New Porsche owner, have some questions.

[pesticidal]

I bought a 2005 S sight unseen. (I know, I know) The dealer that I got it from promised me that the car was in pristine condition, had just gone through a Pennsylvania inspection, and also his local Porsche guy had gone through it and found nothing wrong. Even though it has 92k on it, he said "It's like a 20,000 mile car." yeah, well...

After waiting almost 3 weeks to find a truck to get it from PA to North Dakota, it arrived with a dead battery, and we rolled it off the truck. The hood switch had been lifted so hard that the lever broke-apparently one of the two truckers thought it was a cable driven system and yanked on it pretty hard.

I left a charger on for the day and overnight, and still it barely started the next morning. My first drive was to Interstate Battery for a new battery. When I got there, I smelled clutch, and I had pretty much babied the car there, so the next stop was my local Porsche dealership. I told them to give it a go-over and let me know what they thought.

Of course, they want to replace the clutch, to the tune of about 3k. Also found was:

Driver's side window switch is bad
Headlight washers/heated seats/Homelink does not work.
Hood switch bad
Found brake fluid dirty/contaminated
Tires 4/32' (Dealer told me they were at 50%

I called the dealer, he said the clutch was fine when it left PA, and recommended I contact the carrier's insurance company, which I did, but I doubt I'm going to get anywhere with that.

Ok, on to the questions.

I've been told that the clutch does not slip in 6th gear under power, and that it may not be as bad as I first thought, to put some mile on it and see what happens. Thoughts?

The other thing is about the homelink/heated seats. I did a search and found others had the same problem, but I didn't really see a definitive answer on the fix. anyone know about this?

In the glovebox is an iSimple iPod connector, but no instructions. I've no idea of how to run it through the Bose system. (No NAV)

Thanks for any feedback. Sorry for the long post.

Tim

[Ghostrider 310]

Not sure why you were ignored but since it's 4am EST, I'll give it a go. Regarding the clutch, IMO, if it's going to slip you will notice it more in lower gears or especially on a grade. If it doesn't slip going up a hill, run it and keep a eye on it. Window, headlight washers and hood switch, whenever more than one item is electrically dysfunctional I check the fuses. You might even find the items on each circuit in the manual, verify whether any of these items share a common fuse and go from there. As for brake fluid if you have decent mechanical skills buy a power-bleeder and DIY, it pays for itself the first use. I used ATE super blue so I could easily see when the new fluid was running out the caliper bleed valves, for bonus points bleed the clutch while you are there. It's a long-shot but if the fluid is truly compromised then it's going to effect a hydraulic clutch that shares the same source.

[pesticidal]

Going up a hill? That's going to be tough. I'm in Fargo, ND. The highest grade we have here is the Interstate overpasses. (seriously)

On the electrical system problems, I did some more searching and found this:

"This happened to my car after a battery replacement. Both seat heaters refused to come on.
I went to the Porsche dealer and they re-configured the option code for heated seats in the system computer." Sounds just like my problem. I'll run it by the dealer.

I posted a pic last night, but the admin hasn't let it loose yet. I have a picture from the selling dealer's web site showing both keys. As I mentioned, one fob was broken when I received the car. The picture he has shows both keys in good condition, but the cuts in the keys are different, indicating he took another fob and took a picture.

[Ghostrider 310]

Don't feel bad about the dealer, they are all DICKS. My dealer "we have been through the car extensively". Then I find a Carnewal exhaust add on box. When I inquire, he says " we didn't know it was on there". Really? How the &*$% do you check over the car without removing once the engine cover? Answer? They didn't, everything they said is up for scrutiny, these $%&# would be great politicians as they already have the "check your humanity, soul and honesty" at the door maneuver down pat. I could never sell like that, thank god it was never the paradigm in repeat sales in my experience. I truly hate people who behave like that and they are growing in number, if someone walks into the Porsche dealer and hands one of the salesman his ass, I won't lose sleep, reap what you sew you untrustworthy M effers.

[pesticidal]

Here's the picture of the keys. One of them was broken when I got the car. After looking, it's obvious that the dealer has key for two different vehicles...

[Ghostrider 310]

If he doesn't make it right for you, tell him you are going to post that picture on http://www.dealerrater.com/directory/ I have it on good authority that the dealers do not like bad press on said site and know for a fact the manufacturers patrol the site using it like a snitch in every location.

