Not happy - any advice?

[finestjammy]

UPDATE

Just collected her. Feeling great again with shiny new tyres, discs and fat pads It was a spring clip near the engine that had gone apparently, they cleaned out the front rads too.

I had a 320d as a hire car, supposedly not a bad handling car but it felt like a bouncy castle combined with a shipping container in comparison. Just shows you how good the setup is on the Cayman.

I'll get some pics up tomorrow


Hi guys

Picked up a 987.2 Cayman s yesterday from an OPC. All was good on the 350 mile plus trip home. Been out today and accelerated up to 70mph on a dual carriage way, white smoke/steam, engine temp shot up and warning light came on. Pulled up and turned the engine off as fast as I could. The coolant then dumped all over the road. Currently waiting recovery. What's gone wrong?!? Remember this is an OPC car with the 111 check and a 2 year warranty. I have flamed the dealer and am threating rejecting it. Gutted as I love everything about it.

Any advice appreciated.

Edited by finestjammy on Wednesday 30th September 18:43

[finestjammy]

Phooey said:

You do know the 987.2's are diesel don't you?

So that where I went wrong

[finestjammy]

Thanks. AA bloke reckons it's a split coolant hose.

[finestjammy]

randlemarcus said:

This flaming you did? You do know they will be the ones fixing the issue, yes? You rejecting a second hand car over a split hose might not have them in the best and most helpful of attitudes.

The supplying dealer won't be doing the work anyway. Wouldn't they have checked the condition of the hoses prior to selling?

[finestjammy]

randlemarcus said:

This flaming you did? You do know they will be the ones fixing the issue, yes? You rejecting a second hand car over a split hose might not have them in the best and most helpful of attitudes.

...also I must lower my expectations and pre empt that I'll need to be recovered 24hrs after collecting a £30k Porsche approved vehicle. Silly me.

[finestjammy]

Quinny said:

I see you also own a Chimaera....

exactly l, I thought I'd got out of the AA loyalty scheme now

[finestjammy]

Shaoxter said:

Most likely. Not a massive issue and nothing to get worked up about, wouldn't have damaged anything as you stopped straight away. Pipes do sometimes crack and split or clamps can come loose, you're overreacting if you're thinking of rejecting the car.

Fair point, possibly so. I think it's because it has happened so soon after purchase...and the check is supposed to look at the condition of hoses and check for leaks etc. It gets me doubting what else has been missed. AA bloke reckoned the wheels hadn't even been taken off due to how tight the bolts were, just his opinion though. Waiting for a recovery truck to get to to my local dealer now. It will either all be sorted under warranty or the supplying dealer will be coughing up for anything else. Will be good for another OPC to take a look at everything I suppose. There's been a few hiccups along the way with the supplying dealer, nothing that hasn't got sorted though in the end.

[finestjammy]

randlemarcus said:

Not saying you can't be a little bit cross, especially if you've come to Porsche for reliability but I suspect there are more than 111 parts in a modern car, so the check isn't going to pick up on things like a slightly split hose.

A second OPC is a good idea though, especially if you already have a slightly frayed relationship with the first. Out of interest, why not buy from the local OPC?

It was a very good price, I suspect due to their more remote location, and was the spec I was after.. Hopefully it wasn't a 'too good to be true' scenario. I'd hope buying approved used with a warranty circumnavigates that possibility though.

Edited by finestjammy on Saturday 26th September 16:32

[finestjammy]

finestjammy said:

randlemarcus said:

This flaming you did? You do know they will be the ones fixing the issue, yes? You rejecting a second hand car over a split hose might not have them in the best and most helpful of attitudes.

...also I must lower my expectations and pre empt that I'll need to be recovered 24hrs after collecting a £30k Porsche approved vehicle. Silly me.

Apologies for the sarcasm, it's not usually like me. I've had a little time to calm down now...still awaiting recovery though. Like everyone said, I need to put it in perspective, it's inconvenient but hopefully just a split hose and I've got a warranty to cover that . I think this car may have had little use for a while and now everything is getting hot and expanding/contracting something may have worked loose.

