Re: Catastrphic clutch or tranny failure

So we picked up my car from San Diego Porsche yesterday @ 10am after the CLU debacle. My lady chose to drive the Boxster instead of the Honda. As we entered the freeway some 2 miles from the dealership I see her almost veer off the cloverleaf onramp. I get off the freeway only a few exits away and notice she's nowhere to be seen. I get a call saying "I'm just off the freeway and the car won't go into any gear". I turn around adn go to the next exit before I get within 10' of the car I smell intense clutch odor... uh oh! I get into the car and turn the key, engine run pretty well and the gearshift feels fine but it acts like there is no clutch at all... then I get a bit of inconsistant idle. No fluid on thg round, nothing on the tranny looks like there's a problem at all but man it stinks!

Had it towed to the place downtown (San Diego) that installed the clutch (and associated other parts) only 4 mos'/2K miles ago for a look. The initial mention from them was that it sounds like a pressure plate blew. This car has been babied, especially by me. I'm awaiting the car early next week with a diagnosis. Bummer as I haven't driven the car a single mile in 3 weeks!

History of car - 2000 base bought it back in Feb with 81K with al service records. It was meticulously maintained and driven lightly. It needed a new clutch so had a Sachs installed in Feb. If it is a parts or labor issue I have recourse, something else and this could be EXPENSIVE. Anyone else out there have similar symptoms or ideas here? Praying this won't be a $2-4K fix that I'm facing.

Thanks

is the most recent relevant service. In this case it sounds to me like they didn't install the clutch properly. With normal driving, this problem is virtually unheard of.

I suspect they didn't torque all of the bolts properly and one of them over time worked its way loose and wreaked havoc.

It could also be a defective part but that is much less likely IMO.

Naturally if it is the parts (Sachs clutch purchased online new+ all the small bits they supplied) then Ill go after whomever dealt me the bad parts to recoup the labor. If it is bad labor then that's simple too. Guess I'll have to wait until Monday or Tuesday to get the "post-mortum" report when they tear it down to see what we come up with.

My lady said after about 2 miles, from the Porsche dealership (had electrical work done to the alarm/CLU only) that she had trouble putting it into gear... that she had to raise the clutch pedal back up with her foot, within a mile or so of that on the freeway the car would rev but wouldn't go anywhere at all acting like it was in neutral. I got back to her some 5 minutes later and it stunk horribly. I started the car fine shifted into gears but the car wouldn't go anywhere. Had it towed back tot he place who had instlaled the clutch 4 months/2K miles ago for a look-see. Thanlfully they do seem both very competent as well as honest so my fingers are crossed that I'm not facing a 2K+ debacle here. The initla mention from their top mechanic was "sounds like maybe the pressure plate" but with the pedal feeling normal to me I don't see how that could be the case...

and that would happen if the clutch was stuck in a partially engaged position or some part downstream of the friction plate was seized (e.g. due to a bolt being stuck in there).

The fact that she had trouble getting it into gear points to the former. There are several possible causes of the clutch sticking, almost all of which are internal to the clutch (i.e. not your fault).

My guess is the new clutch (2k miles) is gone, as is the flywheel and other stuff within the bell. This could easily run in the neighborhood of >$3500, hopefully I'm not on the hook for it. When I had them do the work they replaced the arm and all bolts in there along with the new Sachs clutch I brought to them. We shall see. Thankfully I do have prett good faith in their work and their word though I'll drive over to check out the carnage myself when I get the call early this week.

Thanks for your input Boxsterra...

Maybe not the problem in your case - but after a clutch job I had done I suddenly had no forward gears (or reverse for that matter). Engine ran fine, clutch pedal felt normal, but shifter wouldn't engage any gear. The problem was that one of the shift cables had not been properly reinstalled and had come loose (at the tranny end).

Not sure that would explain the intense stench of clutch odor. This was so intense that it stunk in my other car a few minutes later while I followed my Boxster on a tow truck. That would be wonderful to hear something that simple but this is definitely something internal and some fried... with no leak of any sort either atop the engine or below. It goes into gear, or at least through the shifting gates fine seemingly going into gear but doesn't go anywhere.