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by pesticidal

I bought a 2005 S sight unseen. (I know, I know) The dealer that I got it from promised me that the car was in pristine condition, had just gone through a Pennsylvania inspection, and also his local Porsche guy had gone through it and found nothing wrong. Even though it has 92k on it, he said "It's like a 20,000 mile car." yeah, well...

After waiting almost 3 weeks to find a truck to get it from PA to North Dakota, it arrived with a dead battery, and we rolled it off the truck. The hood switch had been lifted so hard that the lever broke-apparently one of the two truckers thought it was a cable driven system and yanked on it pretty hard.

I left a charger on for the day and overnight, and still it barely started the next morning. My first drive was to Interstate Battery for a new battery. When I got there, I smelled clutch, and I had pretty much babied the car there, so the next stop was my local Porsche dealership. I told them to give it a go-over and let me know what they thought.

Of course, they want to replace the clutch, to the tune of about 3k. Also found was:

Driver's side window switch is bad
Headlight washers/heated seats/Homelink does not work.
Hood switch bad
Found brake fluid dirty/contaminated
Tires 4/32' (Dealer told me they were at 50%

I called the dealer, he said the clutch was fine when it left PA, and recommended I contact the carrier's insurance company, which I did, but I doubt I'm going to get anywhere with that.

Ok, on to the questions.

I've been told that the clutch does not slip in 6th gear under power, and that it may not be as bad as I first thought, to put some mile on it and see what happens. Thoughts?

The other thing is about the homelink/heated seats. I did a search and found others had the same problem, but I didn't really see a definitive answer on the fix. anyone know about this?

In the glovebox is an iSimple iPod connector, but no instructions. I've no idea of how to run it through the Bose system. (No NAV)

Thanks for any feedback. Sorry for the long post.

Tim

Sounds to me like the trucker is your primary suspect. Key looks fine in pic, trucker had it last...
Clutch Smell, I have never seen anyone drive a Boxster for the 1st time & work the clutch well, especially while loading on to a truck. I assume you discovered hood switch etc damage during receiving inspection & trucker confessed. This probably contributed to dead battery. Homelinks are difficult to program on new cars. There is a hose that comes loose easily on the headlight washer reservor @ LF
New tires have 9/32" so doing the math including standard salesman fudge factor= 50%
92,K miles usually = dirty brake fluid

$200 saved not having a independant PPI = consider yourself very lucky!

[pesticidal]

Originally Posted by BYprodriver

Sounds to me like the trucker is your primary suspect. Key looks fine in pic, trucker had it last...
Clutch Smell, I have never seen anyone drive a Boxster for the 1st time & work the clutch well, especially while loading on to a truck. I assume you discovered hood switch etc damage during receiving inspection & trucker confessed. This probably contributed to dead battery. Homelinks are difficult to program on new cars. There is a hose that comes loose easily on the headlight washer reservor @ LF
New tires have 9/32" so doing the math including standard salesman fudge factor= 50%
92,K miles usually = dirty brake fluid

$200 saved not having a independant PPI = consider yourself very lucky!

Thanks for the input. The keys, in the dealer photo, do not match on the key side...

[Ghostrider 310]

The key tracks are so different you can see in the pic they are dissimilar, now is the time to try to mediate it, the longer the sale is in the rear view mirror the less attention you will receive. Or try that key in every car on the lot, tell him you assumed it was a two for one since you have keys to two different vehicles.

[pesticidal]

My latest e-mails with the dealer:

An update:

I finally talked to a person (at the insurance company) on Friday. She has not gotten back to as of yet. I've gotten about 100 miles on the car this past weekend. The clutch smell is less, but still noticeable.

I've done some searching on the headlight washer/heated seats/homelink. Looks like a common problem when changin batteries, and a computer reset is required, so nothing major.

You never addressed the broken key issue, but it's obvious that the keys in your ad that the fob was not broken. It's also obvious that the keys are not matched to each other.

His response:

I barely have 2 keys to any car I sell. I just sold an 05 Boxster yesterday with only 1 key. I cannot remember if the key was broken or not because it was with the owners manuals.

My reply:
Well, someone in your organization knew it was broken, and found an unbroken one to take a picture of.

He has not sent a reply to the latest yet. I think he's getting tired of me....

[Ghostrider 310]

The argument needs focus now, forget what you caught his staff doing and focus on the fact that you were shown two and expected as such in the consummated deal. If he still blows you off that's when you tell him you would like to resolve this without contacting your State Attorney General with a letter and photo demonstrating false advertising, he should yield and if he doesn't send the letter. In closing if he's a Porsche dealer and he's selling used cars with one key he already sounds cheezy.

