You may recall I took my 2002 turbo in with just 16k miles on it for a loud lower end metalic clunking sound. At first they thought it was a chain tensioner. Diagnosed that day said they could fix it tomorrow. Price to repair was only $800. The next day they called and said after further inspection it was not that. They said to diagnose it further I would have to pull the motor. I said ok. It was diagnosed with a intermediate shaft failure. This took them 1 week with me calling them everyday. I asked what was the cause of this and was told it was a manufacturing defect. They assured me it had nothing to do with the car being chipped or my driving style. That 01 and early 02's had had this issue. I waited another 1.5 weeks to get a estimate ( I called every day some times 2x). Finally my estimate came and it was almost $15k! WTF!!!!!!!!!! A huge amount of this was labor. So I tried contacting Porsche to see if there was anything they would do. I was told by the young kid at 1800-Porsche, "Porsche has a no GOODWILL policy!" This is your problem. I am not used to asking people for something. I hate it! I then spoke to my local (75miles away) dealers service manager, he was a real treat. He said the car was chipped (I told them that when I brought it in) your not even the first owner. So no one will help you. I thought this makes no sense to be treated like this a $140k stickered car with 16k miles on it with a manufacturer defect. I am pretty much being told to go F#%@ myself! Honestly I did not expect anyone to pay for the new engine, but a little help on labor or a discount above the 10% over dealer cost I got quoted on my own would have been nice. To think I had actually thought in a year or so I might buy a brand new 997tt. Any how after thinking about a early conversation with Kevin at UMW who mention it might be cheaper to buy a crate motor ( I told him he was nuts). I decided to get pricing for one. I called Kevin and asked him what he thought of the price I had found. The price was $18kKevin told me he maybe able to do better. So he called around and eventually made a deal with me that put my out of pocket for a brand new crate motor installed at a little less than $15k! Thats a super deal all things considered! Now I did have to do a little juggling to make that happen, but Kevin is the real super star. It took me a week to get the motor shipped to me and get it delivered to the dealer. I told the dealer I had bought a crate motor and needed a price to install it. They quoted me for what had been done and to install the new motor $3k! So I called around. I figured screw it I will haul it to someone I trust. Well I got a price of $900 to install plus another $450 to haul it there. Since I owed the dealer $700 for pulling the motor either way that put my total at almost $2100. Making it only a $900 savings. So I spoke again to the service dept manager he agreed to work with me if they did the work. I thought it over and decided not to take the chance of losing something moving the car and engine to someone else. I spent almost another 1.5 weeks riding them to get it installed. I finally got my car back Friday night after 5.5 weeks of screwing around with my dealer. I am glad to have it back. A little less stress in my life nowJ

I would like to take a moment to say thank you to a great vendor. Kevin at UMW has helped me through this ordeal. The guy has really been great. He has really helped me through this from getting me a awesome deal on a crate engine, to just giving me advice and listening to me *****! Prior to all this all I ever did was buy a set of used UMW turbos (NOT NEW) from a board member. The only money that I had ever given UMW was a special deal for software for buying these used turbos. The guy has literally been pro-bono for all of this situation!

I also would like to say thanks KPG (Kevin). For listening to me ***** and giving me your opinion on numerous occasions. You just keep telling me no to that Ford GTJ

On a positive note the car runs great. Not to mention Scot Edge at Byers Porsche really took care of me. In the end for all the labor and fluids he only charged me $1100! So thank you Scott! He said he knew they screwed around making me wait and stepped up and helped me out a little. Customer service is all about how you fix your mistakes not how you deny them. BTW why the motor was out the dealer threw in my UMW Lightweight Flywheel and clutch.

 

You got a brand new motor for 15k??? or was it a rebuilt one? Did they give you a warranty with it?

Anyway, glad it all worked out in the end.

 

I thought used ones were a lot more spendy than that? Sounds like you got a sweet deal! Sorry for your misfortune, glad your back on the road enjoying the car!

 

It sounds like you're happy with your vehicle and the outcome of the situation, congrats and I really hope you enjoy. That being said, these are the types of stories that make me hesitant to pull the trigger on a used TT that I'd already be overextending myself if I get one. If something like this that is a MANUFACTURER defect happens and the factory isn't willing to stand by it, then why would I want to purchase the car. I understand if it's a result of modding the car etc or even tracking the car. But if it's a known manufacturer defect, even out of warranty, with such low mileage, I feel Porsche really should step up to the plate and right the situation.

 

if the car was never chipped he probably had a chance. But then his car would be down for who knows how many months....

glad to hear ur up and running.
markski

 

Thank you for sharing your ordeal. And congrat with your new motor and the outcome of happy ending!

 

The days where Porsche stepped up to right a Porsche owner are GONE!
I had a issue with my GT2's brakes.. no help there too. So following year when I wanted a another new car, I used my pocket book to speak my mind.
I wanted to by the 'pepper' but bought a S/4 Avant instead.

Congrats with your new motor

 

sorry to hear of your HUGE problem, glad all is well.....congrates!!

 

very nice! glad to hear you got it working again man now you need to come out here lol

 

Glad to hear you are up and running, now "Chip it" !!

Nice job too, buy UMW for helping you out.

MK

 

ralph good to hear ...props to kevin at UMW .

 

Ralph, gald to see you are back behind the wheel....of a Porsche that is! Kevin really does have great prices due to his contacts thru Porsche Parts Express and that is the reason my motor build with him has remained at a very reasonable price...to me anyway, the wife may disagree! We will have to get together for a track day at Norwalk later this season. Give me a call when you get a moment. Take care, Kevin

 

Sounds like quite the ordeal. What exactly failed on the intermediate shaft? Was the car still running ok (other then the bad noises) when you brought it in? So they gave you your old engine back to sell/part out correct?

 

I could sense the frustration. Gald you got it worked out though. Props to UMW.

 

Good to hear that you got it taken care of. Just out of curiosity, did you try seeking assistance from the zone rep for the area? (not even sure if Porsche uses zone reps)

I had a E30 325is that I bought new. At 30k miles and after the warranty period ended, one of the head bolts sheared off, lodged under a cam lobe and bent a couple of valves. Fortunately it was only the top end but it was pretty ugly. I called BMW and I pleaded the manufacturing defect thing but they said that it was the first they had heard of something like that but they would be willing to cover parts if I paid for labor. I took the offer without hesitation!

Then a month later, I came across a BMWNA TSB stating that any E30 325 that comes in for routine service should have it's head bolts replaced with a newer style head bolt. It was dated prior to my incident and the icing on the cake is....... I had taken my car in just before the head bolt sheared off to get the valves adjusted and oil changed so they should have replaced the head bolts at that time which would have prevented the whole problem! I was fuming but it was already too late c'est la vie.