Breakdown recovery

[lowndes]

[FONT=calibri"]A puncture in heavy traffic on the M25 on a wet Friday afternoon at the end of a long journey across Europe is not something to look forward to necessarily but might just happen. It did to me.
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[FONT=calibri"]One or two things came out of this which I thought I might post on here with a view to it being an aide memoire to anyone else who might find themselves in a similar situation.
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[FONT=calibri"]First thing to say is that if it wasn’t for TPM I would not have known I had a problem with the offside rear, well not initially. Warning light came on at about 1.8bar. Car felt absolutely normal, though it has to be said the GT3 is relatively stiff.
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[FONT=calibri"]Pressure loss not catastrophic but steady decline at 0.1bar loss per minute.
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[FONT=calibri"]My first objective was to get somewhere safe. My preference was not on the Motorway. Faced with a slow moving queue I took to the hard shoulder and made it to the nearest exit. Tense work but made sense to me.
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[FONT=calibri"]Still with about 1.0bar I eschewed the first available turning and instead headed for the nearest forecourt. Sat Nav set to show petrol stations as soon as I realised there might be a problem.
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[FONT=calibri"]The reason for heading for a garage was that there were people around making it relatively safe. It would be accessible to recovery truck, there would be air, a phone, a charge point if the mobile packed up etc. With the benefit of hindsight I rate a petrol forecourt as good as anywhere (save perhaps outside an OPC).
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[FONT=calibri"]Also it is exactly what I did on the way back from Castle Combe in the 996GT3 and that all worked out OK.
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[FONT=calibri"]Once at the garage I called my European breakdown number as I wasn’t sure if I had Porsche Assist with the warranty. Just on that point it is worth knowing that if you have neither but need recovery you can ring Porsche Assist and pay to join on the spot and then get recovered for free! 996GT3 episode.
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[FONT=calibri"]When you call for assistance/recovery make it very clear you have a car that needs the low vehicle special recovery truck. There is a penalty for this though. It can take time for one to become available. In my case three and a half hours.
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[FONT=calibri"]All pretty standard stuff so far.
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[FONT=calibri"]OK so the truck has arrived, the bed is lowered and presents an edge about 75mm high that the car will have to mount. Normal 911 no problem but some flavours of GT may struggle. I have lift so there was enough clearance anyway?. With hindsight that was a mistake.
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[FONT=calibri"]I offered to drive the car on but the operator said no, I wasn’t insured. OK fair enough.
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[FONT=calibri"]He drove forward, got the front wheels on and continued to the point where the back wheels met the edge of the truck bed, lost momentum and car stopped.
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[FONT=calibri"]At this point things started to go pear shaped. Remember it is wet, there is by now a completely flat back tyre. The operator wasn’t interested in my suggestion to put a bit of Esso’s air into the tyre despite that being one of the reasons for heading for a garage.
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[FONT=calibri"]More power to get up onto the truck bed, the wheels spun due to unequal grip, the car slewed, the LSD bit and the rim was damaged on one of the metal hooks on the very edge of the trailer. All in the blink of an eye. Lessons learned? Get the operator to use the tapered wooden wedges he’s got on the truck but can't be bothered to get out. Get your phone out and film him driving onto the truck. Of course I took some photos after the event but next time I would take photos before hand as well and also film what is going on.
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[FONT=calibri"]OK so that was the first thing.
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[FONT=calibri"]It is about 18.30 on a Friday night so all OPC are shut. Therefore I asked for the car to be taken home pending onward delivery to OPC on Monday.
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[FONT=calibri"]We arrive home after 8:30pm still raining and light fading. The car is in the wrong position too near the edge of the truck and will damage the rims again on the unload. Point this out to the operator. He says he will realign the car but in the meantime raises the truck bed to the unload position. Why? Well you ask me but my guess is that he can’t move the bed into the raised position unless the car is strapped down. Also he can’t move the car if it is strapped down and he can’t be bothered to unstrap, move the car with the bed flat, restrap then tilt the bed to the raised position.
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[FONT=calibri"]So now with the bed at an angle, the car unstrapped he tries to manoeuvre on the wet steel bed. Not good.
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[FONT=calibri"]Eventually he is ready to unload but hasn’t really checked where the car is headed for and before I can shout he sped backwards off the truck and spears the ground with the exhaust system and the rear PU.
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[FONT=calibri"]When presented with his Work Sheet I was careful to record damage as I saw it may be though of course at that time it was darkish and it not easy to see the underside of the GT3 at the best of times.
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[FONT=calibri"]Off he went and I had a cup of tea.
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[FONT=calibri"]Then while everything was fresh in my mind I set out my chronology of events.
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[FONT=calibri"]Next morning I rang the Assistance people and set in train due process.
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[FONT=calibri"]On Monday a different recovery team came to collect the car and take it to OPC. Their care and attention to detail was faultless.
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[FONT=calibri"]The upshot. A complete new exhaust system, remove and repainted PU, refurbished wheel.
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[FONT=calibri"]Some conclusions:

