85percent

hmmm.. more boxster engines biting the dust...


http://forums1.roadfly.org/porsche/f...6061307-1.html

Cloud964

some people are just stupid in saying that its normal for engines to fail at that low miles. IT IS NOT OK !!! We pay premium price for a premium car and we expect no less !! Don't be a sucker for the name. Porsche should do more to produce a better product and to protect that intangible prestige of the brand. Engine failed at 20K ? 30K ? Come on, a 70's alfa probably did better.

deliriousga

Sorry to hear about your Boxster. Hopefully the new engine will do you better.

I guess I'm kind of on the fence with this one. There are so many factors that can lead up to an engine failure, but at the same time it shouldn't happen as often as reported with a certain production span.

No offense AlpharettaRK, but personally I think most (not all) problems people have with any Porsche is they do drive it like a Corolla...that is, when they have it out of storage. These cars were made to be driven and driven hard, not sit around drying up. There was a question in the Tech section of Panorama a few months ago from someone worried about driving over 3K rpm on a regular basis...why in the world did they buy a Porsche?!! Jump over to the 928 forum and poke around and you'll find that most of the daily drivers, even though they're 20 years+ old, have far less problems than the ones with 2-5K miles/year. As for Porsche in general, I have less trouble with my 18 year old 928 than I do with my 8 year old Dodge and have never had a problem with the Boxster (but it was not built in the time frame you guys mentioned and I'm hoping/praying I don't end up with the same problem.)

Another thing is most Boxster owners are not that interested in the car itself, just want have the status symbol. They put their faith blindly into the dealer or a mechanic to do a good job and don't look at anything between services. Sadly, alot of the mechanics (even at dealers) know less about my Boxster than I do. I know these two things don't apply to most people on this forum, but in general could drive the numbers up.

As far as Porsche is concerned, if this problem is more prevelant than with their other models, they should take care of it and keep their good name clean. There is one thing I think Porsche dropped the ball on that may have made a difference for those with engine failures due to the RMS problem. Instead of putting so much emphasis on style and giving us a useless analog speedometer because it's symetrical in size, it sure would be nice to have the oil pressure guage back. Also, if they can have the computer shut the engine down or keep it from revving over 7K rpm, why can't it monitor the oil pressure and shut the engine down if it goes below the tolerated level?

Just my 2 cents.

85percent

yep. I agree. I think Porsche makes unbelievable machines, dont get me wrong. but it really puzzles me as to why there wasn't a recall, or how such a premium company would oversee such a large problem.

After reading the link I posted above, I noticed someone stated that there was a four month period (between 98 and 99) where Porsche made faulty Boxster engines. I'm 90% mine falls in this time frame so I think I'll go back to Porsche tomorrow.

How many other people have actually had Porsche replace their Boxster engine for free (besides labor)??

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Sonic dB

If any of you think this is "tiresome"...then dont read it. No one is forcing you to.

For those of us considering purchasing new Boxster S's (987s), we welcome these discussions and encourage them. Its all about knowing all sides of the coin.

PaulStewart

Porsche has always punished wimpy drivers, drive it hard, it will treat you well. I've been beating the $hit out of Porsches since 1974 and I haven't blown one up yet.

Daniel Dudley

I hear that the 2000 and newer Boxters are the ones to have. My experience with Porsches is that buying one is like a crap shoot, and I love the cars. A good one is well worth having. A bad one can usually be sorted, but it can be like going to Iraq. Just when you think youv'e won, the trouble starts. I'm not a ''Porsche uber allen'' kind of guy, and I'm not into making the engineers right. These are great cars, but if a guy or gal has trouble and can't bring it here, where should they go? The dealers are into making money , the factory is posting record profits, and private mechanics are frequently deficient in skill. Finding a mechanic you can trust is number one, and going with his reccomendation is prehaps not a bad thing. I would say that purchasing a factory rebuilt engine with warranty at least gives you some recourse if anything goes wrong. As an aside, the differential on my truck went out two weeks and 250 miles past warranty. I went to the top, and they would not fix it. I went to a competing brand after 20 years of loyalty and never looked back. Porsche doesn't seem to need credibility as long as they have the aura of German performance and the near fanatical backing of enthusiasts. Fixing a car out of warranty doesn't sell a new car today, But it might make you an owner for life. As for ''I don't want to hear it'', I only wish I'd heard it before I bought. But hey it's a Porsche right? What could go wrong?

