Cogito

I hate reading about problems (as we all do) because we want to believe our cars are high quality & well built and negative posts of problems sort of throw that in our faces. Have had car less than 6 months and I love it! 2006 C4 Cab. First problem (all have been minor I guess but still a pain) was faulty sensor that reported "headlights mis-aligned". Fixed at dealer - took 2 trips. Next problem was a faulty oil temp. sensor. Took 8 days (car at dealer) as the replacement sensor was bad so they had to order a 2nd one. Today the CD started playing erratically then the entire central unit went dark. It tried a few times to wake up, displayed the word PORSCHE but then went dark again. Might sound terrible to say but very glad I have a Japanese vehicle as my "spare". Never a problem, never any trouble. Am considering starting lemon law case; seems like they built my car from the salvage pile.

birdman

Sorry to hear about the issues you've experienced. Hopefully your dealer has a competent service department. I must say my '05 987 Boxster was completely troublefree for 12,000 miles. I've had my 997 for about 3,000 miles and it is trouble free to date.

SilverSteel

This is very disturbing. I was reading an interview with a lawyer that specialized in suing automobile manufacturers for poor construction leading to problematic ownership. I don't recall who the best companies were to deal with, but I specifically recall Porsche being the worst to deal with to settle problems. He stated their attitude was they can't do anything wrong. I've never had any problems with Porsches other than wind noise. I just bought my wife a new LX470 and mom a new RX330 and the build quality is really phenomenal. I can't help but compare the quality of my Porsche to Lexus and realize Porsche still has some space to close. Just to stem the tide of criticism, I'm not comparing speed or handling and recognize Porsche as a pure sports car, but boy Lexus makes a great ""luxury"" vehicle for the dough. I don't know how much work you've done with the dealer, but they are your best friend in these instances. If you are getting no where and have a significant file of repairs, you may very well have a case. I would push you hard to settle with the dealer on a new car or credit, even if you need to contact the owner. I have done this and received full puchase price toward another car (not a porsche) after owning it for eight months. Don't give up.

Riad

That's really frustrating, at least they are relatively minor problems, although annoying just the same. However, it is one of the reasons I wouldn't buy a first year production car.

1AS

I doubt that Porsche builds all the computerized and electrical sub-assemblies that go into the car. Every electronic device has an infant mortality rate, and these problems will afflict many cars, since (again I believe) the companies which supply these devices do it for more than one manufacturer.
I don't know if your state has a lemon law, but I wouldn't be hesitant to invoke it when the same thing goes wrong the third time.
I think you will find the basic engineering and construction to be sound, but the type of problem you describe is becoming increasingly common. That's why my philosophy of owenership vs. lesing is changing toward leasing. Going forward, I don't think I want ownership after the warranty is gone.

At the second time our new (leased) Audi A6 developed a malfunction of the fuel guage, I brought this up to the dealer. After the third repair, I cautioned them that the car would be going back to them permanently if there was a fourth failure. After the fourth failure, they offered 2 free lease payments and a loaner and said they would fly in a fctory technician. I declined, and took their lemon solution: They appraised my car, quoted me a best price on a brand new A6, Audi contributed an additional 10% discount off the wndow sticker of the new car, and new lease terms were worked out on that basis. So far, the new car doesn't have the electronic glitches of the old one. I suspect there was a bad batch of components. AS

YA911Fan

Unfortunately, Porsche's high quality reputation is going down hill, just like the other German manufacturers. My last 911 (996) was the worst 911 I've owned, by far. It suffered from poor build quality and it actually left me stranded -- twice.

The situation will only get worse now that these cars are loaded with networked electronic controls. We can look forward to weird intermittent problems which will require several dealer visits to diagnose and lots of money to fix.

imo, these cars will become maintenance nightmares once they're out of warranty.

ohsixx

Seems as if it is all minor stuff. Just work through it!

LVDell

I think it is hit or miss with the cars. MOST cars do NOT have the problems like yours. My 996 is just over 6 years old now and I have 60K miles on the clock and can honestly I have NEVER had a frustrating moment that would lead me to hate the brand or the car. I have also tracked the car many times over and just take good car of it.....oil changes, routine maintenance, etc.

Love my car so much I bought a Cayenne last year and love it. Later this summer I am pickinng up a GT3. I guess it is obvious how I feel about the marque. But I have to agree will what some have said....I would NEVER buy a first year car of a new line (ie, 2005 997 or 2006 997C4).

Riad

Yeah it's a shame that you had that experience.

I have 40,000 miles on my 04 C4S and the car has been rock solid. Also worth noting that the car is driven in NYC on a regular basis, so it's not all beautiful highways I'm traveling. <knocks wood>

Rob

Le Chef

Sorry you're having problems and hopefully they wil get fixed soon.

My 3 911's have been/are trouble free barring one coolant hose that decided to disconnect itself. I think there's luck of the draw and the fact that we typically only make comments about reliability when we have a problem.

rcg412

Agree with LVDell... first year cars are usually bad news...

Snoopy

I have a 2005 C2 and zero problems so far (knock on wood). Have 13,000 miles on the car. Seems like some cars show problems early on. I had a Saab once that was nothing but trouble. Ended up getting rid of it after it blew a head gasket at 35,000 miles (the last of many, many problems). Hope that your issues get resolved quickly and that everything turns out ok.

boolala

I'm not a lawyer (and don't even play one on TV) but don't lemon laws require 3 attempts to fix the same problem or the car being out of service a minimum number of days per year due to repairs (like 30 or so)? It doesn't sound like you've met the threshold. Also don't they generally stipulate that the problem has to be one that substantially affects the cars safety or drivability? Alot of little nuisance problems don't qualify although they may add up to a lot of aggravation.

boolala

I should add that the only problem I've had with mine was the in-dash player that wouldn't cough up my Audio-Digest CD. That was replaced. Also a couple of campaigns like hood latch that I was not even aware were casuing any problems. 14.5 K miles and counting.

MMA93

I have to agree the germans build quality has declined in the past decade. I used to drive a Lexus before my BMW and the difference in build quality and reliabilty is night and day. Also dealer support from Lexus is amazing. The Germans could really learn something from the japanese. Would I buy another Lexus? No probably not, they are too boring.