Breaking...Porsche Boxter Engine Failure Rate 20%+? Porsche Community Enraged
11-17-2008, 10:30 PM
#30
Seriously, Mercedes is just garbage. I know many here will disagree, and we all have opinions, but mine is formed after riding and driving extensively several friends' M-B's. I completely and utterly fail to comprehend why people pay the $$$ they do unless it's almost purely badge driven impulse.
I remember a friend of mine driving his mom's 1989 MB (500E I think) back in 1992 when he and I were about 16 (just getting our licenses). THAT car was well made - from top to bottom. It was like it was carved out of a single block of granite, and even the small details, like the door locks (the ones that pop up and down) were solid metal (stainless steel or something similar), not plastic or cheap material. There was NOTHING cheap in that car or on it.
As far as modern German cars, meh...reliability is okay with BMW 3 Series, but pretty much anything else is overly complicated, prone to failure, and uber expensive to repair, even the small stuff.
I have known way too many people with nightmares with VWs to ever trust that brand personally. I'm talking down time of 1/2 the year with Golfs and such.
I had always thought of Porsche with their boxter engines as being more reliable than most modern German cars, but according to Consumer Reports (opinions differ, I know), they haven't fared so well lately, either.
I remember a friend of mine driving his mom's 1989 MB (500E I think) back in 1992 when he and I were about 16 (just getting our licenses). THAT car was well made - from top to bottom. It was like it was carved out of a single block of granite, and even the small details, like the door locks (the ones that pop up and down) were solid metal (stainless steel or something similar), not plastic or cheap material. There was NOTHING cheap in that car or on it.
As far as modern German cars, meh...reliability is okay with BMW 3 Series, but pretty much anything else is overly complicated, prone to failure, and uber expensive to repair, even the small stuff.
I have known way too many people with nightmares with VWs to ever trust that brand personally. I'm talking down time of 1/2 the year with Golfs and such.
I had always thought of Porsche with their boxter engines as being more reliable than most modern German cars, but according to Consumer Reports (opinions differ, I know), they haven't fared so well lately, either.
11-18-2008, 12:03 AM
#31
Registered User
I was a Porsche mechanic at a very busy dealer in South Florida for a few years and I can tell you that 20% is probably a pretty close estimate for all engine failures, but probably less due to a failure caused by the intermediate shaft bolt shearing off. I would say a good 10%-15% fail because of that issue. It's not just the 986 and 987's that have this problem. The 996 and 997 engines do also. We thought the issue had been solved when the first 997's were delivered beause we noticed the intermediate shaft bolt was bigger. But unfortunately we found out bigger doesn't always mean better when a brand new 997 with 500 miles on it came in running like crap.....and guess what, yep the intermediate shaft bolt was sheared off.
We had at least one to two engine replacements a week in the shop due to this problem. It became so frequent that it would be the first thing we would look for if a car came in running like crap and backfiring. The funny thing is that a lot of them would make it to the shop running still and then the engine would totally let go either right on the service drive or as we pulled it into the bay. lol It's almost as if the car was saying "I just need to make it home to the dealer."
Other than this issue the cars are pretty strong and can be easily driven as daily drivers in warmer climates. Just make sure you shell out that $4,500 for the premium aftermarket extended warranty.....more than likely it will pay itself back and then some. Although Porsche is VERY generous when it comes to helping out a customer that is out of warranty....I must admit that.
We had at least one to two engine replacements a week in the shop due to this problem. It became so frequent that it would be the first thing we would look for if a car came in running like crap and backfiring. The funny thing is that a lot of them would make it to the shop running still and then the engine would totally let go either right on the service drive or as we pulled it into the bay. lol It's almost as if the car was saying "I just need to make it home to the dealer."
Other than this issue the cars are pretty strong and can be easily driven as daily drivers in warmer climates. Just make sure you shell out that $4,500 for the premium aftermarket extended warranty.....more than likely it will pay itself back and then some. Although Porsche is VERY generous when it comes to helping out a customer that is out of warranty....I must admit that.
11-18-2008, 11:26 AM
#32
Registered
ditto for me.
Seriously, Mercedes is just garbage. I know many here will disagree, and we all have opinions, but mine is formed after riding and driving extensively several friends' M-B's. I completely and utterly fail to comprehend why people pay the $$$ they do unless it's almost purely badge driven impulse.