Got the call from the indi dealer. They ran the computer and it showed this car has been redlined a LOT since new, told him that that had little to do with the fact that they had installed a clutch only 2,000 miles ago, that it had not been abused since I've owned it, and please let me know how that is relevant. He said that it is clear that the clutch has detonated due to abuse, and that the computer shows that the last abuse happened only 12 minutes prior to detonation. My lady drove the car from the dearlship only @ 2 miles from the dealership when this blew so when this abuse took place it was likely in their possession. She was behind me when we left there and she certainly was not racing, we were in light traffic about to get o the freway when the trouble started.

I shot the computer readout over to Porsche for their review. It is looking like I'll be in for a fight for tnem to take responsibility for this. Since I've owned this car it's been my garage queen, never abused, never tracked, raced, autoX'd, etc . This is/was a Sachs clutch with all new bolts, arm, etc installed just so I'd never have to worry about it. Got a feeling this will be "he said, she said" with no one stepping up.

Porsche receipt shows that they put only 2 miles on the car, I'll have to verify that with what they checked the car in with and what it has on it now.

service.

Short story is when I went to pick up the car the miles difference was listed as 20 miles -- which proved to be a simply mistake on the SA's part, but which got me interested. I noticed a very strong clutch smell and the gas tank range was down to nearly single digits when there was over 60 miles range available when I dropped the car off.

Short version is the tech took the car out on his lunch hour and drove the heck out of for... 2 miles. I had a tracking device in the car and based on the driving pattern (load/speed/rpms) I was able to determine the route he took.

Thankfully no damage ensued but I managed to get a full refund of the tranny/diff fluid service from the dealer which of course turned around and gave to another dealer (Pontiac dealer where I bought the car) to do another tranny/diff fluid service.

My point is in two miles of 'test drivng' by some dumbass tech (or car valet driver at the dealer) is plenty of time to ruin a clutch.

My approach would be that the DME overrev counters can be read along with the time in hours decimal hours which will likely show the overrevs occurred just a short time ago.

Then I would metion that you are owed reasonable care, skill and experience in the servicing of your car and to have a car mistreated while the dealer's possession clearly violates this and you believe you have been a consumer fraud victim.

Not only did you pay to have a new clutch installed but it was damaged by some uncalled for test drive by someone and now you are facing being asked to have this work done again.

Consumer fraud. Mention it and I think the dealer will likely make things right.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

I hope you're right Marc. I was a bit tough on the advisor while we worked on the wire problem. When I picked the car up from Porsche SD I sat with him and commended him for his efforts and such. Moments later I called him from the side of the road letting him know the car was busted... he said they would be happy to look at it and find out what is wrong, told him that it would make more sense ot bring it to the place that installed the new clutch as that is likely the culprit.

I called him a few minutes ago and shot him the DME report showing that the car was rev'd highly 12 minutes prior to detonation, and notes that I had the new clutch recently installed and since then babied it. We'll see where this goes. No doubt serious damage can be done in a short amount of time and this last rev was while in their possession but will that be enough for them to admit falut and shoulder the costs/responsibilities here... who knows?

The good news is that the labor to do the clutch is @$730 and the new clutch $400 (internet clutch and reputable indi doing labor) so it is not a huge amount of money but it is still not something that I ought to be paying out, either it is defective parts, defective labor, or damage caused by abuse while with someone else as it has had no abuse in the short time the clutch has been in there. I'll metion reasonalbe care and "comsumer fraud" if/when we come to that.

Years ago I bought a 2001 Boxster off a showroom floor, the day my check cleared my account Porsche was NASTY to me. Ensuing mechanical issues got me pissed and I took them to the BBB trying to get them to take back my car, I lost and Porsche thumbed their nose at me. A couple months later I filed a "lemon law" case against them and won everything+. I hope this isn't a replay of my Porsche experience in that they don't take responsility for their issues then compound that with horrific customer service.

