maestromaestro

Here is what I am thinking and why.

Last year (or so), accelerating from a traffic light, the transmission in my 97 C2 cab got stuck in neutral after I shifted from the 1st down to 2nd (well, attempted). About $3K later, I was informed that the issue was caused by a shift fork that fatigued and cracked, because the $6 pin that fixes it in place had sheared.

Being a materials engineer, I looked at the fracture under the microscope and yep, it was a fatigue failure (if you really want to know). I took some pictures and sent a polite letter to Porsche saying that, you know, even though the car was 13 years old, it only had about 30K miles on it, so sh-t like this should not have happened, what with the German quality and the attendant expectations.

Porsche customer service Directorate responded pretty quickly, and (also politely) pointed out that the car WAS 13 yo, and, therefore, any and all expectations of Porsche stepping in and easing the financial pain are ludicrous. If it were GM, I would have understood, but - it is, after all, Dr.Ing. Porsche product, and I somehow expected better.

So, this is what I am wondering - in this day of modern Internets, is it possible to apply pressure on them? I know that, say, justifiably disparaging comments on Facebook or Yelp tend to bring (some) results from retailers or restauranteurs. I honestly think that this kind of failure is something of an outlier (again, 30K miles!!) - and the replacement part (for the failed fork) actually looks different (without analyzing the alloys, I suspect that Porsche improved the design to increase the material "longevity" and reduce the susceptibility to cracking).

Any thoughts as to whether this (the PR pressure) is doable? Too lunatic?

ChaseN

???

LOL

That's about as likely as Porsche putting the 993 back into production...

Think it's "not right" somehow because its Porsche? Try calling Ferrari and telling them something broke on your 355...or Lambo...or Rolls...or...well you get the point. It's a 13 year old car. You're on your own.

nile13

Are you kidding? Did you actually buy this car for its reliability?

Seriously, they are not reliable cars. I am not aware of any European car that is reliable. We live with it. When things get egregious and self-destructing main harnesses cause fires or convertible roofs fly open because of faulty latch motors, the company grudgingly does a recall. They replace the faulty motors wit new faulty motors and call it a day. When the new motors fail in about 2 years you are on your own.

ChaseN

^^^

Fix it and get on with life. There is no OEM out there that's going to step in and save the day when something breaks on your 10-years-out-of-factory-warranty car.

You hear something new everyday...

Leon993

I disagree. German cars are known for their reliability and this guy makes a good point. For the premium prices new Porsches command, so too should there be premium service for them. The should stand by their product, but they dont, and that is why I drive a 993 and not a plastic weak *** 997.

nile13

German cars have never been known, are not known and most likely will be know for their reliability any time soon. Anyone who watched Lexus and Infinity take a huge chunk of luxury market in early 90s will understand why. Anyone who owned a Toyota and a Honda would also understand.

German cars are somewhat durable. The two are not to be confused. Your own comment about a "plastic 997" leads me to believe that you are confusing the two.

The point is that reliability has never been a priority in European cars for a number of reason. The most obvious of which is that cars don't generally have to be used daily with no alternative the way they do in US. Instead cars are owned much longer and serve somewhat different functions. They place priorities on driving experience, durability and a few other things. With varying levels of success, especially when it come to wiring and anything rubber and plastic.

NineMeister

If you're lucky, Porsche may send you a new $6 pin to replace the one that broke....

I have sympathy but you need to get real about a car so far out of warranty. Equate the cost of repairs in with the zero depreciation you are enjoying in comparison to a new 911 Cab that is still in warranty - I'm sure you will be better off where you are now.

Henry964

I very much agree with this comment, my 1993 964 has had and still has lot´s of electrical problems, there are many japanese cars here from same year and they are usually much more reliable than my 964....would I prefer to drive a japanese car?, not a chance, even my DD is german

maestromaestro

I do get the point. It IS a 13 yo car. I have had it fixed - and it did cost me $3K.
German cars ARE expected to be reliable, when it comes to the powertrain. I think that some of those who commented are thinking in terms of "generic" cars, which this one ain't.

And, any company would not want negative publicity - Porsche included. So, they will not recall all 993, but I was thinking that they may soften up as far as MY car is concerned...

That was the thought.

Gunter

All good points pro and con.

A lot depends on the type and year and how many features a car has.
The more complicated stuff is added, the more can go wrong.

Reliable?
Yep, a Honda.
Old Swedish Volvos. Owned 7 of them, 122, 142, 242 over the years because they were tough and reliable. Either carburetors or Bosch K-jetronic.

Still have a 245 wagon with the bullet-proof B21 engine, 300.000 km with the same engine, never opened and doesn't burn oil.

It is hard to believe that some Porsches need to have valve guides replaced after 30-40k miles or the synchros in the transmission acting up after ~60k.

The 5-speed transmission in my Honda (200k km) and the 4-speed plus overdrive in the Volvo (300k km) shift better than the 993 with only 100k km (60k miles).

Old Volvos are tough. I've driven in minus 50 Celcius in Northern BC and in 110 Fahrenheit in Southern CA with these old tanks and have a great respect for Swedish engineering.

Mike J

You CAN apply pressure and get things done - but you might need a few things you don't have. You do not have a current warranty, and your is not a common problem.

An example is my rust problem I had with my Targa's top - below is the thread I started and used to push Porsche to do a repair that they did not want to do. It took months and LOTS of work (including lawyers), but eventually I got them to provide me with an entire new top, shipped via airfreight from Germany BUT I was still within the 10 year rust warranty. I received the top with ONE day left!!

https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...n-porsche.html

This ended up being a major deal, I personally talked to the CEO of Porsche Cars North America (at that time Peter Schwarzenbauer) and this petition was the catalyst that made them move. The top's value was, at that time, over $22,000.

In your case, you are NOT in warranty, not even close. Its a repair that does not happen often. We would have a larger chance (still close to zero) at petitioning for the SAI issue to be be fixed, or valve guide wear.

So, it's an idea but one that will not go anywhere. Since this time, management has changed at Porsche as well, and I am not sure of the political environment, but I bet its even worse for endeavors like this.

Cheers,

Mike

JPP

To get some perspective, you should go over to the Cayenne forum and search 'Coolant Pipe' ... or 'Cardan Shaft' ... or 'Coil' or just read the sticky on warranty repairs... or just pm Lewis/Larry

ChaseN

Just curious, what makes you feel that you are entitled to Porsche doing something about it?

maestromaestro

Since you are curious, here it is: I don't think that I am entitled, I was pondering if a failure such as that (which has to do with design and materials selection) is something that should not be expected on a well-built car with relatively low mileage. In my perception, these are reasonable points. If houses get 10 year structural warranty, or Hyundai offers 10 year powertrain warranty (and that would likely be close to 100K miles), then Porsche should (again, IMHO) issue a "mea culpa" on these.

Howzzat?

nile13

Aaaaaahhhhhhaaaaahahaaaaa.... Getting a German company to admit that anything breaks for reasons other than "operator error". Thanks for a good laugh on a Saturday night.