Again, apologies.

[finestjammy]

Some differing views coming through then, the beauty of the forum I sense sarcasm even eclipsing that of my own from heliicopter123?

The car got recovered to my home as the local OPC had finished for the day by the time the recovery truck arrived. It's supposedly then being recovered to the OPC tomorrow. Let's see what they find. It's obviously a major leak somewhere as the AA chap poured coolant in and it was just as quickly gushing out from the under tray. Do you think hose leak/disconnection rather than water pump failure? I didn't hear anything 'go' before the warning light came on. I stopped within 10 seconds so hopefully no further damage...unless it is something else that's been failing. We'll see anyway.

Thanks for the comments, all welcome

[finestjammy]

pattyg said:

I'm never convinced by these used car inspections. Do you actually get the list of what has been checked or is it like the BMW ghost AUC check?

To answer your question, yes. Which incidentally includes 'Radiator hoses/connections (coolant loss, leaks)'. I suppose it's a bit like an MOT though in that it's a snapshot of time and was fine at the time of inspection. Maybe after 400 miles something has split/become disconnected.

[finestjammy]

Hmm, I'm getting more nervous as the hours tick by. I was looking through the various bits of documentation, PCM, owners manual etc. I looked at the service record and it all seems fine with lots of stamps, recall campaigns etc. However, the car was advertised as having one previous owner, I have the PDF advert. It has indeed had four previous owners! It's an early (Jan 09) gen 2. I don't think it's necessarily a problem as I know these cars can be used as second vehicles or if the patter of tiny feet are immenent. Just an admin error or taking the P I wonder? I might revert to my first post and commence the flaming to the dealer principal

Should I just attempt to walk away from this? It's at the local OPC tomorrow so I'll see what they find/don't find. I thought going the OPC used route would negate all, well some, of the dodgy tactics!

PS
By walking away I mean attempting to reject the car...which most likely will be a nightmare.

Edited by finestjammy on Sunday 27th September 13:40

[finestjammy]

jakesmith said:

I think you should just relax. They'll fix it for you in a day or so and then it'll be fine. Regarding the owners that is underhand but good luck rejecting on that basis when you had the chance to check the paperwork prior to purchase.

4 owners is not unusual in 7 years for a Porsche

Thanks, I think you're right. Bloody cars, love them but my they stress me out sometimes. I'll take my tablets and chill

...and relax

[finestjammy]

GT3cs said:

Scooty100 said:

Chillax man. Wanting to reject the car over a split host is massively OTT

As already mentioned they don't check hoses as part of 111 check.
What would you had done If God forbid the engine had a real problem ? Go to the OPC with a machine gun and massacred all of the staff ?
You have warranty and recovery FOC no need for panic enjoy the car

^ This ^ They'll sort it , no problem ....

In Porsche we trust

I more meant that I thought I was buying a one owner rather four owner car that it's turned out to be, no biggie. I will see what tomorrow brings though. Thanks everyone.

Edited by finestjammy on Sunday 27th September 15:15

[finestjammy]

Ozzie Osmond said:

finestjammy said:

AA bloke reckoned the wheels hadn't even been taken off due to how tight the bolts were,

Why was AA bloke removing the wheels???????????

He thought the leak might have originated from the front near side radiator.

[finestjammy]

sooty61 said:

Worth mentioning the owner discrepancy when it goes in. You never know, with the inconvenience you have suffered and this you may get some goodwill (e.g. discounted/free next service).

Agreed. Slight problem is that I won't be taking it to the supplying dealer for servicing due to the epic distance from my home. It's a different dealer group too, I can ask if they can sort some type of voucher system out possibly? It doesn't overly concern me that there have been four owners, just that it was described and advertised as a one owner car. This plus it dumping its coolant and leaving me stranded for five hours on day two of ownership does take the edge off first time Porsche experience. I had to wait several weeks to see the nice AA man when I bought the TVR

[finestjammy]

AndrewsCayman said:

I recently had a leaking front hose replaced on the Cayman. It was NOT covered by the Porsche warranty because the hose had aged and split. In order to replace it they had to drop the front sub frame and then do a wheel realignment when it was refitted. Total cost £530.