Porsche called me late this evening. AFter a LONG drawn-out conversation their position is that there is nothing that directly points to them having any liability in this amtter at all. Yes the computer clearly shows that it was redlined 12 minutes before detonation but that is nto conclusive enough for them to take any responsibility in this. Tomorrow morning I'll call Partsgeek (where I bought the clutch) to see if they ahve any warranty or if they will then refer me over to Sachs. In the meantime I'll have the indi shop tear it down and when they get to the pint of splitting it I'll be there taking video to detail it just in case I have any sort of liability case against either the parts or labor. Sadly I thin k I'll be looking at shouldering the $1200 in this episode.

Since you had a long drawn-out conversation with Porsche, I suspect you have reached a dead end with the people you were talking to. My understanding is that you can appeal to a higher authority within the Porsche organization. There has been past discussion on this forum about doing that.

Make sure you get evidence (a printout would be good) of the over-revs and if possible a statement from the shop that discovered the abuse.

You might want to employ a lawyer. There may be downstream drivetrain damage from the abuse that could cost you a lot more later.

you believe you are being made a victim of consumer fraud and if you can't get satisfaction you will be forced to file a complaint with the area's division of consumer fraud and let the agency and its people you.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

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MarcW
you believe you are being made a victim of consumer fraud and if you can't get satisfaction you will be forced to file a complaint with the area's division of consumer fraud and let the agency and its people you.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

Good advice; try to stay as cool as you can, but make the point that you are serious about pursuing the loss and expect the dealer to make you whole.

Get your Indi to recover the DME data on the redlining and get a hard copy; that's the best evidence you have to get the dealer to contribute.

Got PCNA rep, she was nice. Told me not to have the indi shop as a Porsche dealership has to do the tear down if I hope to see any "good will" repair. Said I also have to call to speak with the service mgr @ SD Porsche - when I called he is gone for a few days, as was his boss the GM... they connected me to the VP of sales (knew that would be worthless).

Service mgr just called repeating that he doesn't think they had anything to do with it, that I used cheaper parts, had a cheap shop do the repair, as expected. I stuck to my guns telling him that they redlined the car and I have proof, that in no way is that acceptable. He has now offered to repair it for his cost of the parts, Porsche parts not the Sachs clutch (not sure what he said about the labor costs), he'll call later today or tomorrow morning with his quote. We won't know the total costs until they crack the cases to see if the flywheel and other stuff are OK... potentially it could be only the clutch disc itself. My guess is that I'm looking at a repair of @$500 for the new clutch at cost (as per Suncoast and other internet resources), labor should be well under 4 hours for a qualified tech to do so I hope they are going to shoulder that for consideration of the issues here.

I want my damn car to run! I paid and had a new clutch installed and want it at least to work like I paid for it to.

thanks for all the input here guys, it is not only helpful information but helps with the venting.

I've been up against Porsche in the past. Being nice but not backing down seems to go far, as is the case here. Twice now they've tried to talk their way around issues, insinuate that I used cheap parts, had lackluster labor done, etc and then spoke in circles trying to get me to walk away... told him that no matter what he wants to believe or state that there is conclusive proof that it was redlined in THEIR possession and that is NEVER acceptable to me, did that cause the damage who knows but they did that and it broke almost immediately afterwards. Already I left poor feedback on their survey (which hurts them), I've started a case report with PCNA and am showing them that I'm not backing down here, not asking for anything more that a clutch that runs as good as it did when I brought it to them. With paying top dollar for service one should expect top level of both customer service AND mechanical expertise.

