Original thread here:

KINDA LONG AND BORING, BUT VERY IMPORTANT TO ME, PLEASE READ!

I am posting this to get the pros and cons of an issue I am facing with my 2003 Boxster. Please read the following, any input is appreciated.

Last Friday I sarted up my car after lunch. I heard an awful sound come from the engine. The sound did not last long and I could not reproduce it. I drove back to the office, and everything sounded fine, almost. There was a slight sound that just did not sound right. I started the car again in the parking lot, after shutting it off. The sound was kinda there, but kinda not. I felt like I was going insane. After work I drove home and pulled up onto the driveway. At the inclined position I could definetly hear a very bad sound. I went inside to change and came out about ten minutes later. As I walked to my car, my stomach sank. What appeared to be about 4 or 5 quarts of oil had drained onto the driveway. I was not happy.

I called the dealership to get the roaside assistance number, but the serivce department was swamped. I decided to start the car, and see if it would make the 5 miles to the dealer. It started up just fine, and drove great all the way over. I am a pretty easygoing guy, and it is pretty hard for my to get upset at someone about something that is not there fault. With that attitude I approached the service center, upset, but wanting to get this taken care of. More than upset, I was worried. I was 2,000 miles outside of my 50,000 mile warranty. I had just had the 45,000 mile service done there and at 49,000 miles the check engine late came on and was looked at. I asked the service manager how something like this could happen after the car had just been in there 3 weeks ago. She said that from what it sounds, like there is something internal that went wrong that would not have manifested itself during normal service.

I told her what happened and she told me that in her opinion a bolt had sheared off in the driveshaft (actually I don't know where, excuse my ignorance) and has shot around inside the engine. She had it pulled into the bay and checked out. She was right. A bolt somewhere had busted loose and has now caused catastrophic damage.

Again, I am outside the warratny by 2,000 miles. She said that the repair was going to be about $8,000, just estimating. She said she would call Porsche and request a goodwill repair. Porsche would cover up to 75% and I would cover the rest. Things have been very tight lately, so a $2,500 fix was not making my day. I asked her to do what she could. She also said the service history would be very important. Every service had been done there at the dealer I bought the car from, except the first 15,000 mile service. Fortunatly that was done at a dealer in Utah. I called Monday and got the service record.

I got a call from here on Tuesday that started by her asking if I was sitting down for this. She told me the damage was so extensive that I need a whole new engine. She said Porsche standards would not rebuild this, that a whole new engine is required. Then she told me Porshce was doing the job at 100% GOODWILL! I was shocked, and still am. I am clearly ouside of the warranty, and in my opinion Porsche has no reason to do anything. I had contemplated various scenarios on what was going to be done, but I never thought it would be a free job by Porsche replacing my engine! The car will be done Friday night.

Now some questions. I like the 986 quite a bit, and was considering keeping it for a while. I am now considering keeping it even longer, with the new engine. To me this is a very good thing. I never buy cars with the resale value in mind, I am still young and follow my heart more that my head. How will this affect the resale? Also is this a brand new engine from Porsche, or an engine with remanufactured parts. I will obviously ask that when I pick up the car, but just seeing what you guys think. I am sure there are some negatives with this situation, but I gotta be honest, to me, this is all positive. I am starting out my professional carrer, and looking at other things I want to spend my money on. A new P-car is not on the horizon for a while, so to me this is fantastic.

One last thing, every service had been done at a Porsche dealer. I ignored my peers everytime they told me to take the car to "their guy" for half the cost. I know without a doubt that without all recommended service done on time at a dealer, this new engine would not be coming gratis. I am amazed that for whatever reason, Porshce is doing this. I really would not expect this from any company. Thanks for reading, any input is appreciated.

BTW: The service center is the number one service center for Porsche in the U.S. and this is not the first time they have impressed me. Number one according to the J.D. Power and Associates customer service surveys.

 

Sorry to here that bro.. Porshes especially the boxers are hard to work on since they are mid engined cars. The car has to be on a lift to gain acess to the engine. Those engines take a beating, because of the way they are driven..hey its a Porshe. No wonder they require Mobile 1as oem oil. My cousin has a 996 and had to rebuild the motor.. the car only had 82,000 miles on it. I was quite suprised that at that mileage he had to do a rebuild That motor had so much carbon build that I believe that it led to its demise. Good luck with her, because I know the parts and labor at Porshe is very expensive. Just drive her easy and keep the motor clean.

 

Kudos to Porsche for giving you a replacement engine in spite of being over the warranty limit This impresses me. They are usually a pretty arrogant company....and trust me, NOTHING on a Porsche is cheap, especially a new engine.

Whether the engine is actually brand-new or just remanufactured to factory specs ( they have that option, of course ) remember that when you get your car back it will have to be re-broken in like it was when the car was brand-new. That means 4000 RPM or below for the first 1000 miles, no full-throttle starts, and varying the engine speed. Since a lot of Porsches use synthetic oil, ask your service manager about break-in oil change procedures. With some engines, synthetic is so slippery that if you use it during break-in, the parts will never seat properly. Usually with synthetic it is not recommended for the first couple thousand miles or so on a new or remanufactured engine, than it can be used....but check with Porsche ( I'm sure you will )


Good luck ...and be thankful.

 

wow that is sgreat to read. props to Porsche for this one

 

that's not the ending I was expecting, congrats.