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Old 11-01-2008, 08:11 AM   #1
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United we stand, divided we fall and they will continue to ignore the problem.

I totally disagree with Blue2000S's initial statement of;

"I really believe in buyer beware and don't buy something that you can't afford.(WTF does that mean? If I can't afford to replace my $15K engine in 30K miles means I can't afford it? Point is, I shouldn't have to replace it.) I'm happy to know that if something goes wrong with my car, I have a Jake Raby rebuild/upgrade waiting for me. I'll happily pay the $17k for the power and reliability it affords."

Do you have so much money that you can afford to have a company ignore a known problem and pay for the fix yourself? I'm all for the class action, with the PCA and this forum we should be able pool all the evidence needed to prove the flaws in the engine design.
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Old 11-01-2008, 10:01 AM   #2
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Lawsuit? really?

To me, trying to get a free warranty put in place retroactively is like making a deal (buying the car for a given price, dealer or private party) and then trying to change the terms of the deal after the deal is done.

As others have said... not much has changed with these motors in 10 years. Anyone with access to the internet should know the risks involved in buying a Porsche.

It's a (mostly) free market economy. We all have the option of voting with our wallets. If Porsche feels that they are losing sales due to a bad reputation for reliability, then they will have to address reliability (sounds like they may have on the new models with no IMS). The existing Porsches should be (and for the most part, are) priced according to the risk involved and the maintenance cost involved.

The solution is to say "it's ok I'll own one anyway" suck it up and own one
or "it's not ok, this thing is a time bomb" and don't own one

Porsche never promised they would be like other cars and get >100k miles.
We all had access to the internet before making our purchases. (unless you bought a brand new one when they first came out).
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Old 11-01-2008, 10:33 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by roadracer311
Lawsuit? really?

To me, trying to get a free warranty put in place retroactively is like making a deal (buying the car for a given price, dealer or private party) and then trying to change the terms of the deal after the deal is done.

As others have said... not much has changed with these motors in 10 years. Anyone with access to the internet should know the risks involved in buying a Porsche.

It's a (mostly) free market economy. We all have the option of voting with our wallets. If Porsche feels that they are losing sales due to a bad reputation for reliability, then they will have to address reliability (sounds like they may have on the new models with no IMS). The existing Porsches should be (and for the most part, are) priced according to the risk involved and the maintenance cost involved.

The solution is to say "it's ok I'll own one anyway" suck it up and own one
or "it's not ok, this thing is a time bomb" and don't own one

Porsche never promised they would be like other cars and get >100k miles.
We all had access to the internet before making our purchases. (unless you bought a brand new one when they first came out).

Given the intensive almost cult like attention these cars receive, 100K on the odometer should be a minimum expectation. I drove my 944 to 105K , it had very expensive work done to it along the way but it was still a solid engine when I sold it.
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Old 11-01-2008, 10:39 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by Jaxonalden
United we stand, divided we fall and they will continue to ignore the problem.

I totally disagree with Blue2000S's initial statement of;

"I really believe in buyer beware and don't buy something that you can't afford.(WTF does that mean? If I can't afford to replace my $15K engine in 30K miles means I can't afford it? Point is, I shouldn't have to replace it.) I'm happy to know that if something goes wrong with my car, I have a Jake Raby rebuild/upgrade waiting for me. I'll happily pay the $17k for the power and reliability it affords."

Do you have so much money that you can afford to have a company ignore a known problem and pay for the fix yourself? I'm all for the class action, with the PCA and this forum we should be able pool all the evidence needed to prove the flaws in the engine design.
Just like RoadRacer311 says, if you bought the car after 2000, these were known issues and buyer beware. Right now, you know how much it costs to replace the engine so you know how much you need to be ready for the rainy day if it comes. If you're unwilling or unable to replace the engine or let the car sit with a dead engine, sell it.

The warranty on the car is the only length of time or mileage Porsche guarantees that the car will function, beyond that, you're on your own.

Capitalism folks, it's not without risks.

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Old 11-01-2008, 03:59 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by blue2000s
Just like RoadRacer311 says, if you bought the car after 2000, these were known issues and buyer beware. Right now, you know how much it costs to replace the engine so you know how much you need to be ready for the rainy day if it comes. If you're unwilling or unable to replace the engine or let the car sit with a dead engine, sell it.

