I want to share my cautionary story with the entire Porsche community. I purchased a 2010 C4S with 72K miles from a Porsche dealership in Texas back on November 16th, 2019. I had a 50K budget and after much research and painstaking due diligence I decided to pull the trigger. At first I was apprehensive and concerned about purchasing a now 10 year old car with 72K miles on it; but was reassured that buying the car from an actual Porsche dealership I would have that peace of mind. I think my sales advisor's exact words were, " Our name is behind that car, so you can feel confident that it's tip-top". He sent me the clean CarFax, Spec Sheet, and service invoice for the 40K service, totaling close to 2K. I was fairly convinced that I would have at least 10K worry free miles.

So my wife and I dove to the dealership about 160 miles from our home, took the delivery of the vehicle and everything was good! I purchased the car as my daily driver, and basically put the car up in the garage over the weekend. So in less than 2 months I put around 1800 miles on the car. So I'm cruising to work last Wednesday and I get the message " Brake Pad Wear", could be a sensor, no way on God's Green Earth do I need to replace the rotors, pads, and sensors so soon after having Porsche basically run it through their certification process, without it actually being certified. So this past Saturday I take it to my mechanic and have them take a look underneath. About 5 minutes later I get the ominous, can you come look at this. Never a good sign! Not only do I need I need to replace my front brake pads, rotors, and sensors for a cool 1K I am shocked to see that there is axle grease flung everywhere. My mechanic has told me that my CV axles are broken and need to be replaced. That this was not something that just happened. So at this time I am in shock.

No way a Porsche coming from an actual Porsche dealership would allow a car to leave their lot needing new front brakes and blown front axles. So of course I text the photos to my sales advisor and he is shocked by what he sees. I was calm about the situation and expressed my concern and that i was going to give the dealership and Porsche the opportunity to do the right thing. My sales advisor told me he was going to do "everything in his power" to make me whole. The estimate for the repairs was going to be $3500. There are no non- OEM axles, so the parts and labor alone for that was $2500. I was assured as early as this afternoon that the dealership was going to do the right thing and it was just a matter of working out the logistics with my mechanic and getting them paid. Around 6:00 this evening I get a text from my service advisor informing me that sorry, the brakes were in safe working order when the car left and that they were only going to replace the CV boots, and that if the shop was insistent on replacing the axles then they would cover half as a good will warranty.

Apparently they have had a change of heart and I'm on the hook for at least half if not more of repairs that I feel should have been dealt with before the car left the dealership. I have been buying and selling cars for 20 + years, from individuals and dealerships and have never, ever had a car need $3500 worth of repairs or any repairs for that matter after 1800 miles and less than 2 months. It does not happen, and is almost unheard of as far as I am concerned. So my cautionary tale to anyone buying a used Porsche that is not being covered a warranty, get a pre-purchase inspection. I was foolish to think that even a Porsche dealership selling a car that has their name and reputation attached to it would not require my own pre-purchase inspection. I took their word for it, that the next service I would be doing is the 10K oil change. Not the case.

This is my first and last Porsche, this experience has soured my idea of the brand and left a bad taste in my mouth. Attached are the photos my mechanic snapped this Saturday. I am not naming the dealership or names. I even gave the dealership all high marks in the survey that Porsche North America sent me to complete. The pen is mightier than the sword, so I will be sending a letter to Porsche North America detailing my experience. I am shocked that they would allow $3500 to tarnish their name and reputation. I gave them the opportunity to do the right thing and correct a problem that was obvious. People make mistakes and shouldn't be punished for them; but they must pay for them. Let this be a lesson to really do your due diligence when purchasing a used Porsche. I will keep everyone apprised of the situation.

 

Moving this to the 997 forum where it belongs.

Sorry for your issues. I didn't read the whole post; it might be a good idea to use paragraph breaks to make it easier to read.

 

Sorry that this happened. Thank you for posting this. Hopefully it will end up resolved.

I am mystified that buyers continually think that Porsche is any different than any other company in the world. Or that a Porsche dealership is any better than any other business. Just because they make cars we all love does not mean that they are above board. Porsche as a company is not. And the dealerships are not either. Its 2020 and business is business. Thats it! We have money they want. That's all there is to it.

 

Did you do a PPI prior to purchase?

 

Axles are broken? Um... not sure of this. The boots are cracked and flinging grease .... not uncommon and merely requires repacking and replacement of the boot. It is, however, a tedious, messy, and expensive job. Non-oem axles? I never heard of this.... how does he know? What brand is installed?

Something is fishy. Why have you not taken it back to the dealer and let them just remedy the whole situation. Why an independent? Personally I would not raise the issue with PCNA until the dealer has a chance to inspect and fix it all. You will just tick them off before work is done. Assuming this car left the dealer in not great shape is the "policy" of this dealership is a bit of a stretch... maybe their tech cut corners. Employees can be ... well ... we all know about that one.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

 

I agree with Bruce. I suspect your CV boots need replacing, which is a big-ish job but not a lot of parts. I think Bruce misunderstood your point about non-OEM axles. I think you meant they said there are no non-OEM replacement axles? Again, I don't think they can say the axles are bad looking at the outside of a boot. I just posted about a failed C4S CV boot having a loose clamp and throwing grease around. I don't think you should stress about the axles being bad unless they take them apart and prove it. Make them replace the boots and regrease the CV joints and I bet you will be fine and no cost. The brakes ... that seems somewhat bad faith.

my post this week on leaking CV boots: https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...t-leaking.html

 

Sorry you are going through this and completely agree with your conclusions. I bought all my 911's for the engineering, if all I had to go on was dealer service and their management ethics I'd never buy another one.

