced on an annual basis by OPC. Unfortunately because the warranty had expired and i didn't purchase it from an Official Porsche Centre, Porsche GB have decided that they don't give a shit and told me to go away. Of course it's my fault for not having renewed the warranty and i'll pay for it, but it's still worth pointing out that Porsche engines are seriously crap and Customer Service unsympathetic!
clapham said:
My 2002 Porsche Boxster has just suffered an engine failure on the M40. It's only done 14k and been serviced on an annual basis by OPC. Unfortunately because the warranty had expired and i didn't purchase it from an Official Porsche Centre, Porsche GB have decided that they don't give a shit and told me to go away. Of course it's my fault for not having renewed the warranty and i'll pay for it, but it's still worth pointing out that Porsche engines are seriously crap and Customer Service unsympathetic!
They really need to be taken to court about this. I would speak to your solicitor. Its very unreasonable for the engine to go after 14k. These days its all profit, profit etc.
Makes me sick.
Any survey that doesn't include every single Porsche 996 owner in the country is totally pointless; you'll only get people who have an axe to grind. No one ever asked me about the reliability of my 996. (It was faultless btw). That’s the only way to gain any sort of accurate figure to engine problems. I read recently that Porsche sell 27,000 911’s a year and 18,000 Boxster in one year, that’s a lot of cars. I’d be surprised if half a percent of those cars had engine problems.
Engines go pop, always have and always will.
Engines go pop, always have and always will.
See other thread about warranties.
Clapham I a REALLY GENUINELY very sorry for what has happened to you, but £15 a week for the warranty is peanuts. I can't IMAGINE why someone would spend all that money on a car and then not insure against a catastrophic failure.
>> Edited by Vesuvius996 on Tuesday 4th October 21:16
Thank you for that Vesuvius.
Some good news for those looking for value for money and a Customer Service Department that actually cares. CarGiant in London sold me my Porsche Boxster (at trade price) earlier this year. Although they have no liability having exceeded both the mileage and time required by law they've volunteered to pay for a new engine and labour as a goodwill gesture. I am most grateful to them.
As a Porsche customer i've spent over £2.5k this year on service costs and sorting other minor ailments to ensure my car was in perfect condition. The car has a OPC service stamp for every 3.5k driven. I'm afraid this engine was defective and Porsche simply refuse to accept it.
Shame - i really liked that car!
clapham said:
Although they have no liability having exceeded both the mileage and time required by law they've volunteered to pay for a new engine and labour as a goodwill gesture.
Interestingly I was speaking to a guy at Hatfield OPC the other day who said that any dealer is liable under the Sale of Goods act for any mechanical fault on the car within 12 months irrelevant of warranty.
I couldn't quite believe it but he was adamant,.,.
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