• Be safe
• Don’t save money not replacing TPM when it is time expired. It may be expensive but in the long run........
• A garage is a good place to head for if you can. PCM is your friend so make sure you know how to do POI quickly.
• Make sure you know what you want the recovery people to do and make that clear to the call centre.
• If there isn’t an OPC nearby that is open the default of getting the car to your home makes subsequent arrangements easier to manage.
• Even though they send a low lowloader get them to use the wooden wedges. If you have lift don’t offer to use it.
• Photograph everything before the rescue truck arrives.
• Film the loading and anything else.
• If you see something early on that gives cause for concern be extra vigilant
• Look very carefully at the ground where the loading and unloading will take place. Ramp angles are all pretty small and the back of 911 full of expensive exposed bits.
• Make clear notes on the job sheet of anything you don’t like. It will prove a useful tool in subsequent discussion on who is responsible for paying for the damage.
• Write everything down while fresh in your mind. Check timings on your mobile etc. Faced with an accurate record the other side is at a disadvantage unless they have done the same.

 

[pwebb]

An expensive and sorry tale Nick. And wise words all noted, though how quickly I can find the nearest garage on satnav whilst sweating with a deflating tyre is questionable.

Proof can be very useful - yesterday we were parked outside a well known technology store, right in front of the main doors with spaces either side. Select item to purchase and go outside to find rear of Cayenne bashed. I don't remember doing that, return inside and to cut a long story short the manager checks the CCTV to find a gentleman (for want of a better description) park, come into check on his tv repair status, go outside, reverse into my car, get out to check the extent of the damage and then drive off.

Sadly for him, we have several time stamped cameras tracking him in and out of the store, his name and address (not that they will let me have that, Data Protection etc) and a very helpful manager and staff. Estimate from Dick Lovett Spraymaster for over £3.5k for a new bumper and exhaust box will comfortably exceed the value of this individual's own vehicle. Should be an interesting conversation when the police knock on his door later today (apparently you have 24 hours to report an accident).

Locktons being helpful and straightforward so far, but like Nick we'll also be awaiting developments with some interest.

 

[stokey]

Some very good advice Nick,sounds as if the the recovery driver holds the record for incompetency??
hope his boss sends him on his way after that treatment ,was it via RAC or AA?,sure Porsche assistance
must have something to say after that saga,after all we drive a premium brand and would expect the recovery
people to understand how to treat these cars correctly ??.

Peter ,sorry to hear about your mishap ,glad the driver can be identified just hope he is not one of the
countless uninsured morons driving about.

 

[lowndes]

Sorry to hear about your problems and hope all works out OK. Locktons, Chubb, Call Assist all worked very well though it took some time to get the necessary authorisations from the third party but then again the chain of responsibility and liability is quite complex.
Just to revert to the recovery incident. A couple of photos might help.

Here we have the flat open area offered by a petrol forecourt. Plenty of room for manoeuvre. But note is it wet and therefore grip variable especially if there has been some petrol or diesel spill.

These are the steel hooks that will damage a rim or puncture a tyre for that matter.
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[FONT=calibri"]And this is the sort of level surface that will provide a good chance of a successful loading. The wooden wedges have been removed but the lip up onto the truck deck is clearly visible.

