996 engine problems and Porsche customer torture

[nervous]

you people sicken me. quite frankly, a post like this has no place round here.

[Diesel130]

magic torch said:

... have another look at a car some of us are fortunate to own.

Brilliant - and that's exactly the reason I'm trying to buy one ! But buy one that won't fall apart and cost me 9K for new engine or gearbox. If only the 996 was as reliable as the 993 was. sigh!

[993c4]

Why do you keep these threads running?

Don't post and people will get bored. You are only aggravating matters and highlighting the very things you don't want to talk about!

[magic torch]

993c4 said:

Why do you keep these threads running?

Don't post and people will get bored. You are only aggravating matters and highlighting the very things you don't want to talk about!

If we didn't post, this sort of thing would go uncorrected.

mr_yogi said:

it may be possible to fix RMS for a couple of £K or so

Diesel130 already feels if he buys one it'll need a new engine / gearbox. A lot of people read this forum before buying.

So, what's the solution?

[mr phish]

The threads exist because some Porsche owners are being treated like scum by Porsche.

The solution is for Porsche to stop treating customer problems as an annoyance and sort them out in a professional and timely manner.

I have many, many more productive things to do than posting on here but I have been treated so badly by them that I'll carry on keeping these threads alive so there is a record.

I might be in a tiny minority having a 996 which needs a new engine but I wouldn't be here if the problem had been dealt with in a fair way.

[Homer J]

Picked up my 3.4 996 last week.

Running like a dream.

Was amazed to find no RMS leak, blown engine, or shreaded gearbox when I went out in it this afternoon.

Strange.

Carry on. (In a Mark & Lard stlyee)

[mookle234]

Update:

Call from Porsche customer services who have now agreed to offer a free service in compensation for shit caused (as well as sorting the engine problem out of their pocket as mentioned). They are also going to collect the car and return it.

Now THAT'S better, Porsche.

Not want to get drawn into some of the other stuff going on in this thread. Suffice to say case closed I hope and big thanks to all the supportive and productive posts.

[993c4]

993c4 said:

Why do you keep these threads running?

Don't post and people will get bored. You are only aggravating matters and highlighting the very things you don't want to talk about!

In reply to myself!

What I meant was why take the bait from some of the posters, ignore them and they go away.

I did not mean that we should not discuss problems such as poor customer service etc, these things need to be highlighted.

[magic torch]

mookle234 said:

Update:

Call from Porsche customer services who have now agreed to offer a free service in compensation for shit caused (as well as sorting the engine problem out of their pocket as mentioned). They are also going to collect the car and return it.

Now THAT'S better, Porsche.

Not want to get drawn into some of the other stuff going on in this thread. Suffice to say case closed I hope and big thanks to all the supportive and productive posts.

Great news.

[magic torch]

993c4 said:

993c4 said:

Why do you keep these threads running?

Don't post and people will get bored. You are only aggravating matters and highlighting the very things you don't want to talk about!

In reply to myself!

What I meant was why take the bait from some of the posters, ignore them and they go away.

I did not mean that we should not discuss problems such as poor customer service etc, these things need to be highlighted.

Trouble is I've often seen one ranter post, followed by another, followed by another, then the disinformation gets into the mix.

Yes, I totally agree with you, nothing I'd like to see more than them being ignored and disappear. At least then the 'more genuine' issues would receive the attention they deserve.

I think the last thing the regular users of this board want is for it to become a place where people come to complain about Porsche (the company). Unfortunately that's what it's becoming.

I'm not saying all 'ranters' don't have a genuine case for complaint.

[jac-in-a-box]

That's the right and proper end to your problems, just a shame Porsche have to extract a pound or two of flesh before they come good.

I said it before on another thread, I'm amazed at the I'll bury my head in the sand attitude from those who've been fortunate enough to have a car that hasn't sucumbed to these engine failure problems (I'm not talking RMS) - or, worse have yelled "troll" at anyone who dares to detail their misfortune.
Seems the ability to have a rational and mature debate has long since gone on here.

If Porsche read these forums they must be rubbing there hands with joy...we've got a flawed design of engine in our cars, but worry not; we have some very clever (or is it dumb) people who'll shout them down and tell them they're talking bullsh*t

Finally, to the ignorant and rude person who responded via my husbands web site contact address with some unsavoury comments about a post I made last night...carry on. I'm confident of my morals, gender, sexuality - and the ability to form a reasoned judgement. I'll continue, where appropriate, to air my opinions. Kindly BU**ER OFF

Jackie

[ballcock]

In response Jackie , I'd say that most of the people I know through the Ph site embrace the mature debate you've mentioned ... Do a search and you'll see the subject has been debated to death . Therein lies the problem . Until someone comes up with fresh knowledge/viewpoints/information , it's just old hat , and is being used by the sort of doom merchants who get their kicks out of 996/986 bashing.
To anyone newish on the site ..... Why not do a search before you post on the same ole same ole.

As to the e-mail you got last night ... I'm sorry to hear about that , one thing for sure , it's the work of a spineless coward and should be (dis)regarded as such ..

[993c4]

Jackie,

I take it that it was unsigned, or did they have the courage to say who they were.

