FazedChicken

PCNT and Downtown both say it was just a fluke. Once the broken engine is sent back to Germany, the dealer says they usually never hear back. And they're not allowed to investigate locally at the dealer - Germany wants it all sent back. I wish I could find out since it would give me peace of mind about this potentially happening again.

FazedChicken

Glad to hear they're not screwing everyone over PCNT is not my usual dealer, so that could be part of the reason. I have no history with them but when I requested a tow from 1800-PORSCHE, they said PCNT was the only dealer they could send it to because of distance from Mosport.

At this point it's all done and the car is back at home. I wanted to bring awareness to this issue on a 718 and my experience getting it resolved. If I was a potential owner this is something I'd want to know about so I hope it can help someone out!

FazedChicken

Yeah I've heard this. If you buy a new GT car from them every few years then Porsche Canada will take care of you. Too bad because I was about to place an order for a GT4 this summer and then stay in the GT club for the rest of my life probably. I'm sure they'll find someone else to sell cars to, but they've just lost a lifetime of new car sales from me. Was also planning on shortlisting the new Macan when it comes out in a couple years.

FazedChicken

I managed to get it done for ~$22k CAD out the door. I'm sure I could have looked at it more, but I reached out to 3 lawyers for advice, insurance options, researched Canadian laws for this kind of stuff. It's a grey area where the dealer can easily make claims that will sway things in their favour. It seems like in the US there are much clearer laws for this kind of stuff.

Also, didn't get the old engine. They didn't say anything about this initially and then when I asked them after the new engine arrived at the dealer they said it's not possible. Germany wants it all back exactly how it was.

Skeptikal12

If you paid for the car, and the engine isn't covered under warranty, AND you paid for a new engine - why is it that you can't have your engine back? I think it would bother me.

cstyles

That would absolutely bother me just out of principle. They make you pay out of pocket for a new engine AND they keep your old engine and ship it back to Germany without even asking you (so PORSCHE can benefit from learning about the failure that YOU paid to repair), and you get no compensation for that? Goddamn it this whole story gets my blood boiling on your behalf LOL. Jesus.

#1SomeGuy

In the automotive parts world, core charges are pretty typical and on engines they're usually into the thousands of dollars. Generally it's assumed nobody wants to pay thousands more for their engine replacement.

theiceman

anyone else think that old engine will never see the shores of the Fatherland ?

Recruiter_Bruno

Really sorry you went through all this.
To deny the claim for a simple DSC controller mod is obviously ridiculous.

I went through a much smaller ordeal with Audi on a battery issue with my B8 S4.
Purchased a new Battery from the dealer.
It failed within 6 months and because my S4 was flagged TD1 in their system they were trying to deny a battery warranty even though I purchased it myself from the parts department.
Fought it right to the top of Audi Canada (out of pure principle) and they finally agreed to give me a new battery.
I even made them deliver it to my office because of all the trouble.

I would have made a bigger deal of this before cutting a check for $22k on a car under warranty.
It does sound like you did everything possible short of taking this claim public on Social Media and local news and getting some further awareness.
As much as I love Porsche I would be really turned off by the brand if I were you.

Just as a tip... when things like this happen, Linkedin could be your best friend to get to the right people in any organization.
Find the powers that be and reach out to them directly.
One person at corporate on your side could have tipped the scale.

waltersafety

So this has been instructive . I was at Mosport in June probably saw your car on the hook.

The quick scan your car got at PCNT when they expected then confirmed a motor issue says a lot . They were looking for a way to deny the claim. IMHO that is a cultural issue for them or you had the misfortune of this landing on the desk of a ***k .

The big issue with warranty is don't cheat the house or the manufacturer. There are not loss ratios but claims are audited. One person made this call is my guess ,probably wasn't the one that relayed the decision to you ,but this made them look or feel important. Still a totally unreasonable decision considering how Porsche markets cars and the suspension /engine relationship on a stock car.

Now I'm nervous I've got 30 track days on my first Porsche a 2018 and I've butted heads with the SA who said (if you can believe it) that I wasn't spending much money on service for all the track inspections I've had . Now I've gone to an Indy .

This would finish me on the brand and I'm just getting started . Sorry for your troubles . I'm very persistent if it was me this wouldn't be the end of it . My suggestion open a trade both at the Toronto Auto Show tell your story. Oops crossing over to another characteristic.

