Dispeling M96 engine rumors

[Boxtaboy]

Yep. I think he was only trying to help out and explain things as he saw it from his perspective. If no one wanted to listen, then fine...no sweat off his back. Personally, I'm glad he posted.

[landrovered]

I will call it like I see it. Take it however you want.

All makes have problems. All engine series have problems. If you think Porsche has problems try a Land Rover. A perfect example of high dollar vehicles with sophisticated engineering and lots of problems. This does not make them a bad marque, their products are fantastic and IMO worth the effort. I should know I have three at present.

Porsche is another marque that suffers from "unrealistically high expectations" from the buying public at large. Again they have their problems but they are quite remarkable in their dependability given how they are used and abused.

Many think that every car off the line should be able to be driven as a daily driver and run like a banshee on the track every weekend and never ever have a mechanical fault or failure. "After all I paid $80k for this thing". This attitude is why I think service writers at dealerships are the most underpaid folks on the planet.

Knowledge is power.

The impossible dream of 100% reliability can be approached but never obtained. With intimate knowledge of the vehicle, an informed owner can head off failures and minimize the cost of repairs when those failures occur.

Knowing what can go wrong should not make you stay up at night worrying about impending failures or change the extent that you enjoy your car. That is not the point of gaining knowledge.

The other thing I see in this thread is a pissing contest.

Jake has installed himself as the forum guru and does not take kindly to others questioning his knowledge, character or cred.

I have spoken to Flat Six about my Boxster and have no beef with their accumen, professionalism or ability.

In the same vein I have no reason to doubt the character of Porsche mechanics offering their experience here either.

The feeling I got from Flat Six was that my Porsche engine was a ticking time bomb that was destined to fail at any minute. It made me worry.

After further reasearch, I don't think that is the case. It is something to be aware of, but should not ruin my driving experience.

I have the ability to make up my own mind, to seek my own data, draw my own conclusions.

[Brucelee]

Lets keep it civil here. Jakes is a well respected member here who gives much of his time and attention to questions on the engines.

Do these engines have issues:

Ah, yeah.

Ask my neighbor. She is still muttering about her 12K mile, one year old Box.

Seems the engine imploded on her at a traffic light.

[landrovered]

Sometimes the obvious needs to be stated. I did this as respectfully as possible. I have nothing but respect for Jake and Flat Six, I just think the holiday IMS failure count is giving a skewed impression of the size of the problem.

[CenterIsl]

Originally Posted by landrovered

The feeling I got from Flat Six was that my Porsche engine was a ticking time bomb that was destined to fail at any minute. It made me worry.

No...their "tick...tick...BOOM!" ad page 6 of February Excellence shows a stethascope - they want you to have the image of your heart exploding, not a time bomb. Very professional indeed.

I'm on my 3rd engine after less than 82,000 miles - after my second engine failed, Jake Raby spent more than a half hour of his time trying to diagnose over the phone, and then explaining to me, in detail, the options I had.

He never tried to sell me his services, or pressured me in any way - he simply presented the facts. A few months later, I had the chance to visit flat6. Jake took me on a tour, and showed me the failed engines he and his crew had torn down, and showed me the upgrades he'd made to help extend the engines life.

He struck me as a passionate, honest and an extremely detailed person...and with my own eyes I saw the customer cars with failed engines sitting in his parking lot, the failed lifters, the dozens of engines with bad IMS, d-chunked or had cracked heads.

I just suggest, before you judge, give him a call, or if you're close by, pay him a visit. You'll be impressed with his shop and his character.

[gRed04]

Originally Posted by Fred Demara

I'm on my 3rd engine after less than 82,000 miles -

Wow, I have to wonder out loud why anyone would continue to pour money in any type of car with that kind of major failure rate.

Makes me shake me head just like when I read about 5 yr old cars being parted out because of major failure and the cost to repair exceeds the value.

Originally Posted by gRed04

Wow, I have to wonder out loud why anyone would continue to pour money in any type of car with that kind of major failure rate.
.

Yeah, I agree, it's really a shame. The car drives better than anything other car I've owned - the key for me has been "taking the plunge" and doing the work myself, which greatly reduces the $$ that one has to pour into it.

[landrovered]

I will not drive a car that I can not work on myself. I am sure that the warranty repairs will be quite traumatic for me on the new Cayman S. Perhaps they will let me do the work and just supervise?