I'd prefer not to retain an attorney here but they know that I have in the past and will pull that trigger once again if faced with it.
The indi shot me an email with the DME history that I quickly forwarded to SD Porsche, they've quoted the results to me several times so I know they have it. The service adviser tried to tell me about how many times the car has hit/exceeded redline in it's day - told him that is irrelevant what happened prior to my ownership and install of new clutch, he left that alone. The second guy tried telling me about how I was cheap in both parts and labor and that the indi is trying to cover their mistakes - told him that is irrelevant as the detonation happened very shortly after THEY redlined the car... he backed down and offered parts at cost and I think they'll cover labor too. It'll get down soon. I'm also investigating if PartsGeek will take back the clutch as defective, if so I might be able to recover $400 of my original purchase, hopefully they aren't going to just offer credit.

as I often hear stories where an owner used his own parts and shop labor. Expecting a shop to take total responsibility for something they only had a piece of is always dicey.

Don't get me wrong, I did it all the time...down to the crush ring. But I also didn't expect the same level of total responsibility I expected from the dealer who is supplying the parts too.

Now if the OP can prove when the over-reving occurred that is totally different. All I'm saying is we can learn from the dealer's reaction and accept that, if you want to save on parts, then you accept more risk. You want them to accept all the risk they have to build that into the price they are able to charge you.

Mike, OP said the dealer 'redlined' the car. My understanding is an 'over-rev' (which you referred to and OP hasn't alleged, yet) occurs when the engine is down-shifted at a point where the tach goes well beyond the redline when the clutch pedal is let out.

As you know, when accelerating, as soon as the redline is hit, the rev-limiter kicks in, preventing engine damage.

When your dealer quotes prices for parts "at cost", make sure he doesn't use a "price matrix" cost. My heretofor trusted dealer has recently started using price matrixing to come up with parts costs. For example, a lower control arm has a MSRP of $250 and the dealer wanted to charge me $406. When I called him on it, he relented and sold me the part for the MSRP less 10% PCA discount. It was explained to me that price matrixing is done to cover the cost of providing amenities such as coffee in the waiting room, loaner cars, etc., etc.

The dealer told me that he would install parts I furnished, but would only warranty the technician's work.....even if the part was a genuine Porsche part.

A good place to find real MSRP information is renntech.org in the DIY section.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/10/2012 07:53PM by whall. (view changes)

From what you've posted here, I'd say the Porsche dealership is being more than fair.

I know of no reason why hitting the redline would damage your clutch, unless it was in the context of a bunch of drag-race starts - dumping the clutch at redline rpm's.

These engine are made to be run to the redline.

As I say, this may not be what you want to hear, but in the absence of evidence that the dealership's work on/ use of the car caused or contributed to the damage, they wouldn't be in the hook.

From the sounds of it, they've made this offer as a goodwill gesture, as contrasted with any liability on their part.

I ordered the Sachs clutch from Partsgeek online and had a very reputable (even service adviser/not service manager admitted their quality of work). This was only 2K miles ago. There were no symptoms whatsoever. The dealership had also agreed to do a "complimentary world class inspection" which covered everything head-to toe" yet failed to do this... might this have turned up an issue had it been done?!?! Who knows. The bottom line is that there was a complete failure between 2-3 miles from dealership and the computer shows a redline in the time they had it. Was that the ONLY cause of the failure who knows but there is absolutely no reason for them to have redlined my car in the miles they drove it (this means they redlined it while the engine was cold unless they let it sit and warm up, not likely).

I've already researched the factory OEM clutch kit, this appears to be in the neighborhood of $510 online (MSRP doesn't interest me at all here as he said "cost") which means those companies (Sunset Porsche as well as others) are still making a profit. The first two passes of my addressing this resulted in the adviser telling "there's nothing conclusive therefore we can't help you", the second was with the service manager while he was out at an event driving and at first he was accusing me of using inferior parts and using inferior shops to do my labor - this is no way to handle the situation when I have proof they were abusive. He relented then offered to do it at his cost parts-wise and I think he said they'd shoulder the labor, if it turns out to only be the clutch that might be a consideration and would probably be acceptable but if there's more damage (ie flywheel, bell housing, gearing, etc) this will get ugly... I'm not about to throw out another $1000+ when they've got culpability here. The fact that they started to listen then actually tried to make some amends is very positive and goes a long ways with me.

