Cherryblock

RL'ers

I'm looking for some advice. I recently purchased a brand new 991 C4 as for my DD. Unbelievably I had a serious engine melt down on the day I took delivery with less than 70 miles on the odometer. Porsche decided to do a complete engine replacement rather than repair. I am concerned about resale impact due to the replacement engine and feel that I will suffer additional depreciation due to this. In addition I have now been without the car for going on 3 weeks. I have asked my SA to approach Porsche for compensation, what would be a reasonable compensatory number be?

LCW

Lemon law. The only right thing to do is to have Porsche buy the car back. IMHO.

Cherryblock

Lemon Law requires 30 business days out of use, it likely won't meet that measurement and with reasonable compensation and I would be fine keeping it.

CSK 911 C4S

That sounds terrible.

I would hope an extended warranty to 6y/100K would be offered as minimum if not buy the car back.

What did the GT3 owners get with their new engines?

If you were planning on driving the car in all weather conditions could ask for a set of winter wheels/tires so you can enjoy the C4S all year long.

Do they know what happened to the engine?

Cherryblock

They don't which is why Porsche opted to send the engine back to Germany for a tear down. I was a 2014 GT3 owner, we received additional warranty and from memory 2,000 per month that the car was out of service. I believe that the GT3 replacement was/is much less likely to impact selling value as it was highly publicized and with limited vehicles being produced. Lots of 991 variants out there and on a percentage basis feel that this replacement issue will have a bigger impact.

CSK 911 C4S

Do you feel this is a sign that a 991 should not be in your garage?

Cherryblock

!!

Jabs1542

Curious, since I keep a 991 in the garage which is a lower level in a multistory home.

How/when did the fire start? Were you out driving it? Or did it happen while parked after you returned from a drive?

I suspect a lot of us would like to know what to look out for.

Cherryblock

no fire sorry for the confusing language, no fire just catastrophic engine failure

Jabs1542

I guess I filled in the blanks when I read "melt down". My 996 crushed a crankshaft bearing - not pretty, I feel your pain.

I would talk to the dealership just to understand your options before making a final decision. If they make it easy to step into another car, even if it was used with a few thousand miles, I would probably take it with a lengthy CPO.

Unless you know for sure that there will be no "replaced engine" paperwork haunting you later on (i.e. Carfax) I would be worried accepting the car once rebuilt.

R_Rated

i would demand a new car... or indefinite warranty.

Quadcammer

no big deal. It won't impact your resale.

Request a warranty extension and maybe one month of lease payment if you're leasing.

LexVan

Agree on all 3 points.

No big deal. The motor is plug & play.

Ask for a CPO.

Ask for a month's cash payment for lack of use compensation.

I would argue, your car would be worth MORE if Porsche gives you a free CPO.

Zucc

If your AC compressor goes out, they fix it or replace it. if your engine goes out, they fix it or replace it.
No impact on resale with either scenario IMO. As far as loss of use, I would find out what it cost to rent a car like yours and ask for at least that much.

Pavegeno928

As an owner of a late 80s 911 and a 991, it seems that a non-matching numbers car would only be important if you plan on keeping the car 25 plus years and then try to sell it. With the huge numbers of 911s made today (compared to the pre-996 cars), you may have to go out further for it to make a difference. I'd just be sure to keep the documentation showing that it is a Porsche engine installed by a Porsche dealer. Should allay any concerns a future buyer might have. Then hit all the suggested maintenance milestones through the end of the warranty.

If they do a quick engine swap for you, you could try for a CPO but that seems to be a lot especially if they acted quickly and you're not out of your car for more than a few weeks. Better return might be to ask for free tickets to the Porsche drive experience (about $500) in Atlanta Driving. Dealers can get those fairly easily. If you are already a track guy and aren't interested in that, maybe a voucher for a full interior exterior detail for the future.

Good luck and I hope your new engine works well. I've been driving my 991 for just over a year now and it is phenomenal.