joes c4 cab

I talked to the mechanic this morning after starting my car yesterday and getting TONS of white smoke. His estimate reads like this:

"Tested Wednesday morning, found the engine hydro locked, coolant in the cylinders on the left side. Did not find oil mixed in with the coolant system or coolant in the oil sump. Removed coolant from cylinders in the left bank, started engine, lots of smoke out of left bank, ran on 3-4 cylinders."

Mechanic is recommending only fix is new motor for $9,000 plus $1500 for install and remove, plus an estimate of $500 additional for any "incidentals" for a total of $11,000.

I called PCNA's Customer Care 800 number this morning only to find that they are on vacation until January 3, 2006. I guess I was going to start by asking them nicely for a new motor and get progressively louder and nastier as the rejections come in. Anyone know where I should start or have a sympathetic contact at PCNA or Porsche AG?

Any help on whom to call or what to do would be greatly appreciated. I cannot believe they expect me to pay that kind of money to replace a motor they KNOW has design problems.

Thanks.

TT Gasman

Strange first post. I hope it works out for you.

billh1963

What year is your car? How far out of warranty are you? How many miles are on the engine?

All these will be a factor in what they do (if anything).

bobporsche996

unfortunately calling 1-800-POR-SCHE and asking them to be sympathetic for you, is about as pointless as asking a bum for a $100,000 loan.. i tried this with both my engines, and they politely told me to "**** off" basically, go buy a new porsche with a warranty if you are having problems...

unfortunately your only option if you're out of warranty is to shell out the $11,000+.. i tried every other approach with 4 dealers and they all told me the same thing.. since my car was out of warranty, there was nothing they could do and i'd have to shell out the full amount.. even though the problems with the engines were all internal failuires caused by faulty manufacturing, they couldn't help me.. although they appeared sympathetic.. that didn't exactly help me when i got the bill..

one of the reasons i'll be selling my porsche ra few months before the 2 year warranty for my replacement engine/replacement tranny goes out.. as my extended warranty company apparently just went out of business like all the others i've seen... :I

sorry to hear, wish i had better news for you.. but it happens, and unfortunately this is the risk we all take have when driving a 996 out of warranty... it's nothing you did wrong, these engine malfunctions are all caused by internal failuires, nothing you did wrong that you could have prevented, so don't blame yourself for anything done that could have caused this...

these cars were meant to be driven and driven hard, unfortunately, the engine sometimes grenades on a small percentage of these vehicles... and unfortunately you like others are in that small percentage...

..and from what i've seen, there's really no warranty companies that will warranty a 6 year old porsche 996 anymore.. the 3 i know that did are all out of business/bankrupt..

CPO really is the ONLY way to go when buying used.. it's well worth it.. i'd easily pay $10,000+ for the CPO if I chose to ever buy another porsche.. (which I will not be doing, unless god forbid, they get their act together and start giving a sh*t about their customers.. or stop playing "huh?" with the rms/engine issues..)

- 46,000 miles driven.. on my 3rd engine thusfar..

911porschefan

I have a 2001 C2 Cab - 31,000 kms - just out of warranty (06/05). My mechanic spoke to his friend at the Porsche dealership and managed to get 75% of the new engine replacement covered before I took delivery of the car. Just for some background - my mechanic has a very good relationship with the local Porsche dealership as he sends A LOT of business there. Please do not ask for names as I do not want to get anyone into trouble so I will not give it out.

Just trying to show that they can be reasonable. How far out of warranty is your car? If it is a few years out, I could see why they would turn you away. If it just expired, I would not call PCNA, but go to a dealership and ask if something can be done through them, again if you do not have a relationship with them, they may not want to assist. I think it is better to have stuff like this go through a dealer rather than have a customer call looking for money.

Just my 2 cents.

LVDell

Can't believe this is your first post??? Feel bad for you but you really need to provide ore info first before anybody can attempt to guide you in the correct way.

What year/model?
Miles?
What owner # are you?
When was the original in service date?
Was the car CPO?
Service done by dealer or by your or a local garage?
History of any problems?

joes c4 cab

Thanks for all the info and help. I have been a spectator on this forum for over a year now, but never had any help I could contribute.

My car is a 1999 Carrera 4 cabriolet. 53,000 miles. Manufactured 1/99 but I don't know when it went into service. I was told I am the second owner after the lease return. I bought in August 2004 with 44,000 miles. Non-CPO. I know where the car was originally purchased and serviced, but they would not give me any of the records even after a call from my local Porsche dealer and my attorney. All I wanted to know was if the 45,000 mile service was completed and they would not tell me. Dicks. Apparently this is common thought. As far as I know, it is the original motor.

When I bought the car, my PPI revealed that it needed a new coolant tank (shocker there), new oil pan and skid plate (previous owner had skid a speed bump or something) and that was it. No RMS, no oil leaks, no other problems. With almost 45000 miles, I thought I was in the clear of engine failure.

Until Tuesday, the only problem I had with the car was the O2 sensors which were replaced about 6 months ago at an independent Porsche mechanic. Then I drove the car home on Friday from work, 3.3 miles, where it sat in the garage until Tuesday when I started it and got all the smoke. I knew right away I was screwed.

I spoke to the guy at my local dealership today and he said that if I am in fact the 2nd owner and all of the service has been completed that I may have a chance of getting a replacement. Contrary to what I have read on some of these forums, he says PCNA is NOT slow recalling these motors and they do not admit that the engines are flawed from the start. He said if I am more than the 2nd owner, of if all of the service has not been done, than I am screwed.