...
As far as modern German cars, meh...... but pretty much anything else is overly complicated, prone to failure, and uber expensive to repair, even the small stuff.
I have known way too many people with nightmares with VWs to ever trust that brand personally. I'm talking down time of 1/2 the year with Golfs and such.
I had always thought of Porsche with their boxter engines as being more reliable than most modern German cars, but according to Consumer Reports (opinions differ, I know), they haven't fared so well lately, either.
...
As far as modern German cars, meh...... but pretty much anything else is overly complicated, prone to failure, and uber expensive to repair, even the small stuff.
I have known way too many people with nightmares with VWs to ever trust that brand personally. I'm talking down time of 1/2 the year with Golfs and such.
I had always thought of Porsche with their boxter engines as being more reliable than most modern German cars, but according to Consumer Reports (opinions differ, I know), they haven't fared so well lately, either.
11-18-2008, 11:29 AM
#33
Mercedes is garbage. they know how to make nice looking cars, but have ZERO clue about making a reliable car.
rofl its funny that I've been to 3 different garage and they ALL said that Mercedes are garbage. Unusual high rate of failures, especially after the warranty period. parts are crazy expensive but they never last. LMAO.
rofl its funny that I've been to 3 different garage and they ALL said that Mercedes are garbage. Unusual high rate of failures, especially after the warranty period. parts are crazy expensive but they never last. LMAO.
11-18-2008, 12:41 PM
#34
Wow, I feel exactly the same about German cars these days.
I grew up in the '80s dreaming of owning a German car, Porsche especially. Back in those days German cars were absolutely among the best. The extra money for a German car really went for something back then. Even the VWs were good.
Nowadays, the Japanese make better cars than the Germans, and sell them for much less. Brands like Mercedes, Porsche, and BMW are making it mainly on the prestige of their badges rather than the quality of their cars. That will catch up with them, because their prestige originated from the quality of their cars in the past, and a high price tag alone isn't enough to sustain that prestige.
I grew up in the '80s dreaming of owning a German car, Porsche especially. Back in those days German cars were absolutely among the best. The extra money for a German car really went for something back then. Even the VWs were good.
Nowadays, the Japanese make better cars than the Germans, and sell them for much less. Brands like Mercedes, Porsche, and BMW are making it mainly on the prestige of their badges rather than the quality of their cars. That will catch up with them, because their prestige originated from the quality of their cars in the past, and a high price tag alone isn't enough to sustain that prestige.
08-10-2011, 07:10 PM
#35
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2005 Boxter engine failure
This is no rumor. It happened to me at 38,000 miles, 3 months out of my extended warranty. From my research on the internet, this is a problem that has been occurring over several years and has only recently (I believe in 2010) been corrected by a redesign. Porsche did cover a portion of the replacement cost of my new engine, but I had to pay all labor and 25% of the parts, and only got a 2 year warranty on the new engine. Some people have filed complaints with the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), but apparently they don't investigate unless they get sufficient complaints. Everyone who had this issue needs to file a formal complaint!
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), but apparently they don't investigate unless they get sufficient complaints. Everyone who had this issue needs to file a formal complaint!
08-10-2011, 07:36 PM
#36
Super Moderator
Yep..it is true...
And I also blame the oil..(duck for cover)!!
And I also blame the oil..(duck for cover)!!
08-11-2011, 10:23 AM
#38
The Slow and the Serious
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This is no rumor. It happened to me at 38,000 miles, 3 months out of my extended warranty. From my research on the internet, this is a problem that has been occurring over several years and has only recently (I believe in 2010) been corrected by a redesign. Porsche did cover a portion of the replacement cost of my new engine, but I had to pay all labor and 25% of the parts, and only got a 2 year warranty on the new engine. Some people have filed complaints with the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), but apparently they don't investigate unless they get sufficient complaints. Everyone who had this issue needs to file a formal complaint!
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), but apparently they don't investigate unless they get sufficient complaints. Everyone who had this issue needs to file a formal complaint!
08-11-2011, 02:21 PM
#39
The Prototype
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Damn that really sucks too, because i was going to buy a 996 twin turbo or a '08 Caymen S to go along with my RX-8 , after doing research I don't feel comfortable making such a purchase. Oh well i might just wait on the next rotary...
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