Woodman71

Looks like a Christmas ornament.

Gonzo911

I would have preferred the engine numbers not match. Then I'd call the Attorney General's office and have them show up with a subpoena to check the number on the other 996 on the lot.

However, now that we know the engine in question is the correct engine, there is little doubt that the shop screwed up. At a minimum, call your credit card company or bank and stop payment on the $800 you paid them.

The next call should be to your attorney...

docmirror

Well, my tin foil hat was not needed after all. And, that's a good thing.

Now - for the "E" ticket option. I have heard, but not tested that a similar year Boxster S engine will go in this car with minimal conversion factor. Is it something I am recommending? No - it is not. Will it get the car back on the road for the LEAST possible cost? Why yes, yes I think it will. The OP seems to be concerned about the financial aspect, and not so much the performance.

Go to Ebay.com. Type in "Boxster S engine", and hit search. Ask the shop if they are interested in doing the swap over.

Again, not a recommendation, but - it's a way out.

sweet victory

^

That is terrible advice in my opinion.

docmirror

Thank you.

Ahsai

Watch this video from Jake showing you how to remove the oil pan (start at 6:25). You don't even need to jack up the car. Spend $4.99 on this socket set http://www.harborfreight.com/hand-to...set-47902.html

13 bolts and 10 minutes later you have the truth.

dgjks6

Reasonableness and sanity is NOT the Rennlist way. Either start getting upset and threaten to sue everyone and makes enemies of everyone who has ever touched your car or else.

charlieaf92

What the shop did or did not do is absolutely the heart of the issue. You can't be sure unless you have someone that knows what they're doing look at it.

Dude, you're just wasting your time and giving yourself an ulcer by delaying and trying to rely on diagnosis from people on the forums. Nobody has seen it in person and nobody knows what that shop did.

You were actually just semi-convinced that the shop stole your engine and put in a broken one! Stop the madness, take it to a reputable Porsche shop and let them tell you exactly what the situation is.

Gonzo911

That's a healthy dose of logic right there...

gnat

For us on the sidelines that might have been an awesome result, but there is a long road between finding out the numbers don't match and proving they did when he dropped it off.

To me the numbers matching would say the ball is entirely in my court and I wouldn't be stuck being able to do nothing while investigations and legal battles worked their way through their processes. The fewer parties involved at this point, the better.

Cuda911

This thread is befuddling. Stuff just ain't adding up right.

Gonzo911

It's a silly discussion considering that's not what happened, but, if the number on the engine in the other 996 happened to be the number of the engine that was supposed to be in my car, well, I would imagine there wouldn't be too much investigating to do. Saving up to $20k would be worth it to me.

gnat

Once you got to that point yes, but the evidence and time needed to get the search warrant to perform such a check. In that time said car could have been sold so now you have to get another warrant for the records (if it wasn't already) and then track any sold cars down. That also doesn't account for if they sold the motor on or put it in another customer's car.

If they were bad enough to steal a motor the chances of them not doctoring records and damaging the serial numbers isn't too much of a stretch.

And if they happened to get wind of the coming storm before it hit they could do things to make it that much harder.

The whole time all of that is going on they would probably want the car and motor impounded as evidence.

Flat6 Innovations

I've had this exact same thing happen... A car pulled in the driveway after being drive from Texas for an IMSR preventative package... He pulls in the drive and his wife says she heard a noise. He told her that he stalled the car and no big deal... He though the car stalled... It was the IMS Bearing failing. He was already in a parking place, so the car stays there.

Luckily after the shop tour I told him to pull the car into our staging area, and it would not start.. Bearing failed.

Had he left, or had I been the one that started the car, I would have been blamed for that failure since it occurred while under my care, and control.

True story.

Cuda911

A couple years ago, I pulled into the parking lot of a local indy (indie?) shop, just to say hello. The shop owner said, "hey, let me hear the car with that Fabspeed exhaust," so I tossed him the keys.

Click... click... nada.

This is after I had been out driving all day, with nary an issue.

Turns out the fuel pump failed, right there in the shop's parking lot, five feet from the service bay.

Even so, I find OP's story highly implausible as it is told.