I just purchased a 02 C4s with 30k miles on it, and I love it, I can't tell you how happy I am with it...

...however I'm now hearing that I should have a warranty on it, and that they blow motors...

1. Should I buy into a warranty program?
2. Should I worry about this?
3. What can I do to reduce my chances of blowing a motor? upgrade certain parts?

Now this has me worried...

 

Arin, welcome to the forum. Have you posted pics of your ride? There are lot's of good people here who will help you with just about any question you have. But you will need to do your part and search first before asking for help.

It's hard to blame new guys that come on here, have heard rumors and don't know this question gets asked at least a couple times a week. But, web forums aren't a new thing, and everyone of them has their tried and true questions asked by new people all the time. We have seen it everywhere we've been. They stumble in, ask predictable question, get flamed. It's almost inevitable. So people should know by now. (Sorry Arin)

The standard answer by one of the people who has been around for a while should be do a search and point them to something like this thread. Or this one. Or this one.

After that everyone should just stay away. There's really nothing anyone can add to the subject that is new unless they are an authoritative source. That said I have no issue with someone who this has actually happened to coming in to vent, God knows I would.

Get's off soap box, grabs a beer.

 

Thanks for the kick in the head, I needed that.

Thanks for the links as well.

 

Technically all motors "blow" at some point in time. No matter how well you maintain them, what oil you use, its a mechanical component with friction parts under compression/pressure and multiple controlled explosions within.

Now look at it this way... My car is coming to 100k miles and I have done the RMS leak/IMS upgrade repair as well as a light weight flywheel for performance and to decrease rear bias on the IMS shaft. This may or may not extend my engine life...

However, I challenge you to drive all the common cars on the road at 5-7000 RPM and how most of us drive these cars and see if they don't "blow" at or before 100k miles. Porsche motors are very strong, and the same rule applies, stay away from "first year/gen cars".

I don't know about you, but the first Prius, Challenger, Camaro, or anything else the car people put out I don't touch. That would also be with the 997, or 998. It takes at least a year or two to work out critical bugs, don't be a test dummy.


Ok my two cents...

A

 

I had 134k on my 1994 Sentra SE-R before I sold it. I drove the ever living **** out of it on the street and the roadcourse. It saw the 7500rpm often.

I have 128k on my 1995 M3 right now. Same deal.

When I had my 2002 M3, I had no worries about engine failure. Ironically, I do w/ my 2004 C4S. Reason? BMW fessed up, explained what the issue was, fixed it, and warrantied it. Porsche, OTOH, is keeping a relatively tight lip about it. They haven't said anything officially why IMS may fail at ANY mileage or what they would do to fix. If it breaks w/in warranty, then you're lucky. If it breaks outside of warranty, then you're at the mercy of the dealer and PCNA.

///Michael

 

IMS does not EXIST! Germany did not invade Poland! We were invited! Lunch was served!!!

 

Haha, I don't think an '02 M3 was on my list... Anyways, if you want to worry about it that's cool... I cross bridges when I get to them and until then try not to stress about it.

A

 

ditto!! +1. drive it, maintain it, enjoy it. There is no reason to stress about it.

99 C2 (first gen i think). 2nd owner, no track. 99824 miles........haven't had any major issues with the engine.

jorge

 

You should have performed the following simple test before purchase, but if you didn't it still might not be too late. Here's what you do: Make sure the car is cold. It's best to do this first thing in the morning. Place both hands on the engine cover (just above the rear wing is best) with your thumbs and forefingers touching, forming a diamond-shaped opening. Place your ear directly on the engine cover inside this diamond. If you don't hear anything, you're in the clear. Relax and enjoy your car for the fantastic piece of precision machinery that it is. However, if you hear a faint but distinct ticking sound, you'd better get a warranty ASAP. In lieu of purchasing a warranty, an alternate solution is to simply remove your watch and perform the procedure again.

 

Ok, these threads freak me out every time I read one. I called the local Porsche dealerships service department and inquired about a warranty. My car doesn't qualify because of age not miles. While I had the service manager on the phone I asked him how many engines they have had to replace due to IMS or any other major failure. His answer was zero and he went on to say they are the only Porsche dealer within an hour's drive in any direction. So they service a lot of cars and have had no IMS or other catastrophic incidents. I guess northeast Ohio got a good batch of cars. I'm just going to drive my car and not stress about this anymore. I will burn that bridge when I come to it.

 

Hmm, wouldn't that be something (if it's a regional shipment thing)? I did purchase mine from a Pcar dealership in Ohio so maybe there's hope after all.

 

Yeah, I drove the crap out of my nissan I did pleanty of 1/4 mile racing, street racing, just driving fast all the time. It and non of the folks in my car club nationwide had a blown engine even those with SC's and NOS. lol! Porsche just makes an inferior engine product and wont admit it. I only hope to get another 3 years out of it(I've never had to think this way before).

BTW, my Nissan was totalled at 167k. Let me get out of this topic, it makes me parnoid..lol.

 

What kind of Nissan?

 

If you do decide to buy a warranty you can buy it from a 3rd party. I bought mine that way when I bought my car. I just had my tranny rebuilt and it cost 2 times what my warranty cost me! I have 5 years or 100K on the warranty so I am covered for a long time.
I would suggest looking into one for common repairs like this but make sure it isn't just a powertrain warranty. My expansion tank was cracked and they replaced that under warranty too!
One more thing, ask what their labor rate is though. My coverage only included $75 per hour and my Indy bills at $98. Luckly they are nice guys and cut me a deal due to the total amount of work they were doing.

 

I just don't trust warranty companies, who are you with?