I just feel like I've been railroaded!!!! Bought my first Porsche ever in December 2021, a 2014 Panamer S E-Hybrid and BEFORE EVEN MAKING MY FIRST PAYMENT, the check engine light goes on. Apparently, I need new high voltage batteries and they're going to cost $20,000!!!!!!!! I've always wanted a Porsche and now feel as though I just met my childhood hero and he's a jerk..

Maybe I'm not Porsche material after all.....

 

Did you get a PPI?

 

What's that? And, probably not...

 

Pre purchase inspection....
never buy used out of warranty cars without one....

 

Do you have a 30-day return option? There are other Panamera's to consider that are non-hybrid...

 

This is the fear of every non-billionaire Porsche owner, that you get the one or two failures that come with a five digit price tag. It's why many here will recommend some sort of extended warranty. It doesn't happen much but when it does, it can be financially catastrophic.

Couple of things to think about - there is a long warranty now (8 years) on batteries, not sure about yours;
Many used car dealers give out 30 day power train
There is at least one aftermarket battery shop selling half price replacements if it comes to that
Someone may have known about this while selling the car, worth getting a lawyer to ask some questions?

Sorry man...I truly feel your pain, it's one of the reasons I pop in and out of Porsche every 5-10 years because the worry adds up. Each generation seems to have one or two of these type of expensive failures that you have to worry about.

Tell us more about where you bought it, etc.unless you are just looking for sympathy, in that case, you have it.

 

I really feel for you, my friend. Sorry you're in this ugly situation

 

Ouch! That is horrific.

I purchased my own 2014 Hybrid last year. It is a CPO car and had its battery replaced about a month before I bought it.

It is inexcusable, downright criminal, what Porsche is charging for replacement units. We are talking about a 9.4 kWh battery for which they are gouging customers at a price higher than replacing the much longer lasting 60-100 kWh unit found in Teslas. The Panamera battery is only slightly larger than what is found in a Prius with a replacement cost of under $5k.

 

Well said!

 

Thanks for replies all. I bought this at Cars of Tampa down here in Florida. It's beautiful and I love it so much, that's why this pains me. I went from Cloud 9 to whatever the opposite of Cloud 9 is.

What bites is I didn't even want a hybrid. Just kinds of fell in my lap. It literally sold itself based on how much I loved the look.

I did some research and, yes the batteries look like they may be covered under warranty. I didn't get an actual quote yet from Porsche dealership yet. Hey, do I need to go to the dealership? Can another shop do it? Maybe save a few bucks. I haven't called the dealership where I bought it yet, maybe they'll feel sorry for me, LOL. Doubtful...

Lastly, I felt this car couldn't possibly be in too bad of shape. It only has 22,000 mile on it!!!! I guess I was wrong with that assumption.....

 

Definitely try to get it covered under the hybrid battery warranty if hopefully the 2014 model also has the 8-year coverage that recent models do. That would be your best bet. Doesn’t hurt to contact a Porsche dealer and talk to a service advisor, they’ll try to help you and if they can get it covered under warranty, they’ll do it (either way, they get paid…).

Have you talked to the dealer you bought it from? They probably advertise that they do an inspection and represented no major issue. But given how quickly this issue sprang up, you can argue that they had previous knowledge (especially if they claimed to have inspected the vehicle) and should have at least disclosed the issue to you. If they concealed, you can take legal action. You can at least talk to them and see if they’ll help you resolve the issue (maybe give you a small refund off what you paid).

 

Sorry this is happening to you, but you nailed your screen name!

 

All in all, if this 20,000 ish bill makes the car 100% and good to go for the next decade or so, it's not all that bad I guess. There's only 22,000 miles on it. I paid 51,000, so the overall price would be 70,000. Not a good deal, but not the end of the World......

 

Only the dealer can handle it as a warranty claim if it is still covered, so no point in going anywhere else. A call to dealership with your VIN should determine if it is indeed covered. If so, there will be a definite silver lining to this story as you will have a brand new high voltage battery in there. If not, then your best bet is to work with the seller and / or lawyer up. Don't just roll over. Even with the low miles, you paid top dollar for this car and it should not be in need of major repair on day 1. You paid considerably more than I paid for mine from Porsche dealer with CPO warranty.

Assuming the best and you do get this taken care of, you may want to consider some sort of service contract on your Panamera, especially since it is not CPO and you did not do a PPI. I do most work on my own cars and am normally not a fan of "extended warranties". However, the Panamera is .complex and there are many potential high-dollar repairs on these that could pay for the service contract on a single visit. I have no experience with them, but I hear Fidelity mentioned often.

 

I would definitely pursue what SS22 said. Maybe you can at least get them to chip in.

Also, search for some independents in your area, they may do the replacement much cheaper than the stealer.