There are two steps left, the finalization of the tentative price quote where we agree on parts/labor costs, then there's the tear down where we get to see what actually happened in there and both pray that nothing else is needed to bring this car to running condition. We're working in the right direction here so the biggest hurdle is crossed.

Regarding holding a company liable while I bought parts elsewhere, I think the point is accurate but not so much in this case. If they damaged something they are responsible for it regardless of where or when it was purchased. If they damaged the body they would be held responsible even if I bought the car elsewhere or "used", same goes for internal parts not just cosmetic. They had no business redlining the car, plain and simple even if it is a sportscar made for it. They were to do an inspection which they failed to do then VERY shortly after taking possession of my car it detonates, had this happened 50 or a 100 miles away I would never have called them for anything and shouldered this myself but it didn't. I'm not asking for restitution financially or other perks just for the car to have a good clutch as I believe it did when it was brought to them.

I believe Sachs is the supplier of the OEM part. The suggestion that the Sachs part is inferior in some way is ridiculous. It sounds like they're grasping at straws.

I really don't think you should have to pay the cost of the replacement clutch part. FWIW, the last time (about 6 years ago) I got an OEM clutch at cost from the dealer it was around $220.

I wonder if the service manager is investigating who at the dealership did the redlining.

It sounds like you're taking a good approach.

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Roger987
From what you've posted here, I'd say the Porsche dealership is being more than fair.

I know of no reason why hitting the redline would damage your clutch, unless it was in the context of a bunch of drag-race starts - dumping the clutch at redline rpm's.

These engine are made to be run to the redline.

As I say, this may not be what you want to hear, but in the absence of evidence that the dealership's work on/ use of the car caused or contributed to the damage, they wouldn't be in the hook.

From the sounds of it, they've made this offer as a goodwill gesture, as contrasted with any liability on their part.

IIRC, it was in the dealership to repair the immobilizer or a wiring problem.

What exactly redlining the motor has to do with that repair would seem to be the issue to be resolved. I can't think of one reason why the tech or somebody else would be buzzing the motor when the drive train is not being worked on. There may be good reasons for doing it while working on some part of the car, but at face value, it escapes me on this repair.

Correct, it was in for an immobilizer issue which turned out to be a pinched wire in a harness behind the stereo (my fault admittedly). The dealership was pretty good with me in diagnosing it then worked with me on pricing to be competitive with discount dealers so that was a good experience... all was good until a few short miles away. Perhaps their putting 2 miles on my car was a "test drive" but not sure why this would warrant a test drive of any sort, let alone exceed redline. Will redlining the engine kill a clutch, no... but there is no reason for them to have done it and if they did that then what else happened? Makes no sense

Not exactly excited about the prospect of potentially paying cost for parts for another clutch in 2k miles/4 mo's but if it runs fine and I get it back soon I won't whine. Again I just want it to run like it did before the immobilizer killed the ignition. I'll give them the chance to be the hero here though the first few passes were not exactly pleasant.

It will be interesting to see what the tear down shows.

In my thinking the dealer red lining the motor should not have caused a clutch problem, unless they were doing drag racing starts, or unless there was a problem with the installation of the new clutch by the indie. My reasoning has me believeing that the indie might not have properly installed the new clutch - maybe didn't torque the pressure plate to the flywheel properly (over or under torqued), and then the dealer pushing the motor to redline caused the pressure plate to come loose. In this case, the indie is the one responsible for the problem and the dealer has some culpability.

Though it sounds like you are on a reasonable path to resolution, you might want to pulll the indie into this to get them to agree that if there was an installation issue, they will cover any cost not covered by the dealer.

If it was a defective pressure plate, then you have another path to explore. As I said, it will be interesting to see what the tear down shows!

and spotted a very young "tech" (in quotes because he was probably not a full fledged tech) in his work uniform gassing up a black GTO with dealer tags on it.

After he finished up he eased the car out on to the street and raised the revs and dropped the clutch and did a nice long smokey burnout.

I'm sure at least one overrev counter was incremeted some by that treatment.

And the clutch received no little abuse.

