garyinseattle

Caution, cringe-worthy story ahead: Purchased an 07 997s Cab from a local exotic car dealership, Park Place LTD. 25K miles, clean car fax, all service records ect. I work at a hospital, and golf at a local country club, so I know lots of people who have bought a car there, and lot's of potential buyers. Given that, I felt safe in using their inspection, since they have a reputation to protect (yes I know mistake #1).

Drove the car to work, and everything is fine. When I leave, the clutch pedal is soft, and the clutch slips under load. I emailed the sales guy, and he tells me to bring it in for them to diagnose. Says he will give me a 25% off coupon (found out later only covers the first $250). I agree, thinking that they will ultimately stand behind this car, and go ahead and let them work on it, and argue the shared obligation later.

Long and the short of it is that the clutch pressure plate failed (not sure yet exactly what that means), and along with all the miscellaneous parts and labor to get it back in shape, the total bill is going to be north of $4700. They are going to replace a few of the other parts while they are in there, such as the clutch slave cylinder and pivot arm, and the intermediate shaft reseal
.

After going through the shop manager, sales associate and sales manager, the best they will do for me is a 15% discount, so I am still in for over $4K.

I realize I bought the car with no warranty, and these things do happen suddenly, and they cannot fix all their cars forever, but it seems pretty disappointing that I would need to spend $4K on a car after only 1K miles, and that they would not stand behind it in a more significant way. I have bought used cars, and many Porches' over the past couple of decades. I know there is always the chance of getting burned, and can afford to underwrite that risk myself.

I assumed they would want to split the bill with me or some other arrangement, since I will now tell this story to lots of people. Although it failed on my watch, it had to be going bad, and have some signs of stress. As I know, the type of person who can write a check for $60K+ for one of their toys, is a much smaller audience than the ones buying and financing $60K BMW's. I know a large number of these people.

My question is should I feel like I just got the luck of the draw, or should I feel taken advantage of?

1719matt

You should feel like you just got the luck of the draw. Chalk it up as bad luck and move on.

911Steve

This is the reason I buy a CPO'd car, may cost a little more but the piece of mind is there knowing your car has been gone through to make sure it is ok! Good luck on this one. Can you save some money and take this to an Indy repair shop?

Domer911

garyinseattle, meet your salesman...1719matt

I keed.

Marine Blue

I wouldn't be happy either but it's always a crapshoot with used cars, especially if you haven't had a PPI done by a third party.

I've purchased a car from Park Place in the past and was very happy with the transaction. My car ended up being better than the PPI reported.

Mumbles

I recon the garage should help you out as much as possible, cause you trusted them.

But as you handed over the cheque, its yours... bought as seen tried and tested with no warranty

Hope you can find some neutral ground so you can move on.

911Dave

Since you say it drove fine for 1,000 miles and then all of a sudden there's a problem, I don't think you can hold the dealership responsible at all. A PPI or any other inspection doesn't include dropping the engine/tranny to examine the clutch components, so all they can do is estimate its condition by the way it drives. So, it sounds to me like you just had an unlucky incident that could not have been foreseen. I think the dealership was quite generous in giving you 15% off the repair. Most unfortunate though! Hope you get her back on the road soon.

Yet anothercrisis

I don't think you were taken advantage of...but losing the clutch on a car with 25k miles sounds problematic. I know a clutch can be worn that quickly based upon driving habits, but I would have expected it to last longer. Would I be disappointed? YES. Heck, I have been disappointed in my new 2012 997S and the service I have recieved from my dealer. I won't deal with them again and I am telling all my friends who are willing to listen to my story.

GregGH

Question - would you be able to get a CPO on a 2007 ? as is noted by poster ... don't you need an existing vehicle with remaining factory warranty ...like an 2009 at least ...given 4 years ...

Sorry - a Newbie question ... trying hard to learn ...:-)
Greg

garyinseattle

Domer911. What do you mean by keed?

beden1

"2012 Porsche 911S Cpe. Garage Queen, but in shop for repair more days than all the above combined!"

What problems have you had with your new 911S that requires so much time for repairs? I was under the impression (hoping) from research that the 997.2 Porsches were relatively problem free.

kosmo

whys a clutch job $4700?!!!

USMC_DS1

I believe Domer911 means kidding/joking... That's a tough pill/bill after only 1k miles of ownership. Not sure if a PPI would have caught that one either but I believe in PPI's a 100% after my Indy found some issues which would not have been covered on my car... BTW, the p-dealer tried to convince me that a PPI was not necessary as the car had 2 yrs of warranty plus 2 yrs of CPO. Dealers are simply in the business of moving cars at the maximum profit...

I'm a little concerned about why the clutch is toast after only 25k miles. I'm still on my original clutch after 53k miles and some here have upwards of 100K+ miles on their p-cars... makes me wonder if the PO did lots of clutch dumps off the line. Did you happen to get a DME report. Ask for one to see if the engine had lots of over revs. Ask the p-dealer why they did not offer the car with CPO? an '07 with only 25K miles should have qualified for CPO unless there was something else going on with it. If you can... get a second opinion and price from a reputable Indy for the clutch job. GL and let us know the outcome.

Zbph10

Agree, $4700 for a clutch seems high.....

Dave R.

Why are they replacing the clutch slave cylinder? Those are usually good for much, much longer.

Also, are they replacing the flywheel? If yes, you might press them as to whether that is strictly necessary.

As to a second opinion, you might try Chris's German Auto - they are in the same neighborhood as Park Place, within a mile or two.