Maniac28

Hi all! I am new here and I have a somewhat funny, somewhat sad story for you.

I have owned a Mazda MX-5 Miata (06) for about 4 years. Great car, reliable, handles well. I went into the Nissan dealership to test a 370Z that they had on special, it was a 2010 they were trying to clear out. Anyway, I liked the car, but we couldn't agree on a price.

They started to tell me about this Porsche they had received. Apparently, an older gentleman from the area traded it in because he could no longer get in and out of it easily. It was a 1999 C2, one owner (I have the carfax), mint condition. Now, at that point, I really didn't know much about Porsche's (big mistake, right).

So I did some homework, came back and drove the car again. Ever since the first test drive, the car made a knocking noise from the rear end while at idle. I knew it wasn't right. Everyone at the dealer including the master tech gave me the run around, saying that all expensive sports cars do that (total BS, I know!). They just wanted me to buy the car and leave. Little did they know I am not an idiot or sucker, I am a motorcycle mechanic, I know a thing or two about engines. I thought it might be one of the cats ratting, but since it passed smog with flying colors, I knew it wasn't that.

They said that if I bought it, they would put a warranty on it for me, and fix any problem, if there was one (which they denied). Here was my mistake - I loved the car so much from the test drives, that when they quoted me a good deal on it, I signed the papers (I did make sure to get the warranty). I traded in my perfectly functioning Miata - biggest mistake of my life.

So, yesterday they tell me it is ready to pick up. Now, I knew there was a problem, the noise was getting worse. They still denied. The master tech who was supposed to meet with me, was mysteriously gone home for the day (he was there, they just lied to me, I found out later).

As I am pulling out of the driveway of the dealership, the clacking sound from the rear got much worse, and the car died and would not restart. I believe the engine seized. I believe the IMS bearing has failed! They push the car back to the dealer, give me a loaner, and I start to express my frustration to the dealership. They have lied to me every step of the way and insulted my intelligence. They are a Nissan dealer, not Porsche, why on earth they can claim to know that this noise from a 911 is normal, is outrageous to me! But that's what they claimed.

I found a sound clip on this forum of a 996 that had the IMS failure. It sounded exactly like this car I bought. So I am pretty sure that's what has happened.

Here is where I stand. I am going to ask for my Miata back, I don't want anything more to do with this dealer or with this particular car. It's not that I don't love the 996, but this whole situation has me sick to my stomach. The good news is that they have to fix whatever is wrong, which in my opinion is going to mean a whole new engine from Porsche.

Now, if the car is sent to a Porsche mechanic and receives a new engine, do you all think I should still take the car? My inclination is to get my Miata back and end this whole nightmare right now.

Thanks for any advice. I am so stressed out over this, kicking myself for being such an idiot, and mad at the dealer. This is like a bad dream. Don't tell me I am an idiot for buying it, I know that much already. But fortunately for me, it's under warranty and didn't even make it out of the dealer before seizing.

C4CRNA

Do you have a picture of this car?

Ray S

Tell the dealer you'll honor the transaction if they install a new motor under the warranty they agreed to (I assume you have that in writing).

Problem solved.

chsu74

+1

Maniac28

I promise everyone, if this dealer does not resolve the problem for me, I will be posting pics of the car, the VIN number, the dealer info, the info on all their staff... I will cause a PR nightmare for them if they do not treat me honorably. I am a marketing director, I know all the local media in my area. I can be their worst nightmare if they decide to screw me over.

Hopefully I will not have to resort to that. I have to give them a chance to make it right.

My concern is that they will attempt to have the work done by a sub standard shop using sub standard parts. This is a Porsche, for the love of god, you either do it right or you don't do it.

RF5BPilot

A '99 that you like, that you got at a good price...that would now have a new motor......seems like it could be a stroke of luck. I would press for a repair rather than trying to reverse the deal.


Reword your story....

