lvandermerwe

Designed the new addition to the Gugenheim?

Edgy01

So what you seem to be saying is that you bought the car used, and that the dealership in which you bought the car has provided an extended warranty on the car--right?

You need to document very thoroughly the number of times that the car has gone in for service against the calendar. There are specific criteria for a car to qualify under any sort of lemon law. Your individual state makes all the difference, so we can't really tell you much without that info.

It's good that you have you regional representative from PCNA involved--that means it is understood by them that there are issues.

I assume that they are giving you a Cayenne loaner?

Keep documenting, and keep calling. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

BoxsterG

You mentioned that the car spent the last 3-4 months in service. You have had the car returned to you and then had to go back to the dealer for issues each time. In addition the car spent 5 straight weeks in service and I am sure that has been frustrating. However, I would not be so quick to call the attorney. I would contact the general manager at the dealership and work your way up the chain with PCNA to resolve this issue. If Porsche accepts this as their issue they are more than likely to compensate you appropriately. In fact you stated that they have already compensated you previously, so they appear to acknowledge the issue at this time. Sometimes, people leave companies and the replacement person isn't aware of your issue at the time they take over.
Take a deep breathe and work it out through the chain of command first. Dont worry the US Justice system isnt going anywhere soon.

Canyon56

fwiw, the OP said it was a used vehicle on an extended Porsche warranty. Under the CA lemon law (which the poster cited above), used cars under warranty are eligible. The difference is that the refund or replacement value is determined differently than if it were a new car.
Anyway, the OP doesn't say where he is geographically, so it's all moot I suppose.

"The Warranty Act also applies to used vehicles that are still under a manufacturer's new car warranty. When a used car covered by a new car warranty is sold, any remaining time left in the warranty protects the car's new owner. The law covers "certified" used cars (autos with quality guarantees sold by dealers or through manufacturers' programs), resold lemons (defective vehicles that are bought back by manufacturers or dealers and then resold) and autos covered by extended service contracts.

By California law, the first time a lemon buyback is resold at the retail level, it must have one-year factory warranty to cover defects and cannot legally be sold "as is." The law requires that the car's title state that it is a "lemon law buyback" and the car must have a "lemon" sticker on the door jamb. When lemon buybacks are illegally sold "as is," the buyer still has rights under the Lemon Law."

drum19go

You've been very patient, what you can do is two things:
1. Get an auto assessor to come out and write up a present value of the car in its current state, then compare that to the same car with no issues, and the related value of that car. This will give you the replacement value without the issues of the same vehicle.
2. Have your attorney send the GM of the dealership a letter that includes documentation on every issue to-date (you can get this list from the dealer, I'm sure), and ask for full replacement value of the car from the dealer via your attorney. They are always interested in getting another car off the lot, so they may just go out and find a comparable vehicle and do a straight-up swap (you'd need to redo the financing, but the cost would essentially be the same to you). If they balk at the total value (as you've driven the car, added miles, and reduced some of the value) you may need to take the lower 'replacement value' of the car either in a payoff or trade, in which case you'd need to pay the difference to do a payoff.

Either way, you need to decide what you want to do: if it's to get rid of the car (with a car with this many problems, life will not get easier over time), you'll need to cut a deal with the dealer. Have your attorney contact the dealer and try to work things out or, if you are comfortable doing this yourself, know it'll be a rough and time consuming process (lawyers are trained to do it). If you want the car back, you want concessions/agreement as to how they'll treat the car when they have it, and what they'll give you for every day in the shop. You're paying for the car, have them cover your payments during any repair periods, plus provide a loaner. This should encourage them to either find resolution or get you a different car quickly.

FYI I have a friend that did the 'trade up' with a BMW he had that just didn't work (its stopped starting, and had to be towed multiple times from his home garage). They eventually, after enough complaining and threats to sue, gave him a replacement car of like kind.

Best of luck!

limbo

That's really interesting and must be a change to the law in the last several years.

I had a pile of problems on a CPO Acura ~11yrs ago. When I had an attorney explore my options Lemon Law was not an option as the car was not 'new.' I called American Honda so many times that I can still recite the VIN from memory...

MB

Canyon56

The piece I quoted above is from the 2001 statutes. There was also a new law establishing the California Car Buyer's Bill of Rights covering both new and used vehicles and was effective July 1, 2006.

fyi, here are the laws and contact info for all states:http://autopedia.com/html/HotLinks_Lemon.html

asu_lee

I would keep the lawyers out as long as possible. Use them as the very very last straw. Things get mean when they get involved.

winkingchef

Buy them a used DVD of "Dude, Where's My Car?"
This movie got Ashton Kutcher laid, so anything's possible.

limbo

That would explain it; I bought that car in '98 and went through most of the grief in '99.

MB

mattmotos

I dealt with the same exact issue... they finally changed the flywheel saying that it was causing engine vibrations tripping the light. CEL hasn't come on since! 2005 Carrera... I know you didn't want diagnosis, but this resolution seemed odd to me.

artvandelay

Thought I owed you all an update given the helpful advice. So I got my car back after the dealership had it for 5 weeks...and it still didn't feel right. I told them immediately that I didn't think it was fixed and that I was sure the check engine light would come back on. A week and a half later the check engine light came back on and it was back at the dealer. Guess they finally realized there was nothing else left to replace and the car is now getting a replacement engine (finally!).

I didn't ever end up getting a lawyer - us Canadians aren't particularly litigious. Question for those who have had engine replacements under warranty...what warranty on the engine were you offered? Dealership is telling me that replacement engine is only covered up to end of my extended warranty, which is about 6 months away. They said 2-year warranty on engine only applies when customer pays for the engine.

Also interesting to have read some of the previous stories about engine replacement on 2005 cars...seems like pretty cut and dried situations. Mine was a bit different where the car continued to drive, albeit underpowered, and the diagnosis was never clear (at least to this dealership).

gota911

That is correct. If Porsche pays then the part is covered for the remainder of the current warranty period. If Owner pays it is covered for 2 years from install date.

9972RS

what? no lemon laws up there? could you have asked for a new car?

Eric - Plug Guy

Not true. If Porsche or anyone else pays for it, the engine is to be covered for two years....true on any part from Porsche. Canadian law may apply, but I had a replacement engine on my '04 C4S years back, car was just out of factory warranty, and Porsche covered the entire nut, and covered the engine for two years as well.

Demand coverage for 2 years, or you could be screwed in 7 months.