If you have an email address post it here to see if it is anybody we know!

[ATG]

I don't often follow what's happening here on the Porsche forum. It is amazing, genuinely amazing, how closely this thread mirrors the Speed 6 threads over in TVRville. The criticisms levelled at the manufacturer are identical ... i.e. design weakness/flaw in an expensive car, but the real criticism is that the manufacturer and its agents handle the situation poorly. The retorts are the same too ... i.e. there is a small but vocal bunch of doomongers who exaggerate, people are naive if they think the car should be more reliable, lack of mechanical sympathy, car may have been thrashed, existence of good'uns and bad'uns.

Glad to hear the original poster finally forced the company to fulfill its obligations. That level of customer service is pathetic, but sadly typical of many, many companies.

[ATG]

ballcock said:

To anyone newish on the site ..... Why not do a search before you post on the same ole same ole.

Probably because they want to relay their personal experiences. This thread, for example, was started by someone who clearly have a valid grievance that was only very grudgingly accepted by Porsche.

[porsche4life]

Mr name is Mr Porky, i make sporty cars available to the masses who have a passion for gorgeous, very fast and can be used every day in every country all year round.

I believe i have captured a unique market. Many of my market dream of owning one when they have just finished with nappies.

I also make lost of money (most of my competitors either cannot make a decent car or cannot make money)

Sadly i made a bad recruiting decision and the 996 engine designer (who has now left the company to work for Kia) has caused me some anguish. I have also sourced some components that did not live up to our hopes of longevity.

Some of my customers are now complaining - what should our policy be?

1. Acknowledge and recall
2. Replace when fail FOC
3. Apply contract law and wait for clients to pursue through the courts

I have read some of these posts and i think my company is a little confused about my policy decisions.

I will now write to all CSM's and re-iterate "its 3 stupid"

[911regret]

I have a 996 C4S 2004 which has covered 40500 miles and has developed piston scoring on cyl 6 and a knocking noise as a result of this spoke to Porsche reading head office and got the impression because not all services were main dealer (2 at specialist) theyre good will policy will not come into effect, getting quotes of circa 6 grand to repair this anyone one had experience of this and what my best move next is ie take it on the chin and accept porsches are crap, and also who best to do this repair bearing in mind im in the north east of England thanks in advance for any helpful ideas.

[thegoose]

911regret said:

I have a 996 C4S 2004 which has covered 40500 miles and has developed piston scoring on cyl 6 and a knocking noise as a result of this spoke to Porsche reading head office and got the impression because not all services were main dealer (2 at specialist) theyre good will policy will not come into effect, getting quotes of circa 6 grand to repair this anyone one had experience of this and what my best move next is ie take it on the chin and accept porsches are crap, and also who best to do this repair bearing in mind im in the north east of England thanks in advance for any helpful ideas.

Holy thread resurrection Batman!

Anyway, welcome, I guess you found the thread via Google but it's far from the most recent on this sort of thing - it gets discussed a lot.

On a 9 year old car the "goodwill matrix" they apply wouldn't cough up much towards their cost anyway and I think you're talking £15,000 for Porsche to renew the engine. If not all the services were at an OPC then it's understandable they wouldn't offer goodwill - the idea is that if you spend your money with them on servicing instead of someone else they will repay that with a bit of goodwill in return - seems reasonable to me, you can't have it both ways. Even if you'd had full OPC history and they offered 20% goodwill you'd still be looking at paying 80% = £12,000 for a replacement engine with the same flaws as the broken one.

Now then, as to a solution, most roads will lead to Hartech, have a look at their very detailed analysis of the issues these engines have on their website www.hartech.org

They're not the only people who can sort out your car properly, but I'd be pretty certain they've done more of them than anybody else, have more in their workshops now, and spend more time on development of alternative solutions. They're also nearer to you than the reputable alternatives, and probably better priced too.

Good luck with it all.

[Trev450]

As already said, a very well documented problem.

Hartech or Autofarm are probably your best options.

[anonymous-user]

MadMark981 said:

mookle234 said:

Thanks for all your input. I think in my case, Versuvius, you are completely missing the point. My car has done 40,000 miles. Engine went at 35k. New engine put in under 2 YEAR WARRANTY. A year and 4,000 miles now broken again with variocam failure and Porsche refusing to repair on the grounds of a part, not the whole thing going. ITS STILL GOT A YEAR LEFT ON THE BLOODY WARRANTY! This is nothing short of ridiculous.

I agree with others posting that its not acceptable that an engine goes so soon. To prepare for this possibility I had a warranty on my last 996 and I would not run a 996 without a warranty which covers the engine. No way. However, this ordeal is proving that even these are useless.

To top it all off the call I was *promised* from customer services I was waiting for yesterday never came. Nobody has called me thus far today either. Scadalous.

This is nuts and calls for the "pest" technique .... which means calling this Customer Services bh on the hour, every hour, until you get some satisfaction. In conjunction I would go and take some legala advice and advise Porsche that with every week that goes by, you will be looking to revover reasonable costs from your vehicle being "off the road" ....

MM.

Mookle's post is seven years old...