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[salisbees]

Thanks for the thoughts, very helpful, and sorry to hear of the issues. An added caution is that when getting Porsche Assistance in to sort out completely flattened rear tyre on my drive the van that turned up did not have a jack that was capable of fitting under the car, did not know where to get a tyre from in my area, Salisbury, and the only solution offered was to transport it to my OPC [:-] Thank fully my local supplier, Elite, volunteered to go to Micheldever the next morning, pick up the only available tyre and then fit it on the drive. Job done but one needs to be very wary ven if it is recommended by Porsche []

 

[BigCat]

Apologies if you already know this feature of the PCM.......

Not sure if it's the same on the 997 but on the 991 you can customise the 4 information fields on page 1/3 of the PCM and one of the choices is nearest petrol station. The PCM will continuously update this as you drive showing the distance and if you need to go there just touch that icon and on the next page it will tell you the detail and offer the option to set as a destination to navigate to.

Having this preset in the PCM means you don't have to go through looking for a petrol station as a POI so when you need to find one PDQ this will work. ??

 

[lowndes]

Apologies if you already know this feature of the PCM.......

Not sure if it's the same on the 997 but on the 991 you can customise the 4 information fields on page 1/3 of the PCM and one of the choices is nearest petrol station. The PCM will continuously update this as you drive showing the distance and if you need to go there just touch that icon and on the next page it will tell you the detail and offer the option to set as a destination to navigate to.

Having this preset in the PCM means you don't have to go through looking for a petrol station as a POI so when you need to find one PDQ this will work. ??

I don't think 997 PCM has as much functionality as 991 as regards the fields in page 1/3. However, if you have petrol stations as a default POI on the map then as soon as you zoom in the scale to less than 1 mile the icons appear.

 

[John Maddox]

A cautionary tale indeed and I am very sorry for the OP.

My Cayman comes with the dreaded tyre goo and compressor. Presumably the GT3 doesn't.

If if you had the kit above would it have helped you do you think when the puncture was a relatively slow one ?

I really dread a puncture.

 

[Lancerlot]

A cautionary tale indeed and I am very sorry for the OP.

My Cayman comes with the dreaded tyre goo and compressor. Presumably the GT3 doesn't.

If if you had the kit above would it have helped you do you think when the puncture was a relatively slow one ?

I really dread a puncture.

I don't think it will help much in the event of a cut sidewall, although we did manage to repair one using the goo and Super-glue to get a guy moving 50 miles to the nearest tyre depot!
It may help with a puncture in the treaded section due to a nail or something but it makes a mess to the inner wheel and has to be cleaned up before the new tyre can be fitted. Also, it may adversely affect TPM, where fitted.
Quite a few of carry this little kit with us.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tyre-Repair-Kit-SILVERLINE-380421/dp/B00862YFW8/ref=sr_1_1?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1441804841&sr=1-1&keywords=Silverline+tyre+repair+kit
It works too as I've known people do a whole tour following a repair using this.
Regards,

Clive.

 

[John Maddox]

I do have one of those too !!

 

[Lancerlot]

John,
I think we all dread punctures, but there is very little more you can do really. It's the scourge of most modern high performance vehicles.
I carry the goo, superglue, the Silverline kit, my PA and RAC cards and just hope when I get up in the morning, the sky doesn't fall on my head!
ATB,
Clive.

 

[Terry]

Apologies if you already know this feature of the PCM.......

Not sure if it's the same on the 997 but on the 991 you can customise the 4 information fields on page 1/3 of the PCM and one of the choices is nearest petrol station. The PCM will continuously update this as you drive showing the distance and if you need to go there just touch that icon and on the next page it will tell you the detail and offer the option to set as a destination to navigate to.

Having this preset in the PCM means you don't have to go through looking for a petrol station as a POI so when you need to find one PDQ this will work. ??

I don't think 997 PCM has as much functionality as 991 as regards the fields in page 1/3. However, if you have petrol stations as a default POI on the map then as soon as you zoom in the scale to less than 1 mile the icons appear.

You can do it on a 997 Gen 2 with touchscreen satnav.