The warranty on the car is the only length of time or mileage Porsche guarantees that the car will function, beyond that, you're on your own.

Capitalism folks, it's not without risks.
Listen, there's a difference in a manufacturers warranty of the product and expected product life. The MTBF (mean time between failures) of these engine were and are know to the manufacture. The failure numbers are even higher than we know counting the ROW models. You say "Porsche guarantees that the car will function, beyond that, you're on your own." Known mechanical failures should be disclosed to the consumer and then let the consumer make the choice in purchasing or not. For you to state "if you bought the car after 2000, these were known issues and buyer beware" is bull****************. You must be some bean counter in your profession. These car should have had a sticker on the window that stated;
" Purchase of this automobile may require the buyer to replace or rebuild the engine at any time because of a known defect that has not and will not be addressed."
I think I and probably a couple other Boxster owners would have thought twice about purchasing one with this simple warning.
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Old 11-01-2008, 04:44 PM   #6
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Alright boys, here's the deal, lets all use a little common sense here. You can only build something so much one way or so much another way before you sacrafice. Porsches are a performance vehicle, and we should be glad that they do what they do with out the often engine "freshening" that Ferrari owners have to deal with. Take for example the Honda Civic, gutless wonder, 1,000,000 mile engine (a little exaggerated but you see where I'm going with this). The fact that these vehicles perform the way that they do and are less expensive to maintain than say a Viper that is actually a domestic car is pretty awesome!
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Old 11-01-2008, 05:51 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by boxster_s_boy_34
Alright boys, here's the deal, lets all use a little common sense here. You can only build something so much one way or so much another way before you sacrafice. Porsches are a performance vehicle, and we should be glad that they do what they do with out the often engine "freshening" that Ferrari owners have to deal with. Take for example the Honda Civic, gutless wonder, 1,000,000 mile engine (a little exaggerated but you see where I'm going with this). The fact that these vehicles perform the way that they do and are less expensive to maintain than say a Viper that is actually a domestic car is pretty awesome!
Do you not understand the point of this Thread? It's about known failures in the engine, particularly one part-the intermediate shaft. It has nothing to do with the Boxster being a performance vehicle. 11:1, dual overhead cam, variable valve timing, flat 6 is not that high tech. And it sure doesn't deserve the distinction of a high output-low service life engine (thats reserved for race engines). These production cars should go 100,000 miles easy, and do. But the know problem still exists and needs to be addressed before it claims another victim, maybe you, and thats the point.
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Old 11-01-2008, 05:29 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by Jaxonalden
Listen, there's a difference in a manufacturers warranty of the product and expected product life. The MTBF (mean time between failures) of these engine were and are know to the manufacture. The failure numbers are even higher than we know counting the ROW models. You say "Porsche guarantees that the car will function, beyond that, you're on your own." Known mechanical failures should be disclosed to the consumer and then let the consumer make the choice in purchasing or not. For you to state "if you bought the car after 2000, these were known issues and buyer beware" is bull****************. You must be some bean counter in your profession. These car should have had a sticker on the window that stated;
" Purchase of this automobile may require the buyer to replace or rebuild the engine at any time because of a known defect that has not and will not be addressed."
I think I and probably a couple other Boxster owners would have thought twice about purchasing one with this simple warning.
As we all know, there's no data on the frequency of these engine failures. Is it 5% or 25%? It's easy to panic.

Porsche is under absolutely no legal obligation to fix an engine that's out of warranty, heck, they don't even need to offer a warranty at all legally. Do you see any kind of documentation from Porsche on the expected life of the engine or any other parts of the car?

Should they from a customer satisfaction standpoint? Yes, should they to keep customer loyalty? Yes. But they certainly don't have to.

You still have time to sell your car if it bothers you and you haven't had an engine failure.

By the way, you're getting the opinion of a mechanical engineer who understood the problem before buying the car and is willing to risk the purchase for the satisfaction that it brings. I may be in a different position from others on the board in that if the engine does fail, I will gladly move to the more robust Raby rebuild, but again, if you are worried about it and can't afford a replacement engine if it does happen, why do you still have the car?

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Old 11-01-2008, 06:15 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by blue2000s
As we all know, there's no data on the frequency of these engine failures. Is it 5% or 25%? It's easy to panic.

