986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post - Poll: RMS and Engine problem questionaire

Ed Hess · 04-26-2007, 04:02 AM

Here is my RMS saga:

I bought a 2003 Porsche Boxster in a private sale on 4/10/2006 with 44, 050 miles on it and the warranty was in effect until 12/12/2006 or 50K miles.

I had the car inspected on 4/14/2006 and was told the rear main seal (rms) was starting to leak. I took it to Brandywine Porsche (SE PA) on 4/28/2006 at 44,568 miles and had the RMS replaced under warranty. It started leaking again a few months later so I took it to a different Porsche dealer (Don Rosen - largest Porsche dealer in PA) thinking they might be able to do a better job. This was on 11/9/2006 at 47,500 miles and it was replaced under warranty again.

I took it to be inspected again this April and was told the rms was starting to seep again. I took it into to Don Rosen Porsche on 4/17/2007 and they agreed in writing that there was "very slight oil seepage" but told me unless it is dripping on the ground and there is noticeable oil on the bottom of the car Porsche will not fix it. They did offer to look at it again in another 1K miles but told me "warranty work is only guaranteed during the warranty period."

I found this unacceptable and contacted Porsche Cars North America on 4/23/2007 and opened case #5123516. The regional rep left me a message on 4/24/2007 and said "to contact Don Rosen with the understanding that the car is out of warranty and any further repairs would be your responsibility."

There have been a large number of cases where Porsche has replaced the engine after multiple rms fixes according to a number of on-line message boards (www.ppbb.com etc.). I think if a seal is seeping it has failed and will only get worse so that is why I need to move on this. Obviously, they have not been able to fix it while it was under warranty. I think their policy would not hold up in court and I have a good case which I am currently getting counsel from an attorney on.

I don't think I'm covered under the PA Lemon law because it is just for the first 12 months and 3 repair attempts. The Federal Lemon Law (Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act) looks more promising:

§ 2304. Federal minimum standards for warranties

(a) Remedies under written warranty; duration of implied warranty; exclusion or limitation on consequential damages for breach of written or implied warranty; election of refund or replacement
In order for a warrantor warranting a consumer product by means of a written warranty to meet the Federal minimum standards for warranty—
(1) such warrantor must as a minimum remedy such consumer product within a reasonable time and without charge, in the case of a defect, malfunction, or failure to conform with such written warranty;
(2) notwithstanding section 2308 (b) of this title, such warrantor may not impose any limitation on the duration of any implied warranty on the product;
(3) such warrantor may not exclude or limit consequential damages for breach of any written or implied warranty on such product, unless such exclusion or limitation conspicuously appears on the face of the warranty; and
(4) if the product (or a component part thereof) contains a defect or malfunction after a reasonable number of attempts by the warrantor to remedy defects or malfunctions in such product, such warrantor must permit the consumer to elect either a refund for, or replacement without charge of, such product or part (as the case may be). The Commission may by rule specify for purposes of this paragraph, what constitutes a reasonable number of attempts to remedy particular kinds of defects or malfunctions under different circumstances. If the warrantor replaces a component part of a consumer product, such replacement shall include installing the part in the product without charge.

04-26-2007, 04:02 AM	#70
Ed Hess Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Chester Springs PA Posts: 6	My RMS Saga Here is my RMS saga: I bought a 2003 Porsche Boxster in a private sale on 4/10/2006 with 44, 050 miles on it and the warranty was in effect until 12/12/2006 or 50K miles. I had the car inspected on 4/14/2006 and was told the rear main seal (rms) was starting to leak. I took it to Brandywine Porsche (SE PA) on 4/28/2006 at 44,568 miles and had the RMS replaced under warranty. It started leaking again a few months later so I took it to a different Porsche dealer (Don Rosen - largest Porsche dealer in PA) thinking they might be able to do a better job. This was on 11/9/2006 at 47,500 miles and it was replaced under warranty again. I took it to be inspected again this April and was told the rms was starting to seep again. I took it into to Don Rosen Porsche on 4/17/2007 and they agreed in writing that there was "very slight oil seepage" but told me unless it is dripping on the ground and there is noticeable oil on the bottom of the car Porsche will not fix it. They did offer to look at it again in another 1K miles but told me "warranty work is only guaranteed during the warranty period." I found this unacceptable and contacted Porsche Cars North America on 4/23/2007 and opened case #5123516. The regional rep left me a message on 4/24/2007 and said "to contact Don Rosen with the understanding that the car is out of warranty and any further repairs would be your responsibility." There have been a large number of cases where Porsche has replaced the engine after multiple rms fixes according to a number of on-line message boards (www.ppbb.com etc.). I think if a seal is seeping it has failed and will only get worse so that is why I need to move on this. Obviously, they have not been able to fix it while it was under warranty. I think their policy would not hold up in court and I have a good case which I am currently getting counsel from an attorney on. I don't think I'm covered under the PA Lemon law because it is just for the first 12 months and 3 repair attempts. The Federal Lemon Law (Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act) looks more promising: § 2304. Federal minimum standards for warranties (a) Remedies under written warranty; duration of implied warranty; exclusion or limitation on consequential damages for breach of written or implied warranty; election of refund or replacement In order for a warrantor warranting a consumer product by means of a written warranty to meet the Federal minimum standards for warranty— (1) such warrantor must as a minimum remedy such consumer product within a reasonable time and without charge, in the case of a defect, malfunction, or failure to conform with such written warranty; (2) notwithstanding section 2308 (b) of this title, such warrantor may not impose any limitation on the duration of any implied warranty on the product; (3) such warrantor may not exclude or limit consequential damages for breach of any written or implied warranty on such product, unless such exclusion or limitation conspicuously appears on the face of the warranty; and (4) if the product (or a component part thereof) contains a defect or malfunction after a reasonable number of attempts by the warrantor to remedy defects or malfunctions in such product, such warrantor must permit the consumer to elect either a refund for, or replacement without charge of, such product or part (as the case may be). The Commission may by rule specify for purposes of this paragraph, what constitutes a reasonable number of attempts to remedy particular kinds of defects or malfunctions under different circumstances. If the warrantor replaces a component part of a consumer product, such replacement shall include installing the part in the product without charge.