Cowhorn

I purchased my 1987 911 from an out-of-state seller in 11/05. I had a PPI done by a certified Porsche dealership near the seller. It checked out fine with only minor needs: brake pads, passenger's side mirror didn't move up and down, etc. I was told the car was clean with no rust by the guy who did the inspection on the phone when I called to see how the inspection went.

Fast forward to yesterday. I took the car in to have brakes and rotors replaced. I asked the service guy to look the car over for me as well. He calls me later in the day to inform me that the passenger side oil line is rusted badly and needs to be replaced (I went in to see it. It is splitting and badly rusted). It's going to cost $1500 for parts and labor.

My beef is if I had known this before I bought the car I would have tried to negotiate the price some more. This was an obvious thing for ME to see (I am not a mechanic) with the car on a lift. I feel the first Porsche inspector should have told me this finding. Do I have any recourse? Can I call Porsche (since they are a Porsche dealer) and give them some grief? Do the dealerships care about their reputations at all?

J. Brinkley

which oil line, or lines, are you talking about?

I'd go somewhere else, Or come to louisiana and give me a thousand and I'll replace them all.

Cowhorn

Forgive me. My knowledge is weak here. The metal "line"/pipe at the passenger side rear of the car that is attached just proximal to (closer to the engine) the "s-hose". This metal line goes directly into the engine right in front of the muffler.

g-50cab

$1500 for that? I think you are getting ripped off - the "S" line is any easy replacement - like an hour with an oil change - and that's if one of the clamps gives you trouble.

J. Brinkley

if you have stock exhaust and i'm reading right, it's this one. But that 1500 quote could include a few more things maybe. Like dropping the whole exhaust to get to that nut on the block? That line itself I think is only $80

Cowhorn

The estimate for the oil line was $111. They did need to do some other things like replace the rusted sway bar mounts. The total for parts was $700. One of the heater blower fans is broken and needs replacement. A few other things, too. Total for labor was $800 (10 hrs at $80/hr). Labor was estimated at 10 hrs because they will likely have to drill out all the bolts that are holding things onto the block. Again, my question is not so much am I being ripped off, but do I have recourse with the Porsche dealership that did the initial PPI and missed all of these problems? Will a call to PCNA give these guys at least a little something to think about?

g-50cab

Probably not worth your efffort - my first PPI - with a dealership missed leaking cylinder/heads on a 1990 C2... I even told them what to look for and it too got a clean bill of health. Anybody that I talk to I recommend a PPI from an independent porsche shop - especially one that is familiar with the model...

GothingNC

I think your out of luck.
Nobody is perfect and sometimes items get missed during a PPI
Just like house inspections.
I house I sold was inspected before I purschased ita while back.
When the buyer had her inspector look at it he found some structural issues that were missed.
Had to hire a structural engineer for $500 to write up a report stting that a floor beam that sagged probably occured right after the house was built back in 1994. Builder did not install any fasteners and instructed me to install some addtional nails. Other then that it was fine.

Why don't you try to replace the oil line yourself?

J. Brinkley

I had a good PPI also, but still, both footwell blowers were junk and the front condenser blower motor was trashed. Don't know if I have a point to make, all the little things that inspections miss add up. BUT what are you going to do? It all sucks, but minor stuff like that compared to maybe misrepresenting leakdown numbers or panel repair isn't all that bad.
I'd pay for someone to drill the exhaust studs and any welding to mounts, but do everything else on your own.

Jay H

Unfortunately, these are old cars. You have to expect that there will be problems. Dumping a few thousand dollars into these cars right after purchase to fix issues is very, very common. I'll agree with others in that this oil line could have easily been missed in the PPI. It's no excuse to miss it, but things do happen during PPI's.

If the only problem with your car is this oil line and a few other minor things that you have stated, then it sounds like you have a pretty solid car. That's good!! Replace the line, fix the other issues and enjoy your car. Had they missed a major bodywork repair from a serious accident that would lower the value of your car (and it's resale), then you could (should) really get on the case of this dealership that did the PPI. Since this oil line is easily replaced and isn't causing you any loss of value on the overall worth of the car, it might be tough to get anything out of them other than "sorry, we missed it".

Good luck,

Jay
90 964

racer

While its disappointing to have this happen, even by a reputable shop(?), in the end it was you writing the check and buying the car. They missed something. It happens. Buyer beware!

Cowhorn

I figured as much. Thanks to all who responded.

Luus

Just goes to prove that the same time and effort that goes into finding the "right" car needs to be spent on finding the right wrench to go over it for the PPI.

Cowhorn

Amen, sister.

joey c

my car was 17000k and i was told what it needed but it also needed:major service,brakes,rotors,caliper rebuild,an axel boot,3 wheel bearings,sunroof cable,alternator..all totaling 4000.00...i dont think i would have bought the car knowing this,and i really would have missed out..my car is like new..it does everything it should great..i could nt be happier..do the work and be happy with the car.j