Soooooooo...
After REPEATED trips to a local dealership who could not diagnose my coolant/oil transfer problem, I tried a different shop. Within 24 hours they were able to determine that A) the problem is not external & B) there are small metal filings in the oil filter, so the contamination is both ways: oil getting into coolant & vice versa. The original dealership said no coolant was getting into the oil (I have already posted about this problem a couple of times.) Coolant will eventually corrode the engine internals. Diagnosis: the car needs a new engine (not right away though - he said I prob have a few months.)
My warranty maxes out at the wholesale value of the car. An 01 S with 60K on it is "around" $13K (they are actually being generous,) and they have already paid $9K in repairs over the 3 years I have owned the car. This leaves $4K if they approve the repair. Even with a USED motor, a swap will run higher than that. I was a bit disgusted with the vehicle as it is: low mileage purchase, seemingly good condition, PPI through a premier local dealership, bought a warranty, and it turned into a "once-a-month" service nightmare that almost no dealership or specialty shop could properly diagnose. It has been in the shop 7+ times in the last 12 months.
This service manager at the 2nd dealership (seems knowledgeable & a good guy) said the best thing to do is get a final answer from the warranty company, and probably trade it in as he wouldn't advocate paying the difference on a new motor either (estimates a dealership swap at $12K-$16K, and agrees that a used unit is not the way to go.) I intend to ask him about Porsche Goodwill, but seeing as how I didn't buy the car from their dealership, I doubt they will do it - can't hurt to ask though.
Any suggestions on the repair or experience with Goodwill will be appreciated. I'll post the final diagnosis (cracked head, head gasket, problem block, etc.) once we get to it.
