Massive mechanical failure. Not a good day...

BruceL · 25 Feb 2011

I feel for you too, and hope everything will be resolved soon, if not quick!

These situations obviously takes time to investigate and in legal or 'good will' matter for the customer, takes forever.

Having read your writeup and hearing a few other 997 cases, it really puts me off buying a second-hand 997 carerra even with aftermarket warranty. I am in the middle of looking for a 997 at the minute, but a few of my friends are putting me off for a 996 Turbo. I really dont know what to think right now!

Anyway, sorry for the waffle, I hope theres light in the tunnel for you.

Keep us updated, am sure all the guys here are keeping you company at the meantime, with plenty of advise.

N

neil_c · 26 Feb 2011

If your car is less than 6 years old (which it may just be) then you could well get some recourse from Porsche, so ask about that. You need to tread carefully though as you now need a full rebuild or a new engine which at an OPC is going to be painful.

jfb1977 · 26 Feb 2011

neil_c said:
If your car is less than 6 years old (which it may just be) then you could well get some recourse from Porsche...

Sadly my car is JUST over 6 years old.

jfb1977 · 26 Feb 2011

BruceL said:
Having read your writeup and hearing a few other 997 cases, it really puts me off buying a second-hand 997 carerra even with aftermarket warranty. I am in the middle of looking for a 997 at the minute, but a few of my friends are putting me off for a 996 Turbo. I really dont know what to think now!

Don't let my story put you off at all. It's a horrible freak incident that could happen to a brand new car as easily as a 100,000 miler. Mechanical parts fail. Thing is if it's a bonnet strut that goes then that's one thing. If it's a core engine component (like mine is likely to be) it's another.

Just learn from my mistakes.

Make sure your warranty claim limit is sufficient to cover the most dramatic mechanical breakdown and make sure the warranty company are reputable.

If I had my time again I'd have waited a few more months, saved a few grand more and bought from an OPC with Porsche warranty. They're not perfect either but I'd be covered for this.

Go have fun hunting down (and more importunity driving!) the new car!

Personally I'd always take a 997 over a 996, but I'm biased!

Sub997 · 26 Feb 2011

Buying from a garage is fine, there is no need to buy from OPC because OPC offer £1097 per year or £1996 for 2 years, which covers you for ANYTHING!
they just do a quick check on your car for free before your accepted on this.
Its worth doing.

unlucky about your car, also this is rare.

Zuffenhausen :O) · 26 Feb 2011

RobIpswichUK said:
Not a lot I can say on the warranty issue but heartbreaking news, really sorry to hear it. Hope you get it fixed without too much cost.

+1

Really sorry to hear of your issues, I wish you all the best for a satisfactory outcome.

Wattie · 26 Feb 2011

Sub997 said:
Buying from a garage is fine, there is no need to buy from OPC because OPC offer £1097 per year or £1996 for 2 years, which covers you for ANYTHING!
they just do a quick check on your car for free before your accepted on this.
Its worth doing.

unlucky about your car, also this is rare.

Oh no they don't - they charge you for the infamous 111-point check and will then insist that ANYTHING that needs doing is done, before they will let you buy their massively expensive warranty...

When I say ANYTHING, I mean it - you may well discover all sorts of things wrong with your car, totally unrelated to anything covered by the warranty (my bill on my last car was going to be in excess of £2,500 before they would allow me to buy the warranty!!!)

As for this also being rare, there are a lot of people that might challenge that... :wink: Google it, if you don't believe me :thumb:

ETA... Sympathy with the OP - My theory on these engine failures is don't buy a low mileage / occasional use car - I believe it is constant warming / cooling that is causing fatigue failures of the cylinder walls / IMS

When you get your new engine, drive it regularly and for a reasonable distance (not just 5 miles), warm the engine properly EVERY time (no more than half max revs, no less than 1500, no full throttle, until everything is properly warm, but then drive it like you stole it

At low revs/high gear, the water pump is not very efficient, the oil doesn't circulate as well and they just don't work very efficiently...

goodethernet · 26 Feb 2011

"....Drive it like you stole it....." Indeed. I like that

Disco · 26 Feb 2011

Wattie said:
As for this also being rare, there are a lot of people that might challenge that... :wink: Google it, if you don't believe me :thumb:

Rare is relative though. There are indeed dozens of people who have had this happen and brought it to light on the wondrous internet. But on the other hand, the 100,000th 997 rolled off of the line in the middle of 2007...

wizard993 · 27 Feb 2011

http://cgi.ebay.de/Porsche-Carrera-...8516?pt=Autoteile_Zubehör&hash=item4aa16c4a04

This maybe an option for you/the warranty company. It is very rare for a 997 engine to let go like this and I am sure that Porsche would also be interested in what has gone wrong. If it has Porsche SH there may also be some goodwill available so worth making a call at least.