Porsche is under absolutely no legal obligation to fix an engine that's out of warranty, heck, they don't even need to offer a warranty at all legally. Do you see any kind of documentation from Porsche on the expected life of the engine or any other parts of the car?

Should they from a customer satisfaction standpoint? Yes, should they to keep customer loyalty? Yes. But they certainly don't have to.

You still have time to sell your car if it bothers you and you haven't had an engine failure.

By the way, you're getting the opinion of a mechanical engineer who understood the problem before buying the car and is willing to risk the purchase for the satisfaction that it brings. I may be in a different position from others on the board in that if the engine does fail, I will gladly move to the more robust Raby rebuild, but again, if you are worried about it and can't afford a replacement engine if it does happen, why do you still have the car?
Why is it assumed that I can't afford a mechanical fix if this happens? You guys that argue the point if there is a failure you'll just throw money at the problem and everything will be fine. How about helping out your fellow boxster owners and figure out a fix that doesn't cost us money that we don't need to spend?
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Last edited by Brucelee; 11-03-2008 at 10:49 AM. Reason: Inappropriate suggestions
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Old 11-01-2008, 06:39 PM   #10
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[QUOTE=Jaxonalden]Why is it assumed that I can't afford a mechanical fix if this happens? You guys that argue the point if there is a failure you'll just throw money at the problem and everything will be fine. How about helping out your fellow boxster owners and figure out a fix that doesn't cost us money that we don't need to spend?

QUOTE]

The way I see it, if you've still got your Porsche and you know that if the engine goes you're most likely stuck with the bill, you're bent over just as far as the rest of us.

Last edited by Brucelee; 11-03-2008 at 10:50 AM.
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Old 11-01-2008, 07:16 PM   #11
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[QUOTE=Jaxonalden]
QUOTE]

I don't work for Porsche, but I do have degrees in physics and math.
...and as a former motorcycle roadracer, I'm all about taking responsibility for my decisions.

I did my research, I knew what I was buying when I bought my car. I got a car with 17,900 miles on it for HALF of the $60k that it cost someone else 4 years prior. I assumed right from the start that a big part of the inexpensive acquisition price is to make up for the higher than average cost of ownership, and the fact that the other guy had a warranty and I don't. So I'm not going to try to make it someone else's problem in the unlikely event that I have a major problem with my out-of-warranty car that should have been driven more in the first place. If it roaches a motor, I'll take part of that $30k I saved by buying used, spend it on a new motor and still be ahead of the game vs. buying new.

Most people do a fair amount of research before spending >$30k on a car. This means that the possibility of an engine failure has already been priced-in to the acquisition cost (for used cars), and that's why used Boxsters are so affordable.

Anyone who didn't do their research before buying a Porsche, and is freaked out by the small possibility of a (very expensive) failure has an easy solution: sell the car and get something they're more comfortable with.
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Last edited by Brucelee; 11-03-2008 at 10:51 AM.
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Old 11-02-2008, 01:31 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaxonalden
Why is it assumed that I can't afford a mechanical fix if this happens? You guys that argue the point if there is a failure you'll just throw money at the problem and everything will be fine. How about helping out your fellow boxster owners and figure out a fix that doesn't cost us money that we don't need to spend?

:

Well there is always this point to look at; I can't speak for anyone else, but I know that I am dying for an excuse to send my car to RUF and get a 3600S made out of it. Now how could I do that if the engine lasts for ever. Also, I get it, I get it, KNOWN PROBLEM. You act like this is the first car that Porsche has ever built with KNOWN PROBLEMS existing. It's really not even that serious. Oh and the conspiracy theory is cute, but grow up! I'm definately one of the youngest guys on this site from what I see but I don't even have that much of an imagination.
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Old 11-02-2008, 04:30 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by boxster_s_boy_34
Well there is always this point to look at; I can't speak for anyone else, but I know that I am dying for an excuse to send my car to RUF and get a 3600S made out of it. Now how could I do that if the engine lasts for ever. Also, I get it, I get it, KNOWN PROBLEM. You act like this is the first car that Porsche has ever built with KNOWN PROBLEMS existing. It's really not even that serious. Oh and the conspiracy theory is cute, but grow up! I'm definately one of the youngest guys on this site from what I see but I don't even have that much of an imagination.
Yea, the conspiracy theory was a joke, like you are.
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