Engine question for Jake and Charles

[sd_boxster]

Maybe it's just me, but it seems a little unfair to dump all of this on the driver. I've been finding ways to ruin motors since I was 16, but this is the first car I've owned where the dealer by and large just junks the engine if something significant fails. I've spun bearings, snapped an oil pump shaft, warped more than a couple of heads, exploded flywheels, and inflicted damage of varying degrees of complexity and expense on my cars over the years. For those cars that were under warranty, this was always stuff the dealer just dealt with. Needs new bearings? You're gonna wait a while, but we'll get to it.

As Jake has explained in the past, the Porsche response (at least for a long time) has been to replace the motor rather than getting busy with the internals. When the diagnosis from your dealer includes a $12K item in the "Parts" column, and your car is worth $10K, what conclusion is your average Joe supposed to come to?

We've all had that internal "Crap, do I sell it now while it's running, or do I keep it because it's finally running now" debate (even with a car you LOVE) after dumping money in for a rebuilt transmission or some other pricey repair. Granted, for me, that was always a $500 repair on a car worth $2000 - but it sure seems applicable to $15,000 repairs on a $10,000 car...