Some time later I was at this dealer and this car was 'featured' in a prime spot on the dealer's showroom floor.

I had half a mind to ask the dealer what discount I would get given the treatment I saw the car being given but I decided to keep my mouth shut.

In the OP's case the overrevs to me strongly indicate the car received similar treatment. It wasn't just someone driving the car and shifting at redline, the car was probably being treated to smokey burnouts which hosed the clutch.

The dealer has another problem and one I'd remind it of just to keep the GM awake at nights. All it takes is one of his employees hotrodding about and and to have an accident and the dealer could be facing a huge lawsuit.

I know of one dealer who's shuttle driver for some reason ran off the road -- within sight of the dealership -- and knocked over a light pole.

The shuttle driver was fired almost before the emergency vehicles arrived.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

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MarcW


The dealer has another problem and one I'd remind it of just to keep the GM awake at nights. All it takes is one of his employees hotrodding about and and to have an accident and the dealer could be facing a huge lawsuit.

I know of one dealer who's shuttle driver for some reason ran off the road -- within sight of the dealership -- and knocked over a light pole.

The shuttle driver was fired almost before the emergency vehicles arrived.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

A friend that had a 996 went through a similar situation a few years back
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Dropped the car off for servicing--non Porsche dealer--and after the work was done, the tech proceeded to rod the car a bit and put the car sideways into a telephone pole; the car was totaled. The friend came out whole--the dealer paid off the value of the car and another friend picked up the motor for chump change and now has it in a 986.

It does give you pause, however, wondering just how the car was treated by whoever it was that had to "roadtest" or move it from point A to point B when your car goes in for service.

This may make a case for a durametric cable/software set up at home; get a printout before and after each trip to the dealership . Lord--you would hope it wouldn't have to come to that..

Leeper,
Did you look in the rear wheel wells to see if there is any remnants of melted tire rubber? Maybe someone was showing off by doing smoky burnouts. Could explain the redlines and clutch damage.

Point taken. When the Service manager calls this morning I'll offer that to him. I'll also ask that when they break it down that I be allowed to take video just in case it shows any proof of that, if so I'll take him off the hook and that should be of some comfort to him. Not sure that we'll be able to tell anything by seeing the carnage though. At the very least the indi is responsible for the labor should that be the problem here (and any parts that might be damaged due to their mistakes), they are very easy to work with and I have great trust in how they'll handle it should they have fault here. In their receipt it does read that there is no warranty on parts due to my bringing them the clutch kit but that does not release responsibility of anything labor related. They used all new parts, except flywheel, when they assembled it

No sign of rubber in the rear wheel wells or significant scuffing on the tires, the indi shop who has the car just reported back. Awaiting the call from Porsche to quote me a target price, go ahead, pick up my car, and do the tear-down/install.

Thursday got a long email from the service manager @ Porsche ending with his promise to resolve this and win me over. Friday the service adviser called to get the car in there ASAP to tear it down to see the damage but being out of town I facilitated that via phone. Right now it should be at San Diego Porsche awaiting a good mechanic to take it apart to see what we're facing before they can diagnose the cause and also give me an estimate to repair.

The car was picked up from the place that installed the clutch. As usual they are very easy to work with but I did put them on notice that should we find that the labor is the issue here that they'll be on the hook here... they have no problem with that.

Let you guys know early next week when they see what blew and why

How likely is it that you will be able to tell whether it was an installation error, defective part or something else?

One of them or some combination needs to take responsibility. Leeper should not be on the hook to pay for someone's screwup. Isn't there a legal term for that (when _someone_ is definitely responsible)?

BTW - the term is called "culpable". "To hold blame, at fault"

To rephrase, it's when the fault lies somewhere between two parties but neither can be completely blamed.

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Boxsterra
To rephrase, it's when the fault lies somewhere between two parties but neither can be completely blamed.

For lawyers that would be called a 'target rich environment'.

"A mile of highway will take you one mile. A mile of runway will take you anywhere."

There's no way to tell that I'm aware of. If it is there then I can and will point fingers and point my gun-barrel in that direction to hold accountable. In the likely even that there's nothing conclusive during the opening of this thing then I'll go stick with my finger pointed at P of SD.

(I get conflicting reports on whether the Sachs clutch is or is NOT the identical one as the Porsche clutch in a MY2000. Some say it is and others state that there are two different clutches). P of SD has stated twice now that I bought cheap parts.

If it is the costs of only the Porsche clutch then I might be OK with that. If they start with telling me I need a new flywheel or other expensive stuff that I'm not.

Lastly - The email from P of SD service manager was clearly pointing the finger at me (stating that I bought "cheap parts"), said that I used cheap labor (asked me if I ever wondered why I don't get a customer survey from them?), then said that he believes "you get what you pay for". No where in any of that email was there anything stating that something like this shouldn't happen and that if in any way they are at fault they'd be happy to make sure they make things right. No where was there any mention that if they conclude that the car was redlined while in their possession that this behavior is unacceptable and repercussions will take place. A bit of salt in the wound. The last sentence was that they will make it right and win me over... that will remain to be seen but I'm open to it once there's more information.

The email would have been far more acceptable to me had it read something like. "I would hate to be in your position. Owning and driving a Porsche is supposed to be a great experience not one where you're left stranded on the roadside... that must be quite frustrating to say the least. We, representing Porsche in it's finest, strive to make sure your driving/owning experience is one that no other company can offer and in that we'll make sure that this matter is addressed to your satisfaction. Without taking the car apart there's no way to tell what might have caused this catastrophic failure but rest assured that if in any way it could have been caused my anything we're responsible for, that you will be more than taken care of through this endeavor. We pride ourselves on not only selling the best products but offering the finest in quality service as well, we'll prove this throughout the process to ensure you're well taken care of. Mistakes can happen so if it turns out that we have any regarding this issue then we'll jump to take more than appropriate actions to get you up and running as soon as possible then to ensure that this is the not happen again. Your being completely satisfied is our goal here, my job is to make sure that happens... thank you for choosing a Porsche and choosing P of SD"... not an email pointing the fingers at me and the other shop as being cheap and incompetent without every admitting any fault in the matter even before taking a look at the car.

Initially I got calls from the service adviser saying it's not their issue, then the service manager saying the same thing... that even if it was redlined it's not their problem... this just fanned my fire causing me to head up the food-chain and got my ire going here. That was not the way to begin this ordeal. Perhaps their customers are much more likely to just throw credit cards across a table without knowledge of either mechanics or business but don't treat me like an idiot even if I might be at fault here (which I doubt I am). The small things turned into big things quickly and spiraled down quickly, this did not need to happen... what could have been a chance for them to step up initially and look like heroes not we're both at point where there's anger/frustration/emotions involved and that was not necessary had the front-end gone differently. When the service adviser called me on Friday (after I left less-than complimentary survey) he was much more focused on this issue and getting to its proper conclusion in a very nice way.

P of SD took apart the car today and had the parts waiting for me to view them. When I arrived it was all laid out. It was clear that there wasn't anything left of the clutch - it was down to the rivets with no material left at all... all the material was spit throughout the clutch bell housing. No evidence whatsoever as to what might have caused this incident, bad part, bad labor, bad treatment who knows. The service manager offered to do the repair splitting the cost of parts and throwing in their labor, I shot back with my covering the full cost of parts (figure around $550-700 dealer cost) as to see them work with me on this does snhow me that their willing to work with me. He's ordering the clutch now and hopefully it'll be completed either this Thursday or Friday.

If there is no more unforeseen issues I think the end result is acceptable. There's no conclusive proof that they did the damage but it points in that direction. He was the one who stepped up and took a level of responsibility. I think that was very fair and the right thing to do.

If I understand you correctly, the dealer offered to cover the labour and split the cost of parts, and, in reply, you offered to cover the full cost of the parts. Well done.

Each of you took the high road, with a win-win outcome.

Congrats.