The 918
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Joined: Jan 2005
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And IMS failure for 986 and some 987's. Also they oil starve on track and blow up. We had a minor leak from the cam cover on our 987 and when we got the car back the warranty paperwork said "remove engine from car" replace a bunch of seals, the cover itself, etc, reinstall engine. Do alignment per engine removal. All for a freaking small cam cover leak. I'm glad the car is CPO.
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Joined: Aug 2006
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From: Scottsdale
the shite that breaks usually isn't drivetrain nowadays, either...seems like electrical sensors & other electric items are the bulk of the work. You do get drivetrain failures and you always will, but there are a lot of drivetrains that are high performance and as reliable as anything...
The only thing that I could think to point to for why high end cars seem to have more electrical issues is that they have more electrical systems, or for performance cars, the stiffer suspension has a more jarring effect on connections and solders???
Think about the common things that break....sensors, window motors, switches, all that sort of shit. We're talking a few dollars at wholesale cost for the manufacturer. They mark it up, sell to the dealer or distributor, who then marks it up and sells to the consumer. Consumer pays 750 bucks for the part and 250 in labor for something that costs like 10 bucks to make. Dealer and manufacturer laugh all the way to the bank.
If it is warranty work, they don't care because the part doesn't really cost them anything.
Now, if it were a thrown rod, you have multiple parts that broke and must be fixed, they weigh a lot and are comparatively bulky, require a ton of labor, cost a lot to make, etc. point being, if they mark it up like they do with minor parts, the car would just be a total loss (or eventually fixed w used parts), and there is no money in that. It would also entail hiring more real mechanics instead of sensor replacing monkeys...at a price.
So, if you were a car manufacturer, which car system would you invest against and over engineer? Drivetrain or electrical? Hell, you could even argue that BMW buys sensors rated to last 4.2 years before crapping out. Not only does this save you money during the manufacturing process, but it also gives you a highly profitable repair business after the car is sold, which allows you to give the consumer more for less money up front, and they make it up later. It also allows you to cpo cars for less money because the repair cost is low for everyone except the customer.
Bottom line for me is...expect electrical problems, they aren't going anywhere. And never own a German car out of warranty. And never get involved in a land war in Asia.
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