So be ready for this. I think you would be justified in claiming it's an unreasonable cost on day 2 of ownership, but you're dealing with another OPC which might complicate things a bit.

Crikey. Like you say, day 2 of ownership. I've spoken to the local and supplying OPC this morning. The car got picked up at 8:30 so it will be with the local OPC now. The supplying OPC are working with the local OPC apparently to get it sorted. Three months down the line if it had happened I might have sucked it up, day 2 though, I don't think I'd be unreasonable in getting them to sort it.

I noticed it mentions no routine maintenance or servicing will be required for 3 months or 3,000 miles as part of the used scheme, I bet their get out clause is the word 'routine' though.

I'll keep all you good folks updated, that's if I haven't bored you all to death with my woe already

[finestjammy]

Wozy68 said:

finestjammy said:

Hi guys

Picked up a 987.2 Cayman s yesterday from an OPC. All was good on the 350 mile plus trip home. Been out today and accelerated up to 70mph on a dual carriage way, white smoke/steam, engine temp shot up and warning light came on. Pulled up and turned the engine off as fast as I could. The coolant then dumped all over the road. Currently waiting recovery. What's gone wrong?!? Remember this is an OPC car with the 111 check and a 2 year warranty. I have flamed the dealer and am threating rejecting it. Gutted as I love everything about it.

Any advice appreciated.

Flamed - What a steak?
Gutted - What a fish?

I'd have been slightly upset, and put it down to bad luck, and made sure that the OPC knew that I wasn't 100% happy about the situation.

What I wouldn't do is start a thread about something as trivial as a breakdown and used words like 'gutted' and 'flamed'.

But then I'm a grown up.

Wow, I must remind myself never to employ your services if your expectations and standards are that low. Personally I don't class a breakdown as trivial the day after purchasing a car, quite the opposite, but then I have high standards and expectations

[finestjammy]

mollytherocker said:

finestjammy said:

Wow, I must remind myself never to employ your services if your expectations and standards are that low. Personally I don't class a breakdown as trivial the day after purchasing a car, quite the opposite, but then I have high standards and expectations

In that case, I would suggest you stop buying old cars!

It's about expectations though in my opinion. I fully expected issues and expense with the TVR, and got lots of each. What I don't expect is for a supposedly official Porsche dealer prepared and approved car to leave me stranded at the side of the road on day 2 having lost all its coolant. One persons trivial is different to another. I bought a refurbished MacBook through the official apple scheme, guess what, it still worked on day 2 and still functioned as a laptop. Is it really unreasonable to ask the same of a car? Should I also roll over that the car was sold as a one owner yet it has had four?

I did put my first post when I was at the side of the road remember. I did calm down later

[finestjammy]

hondansx said:

Ignore the morons. You have every right to be upset; you've bought a car in good faith, with a warranty, and it's already broken down. Not only is it inconvenient, you will then understandably worry if there's something else wrong with it.

Perhaps Porsche owners register quite high on the autistic spectrum?! I'll balance it out a bit - i'm sending you a big online hug right now

In all seriousness, i hope it's all fixed quickly and i would certainly expect a goodwill gesture. This is their opportunity to show they care about customer service and are willing to earn your custom in the future.

Phew, thanks for that, I thought it was my depression kicking in for a moment I'm really not expecting perfection (some corrosion on the inside alloys, disc hubs, interior has a few marks etc etc which is all fine), I did expect it to still do the basic function of a car on day 2 though. Some views expressed seem to be 'You should have fully expected it to break down on day 2 and be prepared to to pay up'. Of course I expect bills for wear and tear items, just not quite yet