lower arm bushes and oil burning!

[Guest]

thank you robbo, I really appreciate all of the excellent advice and experiences people are sharing - Its good to know I'm not the only one to have concerns and queries on these things.

I brought the car from RSJ Sports Cars, they said the car would be and was fully checked by them before they sent it for the 111 point check and that they would also repair anything that was found to be an issue. It had also had a service only 1 month ago. When I agreed the deal and were preparing it, they told me they found a significant RMS leak before sending it for the 111 point inspection and said they fixed it, at the same time they gave me the option of getting the clutch changed for the cost of just the parts only(£400).

I am unfortunately, based on past experienced of purchases, now somone who doesn't trust anyone at all. Part of me says great, they've fixed the RMS which has saved me money and problems, and kindly installed the clutch for the cost price of the parts... but the other part of me says, did they really chnage the RMS and if they did, did they really change the clutch or was it a way of clawing some money back? Also, when I spoke with the guy at Hatfield who had performed the 111 point inspection to understand the detail of the items on the 111 point check which were flagged(because he was pretty vague), and asked him for some direction on what could be the cause of the oil issue, he was very very unkeen to say anything. He completely diverted the questions which I found odd, becaue I was only after some advice on whether I should be getting the work done etc. He would not offer any advice or direction really on any of the issues; it was all really odd. It just smelt like he was either hiding something, or perhaps felt that he couldn't say anything because RSJ put some good work his way.... that's probably me being suspicious, but I am thinking about getting the car fully inspected by the local specialist, just to make sure there's nothing that has been hidden which will be found next year when the next service is due, and then it will be fortuitously (for them) long enough in the future to look as though it could easily have happend whilst I had the car and not at the point of sale...

crikey, do I sound far too suspicious and cynical!!!??

 

[robbosliding]

Sadly I think you are right to be sceptical. Maybe an option is to get an independant inspector (I've heard good things about Peter Morgan, I have no experience though) and not disclose the history to blank out any loyalties or affiliations. I'd be inclined to go back to RSJ and talk it over with them and at least offer them the opportunity to right any wrongs......These issues are in the public forum and bad press is not something they desire. Take it back for them to look at and resolve, they should want to see you happy so give them chance to do the right thing by the both of you, thats my penace worth.

 

[Guest]

Hi everyone! Right, I thought I'd give you an update on the issues I described.

For the last week I have driven the car to work and taken the total driven miles to 550 to see how far the oil went down and interestingly the number of bars hasn't gone down, checking the oil from the dipstick also suggested no visible movement also. Although I have noticed there is a little bit of blue smoke in the mornings when I start the car, although it disappears within a few seconds and is fairly minimal.

So, I went to my local specialist and talked through the problems with him, he was incredibly helpful.The specialist checked the car level on a perfectly flat surface and it only showed 1 bar from top, which is where he said it should be. I explained where the oil was when I got the car and where it showed on the distick. Basically he thinks the problem is that it was overfilled originaly and the car has been burning it off. I guess this figures because the garage had replaced the RMS so they could indeed have overfilled it. So good news on that front, although I'm still going to keep an eye, just in case.

Re lower arms, that doesn't appear to be an issue. It had an MOT today and it never came up, no advisories whatsoever, so I am happy with leaving that for the time being.

However, on the coolant front, not such good news. When the specialist walked over to the car he told me I had a coolant leak because of the smell from the car (I thought that was just brake smell), and closer inspection suggests there's a leaking front radiator(s). Additionaly he asked about the air conditioning performance which is really poor, is hardly blowing any cold air, which he suspects could therefore mean that the compresssor(I think he said) might also be suffering.

Now! Interestingly, when I had phoned RSJ sports cars a couple of weeks back to speak to the guy about the oil and arms issue, I got put through to the service section and some other guy took a message for a call back because the person I was dealing with wasn't available. When he asked what it was about, I said some items had been identified as issues with the car (not saying which) and he said, oh, you mean the radiator? At the time, I said no, because I knew nothing of the issue and guessed he must have confused me with somone else. But now thinking about it, it appears they knew of the problem and passed it on to me..!

