Porsche won't sell parts for new transmissions

[dogsharks]

I'm in the process of having a '83 928 transaxle rebuilt and my trusted mechanic told me yesterday that he was just about to crack the case on a new Porsche, and was excited to be able to open one up and work on such a fantastic piece of machinery. The shop foreman yelled "STOP".

Porsche won't sell parts to their new transmissions, so if you have a problem, you're **** outa luck, and you have to buy a rebuild exchange unit "from Porsche".

This is an independent shop in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, and I'm wondering if this is also the case in UK. It's odd that a manufacturer won't sell parts like that to independent repair shops. It's a signal that the Porsche dealerships don't have reliable technicians who can even repair a transaxle too.

(God help anyone who needs to have one of those Japanese transmissions rebuilt in a Cayenne.)

Dogsharks

[ninemeister]

Same case here at the moment for all late cars, from what I understand. I have not had one to fix yet, but from what I hear most late engines go back to Germany for repair on an exchange basis (or scrapping??). There is also a problem with getting hold of diagnostic equipment and special tools for late cars, so in spite of the EEC Block Exemption laws Porsche appear to be shafting smaller independents out of the market place using parts supply as well. In the end the owner has to pay, hence why old 996's are fetching less than late 993's due to potential huge repair bills looming around the corner.

[dogsharks]

very interesting information, thanks for the response, I guess it's one of those "dirty little secrets" they don't tell the prospective buyers in the showroom!

It certainly "goes against the grain" regarding an automobile owner's right to have the car repaired as he deems appropriate. I suppose there will eventually be a supply of "black market" parts obtained from wrecked cars. Somehow this doesn't sound like something that will enhance Porsche's reputation.

regards, Dogsharks

[meldrewlives]

Chatting to the boss of an independent when my car was in for new rotors/pads - he was telling me that Porsche had just imposed major price increases on replacement clutches - can't quite remember how much but something of the order of 50-60%. He also mentioned the problem of getting hold of the diagnostic equipment. How do they get away with this?

[Tool Pants]

This is true for the 996 and 6 speed Boxster S transmission. No internal parts. But you can get them for the 5 speed Boxster, which is really a VW/Audi transmission. There is nothing special about rebuilding the transmission or replacing a bearing. Porsche does not even make it or put it together. They want to control the market.

A guy with a 6 speed 996 on another board had a bad bearing. Can't buy it from Porsche - just the entire transmission. He found the company that makes the bearing but they would not sell it to him as they were all "pre sold" to Porsche. Jeff