Component quality

[anonymous-user]

When I bought a Porsche I knew I was paying a lot but I thought that in return I would get a premium quality product.
My Boxster is 8 years old, has covered 50,000 miles, is garaged and doesn’t get used much in poor weather. So I was very disappointed to find that the coolant hoses all needed replacing due to corrosion. There was nothing wrong with the beautifully crafted aluminium pipes or the flexible rubber parts. As the hoses are exposed to the elements under the front wing it beggars belief Porsche would specify a mild steel section within the construction.
Similarly every exhaust bracket has now been replaced due to use of mild steel components.
And to cap it off I have since learned that a mild steel component at the top of the shock absorber dribbles rusty water into the seal resulting in premature failure.
I contacted Porsche GB about my problems but all I got back was that they would pass my comments on to Germany.

Has anyone else spotted any poorly specified components or trends?

[mollytherocker]

You have an 8 year old car and need to replace some hoses and brackets?

This bothers you?

Do some research.

[Polome]

Had a 996 for 10 years and needed to replace many parts due to deterioration and corrosion. Radiators , condensers , exhausts ( stainless steel so should have lasted but actually split along seams) brake pipes etc. These all being static parts i.e. non moving so do not "wear out" but disappointingly decay with age. Brought the quality of these parts to the attention of OPC ..."all do that sir" .....Strangely my other car , VW Polo GTI , sat alongside the Porsche on my drive for the same time was the same age (2000 model) , same drivers , almost exactly the same mileage , same useage and never needed any of the above!!! Moved on to a 997 a few years ago but still kept the Polo , it finally needed an exhaust at 13 years old. I still tell my petrolhead mates that's it's the better built car...not a bad advert for VW considering today's headlines. Porsche ..well they need a rethink as to the longevity of many parts to gain confidence of the genuine enthusiast. Regards. Ian

[996TT02]

Truth is, no matter how much you spend on a car nowadays, they are all built using the same methods, materials, and to the same standards. Manufacturers only really care about 1) selling you a new car, that 2) stays in one piece for the duration of the warranty period.

I have lost count of the number of parts on mine that are marked "Made in Italy", for example.

[Trev450]

You can also expect to have to replace the radiators, condensors and exhaust manifold and cat bolts too for the same reason.

[sidicks]

My 911, used on a daily basis (50,000 miles), had only required scheduled servicing during the 8-9 years I owned it, apart from replacement of engine coils under warranty (unless the OPC did various warranty work without telling me, while the car was in for servicing).

[anonymous-user]

Er, yes Molly it does bother me as it leads to unnecessary very expensive repairs. As you can see from polome' reply things don't have to fail. Hell my daughter's 15 year old Punto has never had a new hose, radiator etc. The point is that Porsche need to up their game in this area. It lets down a beautiful car - ships and tar spring to mind.

[Polome]

It's an accepted fact that porsche quality dropped with the introduction of the 996/Boxter range , coincidentally around the same time as the Berlin wall came down. I've often wondered how many German companies took advantage of the cheap East German suppliers now available to them . Siding with what 996TT02 finds re " made inItaly" on some parts , when I'm wrestling with yet another seized rusty part with " made in Germany" stamped on it I mentally insert the word "East" into it!!!!
Just my opinion , thank god these cars drive brilliantly , I genuinely couldn't think of another to take its place , makes up for the parts longevity heartache.

[YoungMD]

mollytherocker said:

You have an 8 year old car and need to replace some hoses and brackets?

This bothers you?

Do some research.

Thats a bit of a silly comment, very selective parts rust completely, its clearly a real oversight, my 997 is 10 years old been v well looked after and is perfect underneath apart from the problem areas ie exhaust screws, brackets, etc and they are just falling apart.... Mild steel what are you doing porsche, did you run out of metal and use baked bean tin !!!

