What a mess....!

My take on this is that the former owner in Dubai, probably used the car (4S all wheel drive) in the desert or on some bad roads and did not do anything to clean it. Did you buy that car from some rich Dude who has money to waste?

You should try to pursue your pledge with Porsche but be prepared for some disappointment. Obviously, that car was abused and they will not cover for that. A Porsche C4S is not a Hummer and should be used carefully.

The local Tunis Porsche dealer does not seem too capable either. Why change the ignition when in fact the car is protected from starting if the oil pressure is too low? Apparently, their removal and installation of the engine was less than a success from what you are describing.

In my opinion, if the sand has actually been through the engine, you are potentially looking at the following:

- Damaged valve seats
- Damaged valves (on the back side, where they seat).
- Scratched pistons and cylinder walls. Rings may be fine but I doubt.
- With some luck the crankshaft may be intact as well as the rods.
- Oil pump destroyed which would explain the low oil pressure.
- Catalytic converter will be fine (sand will not kill them).

So, in short, you can either replace the engine ($15-20K) or have a reliable independent shop remove the engine, open it carefully, clean it and assess the damages. If the cylinder walls and pistons have been damaged, they could re-bore the engine to a slighter bigger bore and give you a 3.9 liters. This is assuming the crankshaft and rods are fine. Oil pump has to be changed as well as a thorough cleaning of the oil circuit.

You have the curse and chance to live in a country where the two extremes can be found: Bad official dealers and fantastic independent shops. It will be your call, but think about it twice.

Just to illustrate my point: when I was in Morocco (30 years ago), my Bendix broke in the starter of my BMW. The bendix is that little fork that pushes the starter gear against the flywheel to crank up the engine. In Europe, they would have replaced the entire starter for $300 plus labor. Over there, a guy in a crappy shop with some very primitive tools was able to remove my starter, take it apart, identify the broken part, solder it and put it back together. It cost me less than a dollar! Yes, $0.80 to be exact. Needless to say, I left much more to the mechanic and gave him a hug like never before. By the way, I kept my car 3 or 4 years after this incident and the starter never broke again. Those people can build or repair anything with almost nothing.
It is the third world where ingenuity is the mother of invention (not that I consider Tunisia to be part of the developing world).

I wish you good luck and hope you can enjoy your car soon.

Yves

 

Thanks for all your help
I am thinking the same way about the way it was used in Dubai
But was disappoints me is that:
- when I brought it in Tunisia it was under warranty and I asked Porsche to check everything an they told they did so and everything was fine
- when I took it from Porsche Tunisia after the maintenance of 20 000kms/2 years, I had a receipt specifying that they did remove the air filter and put it back for inspection. And they told me everything was fine!!!

I am trying to pursue them specially on the second point!
What do you think ?

 

Which prove the point that they are incompetent. Remember, all these official dealers are run by the mafia put in place by the former president. They have no skills.

Yves

 

Man, I'm sure you won't get this solved in Tunis, if its anything like Egypt then customer service is horrible

 

Thats why i am trying to find someone in Porsche (not Tunisia) to talk to,
I am going within a week, in France.
If you have a contact that could help me, regardless of his country, please tell me.
According to me, if Porsche Tunisia had done its job, I would not have any problem with my engine..

Thanks every one for your help
Dealing with this situation is very uncomfortable, but in Tunisia it's horrible