After I got back home I phoned RSJ sports cars re: the radiators to see what there thoughts were. The guy was really not pleased to hear from me, and he basically said he couldn't remember if it came up when they inspected the car and would come back to me. However, he did say that if it wasn't picked up in the 111 point inspection then it would be covered by the porsche warranty. This again makes me really suspicious, I'm wondering whether there was some agreement to keep it shtum so that they wouldn't have to correct the problem and that it would then could be passed on to a warranty issue once I found it... Rotten radiators don't suddenly happen a week after taking ownership of the car!

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts guys...

 

[robbosliding]

Yes, I can appreciate why you feel sceptical.......The oil issue seems right, they all give a little bit of blue if they have been stood. On the coolant front I think you may be on a highway to nothing. Rads do tend to rot at the front lower, for future reference it is worth flushing them well with a hose to get rid of corroding salt and remove any abrading gravel/stones/grit from it. Some folf use a vacuun cleaner before washing to get rid of leaves etc that hold the damp. They tend to collapse at the bottom. If (a) dealer can get by without replacing it I would imagine (most) would, profit/business etc. I would not expect the warranty to cover damage to or long standing rot. If that is declined I would go back to the dealer and remonstrate strongly that it wasn't identified on the 111 and that they should rectify it out of good will if they want return custom. After all each time you mention their name here it is an advert so it would be good if we all read they sorted the problem and you were happy. It would make me want to shop with them. A little investment in a customer will always bring them another. I can think of a bike dealer I have continued to bad mouth for over 10 years............

 

[Guest]

Thanks Robbo, yeah, I feel you are right, to be honest its not the problems that disappoints me, its just lack of honesty really (assuming they knew ofcourse - I'd best cover myself for libel reasons!! ).

If there was some agreement to not report the radiator issue then I guess they were trying to help in some part thinking that I wouldn't have to pay because they hoped the warranty would/will. I had a similar issue a number of years ago with my local VW dealer, in those days I wasn't that flush with cash and they got me a 'deal' on a car by, unknown to me, lying to the finance company about how many miles the car had so it became more attractive to underwrite. When it came to near the end of the agreement period, I discovered they had lied by saying it had over 35k less miles on the clock! the problem being that it was a baloon with a fixed agreed mileage and I would have been stung for several thousands of pounds worth of over-mileage if I had completed the term and handed the car back! fortunately VW were brilliant and got me in car at pretty much cost price.

Anyway, I'll see what they've got to say on monday when they come back to me. I am somone who remains loyal to companies I have a good experience with (or at least who correct and problems), so if they sort this out then I'll definitely post some positive news!

 

[robbosliding]

I'm not going to try to teach you to suck eggs but an independant view is often objective- I wouldn't go down the road of arguing what they did or didn't know (it will only aggravate) but focus on fact, it wasn't picked up and should have been as it has failed so soon. Explain your expectations of them to replace it whether under warranty or not, be indifferent. Point out your loyalties for good business. Email them this, its more customers watching! I will watch with many others with interest.

 

[Diesel130]

Hi,

Sorry to hear of your concerns - you want to be enjoying your car, not worrying about it. The good news (I think) is that you shouldn't have concerns having purchased from RSJ Sports Cars. They are a long established Porsche indi and Joel of RSJ regularly contributes over on Pistonheads in the Porsche forum. I'd be surprised if they don't rectify any issue as they won't want any bad press here or on PH.

If you do get any resistance ask to speak to Joel and say that you are making your view on PCGB forum and Pistonheads - that will get things moving for you !

Back to the radiators ... are you saying that the car passed its 111 point check and you have the OPC warrantee? If so, no problems ... as the radiators are covered. My nearside one was replaced foc at the last service - I didn't even realise it was leaking till the OPC called me to say it was being replaced.

Hope it all works out and let us know how you get on.