Porsche warranty not making any sense

[silotwo]

I have an 04 996C2 and a few weeks ago the car developing starting problems in temperatures below 34 degrees. It would either make a growling sound or no sound at all but after 6 to 12 attempts she would finally start. Whenever temp was above 34 it would start no problem what so ever. Last week it wouldn't start and I got a littly annoyed and slammed the clutch pedal down and noticed it started right up. So, I dropped it at the dealer this week as the weather called for some artic temps. First day they called and said no problem, starts all the time. I asked them to keep it overnight again and today they called and said that both the service writer and tech experienced the starting problem and that they were going to replace the starter interlock switch at the clutch. The surprise was when they called to say the car was done and the bill was $134.00. The car is CPO and I couldn't believe that this was not covered under warranty. I called Porsche North America and they simply said, whatever an authorized dealer says is the way it is.

When I picked up the car the service writer showed me that the part number was not listed in the warrantied items list, yet I noticed that the memory seat switch was in the list. So I asked, how can a part that prevents the car from starting not be covered while a part like a memory seat switch that won't disable the car is covered? The answer was, welcome to the mystery of dealing with Porsche.

I am wondering if anyone has any insight into this or has had a similar experience?

[White987S]

I understand your frustration, but a $134 repair bill for Porsche sounds like a deal to me! :)

[lmritter]

I have an 04 996C2 and a few weeks ago the car developing starting problems in temperatures below 34 degrees. It would either make a growling sound or no sound at all but after 6 to 12 attempts she would finally start. Whenever temp was above 34 it would start no problem what so ever. Last week it wouldn't start and I got a littly annoyed and slammed the clutch pedal down and noticed it started right up. So, I dropped it at the dealer this week as the weather called for some artic temps. First day they called and said no problem, starts all the time. I asked them to keep it overnight again and today they called and said that both the service writer and tech experienced the starting problem and that they were going to replace the starter interlock switch at the clutch. The surprise was when they called to say the car was done and the bill was $134.00. The car is CPO and I couldn't believe that this was not covered under warranty. I called Porsche North America and they simply said, whatever an authorized dealer says is the way it is.

When I picked up the car the service writer showed me that the part number was not listed in the warrantied items list, yet I noticed that the memory seat switch was in the list. So I asked, how can a part that prevents the car from starting not be covered while a part like a memory seat switch that won't disable the car is covered? The answer was, welcome to the mystery of dealing with Porsche.

I am wondering if anyone has any insight into this or has had a similar experience?

Greetings:

As Bill Clinton says " I feel your pain ". The moral to this story is read the fine print. I would gather that this switch is very likely to give out while the seat switch is very less likely. The clutch/ starter switch is used every time you start the car... the seat switch...how often? I plan on buying an extended warrany when my original warranty is close to the expiration date. My service manager advised I purchase just the powertrain warranty. I have a 997 C2S. He said the car is so good the other warranty is a waste. For $2K for 3 years I'll take my chances on the " Platiunum " level, and get just the powertrain warranty. Here goes the coin toss....Insurance companies are for profit institutions., they have ALL the data.

Chromedome

[silotwo]

I understand your frustration, but a $134 repair bill for Porsche sounds like a deal to me! :)

:rolleyes: Agreed, paying the $134.00 wasn't at all painful, I am just perplexed at Porsche's logic. They tout buying Certified Pre-owned and the benefit of full factory warranty, and the literature sure leads you to believe that other than squeaks and rattles your fully covered. I spent months battling a clutch slave issue and finally asked the dealer to simply install a new one as I was more than willing to pay for it. The dealer actually refused saying "oh no, that's a warrantied part" long story short I finally got it replaced and they did it under warranty. The good news is that the warranty does cover quite a bit, they agreed to repair a worn 4th gear synchro under warranty, now that's a bill that would sure hurt to pay. :renntech: