Porsche Comes Correct

by Jack Baruth

Published: March 17th, 2014

Here at TheTruthAboutCars, we’ve occasionally been, shall we say, forthright concerning a certain manufacturer of SUVs, full-sized sedans, and sporting vehicles from Zuffenhausen. The thousand injuries of Porsche ownership we have borne as best we could, and so on. But if we are willing to castigate the firm every time they cut corners somewhere or screw over thousands of their customers without a second thought, we should also be willing to give credit where credit is due when they step up for their owners.

Which, to their credit, they are certainly doing in the case of the 991 GT3.

Our sister publication AutoGuide managed to confirm that connecting rod issues are at the root of recent 991 GT3 fires, and that Porsche will address those problems by replacing the engine in every GT3 sold so far, for a total of 785 new engines. This is exactly the sort of thing that should have happened with the M96 debacle and it’s great to see the company come through for the owners like this. Of course, the whole problem would have been nonexistent had they kept using the engine from the old GT3… but that’s a line of thinking that ends up with demanding the return to production of the 356 Pre-A.

Wait, that’s a great idea!

Jack Baruth

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5 of 36 comments

George Herbert on Mar 18, 2014

Jack committed: but that’s a line of thinking that ends up with demanding the return to production of the 356 Pre-A. Wait, that’s a great idea! You have driven one, right?...

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Chuckrs on Mar 18, 2014

Bet they still are in the black on each car even after replacing the engines.

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Olddavid on Mar 18, 2014

My neighbor has a fairly new 911, that with 18k miles, needed a new clutch. I apologize for not knowing anything current about Porsche, but I do know he loves that car about as much as his daughter. Imagine his surprise at the factory denying his warranty claim and invoicing him just shy of $25k for the repair. At that fee, they can replace many engines, no matter what the reconciliation becomes. Customer goodwill? I doubt Porsche has an accounting category for that, since it is so little used.

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- CJinSD on Mar 18, 2014
  
  I've seen a $25K Porsche clutch replacement at lower mileage than that, but it was for a Carrera GT that originally cost about $450K. I asked the guy that owns the shop what would happen when PDK Boxsters and Caymans with some miles start needing clutches. He said he'll be buying them as parts cars, until he has too many of them.
  
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Jimbob457 on Mar 19, 2014

What an odd attaboy complementing Porsche for initiating this particular recall. What else did you expect them to do? Their halo car is throwing piston rods through the engine block. So, they recall and fix all of 987 examples. Duh! This is the same company that will not give me ANY information on the lifetime failure rate of 996 and Boxster IMS bearings not specifically covered under the recent lawsuit settlement. I promise I won't sue. I am just trying to operate and maintain a piece of used equipment.

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