edkwon

I have a question for you guys, Im about 6 months into my 3 year lease on my GTS and I'm thinking ahead to the end of my lease where I want to buy the car (keep it for a number of years, enjoy and then eventually sell when the supply of good condition manual 981 cars are more scarce). About 2k miles in i took it into the dealership to have an engine noise checked out and they checked the oil among other things and found some metal fragments and decided to swap the entire engine under warranty. I wonder if this would affect the resale value of private buyers such as yourself or if it's not worth the headache and I return the lease at the end and try out a different car (thinking Macan as daily commuter, or the 991.2 GTS).

Opinions?

JCtx

Oh man. Could you please describe what kind of noise, when it started, etc? And is it a 2015 or 2016 GTS? And does the car have 2K miles, or you drove it for 2K miles with the noise? If the latter, at how many miles it started? Please provide all the details you can, including your engine serial number, please. You can get it from any of the multiple VIN tags throughout your car (there's one on the hood, trunk, and doors). Thx.

digitalrurouni

If I were you I would try out the 991.2 GTS if you are not hell bent on having a mid engine car. That is one car I would love to try if I get bored with my Spyder and want something different.

Dr.Bill

I don't think it will affect the value at all. If anything, it will have a newer engine.
All of the 2014 GT3's had the engine replaced. Looking at sales posts, it does not look like it affects the value. They also got an extra 2 years of warranty, so that probably helps as well.

I wouldn't worry about it - 2 1/2 years is a ways off. Something else is sure to catch your eye by then.

ClintonM3

Check the CarFax report in a few months.

You should be fine with resale.....UNLESS, the CarFax has a notation that says "engine replaced" or "TMU, True Mileage Unknown." Nobody wants a TMU notation on CarFax.

If all it says is "warranty work performed," then you are fine.

edkwon

2016 car, and the noise turned out to be a red herring, its a subtle ticking noise that I hear in the background, it was still there in the new engine and after the fact I rode in other people's 981 Cayman S and I heard the same sound. So the reason I took the car in to get checked out was no real reason at all. It was just sheer coincidence they found something.

JCtx

Thanks for your help brother, but could you please check out the thread below, and tell us if your noise was like that? Porsche is not going to replace an engine without some evidence like that IMO, but that's what we're trying to figure out: which noises are worrysome, and which aren't. Also what S/Ns are affected (more on that below).

http://www.planet-9.com/981-cayman-a...ing-noise.html

My car is also 2016 (Cayman GTS), and I also hear a weird noise bouncing off parked cars and freeway walls with my window open. And it's not present on my brother's 2015 BGTS with identical mileage (6,3xx miles). Now that I started reading about 2016 cars with that disturbing noise, I want to pay closer attention. Finally, would you mind posting your engine S/N? Open your frunk, and look at the VIN tag on the right side. Mine is: G03727 (G denotes 2016). It's next to engine model, which is MA123E for my GTS (maybe the last letter is different for Ss, and for sure on 911 3.4s). And let us know if your noise was like the one linked above. Thanks again for your help.

Archimedes

As a buyer, I wouldn't care at all if it had a new engine put in. I'd be more concerned if they had repaired the one that was in it.

Patrick3000

When I exit my 13 base Boxster a 981 manual 6 spd B/GTS will be on the short list. Yes a replacement engine would be a no questions asked deal breaker for me. If I were in your situation I would enjoy the car and turn it in at the end of the lease.

Macster

Occasionally a new car develops a serious or even a not so serious engine problem and the factory elects to replace rather than repair. This is what the new car warranty (4 years, 50K miles) is for.

(Doesn't even have to be that new of a car. My 2003 996 Turbo under CPO warranty sometime in 2010 (and with maybe 30K+ miles on it had its 6-speed transmission replaced due to a leaking selector shaft seal. The Porsche dealer senior techs said it was no big deal to replace the seal but the factory said "no" to a repair and instead said "yes" to replace the transmission and followed through by shipping a new 6-speed from Germany.)

In the case of your car the noise could have been something relatively minor -- say a bad lifter -- but Porsche elected to replace the engine. This makes some sense as Porsche gets the engine back and can tear it down and perform some kind of postmortem on the engine to determine what went wrong and why and if this is due to something that needs more attention.

At the end of the lease you will know the car very well, how it was treated from day #1 and how it was driven, serviced. As a used car "purchase" it can't get much better than that.

So whether you elect keep the car or turn it in at the end of the lease period depends upon various factors but I don't think it should depend upon the fact the car received a replacement engine under its new car warranty unless of course you think it matters enough to reject the car. Obviously it is your money and your decision.

Pep!RRRR

I would wonder if the replacement engine was really "new", or just a refurbished, problematic engine from another customer. The good news is that you still have a couple years to use the car and should have an idea of its reliability before making the decision to keep it.

Marine Blue

Not that it's relevant but would a COA from Porsche also list the engine number and would a replacement engine have the correct number on it? I say not relevant because a GTS isn't a collector car.....at least not currently. Just curious really.

bassie81

If the engine swap is fully documented i would not care at resale. If not, turn it in at hte end of the lease.

buyers generally dislike undocumented changes particularly if they concern major parts

edkwon

Sorry, every time I actually drive the car I keep forgetting to look. Will try to remember next time I drive it.


Thanks for the input guys. It's not a decision I'll have to think about for a couple years so in the meantime I'll just drive and enjoy it.

robert090

Good for you that you have decided to keep it. It is so hard to decide whether you will end up and buy a new one because you will really think well about your finances. In your case, I think you have made the right choice here.