[supersport]

Polome said:

Had a 996 for 10 years and needed to replace many parts due to deterioration and corrosion. Radiators , condensers , exhausts ( stainless steel so should have lasted but actually split along seams) brake pipes etc. These all being static parts i.e. non moving so do not "wear out" but disappointingly decay with age. Brought the quality of these parts to the attention of OPC ..."all do that sir" .....Strangely my other car , VW Polo GTI , sat alongside the Porsche on my drive for the same time was the same age (2000 model) , same drivers , almost exactly the same mileage , same useage and never needed any of the above!!! Moved on to a 997 a few years ago but still kept the Polo , it finally needed an exhaust at 13 years old. I still tell my petrolhead mates that's it's the better built car...not a bad advert for VW considering today's headlines. Porsche ..well they need a rethink as to the longevity of many parts to gain confidence of the genuine enthusiast. Regards. Ian

You must have had the good one. My 2005 Golf GTi has made of chocolate that regularly melts, things rot off that really shouldn't do. The quality of components is shocking. Best one yet, is the high level brake light, yes sir £400 to replace, we have to smash the spoiler off, get new spoiler, repair area and re-paint. You just couldn't make it up.

Good car though, and now at 10 years old and 127,000 miles, it is light years ahead of previous cars at the same age. My first car, a 79 MK2 escort (should have kept it) was a load of utter ste at half the mileage.

[mollytherocker]

YoungMD said:

mollytherocker said:

You have an 8 year old car and need to replace some hoses and brackets?

This bothers you?

Do some research.

Thats a bit of a silly comment, very selective parts rust completely, its clearly a real oversight, my 997 is 10 years old been v well looked after and is perfect underneath apart from the problem areas ie exhaust screws, brackets, etc and they are just falling apart.... Mild steel what are you doing porsche, did you run out of metal and use baked bean tin !!!

My point was that these relatively minor quality issues, whilst disappointing, are not really the main concern!

[Bodo]

My Cayman is now nine and a half years old, and so far front discs needed changing (2011), Battery (2013) and rear discs this year. Clearly not what you would expect with 8,500 mls per year.

[Polome]

supersport said:

Polome said:

Had a 996 for 10 years and needed to replace many parts due to deterioration and corrosion. Radiators , condensers , exhausts ( stainless steel so should have lasted but actually split along seams) brake pipes etc. These all being static parts i.e. non moving so do not "wear out" but disappointingly decay with age. Brought the quality of these parts to the attention of OPC ..."all do that sir" .....Strangely my other car , VW Polo GTI , sat alongside the Porsche on my drive for the same time was the same age (2000 model) , same drivers , almost exactly the same mileage , same useage and never needed any of the above!!! Moved on to a 997 a few years ago but still kept the Polo , it finally needed an exhaust at 13 years old. I still tell my petrolhead mates that's it's the better built car...not a bad advert for VW considering today's headlines. Porsche ..well they need a rethink as to the longevity of many parts to gain confidence of the genuine enthusiast. Regards. Ian

You must have had the good one. My 2005 Golf GTi has made of chocolate that regularly melts, things rot off that really shouldn't do. The quality of components is shocking. Best one yet, is the high level brake light, yes sir £400 to replace, we have to smash the spoiler off, get new spoiler, repair area and re-paint. You just couldn't make it up.

Good car though, and now at 10 years old and 127,000 miles, it is light years ahead of previous cars at the same age. My first car, a 79 MK2 escort (should have kept it) was a load of utter ste at half the mileage.

Yes I would agree we had ( have ) a good one. I was referring to the metallurgy of periferal parts which I still believe to be better than Porsche. I say this as my gen2 997 gradually lightens itself with age on my drive . Newer than my last 996 ,marginally better but ultimately heading the same way. Design ,well that's another matter . Your faff with the spoiler remunds me that my Polo front bumper requires removal to replace a side lightbulb. Not uncommon on VW cars. Years ago I had an original Espace , great design with swivel seats etc. Power steering belt was screeching and when investigating found its drive pulley on the crankshaft was fitted inboard of the timing belt sprocket! I.e. Timing belt needed removal ( front off car & radiator removal first) to fit new power steering belt.......the designer of that particular piece of utter daftness is hopefully no longer employed in the car business....on a brighter note ...in well over 100k driven in porsche cars I have never had a breakdown ,the only worn replacement part was a track rod end. My not inconsiderable maintenance spend over the years has been on replacing corroding / rotting/ deteriorating parts.