981 GTS Condenser. What is the point of having a Warranty.

[Whiskey Ron]

Sounds like unreasonable behaviour by the selling OPC to me. It has been a known design issue since 986/996 which is why many of us have Zunsport grills but that's off topic. Seems odd because over the years I have seen lots of vehicles allegedly being prepared for sale by OPCs which have the front end completely disassembled and the rads/condensers inspected and/or replaced before sale as necessary. Maybe standards have slipped or this OPC didn't bother. Some I wouldn't trust to do this, others I would.

Funny about the grills. When I found out you can't fit them because of warranty, but they solve a common problem, it was a palm slap moment for sure.

 

[Whiskey Ron]

I agree with the previous comments. Unlikely the the corrosion has happened just during your tenure. I had a failure last year (5 year old car) and was pleasantly surprised when the OPC advised it was a warranty issue, so there is history of condenser failures which have been agreed as warrantable.I do have a general issue with Porsche in terms of their service schedules in that if there are maintenance issues that can cause failure why isn't that task on the service list ? When you have to take the front off the car to clean something that smacks of an inherent design issue. Why not build in an access panel underneath for example ?

I had a short debate with my OPC about cleaning the 2 hood drains on my Boxster. I was paying £1000 for a service and they wanted £150 to clean them...or they would put a note on my service record (I realise the car's electronics can be flooded...). If it's so critical why is this not an item they do automatically when servicing ? They did it after I had a grumble. Porsche OPC's are infuriating...

One other thing is they may say it is just one condenser...I paid for my second one to be done at the same time to save the hassle. (and it might have been out of warranty at that point).

Really crazy. It does grate on you because they are so good at most things, and then some completely in your face obvious things, they don't have a clue.

 

[Whiskey Ron]

An excellent suggestion Simon.

Unlike our American cousins we seem to shy away from litigation here. Something of which companies like Porsche are well aware and who capitalise on customer reluctance.

Jeff

Well I'm not sure how far I can take this yet, but If I can take it all the way, then I 100% will.

 

[Whiskey Ron]

See what Porsche GB come back with but I wouldn’t hold out much hope there.

I think the threat of a small claims court action could force the hand of the supplying dealer.

Build up you case from the engineers report and get as many people on here (and elsewhere) who have had the same problem.

You could also start a poll on here asking who has had:

[ol][*]Goodwill from there OPC towards the cost of replacement.[*]Full and free replacement.[*]Nothing at all.[/ol]It will all help to build up your case.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll be looking at doing just this. Thank you.

 

[Whiskey Ron]

Here is a pic after picking the car up. £1211.85. I don't know if VAT has to be added to that, but the £150 gas would have to, so close to the £1600 guesstimate they said yesterday.

I forgot to add. I just asked them to put the car back together and I'll see what my options are legally. So the car is in the same condition. Back in one piece again, but with both condensers leaking.

 

[RJW]

The air con on my 981 GTS wasn’t working and my local OPC carried out some investigations and found there was no gas leak. They then re-gassed the system which now works as it should. They charged me about £80 for the investigation work plus the cost of the re-gas. I assume the logic is that, if the fault is covered by the warranty, the investigation work would not have been charged for. So be aware that any work done to identify the fault could be charged for. Incidentally I have mesh grilles on both sides which I thought were standard on a 981 GTS?

 

[mr pg]

Grilles only standard on GT4.

 

[mj2k]

I will now be ordering the grills for mine based on this, just not worth the risk!

 

[BrianJ]

"Grills" was my spelling error in my post. Must have been thinking about steaks. "Grilles" is correct of course. []

 

[RJW]

If you fit Porsche grilles then there presumably will be no adverse affect on a Porsche warranty. Not sure of the position if non Porsche parts are fitted. I’m beginning to wonder if the Porsche warranty is worth extending.

 

[Whiskey Ron]

If you fit Porsche grilles then there presumably will be no adverse affect on a Porsche warranty. Not sure of the position if non Porsche parts are fitted. I’m beginning to wonder if the Porsche warranty is worth extending.

For engine and gearbox probably. Then there are engine mounts and smaller things that would add up.

At my local OPC they did tell me that you don't pay for the inspection any more if you are already under warranty. Three years was something like £1700 and some change I think. That's under £600 per year.

For me, these condensers are a joke to be honest. I can't believe they don't give a @@it.

Something else I forgot in all this. It was May that I actually contacted the original OPC about the air con. I had to book it in with the local OPC and then wait for them to see it, which is where the later date comes in, but it was actually at the end of May, which makes it 8 months. Because I don't use the air con it was probably much earlier than that in reality.

Something which might make you laugh a little is that I actually never use air con. So the air con for me personally doesn't matter. It's the fact that I want everything in a 50K car to be in perfect working order, and obviously things like this will affect renewing the warranty, and also leaving it any longer might be making it worse.