This is the 3rd porsche I have owned (86' 930 turbo and 89' 930 turbo) and the only reason I bought this one is that I thought they had it right. I did my research, found one that was solid, and still got FUC#@D. I can tell you that before I spend $11,000 to put a new engine in my car that I will hire guys to stand in front of my local Porsche dealer and hand out flyers saying that Porsche does not stand behind it's crappily designed products. I am not above making a spectacle out of myself if I think I am right. It amazes me how blazze everyone is about it too - "they do not sell parts, only new motors." ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Like since you own a Porsche, you do not mind spending $11K on a 50,000 "service." If this was a Hyundai, I would have it back from the mechanic already with a bill for $800. Unbelievable.

BobPorsche996 - you obviously have too much $$ my friend. I can assure you that if I get stuck with paying for this motor that went bad while sitting in my garage that I will NEVER own another Porsche again. And that will break my heart as I have owned many other types of sports cars that all pale in comparison to my 911, but I will not reward that type of customer service with another purchase - warranty or not.

Anyway, that is the end of my ranting for today. Hopefully all of this info will help you to help me with some good advice about how to proceed.

Thanks again.

Paul Marangoni

I don't have any advice, but I do wish you luck and I'm very curious to hear what Porsche does to help you.

bobporsche996

Joe,

I am with you there and can understand the frusteration you feel. Many people on this board haven't had to shell out deca thousands for a new engine so can't comprehend the feeling you get, when you know you did nothing wrong, and you have to pay out your *** for porsche's faulty engineering..

i as well will NEVER buy a porsche again, because i truly believe they won't ever change.. they still won't even admit to RMS, and even developed the 997 with RMS, so i've lost all confidence or faith in the company that they even give a sh*t about the customer...

the thing that upsets me the most, is not only do they make more profit than any car company in the world when selling you a car with a faulty engine, they also make a fortune when selling you a $10,000 used engine, that blew up, due to their original faulty design.. driving the car with what i've been through, i just have visions of the execs laughing at all this in their boardrooms..

I have my porsche still, because it is an enjoyable car to drive... and because i have another year left on the warranty, so if/when the 3rd engine blows up, it won't be in my sight.. i have no faith in the 996 engine anymore, along with no faith in the car company behind it.. but if i've paid this much already for it.. might as well enjoy it while i can without having to worry for another few months...

once again, sorry to hear.. if you have a 99, youi're chances of getting a dealer to pay, are pretty much nil.. i have a 99 and mine went out at 44,000 miles the first time.. internal failuire.. it just started smoking on the freeway and grenaded on me.. cause, faulty designed engine from the creation.. it was a ticking timebomb...

the one thing to consider is, once you do get another engine, is that you do actually have a 2 year warranty on the new engine.. so if it goes out again, they WILL cover it.. but ONLY if you install it at a porsche dealer.. so make sure you get it done there.. i wish you luck, and you probably won't get much sympathy here, as many of these members who haven't had to pay out of their pocket for engine replacements seem to think it's a non-issue or ignore it hoping it won't happen to them...

wish i could give you better advice, but i spent months with different porsche dealers, and pretty much gave up and just took it in the *** and waited for the bill.. porsche unfortunately won't bail you out.. especially with a 99.. good luck with whatever you may have in the future...

washington dc porsche

Man, this car is sounding more "Ford" like by the day.

yetis

Did you buy it from a Porsche dealer? Not to be an ***, but without checking the service records and buying a car out of warranty, why do you feel that Porsche owes you a new engine? I know you did a PPI, but you will not be the first person to have a PPI steer you wrong. (preach over)

I would go to a different Porsche dealer for one. It sounds like they have some issues, if they will not release the service details. In NYC, the variation of service is amazing. I will even admit, that I was wrong about one that I thought was a pack of asses, only to go above and beyond the call of duty. I would also work with the dealer. Walking in ready for a battle, is not a winning plan. I would work the forums and find what dealer and what person you should talk to. Where in Cali are you?

I would also run a CarFax on the car. This should show you where all the major service work was done. Then, you can call each dealer individually. You might not like what you find.

JimB

I don't want to be an *** either and I really feel for those of you that have had problems but I've never understood why people think Porsche should fix cars that are out of warrantee. The fact is they, and you, have no idea how this car was driven before you bought it. The guy that leased it could have DEed it every weekend. He could have rodded around in it before warming it up. He may have revved the engine when first started. He could have enjoyed downshifting at high speeds to see if the rear tires would lock up or to see how high he could get the tack. If it was leased, why would he care. I'm not saying the PO did any of these things but how is Porsche suppose to know. They make a car that some owners love to baby but many more love to run the crap out of.

When I instruct at the track, I encourage people not to DE their car unless they can financially and emotionally walk away from it. When people ask me about buying a Porsche, I tell them they need to be financially and emotionally able to live with owning an expensive sports car. Even if it's used and doesn't cost a lot it's still an expensive sports car. With a Porsche, I think that means having an extra $10k in your pocket at all times. For a Ferrari, it's a lot more. For a NSX it's probably less. If not, buy something more sensible.
Jim

p.s. This opinion does not extend to RMS issues. That is a design flaw and Porsche should eat every single one until they figure it out.

audipwr1

You should be able to source an engine cheaper at a wrecking yard.

always hard to hear these stories when considering buying a porsche myself

washington dc porsche

Wow, $10k to drive around on the streets to the mall. I guess the trend now is, the more expensive the less reliable. I'm starting to notice this with German cars these days, though purchasing used is a risk as you stated.

Ray S

I agree.