catastrophic engine failure

[davegemini]

as i am about to purchase an extended warraty for my 00 996, and now knowing that the rms

issue isn't such a big deal; before i plunk down my hard earned $$$$$, how common have engine

failures been?

i can live with a $600+- repair for a rms, but an $8k engine from pcna isn't exactly chump change.

as usual tia

dave in nj

[viper501]

Its hard to find real stats on this. I'm pushing 118k miles right now on a 99 C2. No major problems *fingers crossed* on what is a well run daily driver. They can happen though and the bill seems to be closer to 10k out the door. The flip side to that is that the new engines are updated and carry the two year warranty.

[Lee Quave]

as i am about to purchase an extended warraty for my 00 996, and now knowing that the rms

issue isn't such a big deal; before i plunk down my hard earned $$$$$, how common have engine

failures been?

i can live with a $600+- repair for a rms, but an $8k engine from pcna isn't exactly chump change.

as usual tia

dave in nj

No one other than Porsche knows the stats on 996 engine failure but, if you do a search on this site and Rennlist.com 996 forum you will see quite a few. Do the same search on any 993 forums and it’s a different story.

Porsche doesn’t attempt to repair internal failure they adopt to replace the engine instead. Mine had an intermix issue, that’s when the motor oil gets mix with the engine coolant. I don’t know what caused mine and Porsche won’t even respond to my letters. It was probably a failed head gasket or a cracked cylinder head. :cursing:

For just under $12,000 I got a remanufactured engine with everything new except the air conditioner compressor along with a two year warranty. :clapping:

[deschodt]

>No one other than Porsche knows the stats on 996 engine failure but, if you do a search on this site and Rennlist.com 996 forum you will see quite a few. Do the same search on any 993 forums and it’s a different story.

Not trying to be a smart a$$, but on the 993 forum you will hear about carbon build up issues triggering ODBII check lights, valve guides, $6000 top end refreshes, and the fact that a new 993 motor in a crate is closer to $30K than it is to $10K out the door like for a 996 - of course nobody buys those, they rebuild them instead... Still a fair point: a rebuilt 993 motor is likely to cost more than a brand new 996 engine, and is less powerful and just as likely to coke up again... I know because my ex-993 cost its PO $6500 to repair.

Each gen of 911 has issues, our RMS is the chain tensioner of the early 80s... That said, it's a little worrisome to hear about about all those replaced motors, not always under warranty - mine (03 996) expires in 3 months and I am not sure if I should get an extension (can't do it via Porsche but the dealer offers aftermarket). At $2500-3500 "for sure" for a warranty and $10K for a "maybe" motor, it's not a clear cut choice! It'd be easier if the warrnaty was all inclusive, but you never know what's really covered !

[viper501]

Aftermarket warranties are a crap shoot at best. They are in business to make money and they do that by betting that they won't spend money on your claim. Many of them are so thinly capitalized that they evaporate on you without warning. Others will deny your claims until you force them to pay through legal action. I don't want to pay for a motor but I really don't want to pay for a policy that I receive no benefit from.

And deschodt's point is well made. Each generation has a 'problem' of one sort or another. Ours, put in perspective, are a lot less expensive than some of the others.

[iflyjets4u]

See my recent post. I just had mine go at 66000 miles. Looks like around $12,500 for the replacement.

[davegemini]

just for the record----i did buy an extended warranty.

[jjordan]

My 00 996 has 45,000 miles and is on it's third Porsche authorized motor....prior to my purchase, so not sure who paid for them. The thrid motor was installed in 2003 and I figured Porsche had solved the problem by then. I just had the RMS replaced at a dealer and they informed me the seals have been "redesigned" and they haven't seen repeat customers with the new design. Time will tell, but all I can say is if an $80,000 car can't go further than 15,000 miles on one engine, there are serious problems.