A final thought is that manufactures will do an autopsy that engine was leverage for you too bad it got away on you . They really want to know.

LZRD GRN

I would at least go back to PCNT and see what they can do....

Speak with your rep and the sales manager.

Maybe a credit towards a new car?

I do not believe they would pass this by and I suspect they do monitor this site.

Having purchased 12 P cars from 6 different dealers, PCNT seems to have great integrity.

I do think they probably did their homework on your device, I cannot see them denying if it was a "suspension only" device.

Good luck on this!

Lemikson

Sorry to hear about your very bad experience. Thank you for sharing your experience with the forum here. Title of your post caught my attention as I am involved in the decision making process, on alike issues that affected you, just for another OEM. Very, very unfortunate development on your side. Hindsight is always 20/20 so please take all of this as my personal opinion. Without trying to oversimplify things, and assuming all you stated is factual and true:
1. PCC (Porsche Cars Canada) is a very small operation and heavily dependent on what PCA (US) directs. At the end comes Mothership in Stuttgart and they run the show, Period.
2. Your case landed most likely on the Warranty Processing side that often acts on the "beans counting" principals. This is especially true for all German OEMs. Aftersales provided some basic fact finding advise, most likely.
3. Product Quality may haven't been involved at all in the decision making process. Neither PCC nor PCA would request engine tear down, but PQ would have brought some engineering sense to all of this.
4. You have ALL rights to service your vehicle where ever you want including DIY (Do-It-Yourself) as long as OEM or equivalent Service Parts are used and all manufacturer's guidelines are followed related to workmanship. Could be a Joe Blow Shop around the corner if you wish, and willing to live with it. If dispute arise OEM must prove you handled it wrongly if challenge gets to a court.
6 All modifications are grey area and you are definitely in a disadvantageous position due to DSC Controller, BUT PCC would have to prove in court that modification was the sole cause for a sudden and catastrophic engine failure.
7. You should have found better legal advise. Not that I know in very detail but I believe that prospect of forking out $25K out of your own pocket could have landed a very skilled lawyer attention.
8. Agree with what LZRD GRN is saying. Revisit the case and request to open up a President Case through their Customer Relations.
9. CR is your only friend at this time and speak only to them. Threat them with prospect of opening up President Case with PCA if you don't get traction with PCC CR.
10. It will cost them less money to compensate you to a certain degree than to go to court with you.
11. Contrary to popular believe fine print actually has a very little weight in the court. OEM must prove that it is "more likely than not" that the DSC Controller is the sole reason for the engine failure. "Beyond reasonable doubt" is a criminal law term and has nothing to do with this type of disputes.
12. To prove "more likely" is not worth the money for PCC to invest to defend this case in court.
13. I think you have a solid case, Your car was under warranty when all of this happened. Period.
14. BUT problem is you are already $$$ upside down. There is a possibility that PCC, knowing your only option is to start investing in lawyer's support through a court case, will again brush you off. Again, I would have chosen CR path for peaceful resolution.
Good luck if you decide to revisit this case. Feel free to send a PM if you want to chat more.

johnsjmc

Sorry to hear about your experience. I had a cam belt fail on a 1986 944 turbo in 1989
I had purchased the car new from Downtown Fine Cars . The car was out of warranty (2 year unlimited miles at the time) but had only 47600 km on it. I lived in London at the time so the car only got minimal dealer servicing during the warranty The first inspection on the belt was shown as 48000 in the manual. I escalated the repair to the head office and argued I was going to have it inspected at 48k but it didn't get there and I was quite quickly offered a partial repair. If I had it fixed at a p car dealer they would participate 50%.
When you were first advised of the warranty decline did you lose your cool? If you did perhaps you got somebody's back up?

moab

Lawyer here...

Sue them in Small Claims Court. You can do it yourself, won't cost a ton of money and there is a good chance they settle (i.e., by reimbursing you for the cost of the engine) to avoid precedent and/or negative publicity. Sue both the dealer and Porsche Canada. You can get payback on PCNT by personally serving the statemetnt of claim on the GM of the dealer. Video it so you can relive the experience.

https://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov....sh/courts/scc/

johnsjmc

One risk to consider with small claims is they will show up with a lawyer or several. After the hearing if they win you are likely still on the hook for the costs. That is likely several thousand if the hearing goes into a second day.
They might offer some sort of courtesy payment to avoid a hearing though.