I bought this car that really seems great. I got a good price. We knew there was a problem with the engine, but they arranged to put in a new motor before I ever drove away in the car. So, now I have the car I wanted, at a ggod price with a new motor (with a warranty!). I'm a genius.

Randy V

If you came here looking for sympathy, well, you came to the wrong place. You knew better but ignored your common sense.

You should have made your first post here BEFORE you bought the car.

Lesson learned, hopefully.

Best of luck in resolving this.

ivangene

you lost me at Mazda....best of luck

Marc Gelefsky

So, Dealer takes in a car with a bad motor and sells it with bad motor and warranty, for all intents and purposes this is scamming the Insurance company.

As long as you get your new motor and the warranty did not cost you anything than you did OK.
As for the dealers ethics? well..what else is new?

Tom M

If the car was right in every other way and the dealer will honor the warranty with a factory replacement motor instead of something pulled from a scrap yard then I'd say stick it out.

What exactly does the warranty say as to who/where the warranty work is to be performed? If it's the dealer you bought the car from the try to get the deal undone. If it's a place that you and the warranty company agree on then try to move forward.

Maniac28

Not looking for sympathy. I did ignore my common sense. I fell in lust with this car when I drove it. I was blinded. I feel like the worlds biggest idiot right now.

I still think the dealer has fault in this, and they should be ashamed of selling me a defective car while lying to my face. Thank god I got a warranty from them. And thank god it seized in their parking lot, now two months from now.

I didn't find out about this forum (and IMS, etc) until after I bought the car, unfortunately.

I will let you all know how it turns out.

inviktus

Really sorry to hear of your troubles.

My opinion is that if you can stay on top of them and make sure the engine they use is properly documented as either Porsche reman or new (i.e. not a used motor from a salvage yard), then stay with the car. If you can't get documentation, then you're 100% right in assuming that they're going to cheap out and cut every corner. They've already shown that their ethics are zeroed out.

The caveat is that if you're not going to be able to get the bad taste out of your mouth regardless of the quality of the motor they use, then try and get out of the car. A Porsche is not a rational purchase, it's an emotional one; if you won't deeply love the car after all is said and done, then it's not the right car for you. Get your Miata back, and if your heart is still in it, then go after another 996.

Best of luck to you, no matter what you end up doing!

RF5BPilot

Yes...a more strategic approach might....might....have been better. But you could have bought a perfectly running & maintained '99 -- and 200 miles later, have the same thing happen.

Porsches are an emotional purchase. (clearly not logical....or we'd all be driving Japanese sewing machines....)

My dad owned 356's from the time I was about 10 years old. I really liked how well they were built, how they sounded and handled, and how unique they were.

Many years later I asked him how he got interested in them, expecting a list of logical reasons.

Turns out, after WWII he took my mom on a trip to Europe where they rented a VW. Slogging slowly up the mountains with the other small cars and trucks, he could hear in the distance a high pitched whine. Then a Porsche blasted past them at high speed. After more 356's did the same, he decided, "I gotta get me one of these...." And he did.

You can meet a future spouse almost anywhere.

Maniac28

If I do get a motor from Porsche and I can verify the work is done properly... will the new engine still be prone to IMS failure, or have they solved that? I ask because I have a lot of experience with a particular motorcycle manufacturer who builds a certain defect into each bike, and replaces bad parts with more bad parts. I've worked on hundreds of broken bikes with the same problem yet the manufacturer denies, denies. (fortunately the aftermarket has a solution).

Is this how Porsche is as well?

soverystout

Wow! What a story.
Nothing less than a new motor would satisfy me at this point. Keep in mind that many of these warranty companies will try to locate a used motor with similar mileage as opposed to going new.

Sorry for your troubles. I am dying to here the specs on the car (mileage/color/options/pics).

One of the folks on this forum has seen the IMS bearing go bad at 1800 miles from a guy who only drove it on Satrudays to the golf course (and he lived on the golf course).

Not using these cars seems to be the surest way to an IMS (and other) failures.