Irishdriver

This is a fun thread...

Actually I agree that you have a right to expect to have a reliable car - after all we do pay enough for them. However, I also accept that I want a tuned performance motor.
The key question is where do these overlap. I wouldn't forgive a Toyota for stopping after 200,000 miles but I understood when my 356 engine cooked after just a few hundred miles.

So at what stage is it acceptable for the boxster to have faults?

If you say never please move to the Toyota forum - you're a corolla driver !!!
If you say 40,000 miles please move to the "more money than sense forum"

But where is the middle ground?

PaulStewart

Head on over to:

http://www.ppbb.com/board/986board.htm

Doug&Julie

For the record, I bought my car with 12k miles. I never tracked it or autoXd it. But I did "enjoy" it (ifyaknowhatimean) every day for two years straight, including winter driving. (It WAS my only car). Never any RMS issues. Clutch is still very good. (..which I think is an indication of smooth driving...ahem...)

For the most part, I've driven every other car I've owned the same way w/o problems. (OK, I didn't drive my 911s ALL winter...but on any decent day through winter.) I'm not trying to bash the brand or the car here, but terminal motor failure at 29k is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE for any car, much less a Porsche. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Period.

Ray S

I agree with Paultine. I feel your pain and I think that you should take the problem to Porsche, but with a small amount of research on your own you could have figured this out.

Where were you on this board during all the time that you were enjoying this car? Could you imagine what kind of place this would be if each of us only chose to come here with our problems and complaints?

My second comment is that this should not be compaired to the RMS issues. This is a known issue that Porsche is working to fix (they are probably on their 5th seal design by now) and it is rarely terminal. By comparisons M96 engine failures are rare. 99's seem to be more prone to this problem, but again this is very rare.

Go on any "board" (yes Honda and Toyota too) and search under "Blown Engine" and you are going to get hits. It happens (and sometimes it is driver error) to all manufacturers.

Unfortunately, your car is out of warranty. Contact Porsche and see if they are willing to help (I think that they should due to the low mileage). I sincerely hope it works out for you.

Doug&Julie

If you're directing this at me, check out any of my 2000+ posts and I'm sure you'll find the bulk of them are speaking positive about the Boxster and other Pcars I've owned. In fact, I've been one of the first to jump on any newbie "looking at a Boxster and thinking to buy" to tellt hem how wonderful they are and how they're really quite reliable. (..boy do I feel stupid now..)

Again, I'm not here to bash the brand or the car...I still hope to own a brand new Boxster when I can afford one (which will be YEARS from now it looks like), I'm just here to agree with 85percent and show some support for another who was bitten by Porsche's "efficiencies".

Ray S

Doug,

I was directing my comments to the first poster not you. I have enjoyed your posts on this board and PPBB. Sorry about your RMS woes, but you definately seem to have a good attitude about the problem.

Doug&Julie

No problem Ray. I know you've been right there with me on recommending Boxsters to others. And I certainly wouldn't discourage people from buying a Boxster. I guess now I'm just in the "get one w/a warranty" camp.

My brother loves his '03...so it's fun to hear how much he's enjoying it. It's brought him into "the club" and now he's looking at other Pcars for future purchases.

FYI...I never had any RMS problems. Just the blown motor. I'm not sure where all the RMS talk started...like you said, they have (next to) nothing to do with the blown motors. I WILL say that adds to my frustration...I thought I had such a good car because I never had any RMS issues.

But no...

85percent

The thing is, I just found this forum. It's not that I didn't want to be a member until I had a problem. I was a member of Boxa.net for almost a year now because it was the only boxster forum I could find. When I purchased my S2k, I became a moderator of hondaswap.com. So I am a participator and enthusiast of the cars I drive- not a "where's the help only when I need it" type of guy.

Anyways, I spoke to 1-800-Porsche customer service today and the guy was very polite and empathetic about my situation but clearly informed me that Porsche would not take any part in helping me -- he stated that it was a 'good-will' gesture sometimes offered by dealerships (which is what most of you said)...

What I'm wondering is, would I need to go back to the dealership that I purchased from? Can I go to any Porsche dealer? What would I say?

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