Yes you may have some recourse under the sale of goods act but it can take ages to resolve while your car remains off the road.

Replacing a 997 engine as a unit can be done in a day/day and half with two good/experienced technicians who have the equipment(re cradle) to do the work.

Sorry to read about this issue.

c4srmsims · 27 Feb 2011

Sorry to hear about your engine problems.

You might want to cut this thread short and even have it closed - your profile links anyone who wants to look to posts re modifying the car (including for performance gains) and also a quick look on youtube (search '997 Hayward & Scott') reveals a smoky startup and some unsympathetic revving of what might be a cold engine...

Hope you get this sorted!

jfb1977 · 27 Feb 2011

The car hasn't had any engine modifications, bar the H&S exhaust bypass, which clearly won't have caused the engine to fail.

I don't have a Porsche warranty anyway, so I don't think this will be an issue.

And the engine was warm in that vid - although I was a little concerned about the smoking myself. :?:

I'm waiting for the initial conversation between dealer and warranty company tomorrow and we'll go from there. I have written to the top brass at Porsche GB as well. I've said that they have no legal reason to help me but that as an avid Porsche fan / brand advocate and someone with many years of Porsche ownership ahead of them, maybe they want to show some pride in their brand and do the right thing. :floor:

I'm not holding my breath, but if you don't ask....

stokie1 · 28 Feb 2011

really feel for you jfb

i too have a 6 year old c2s and bought from an indie 12 months ago with a two bit warranty (which is now out of date) with a limit and 20 pages of small print - this was also my dream car from childhood so i can really relate here

your story really brings into mind what can go wrong and 30 odd grand is a lot of money for me too and if the engine let go i would also be in pots of poo

however this could surely happen to other high end cars, bmw, mercs etc - engines can let go and i'm sure if you went into stato mode other cars also suffer problems - some of these cars are 7 years old now and they do need care - which is why mine is out of opc and nailed on to a specialist who will give it this care

have you tried calling some of the better indie specialists to have a look at the engine - if mine went for instance i would defo call mike at sportsandclassic - prob wouldnt go near opc

and for all you folks thinking of buying, there are lots and lots of good news stories on here to balance the odd disaster which has become poor jfb so i spose we should all be careful - but dont immediatley discount indies IMO as good cars are usually much cheaper - there are also lots of porkers with big big miles still going strong

to sign off, this was a big purchase for me, with credit crunch, school fees etc etc etc but it was absolutely worth every penny thus far

i look forward to hearing how you get on jfb

berni29 · 28 Feb 2011

Hi c4srmsims

I watched the vid and I would not call that unsympathetic revving. Especially if the engine was warm. I often enjoy a rev and it can be a useful way of listening for misfires. And checking for smoke, which in this case I would have been worried about even on an aircooled engine.

Berni

Andyuk911 · 28 Feb 2011

If it was smoking like that on every startup, seems it already had a problem ..

If they are taking the engine out of the car, it would be interesting to hear what the failure was ..

Again, I hope this has a happy ending for you.

Massive mechanical failure. Not a good day...

BruceL

Monza

neil_c

Montreal

jfb1977

Monza

jfb1977

Monza

Sub997

New member

Zuffenhausen :O)

Singapore

Wattie

Zandvoort

goodethernet

Spa-Francorchamps

Disco

Portimao

wizard993

Donnington

c4srmsims

Monza

jfb1977

Monza

stokie1

Spa-Francorchamps

berni29

Paul Ricard

Andyuk911

Trainee

Similar threads

Latest posts

New Threads

Porsche Model Range

Porsche 911

Porsche Hypercars

Other Current Porsche Model

Porsche Legacy Models

Forum statistics