johnsjmc

Awful lot of fuss for something so trivial. Probably covered under CPO and if not why are you so excited. It,s only a battery worth about as much as 2 tanks of gas.

VGM911

Normally, people who bring problems to this forum are welcomed with support, empathy, and sympathy.

For me, this complaining about the battery and CPO doesn't generate any of the above. My neighbor read this thread and called it whining.

Anyway, I hope that like Lazarus, the OP's car is brought back from the dead. These cars are too much fun to be laid up for any length of time! Good luck to you, sir.

Hella-Buggin'

I had to replace mine 6 months after purchasing my CPO 06 car. You just have to expect to buy little things like this when you buy used. Since buying my car I've had to put new rear tires on and a new clutch as well.

I also expect to have to do the brakes at some point.

bradyb

My '06 was still under warranty after I got it but I replaced the battery and tires (obviously at my expense) as soon as I could. Pretty simple and seems like common sense to me.

ffr2370

When I bought my 07 on CPO I noticed on the paperwork that they replaced the battery. Not sure if that was a CPO item or that the battery died while on their lot. LoOkis like a Porsche brand battery.....looks expensive.

Zipgun

Why? Cause they were either lazy, too damn cheap and could care less what happens to the car after it's sold.

In any event this is a non issue. Just buy another battery.

JackQ

Batteries do not have an expiration date! Sometimes they will last 8-10 years sometimes 3 years. The major factor determining the battery life is how often the car is driven and how often it is significantly discharged. Frequent discharging (car setting ) will effect life by causing the plates to have buildup. Replace the battery and get on with driving the car and check your whinning.

sjfehr

Valve-regulated lead-acid batteries most people have in their cars last, typically, 3-5 years under good conditions. (Wet-cells will last longer if maintained properly, but are increasingly less common due to other issues like being full of battery acid.)

If the internal voltage in a lead-acid battery drops too low (below about 12.5V), sulfation forms on the plates. This sulfation is an insulator, and reduces the cranking amps of the battery. It's a slow process and dissolves back away once the battery is recharged, but in extreme cases, over several months time, it can completely cover a plate and cause unrecoverable battery failure.

Unfortunately for fair-weather Porsche owners, these batteries self-discharge even if unplugged. A VRLA battery's shelf life is typically 6 months after leaving the factory- if not recharged during this time, they're trashed. This is also temperature dependent; every 15F over 77F halves the life of the battery- store it outside in 120F heat, and you'll kill your battery in no time. Even sitting in a garage over the winter, after a few months, the battery might not have enough juice to start the car, especially as our p-cars accelerate the process with parasitic loads for the keyless entry, anti-theft system, clock, etc. You should start the car and charge the battery on all cars at least monthly. A battery minder can help, too. Just don't overcharge- overcharging can (and will) destroy batteries, too! There's a very fine line here- if you're going to let the car sit on a trickle charger, make sure the battery minder you use is a smart one that limits trickle charge once the battery is fully charged and won't overcharge it.

Fortunately, these batteries are about $80 at Wal-Mart or any auto store and trivial to replace. You can jump-start the electronics via the terminal in the fuse box under the dash and pop the trunk that way. It's a PITA, but not the end of the world, and not worth a tow.

Graygoose997

When it comes to common sense, I guess batteries are not included.
Certainly not OEM, in this case.

I can't quite believe that neither you nor the tow driver had enough sense to use a set of jumpers and just drive the car ....

draxa

I have to say that threads like this really make me nostalgic for OCBen.........

Tuscany964

But that probably would have recharged the battery by the time he got there and then there would have been nothing to show/complain about

Clever_User_Name

So, I have to drive it 10,000 miles per year and every day (as opposed to 4 times a week and 7,500 miles oer year) for it not to drain on me? Guess I am not doing it right.

Funny enough, my BMW, which i drive the other three days a week has no such issue.

Clever_User_Name

What I've learned from this thread/forum:

1) You are not allowed to complain about anything that costs less than $500; it's just part and parcel of owning an expensive sportscar
2) There is a threshold under which all P-car drivers assume the value of the dollar and principal does not apply (somehwere above a battery and below RMS)
3) Any complaint under such threshold constitutes "whining"
4) Reading compreshension is a challenge for many, and errant assumptions abound
5) Personal attacks (see #4) are acceptable

That about sum it up? Guess I should have purchased a Nissan and/or picked a different forum - one that is less P-car advocate and more P-car owner friendly

For the record, never meant to ruffle feathers...was meant more as a tongue-in-cheek response to something i felt was not an unreasonable expectation.

No problem, i can take my questions/comments elsewhere. Was never needing validation in any event.

Good grief.

ADias

Your question/observation/complaining caused the replies you received. Your purchased a used car and yes, a battery is a wear-and-tear component and can go bad.

If you read the thread carefully, you also received excellent advice. Your problem may be less a battery issue and more an electrical cable contact issue - far more serious and covered under your CPO. And you also learned that these cars - by design use current while stopped - they run an immobilizer/alarm which uses current. If you park it long times and do not drive enough to recharge a battery, you need to use a battery maintainer - so much is stated in your users manual.

p-cardriver

Frankly I don't think the OP was off the mark. If you buy a CPO car and the battery is on the list as having been checked, then it ought to be a good battery - and the buyer should expect a year or two of life out of it at a minimum.

At the same time, recent cars including Porsches drain their batteries just sitting, and need to be either driven enough to keep the battery fully charged or plugged in to a maintainer. There seems to be a wide variation on how long some cars will sit before discharging - on my 997S ('07) I can go about a week; any longer and it needs the maintainer. Only 3 days in winter due to the colder temps and the use of more current (headlights etc) driving in the dark. My car is a DD, BTW. My wife's CaymanS ('06 original battery) can go several weeks without discharging and has never needed the trickle charger.

If I was in the OP's position I would complain about the CPO aspect of this just to make the point that CPO has to mean something to be of value and dealers should not just check off the list without being sure (many do, unfortunately, and not just Porsche dealers). Then I'd go buy a new battery and be done with it.

Finally, I think the board was a little too harsh on this thread - if this was just about buying a used car, ok. But the CPO aspect changes things, IMO.