[pesticidal]

I sent him a copy of the picture of the keys, and he denied switching them. I sent him a link to the picture on his web site, and he simply replied "You can't be serious." prick....

He's not an authorized Porsche dealer, but sells a lot of Porsche and MB's. Oddly, he still has my car listed, probably to get traffic and sell them something else.

Larry's Hiline Motorsports

[Ghostrider 310]

I thought you bought this from an authorized dealer, I bought one from a "larry" the first time. The original 986 had three keys, one being a valet, mine came with one. It's not uncommon when you go the Larry route as replacing said keys is a gouge to the bottom line net profit. You probably have to just take really good care of your "key", in the end my one key had no nexxus with why I had to sell the car.

[J Tinsby]

Originally Posted by pesticidal

I bought a 2005 S sight unseen. (I know, I know) The dealer that I got it from promised me that the car was in pristine condition, had just gone through a Pennsylvania inspection,

Hi Tim,

The Pa State Inspection has nothing to do with you getting a decent car. It pertains to those parts of the vehicle that affect it's safety on the highway.
Tires, brakes, exhaust system, all steering parts, all exterior lights, windscreen wipers and washers, condition of the windscreen glass, turn signals, 4 way flashers etc.

Surely a PA inspection sticker is meaningless in ND where you live, so I have no idea why a stealer would even mention it to you.

I can't for the life of me understand why you wouldn't get a local car from a reputable dealer. But then again I am not where you are so I haven't a clue what the dealer situation is.

Good luck with it,

J T

[pesticidal]

Originally Posted by J Tinsby

Hi Tim,

The Pa State Inspection has nothing to do with you getting a decent car. It pertains to those parts of the vehicle that affect it's safety on the highway.
Tires, brakes, exhaust system, all steering parts, all exterior lights, windscreen wipers and washers, condition of the windscreen glass, turn signals, 4 way flashers etc.

Surely a PA inspection sticker is meaningless in ND where you live, so I have no idea why a stealer would even mention it to you.

I can't for the life of me understand why you wouldn't get a local car from a reputable dealer. But then again I am not where you are so I haven't a clue what the dealer situation is.

Good luck with it,

J T

I've bought numerous cars from my local Audi/Porsche dealer, and waited a year for one to come in. I really wanted to go locally, but not too many come around up here. They did have a 2002 911 come in on trade in December, but it never even hit the lot.

[thstone]

I've also bought a few cars sight unseen (eBay) but I've always hired someone local (to the car) to do a PPI so I know what I'm getting. Sorry to hear that this seller took advantage of the situation.

[Kenny Boxster]

Bloody hell what a horror story! Hope everything works out for ya. I feel sorry for you

[Topless]

Caveat emptor:
Caveat emptor - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

You bought a car sight-unseen with no warranty. It is unlikely you will get any satisfaction from the dealer or federal law regarding interstate commerce. You can fight for your rights but this dealer is a pro at dodging seller responsibility so it will probably only lead to a lot of time wasted and few new wrinkles to your brow. My suggestion is to ignore the fact that you took a minor fleecing on this deal, move on and begin to enjoy the car for what it is... lesson learned rather cheaply. Sometimes it is just better to let it go.

[pesticidal]

Originally Posted by Topless

Caveat emptor:
Caveat emptor - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

You bought a car sight-unseen with no warranty. It is unlikely you will get any satisfaction from the dealer or federal law regarding interstate commerce. You can fight for your rights but this dealer is a pro at dodging seller responsibility so it will probably only lead to a lot of time wasted and few new wrinkles to your brow. My suggestion is to ignore the fact that you took a minor fleecing on this deal, move on and begin to enjoy the car for what it is... lesson learned rather cheaply. Sometimes it is just better to let it go.

From the ad: THIS CAR IS PRE-CERTIFIED WITH A 3 MONTH WARRANTY.

Apparently the warranty does no cover anything that I found wrong with the car. The way I see, it, 90% of the problems would not exist had he simply put a new battery in, and had the computer re-set. at the time.

Regardless, good advice, thanks. Warm weather is here, and I have multiple choices to have a fun summer. decisions, decisions..

[Ghostrider 310]

Did you get all them steppin' on bugs? No matter, that's a nice toybox, time to see the glass three quarters full.