Hey guys, I'm new to the forum but eager to be apart of the community. I've been looking at buying a sportS car for a few months now, nothing even close to a 911 turbo, but found one that caught my eye and in my budget. It's an 08 with only 15k miles, immaculate condition for an absurd cheap price at a ford dealership.

I test drove it and a few things caught my eye. It was a cold afternoon, and the car was still not fully warmed up but was idling for a few minutes. Whenever I got on it a bit leaving a light, a huge thick white cloud came from both exhausts and literally engulfed the car behind me. The dealer warned me about this and said it only happens when it is cold. It did for again but after a few minutes driving it completely stopped. The engine was acting normal with no engine warning lights. I didnt take it anywhere near redline when it was cold. I've searched for this occurrence for hours with no luck. I know these engines tend to smoke a bit when first started because of their boxer nature, but this is different. Is this normal?

Also, there was a light in the dash and I couldn't figure it out. It was red with a picture of a person and an airbag. Maybe the passenger airbag was turned off? I couldn't figure this out. There was some one in the passenger seat.

I just realized the tiptronic is a 5 speed, seems weird. I read the manual version can get 29mpg highway, this true? How does the tiptronic do at normal highway speeds?

Anything else I should look for as far problems with this car? When is the next service due, 20k miles?

Thank you for your help and insight, I hope this car is the one!!

 

These cars smoke a little on cold starts, a way to help that is let the car idle and let the oil pump settle down.

Check the oil level, the only time I had alot of white smoke was when my car was over-filled with oil... doh'

 

Just wanted to clarify that the 'smoke' is more steam-like in nature. It's very thick for a few seconds, then dissipates quickly like steam.

 

"Whenever I got on it a bit leaving a light, a huge thick white cloud came from both exhausts and literally engulfed the car behind me. The dealer warned me about this and said it only happens when it is cold. It did for again but after a few minutes driving it completely stopped. The engine was acting normal with no warning lights. I didnt take it anywhere near redline when it was cold. I've searched for this occurrence for hours with no luck. I know these engines tend to smoke a bit when first started because of their boxer nature, but this is different. Is this normal?"

It sounds like you know what constitutes normal white smoke on start up. If this is different, then it's abnormal and could be indicative of lots of things; most of them not good. Combine this with an "absurd cheap price" at a Ford dealership and that should tell you to be very careful and at a very minimum have the car checked thoroughly by a competent Porsche mechanic. Sounds like a car picked up at auction or someone who just wanted to dump it and get into something that runs. Both Salerno and I can tell you all about the joys of rebuilding motors and you don't want that to be your first experience with a new-to-you Porsche........Best,

 

Thank you for the info, the last thing I want is a maintance nightmare. I went to the dealer and discussed this at length. I watched my salesman call the closest porche dealer(2 hour drive) and the machanic said the smoke/steam is normal when cold and getting on it. As far as the airbag light, the mechanic said the most common thing that trips it is a weak battery that is drug on when started, and this car does in fact have a weak battery since it's been sitting at this lot for a while not getting driven. It needs to come in to have it reset.

Im still not completely sold, and so the dealer is going to let me take it to the porsche dealer this weekend and they will pay for a full diagnosis/inspection. This is going a long way to easing my mind.

 

Good luck!!

 

ive never seen smoke / steam coming out of mine in 32,000 miles when I get on it. Lots of red flags on this one, be careful.

 

Fix: Maybe let it warm up all the way before driving it. But good to know about this issue before you buy the car. This has never happened to me but I am **** about letting my cars warm up...

 

Sounds like you're taking the proper steps...inspection at an independent dealer is key and learning before you buy a priority.

As some have stated, it's always best to let the vehicle get to normal operating temp before driving agressively and it's a great idea to let the vehicle cool before shutting down. This step goes a long way to prevent the smoke show on the next start, which is different than what I beleive you're seeing while driving.

If you do decide to purchase the vehicle, inspection looks good, etc...you should consider purchasing a warranty. You may want to ask the dealer inspecting the vehicle if it would qualify for a CPO if it were on their lot. This should tell you something.

Good luck!

 

If the battery is weak then this sould be seen on battery display on the panel. Must be between 12-14V

 

I've had an 07, 08, and now 2012 Turbo and NONE have done this...there are plenty of these cars available on the used market - keep looking. The LAST person you want to check with for comfort that no problem exists is the dealer who is trying to sell you this car.

 

I literally had a porsche mechanic tell me that he has seen this on numerous turbos, and the car will be going to them for a full PPI. Thank you for telling me your experience on your three turbos. I will keep that in mind, but from reading this forum for hours, it seems like these cars all have different tendencies. And I am not buying the car from a Porsche dealer, they are just inspecting the car and will probably try to sell me one of their used ones and will be tough on this car. This is a good thing.

When I said it was absurd cheap, I didn't mean that absurb. It has the options of natural brown leather and tiptronic, with 15,500 miles and a dealer applied clear bra. It is in immaculate condition, very few small flaws. I got them down to $83,500. I've never seen a 2008 with this few miles going for anywhere near this, but I may be misinformed.

 

I would be careful; I am not sure that you can chalk this up to this car's personality or tendency. If it is just normal water vapor condensation that you see when all cars are cold, then no worries. If it is burned oil, then big worries. Good luck.

 

I agree with Steamboat. The description of "literally engulfed the car behind me" is not normal. I would be worried about coolant leak with all that white smoke.

 

In the end, you are the only one who has to be convinced this is the right car, but based on my ownership experience, something is not right and others posters seem to agree with me. Yes, these cars will very infrequently blow some slight BLUE - but not white - smoke at STARTUP (many threads on that and not specific to a Turbo and a function of the horizontally opposed engine/cylinder head design), but NOT once it is underway either cold or hot. I would be mortified to think that the traffic behind me was having a good laugh over the fancy, schmancy, expensive car in front of them was enveloping them in smoke of any color, and yes, they will be laughing. To one other poster's comment, and he is right, WHITE smoke is typically coolant related - meaning it is finding its way into the combusion chamber somehow.