New battery for a 997.....

[sidicks]

I came back to the station on Friday and my car wouldn't start, despite having given no previous signs of problems.

Porsche assist (RAC) arrived within 45 minutes and diagnosed a flat battery - lights etc were working, but justs a click-click-click noise when i turned the ignition, rather than the nornal flat 6 bursting into life.

The car is 3-years-old in March, and done just 15,000 miles, so i am surprised that even in this cold weather when there is a lot of strain on the battery that it failed so abruptly.

Following a jump start, the RAC implied that if I went for a decent drive that would be sufficient to re-charge the battery sufficiently to prevent further problems. However, this morning when I tried to start the car it was dead again. Once again, I jump started the car, drove for 30 minutes, came home and let it idle for an hour and then drove for another hour to try and charge the battery, but when i stopped and tried to restart there was nothing....

I am surprised that:
1) the battery has failed on a regularly driven car that is less than 3 years old
2) the battery is unable to be re-charged, and appears to need to be replaced

I believe that the Porsche replacement battery which will cost circa £280 from my OPC, is actually a re-badged Bosch battery, and the equivalent non-Porsche branded Bosch will be available for less than £100.

I have heard lots of bad things about the new warranty situation - can someone provide a link to full details about this??? My understanding is that if I want to renew the official warranty I will have to purchase the official Porsche battery, is that correct?

Can I get 10% discount as a PCGB member and thereby save myself £28 ?

Any advice, much appreciated !!

Cheers

Sidicks

PS - I have ordered a CTEK XS3600 trickle charger (£50 delivered) to try and prevent this from happening again (I i understand that this is exactly the same model as the Porsche branded trickle charger than Porsche were offering me for £85 yesterday..............)

 

[Hasan]

Hi Sidicks,

The same thing happened to me a few months ago, so I can advise on exactly what the situation is.

It does sound like you need a new battery, and Porsche batteries only have a 2 year guarantee so you'll have to purchase one.
It is actually manufactured for Porsche by Moll, and if you have an extended Porsche warranty, you should call out Porsche Assist again.....ask for a 'Premium Van' and tell them that you would like them to come with a new Porsche battery.
He will then come and fit, but only charge for the part and not the labour. The battery is £160 inc vat approx.
The £280 only applies if you take the car to an OPC, as they will charge you the labour so don't do that.

You can go and ofcourse buy a Bosch S series battery for £60 from Costco BUT the warranty situation is unclear.
Personally I bought an official battery...paid £100 more but saved on the Porsche labour. So I have piece of mind come warranty renewal.

Good luck

 

[sidicks]

Hasan

Thanks for that great advice - I'm now waiting for the Porsche Assist "Prestige Van" to arrive and thanks to you I will be saving £130 on the OPC price and minimising any chance of warranty problems down the line!

Cheers for your help!

Sidicks

 

[sidicks]

All resolved successfully !

Many Thanks,

Sidicks

 

[tscaptain]

I think the CTEK or similar is a must unless you are doing good distance drives 2-3 times a week minimum. Good purchase too! I haven't yet heard of anyone having similar problems who use one - but I bet there might be someone out there who has![]

 

[davidcross]

Ive a four Yr old 997 and , touch wood, so far so good. On the basis that ive decided the warranty i wont be going for next time round then the Bosch battery is the way forward too me. Will be just my luck as soon as i opt out of the warranty the damn car will blow up!

 

[sidicks]

I have tried a search, but to no avail, is there a link to a formal anouncement from Porsche about the new warranty etc?

Thanks

Sidicks

 

[tscaptain]

At the current rate of depreciation the cost of buying a 4 year 997 and the cost of renewing the warranty should meet around the end of 2009![] Seriously though (I hope it is a joke!) warranty, like any insurance, is only worth it when you need it. Depends if you are a gambling man/woman or not.........and if you believe in Sod's Law.......?
On the battery issue I hope that by looking after mine carefully I won't have a problem (CTEK) However if it still packs up £160 spread over 3 years is not too bad when compared to, say, tyres. 25000 miles - 3 pairs of rears and 2 pairs of fronts = £2800ish? Good thing with tyres, of course, is that they don't just stop working one cold morning!

 

[davidcross]

Well the warranty situation is pretty much common knowledge now it wud seem with an 111 point check required every year. When u consider the warranty cost at £1350 a year now for a 911 and the now inconvinience of having to take the car in every year, which wasnt the idea when i decided to go for a 997, then ill take my chances.

 

[tscaptain]

I'm pretty much with you on that, David. £1350 is quite an expensive insurance policy. I thought I was buying a car that was much better than average reliability-wise......and I'm not a gambler!

 

[davidcross]

When u also consider that if u buy a new ferrari u get a 4yr warranty as standard (as a pal of mine just has on an F1 430) then the Porsche warranty isnt exaclty competative. Oh well, knowing my luck come warranty expiration ill hit a ton of problems in my car that thus far hasnt missed a beat

 

[tscaptain]

Like I said, Sod's law. But I wouldn't be so pessimistic......[] They are still bl**dy great cars!

 

[MBGAS]

Had the same problem just before Christmas RAC took 2 hours to arrive but did follow me back home (approx. 10 miles) Prestige RAC man called a few days later at my request and fitted a new Porsche battery , he had travelled from Weston-super-mare to my house near Oxford to fit it. Call later in the day from PC Bristol to pay for the battery
Part No.p999.999.611.04 battery acid £ 11.58p
Part No.p999.611.080.20 battery £109.67p

Discount PCGB £13.46p
VAT £18.19p
TOTAL £139.44p
Is this the normal cost or have I been lucky

 

[997London]

I was quoted £135 from PSE for the battery so sounds right. Not that I would recommend one though.

If you go to the Porsche forum of the Piston Head website you will find a wealth of info/opinions on the new warrenty. Most of it not supportive of the move. It has been hugely controversial and I think time will tell if they will stick to this in a few years.

 

[2fast4u]

I needed a new battery too......car was just 3 yrs old with 14k miles on the clock!!
This seems to be a popular topic.......it crops up every other month!!!

Kx