the dreaded RMS problem

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by vouvoune

...Its such a feminie car...

Hi,

You just killed a ton of egos on this board with that one teenie weenie sentence...LOL

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[vouvoune]

There are two ways to look at it:
* women like its soft curves and smoothness.
* it's curvy and feminine looking which is why men like it too

Not long ago, my BMW dealer gave me a M5 for a few days and THAT"S such a masculine and aggressive car: straight lines, minimalist and aluminum accents in the inside...

Actually, I took a child watch the Pixar movie CARS and the "female love interest" in the movie was a Boxster and he was a Ferrari

What I was trying to say is that I am so surprise to not have seen one woman driving one of these as it is in the same price range of many other more common cars.

[red_wagen]

Any update?
So, let me get this straight. They only replace the seal if it is not too far out of tolerance in which case it will likely happen again in the future. If it is beyond a certain tolerance they will replace the engine. The new engine they put in, is it RMS leak proof? If no, then we're back to square 1 yes?

[St. Louis Boxster]

I took it into the dealer Monday. I was told that it's weird this problem surfaced again since they had a new and improved seeal that once installed "usually" never leaked again. I asked about checking the tolerance and they said they would do that. Today is Wednesday and I haven't heard back from the dealer. Thankfully, it's not my daily driver and it's still under warranty. (it's an 04 with 12K miles)

[Brucelee]

Originally Posted by red_wagen

Any update?
So, let me get this straight. They only replace the seal if it is not too far out of tolerance in which case it will likely happen again in the future. If it is beyond a certain tolerance they will replace the engine. The new engine they put in, is it RMS leak proof? If no, then we're back to square 1 yes?

No such thing as a RMS leak proof Porsche.

It is a design issue, so until they redesign, no solution that is perfect.

[Perfectlap]

yes, Chicks LOVE the Boxster. This was a big surprise to me. I mean some girls have gotten REALLY REALLY excited upon seeing my car or riding along.

When I thought of chick cars or chick appealing cars, I always thought the Volks Wagen Cabriolet, Beetle (especially the convertible), that Mazda Mx3, Toyota Celica (especially the convertible), and lately appartenlty its turned toward SUV worship, like the X5 and X3, Murano and my current lady friend gets all excited by the Jeep Compass and has no interest in my car whatsoever!!

I thought of the Boxster in performance roadster/targa category along with the S2000, Z4, Lotus Elise. Do they get happy about these cars too? Not accordig to most women I've talked to.


as far as RMS, the more I think about it the more I think I'm convinced I'm going to throw a well orchestrated fit (close enought to where prospective buyers can hear me yelling) at the dealer when they tell I have to cough up a grand for a problem common only in their brand of cars. Have there been government imposed recalls/sanctions on car builders for non-safety issues?

[St. Louis Boxster]

The final word

Dropped the Box off Monday... no calls from the dealer all week,finally I called them today since it's suppossed to be a great weekend here for top down action. Some air bag part that causes the warining light to come on had to be ordered, however, the RMS leak is once again repaired, the second time in 2 years. I asked the service guy about tolerances and alignment issues, since the last RMS repair was only one year ago (o4 with 12K miles) he said to get used to it, an annual RMS leak is not out of the ordinary or unusual for this car.. It's still under warranty so it's a free repair but in another year or so, after two more free RMS repairs, it'll start costing me $850 a year. This guy said this so matter of factly it was unreal.

Nice german engineering, it's impressive. I felt like walking around the new car showroom talking up the whole RMS issue with the folks getting ready to drop $50K on a german-engineered sports car.

Don't we have some Porsche new car dealers on this site? What do they tell their Boxter customers?

[Perfectlap]

fixing an $850 seal once a year isn't so bad albeit infuriating, it is a German sports car requiring specialized labor to maintain and fix afterall, anyone who bought one thinking its as care free as an S2000 is living in some other reality.

The big scandal is that this problem could easily require a new engine fix after however many RMS repairs. That's as good as any reason not to buy this car. The percentage of 996 911's and Boxsters and now new 911 and Boxsters as well, requiring this drastic measure is a very carefully watched game of russian roulette by Porsche. Way too many to address with a recall and not enough to ward off potential buyers. Perfect for Porsche.

If I were you I would consider selling and getting into a new Boxster before the warranty goes. I certainly wouldn't buy a car that had two RMS leaks in such short span. Too many 2nd hand Boxsters to choose from with zero issues.

btw, is your '04 tiptronic?

[St. Louis Boxster]

Thanks for the reply. Mine is not a tip. It's a 5 speed. I love the car, it is frustrating that the engineering group that turns out a car like this can't resolve this issue.

If you guys couldn't drive a Porsche and wanted the sports car, convertible feel.. what would you drive.

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by St. Louis Boxster

Thanks for the reply. Mine is not a tip. It's a 5 speed. I love the car, it is frustrating that the engineering group that turns out a car like this can't resolve this issue.

If you guys couldn't drive a Porsche and wanted the sports car, convertible feel.. what would you drive.

Hi,

Sorry for your troubles. But, realize, it's not that they can't fix the issue, it's that they refuse to fix it. It would require a whole new set of tooling and casting, and that's too much for their profit picture to absorb.

But, I think the word is out and I expect Porsche to come out with a new engine design, the M97 engine in '09 under the guise of some improvement, all the while ignoring those saps who bought into the M96. Payback for Pottsdam...???

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[Brucelee]

Jim is right.

Porsche CAN fix this issue but won't until they HAVE to.

Sad but true.