Lessons learned: Buying a "used low mileage engine"(must read)

[Topless]

This story could be applied to a whole host of things for sale on ebay. (Ask Randall about nice used Boxsters). Let the buyer beware!

[RandallNeighbour]

Originally Posted by Topless

This story could be applied to a whole host of things for sale on ebay. (Ask Randall about nice used Boxsters). Let the buyer beware!

Rub it in!

Jake, I sure do appreciate your dedication to doing things right, not fast, not cheap, or not to make your company look good. Thanks for sharing this horror story.

I take it the seller of the POS M96 motor is a forum member. How very sad.

[blinkwatt]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

I take it the seller of the POS M96 motor is a forum member. How very sad.

Just from some quick looking in the classifieds I think the engine came from a non-daily visitor of this forum....one of those 'parting out 00' 3.2L 986 S' dude that list what they have and never come back.

[jmatta]

And yet owners continue to think the easy way out of an engine problem is to purchase a used one off eBay or from a dismantler...

This thread should be required reading by any M96 Porsche owner if they do not wish to throw more money away at a problem.

[Jake Raby]

Yes.. A forum member.. I'd say he is prett active here because it took him 9 hours after my posting to write his email to me, ********************ing about my sharing of this story with his peers.
He made his own bed, so now he'll have to sleep in it.

Attached is a very general pic of the area of the head thats cracked.. The crack is too small for eyes that are not trained to see, so its hard to get a pic of. Its marked with the pale yellow marker near the spark plug recess.

I'll use my Hi-Res camera to see if I can get better pics for our documentation.

This is an area where M96 engines have head cracks, especially those employed in Boxsters..

If the person who did these repairs knew enough about the M96 to be making internal repairs to one, they would have known to look here for the issue... Like we did.

The last crack I saw in this area was much larger and could be seen with the naked eye at room temperature.. We repaired it and it's been give pure hell with no problems!

I agree that this story should be required reading.. The "purchaser" is very passionate about mechanical things, Boxsters and M96 engines and has been contemplating writing a book about his experiences with constructing his track car... This will certainly be a full chapter!

I have already published this story on my Flat 6 Site :-)

We've installed used motors for customers over the years, some with great success, others without. We put a used 2.5 into a customer's car last year, which we recently had to do a head gasket on (he elected to only freshen one side of the engine, against our recommendation). See our other thread for today's fun with that car.

In terms of the M96 motors, it's not unheard of to have head cracks, and sometimes, they can be very difficult to diagnose. Pressure testing is the only method, and since these cracks can be small, heating the head to temperature is highly recommended.

As to trusting an engine from a salvage yard, while we've used that approach many times over the years, it seems to be becoming more and more risky now that less qualified people are starting to put M96 motors together.

Now that we are an LN dealer and have our own M96 engine program in house, we strongly urge customers to have any work done by us, as we can control the entire operation and warranty our work.

[thehighheelsgirl]

This sounds like a horrible story, and I hope I never have to do anything like this with my car!

On the other hand, an internet forum is not a place for people to settle personal grievances or engage in name calling. I am a member on a couple fashion forums, and have seen some ridiculous fights break out in threads and that's not what we're all here for. As a new member here, I did read the rules, and it states, like I think pretty much all forums, that "do not use this forum as a vehicle to attack others." Regardless of how much dislike some of us may have for others, posting other member's names and contact info in a public domain like this is not right.

[Jake Raby]

thehighheelsgirl,

Trust that this forum will not be utilized for anything more on this subject than it already has been... I am well aware of the forums rules and will conform to them.

I know all about forum controversy; I've probably been engaged in more than ten thousand of them since around 1995 when I started posting to newsgroups and the like. Thats what happens when one thinks outside the box, gets big results and then shares them.

The "Purchaser" has come up with his own way of sharing this and when the time comes he'll do that..

Until then, I am just the bearer of the technical glitches and nightmares imposed by the "Phantom".

Where this story ends up being published might just surprise lots of people.

[Brucelee]

Originally Posted by thehighheelsgirl

This sounds like a horrible story, and I hope I never have to do anything like this with my car!

On the other hand, an internet forum is not a place for people to settle personal grievances or engage in name calling. I am a member on a couple fashion forums, and have seen some ridiculous fights break out in threads and that's not what we're all here for. As a new member here, I did read the rules, and it states, like I think pretty much all forums, that "do not use this forum as a vehicle to attack others." Regardless of how much dislike some of us may have for others, posting other member's names and contact info in a public domain like this is not right.

This forum will NOT allow any fraud to be perpetrated directly or indirectly through its pages. Thus, if we have a concern raised like this that is both serious and credible, we will allow it to air, subject to the bounds of the rules and good taste. I get to be the arbiter on both counts.

Jake Raby is a sponsor and a straight up guy, who helps us all with his tech insight. We will allow him to continue this most interesting topic.

If this offends you, please skip this thread when you read each day.

Thanks.

What he should have done is offer a FULL refund....period. The 3k he got isn't worth his reputation. But people who sell things like this seldom care about their reputation.

I almost bought that engine when my 3.2 failed.

Originally Posted by Jake Raby

Yes.. A forum member.. I'd say he is prett active here because it took him 9 hours after my posting to write his email to me, ********************ing about my sharing of this story with his peers.

[Jake Raby]

He did offer a refund.. Only after MORE money had been spent to repair this engine than it's initial cost had been. "They" were smart, they knew we would not pull the engine and incur even more cost and down time to get a refund, especially after the first rund of issues had been remedied.

Yes, the member continues to be active here...

To date, myself and my client have incurred a list of expenditures that exceed 15,000.00 when combined. For that I could have built him another 3.6 big bore with all the updates.

Hindsight is 20/20 especially when dealing with those that are not honorable.

[Flavor 987S]

Originally Posted by Jake Raby

To date, myself and my client have incurred a list of expenditures that exceed 15,000.00 when combined. For that I could have built him another 3.6 big bore with all the updates.

$15K plus the +$20K for the eBay engine? Ooouch. For that much you could have bought a 2006 Boxster S with about 30,000 miles. The whole freaking car!

When are we going to start naming names? This post is getting too long with too much drama.

I hope you are getting paid by your client, Jake. Don't keep working for free. And I hope your client does not keep expecting you to work for free. Sounds like he is always looking for a "good deal".

Does your client buy his medical supplies off eBay too? I hope not. Leason learned.

If and when, I ever need a heart surgeon, I am going to make sure he charges a ton of money, and doesn't buy my stint off eBay!