First thing I would do is figure out what really needs replacement. Are you sure the rotors need replacement and not just the pads? There are wear allowances for the rotors and if they truly are that bad then there should be an obvious large raised lip or grooves in the rotors that are visible through the rims (that should have been apparent to the dealer). Just the presence of a lip doesn't mean a rotor needs replacement. There are usually wear indicator "divets" drilled in the rotor contact area, how do they look? Also, it's not clear to me from your post what is being replaced due to the CV joints. Can they simply pull the halfshaft, repack the joint, and replace the boot? Is the claim that the whole CV joint needs to be replaced and if so what is the justification for that? CV boots split and are repacked and replaced all the time.

As to parts OEM replacements can be found at places like FCP Euro often for one-third of Porsche dealer prices. Don't make a bad experience worse by just handing over the credit card. Do some research to figure out what you really need so you can deal with this fully informed. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Edit: Looks like Bruce and TheTorch were thinking along the same lines while I was typing. These guys are sharp, it's good advice!

 

Sorry to hear about the disappointment.

It is a good lesson for all. PPI from an Indy, even when buying from P Dealer is advisable. CPO cars no so much, but all used cars without warranty PPI is a valuable tool.

 

Hey guys, I am simply going to chalk this up to "stuff happens". Nobody is going to feel sorry for me, or anyone else that is able to purchase a Porsche or any other high-end vehicle. Plenty of bigger issues people are facing in the world right now! My tale is more cautionary than complaint. I made a huge assumption and financial blunder by thinking that because I was purchasing a used Porsche from a Porsche Dealership that i was immune from needing a pre-purchase inspection. Don't make the same mistake I made! A pre-purchase inspection would have uncovered the CV issue as well as the brake wear. I would have either negotiated the sale price or walked away all-together with the knowledge of the pre-purchase inspection. My mechanic who I trust more than these yahoos told me that because there was no way to know how long the axle grease had been spewing out it was best to just replace the axles. They needed to remove them anyway, so I went ahead and approved the work. I'm not sure I have ever replaced pads without changing out the rotors as well. Bottom line, if you choose to drive these expensive vehicles you better have the money to repair them when stuff goes bad or have the backing of the factory warranty. If I ever decide to drive another Porsche, I am going to lease and after 2 or 3 years turn in the keys are run. LOL. I picked up the vehicle on Friday and paid the $3600 bill and the next day drove it to the Lexus dealership and drove away with a 2019 CPO ES300h. I have a 6 year unlimited bumper to bumper warranty. I disclosed the repairs that were made and decided after Porsche refused to make me whole that i was going to trade the car in. Let me tell you guys, I lost my *** on this car; but gained peace of mind and I can't put a price tag on my sanity! These are fantastic cars and don't let my experience deter anyone from thinking about getting into one, just do your due diligence and protect your investment.

 

I assume the "yahoos" you are referring to are the Porsche dealership and not us?

If you trust your guy then it's hard to argue with and he's there and we're not. Not what I'd do but I'm such a tightwad my wife says I squeak when I walk (fortunately she is too so it works out well). Good luck and these truly are great cars, once this is behind you I hope you truly enjoy it! Thanks for posting your experience.

Update: Since the OP apparently never learned to use the carriage return keyboard function I didn't realize he had traded the 911 in for a plush-bottom cruising sedan. Kudos to those who were able to decipher it. Starting to think he actually may have been referring to those of us who wanted to help him save three grand as yahoos. I've deleted my smiley face above and replaced it with a angry face as an act of defiance.

 

In the spirit of accuracy, the boots exist to keep dirt and water out, not to keep grease in. ;-)

 

Oh brother... you bought a 10 year old 72k mile Porsche and laid your trust in a dealer... there's your first mistake. Did your extreme painstaking due diligence include a PPI? Expecting them to honor any type of repair after 2k miles is your second mistake. If you've been buying and selling cars for 20 years, then you'd know to at least look at the condition of the wearable items ON YOUR OWN, and also insist on seeing the car on the rack before you buy.

Also, if your axles were truly broken, you would have messed up steering and acceleration and probably loud noises. The boots need to be redone, there's very likely no need to replace the axles. Brakes and rotors are whatever - an afternoon in the garage with a 6 pack and they're done.

Enjoy the Lexus hybrid.

 

Good grief.

The CV boots should have been caught, I'd think when that dealer bought the car. Brakes are consumable items, no big deal there.

High-end cars have high-end problems. This wasn't even a high-end problem. I would have taken the half-off half-shafts, that's pretty generous actually! Honestly, what were you thinking buying a 4-wheel drive car with 72k miles on it, that probably cost $150k new?

Enjoy(?) your CPO Lexus. I bet it is a lot like floating on a squishy Toyota shaped cushion. But it has a warranty, which seems to be your biggest worry. Did they get you 72-month financing too?

 

I had two CV boots fail in short succession soon after buying my car. Wasn’t the dealers fault - they’re essentially a wear item and my car had high kms. The axles will be fine, your mechanic is taking the ****.

Brakes being worn is frustrating, I’d have expected a PPI to pickup the fact they were almost done. But again, a wear item and something easily assessed by a buyer using their eyes when they’re looking over a prospective purchase. Also a pretty easy DIY job and not overly expensive if you use parts bought online and go after market.

i wouldn’t write off buying a Porsche ever again, but do go in eyes wide open and never trust a car salesman.

 

Well, thank you for sorting it out for the next guy! I'm not sure I could go 100% OEM full axle replacements and Rotors knowing I was trading it in on a Ricer the next day.

Couple boots, a pass on the lathe, and Some EBC Yellow pads would have had you confidently back on the road for 1/8th of your outlay.

Good on Ya.