[John]

My Cayman 718S with standard leather seats has very bad wear on the o/s bolster on the drivers seat. Holes have appeared in the leather

Porsche refusing to cover it under warranty although thecae has only done 18k miles. They say it has been subjected to "external influence" which, in other words means they have accused me of causing the damage and trying to claim under warranty. I'm furious as I take such great care of the car

Other than the Motor Ombudsman does anyone have a suggestion about what I can do

Thanks
John

 

[RussellHodgson]

Can you post a picture?

 

[KEN OB]

An independent report from a car upholstery specialist should help your case.

 

[Viffermike]

OP, this is an issue that a few other members have dealt with. There's a specific point on the side bolster where three seams meet that is particularly prone spot. Thing is, a point where three seams meet is a prone spot on any seat.

Seat upholstery is considered a wear item by most auto manufacturers. Unless you can prove that the wear is cased by a defect in the construction or manufacture of the seat upholstery, and that the wear is not, in fact, wear -- it's a tear or similar failure caused by unusual stress to the fabric, not repeated abrasion over months or years -- you won't get warranty coverage.

Think of this from the manufacturer's perspective. Different people get out of cars different ways. A manufacturer can account for only so many 'different ways' in a seat design. Also, leather, even though it's designed to wear, is frequently targeted by consumers as something that should be kept in as-new condition -- and that is, thus, an unreasonable expectation by consumers. If every warranty claim for leather upholstery was honored based on like-new condition expectations, seats would be changed out en masse, even if they're still fully functional.

Another perspective: Plastic can scratch. The black plastic in the center console is quite susceptible to this. Mine's been scratched a few times. Am I thinking of making a warranty claim about the plastic because it's easily scratched? No, I'm not, because it's not defective, and the plastic is still fully functional. I just need to be more careful with it. Same applies to your seats -- until they are no longer fully functional. That's when you may have a case for a warranty claim -- but, likely, not because of the wear-item categorization I mentioned previously.

 

[RGM718]

Wow............I have not had this problem with any of my previous 4 Caymans. Too early on the 718 (2 months old). But, all of them were the partial leather (seating surfaces) with the vinyl/ material on bolsters et al.

 

[Uz718]

My Cayman 718S with standard leather seats has very bad wear on the o/s bolster on the drivers seat. Holes have appeared in the leather

Porsche refusing to cover it under warranty although thecae has only done 18k miles. They say it has been subjected to "external influence" which, in other words means they have accused me of causing the damage and trying to claim under warranty. I'm furious as I take such great care of the car

Other than the Motor Ombudsman does anyone have a suggestion about what I can do

Thanks
John

John
Is the car on finance? If so, call the Finance company. Make the complaint to them. Let them sort Porsche out.

Make a scene of biblical proportions in the dealership. Get the centre principal and lay it on thick.

 

[duegatti]

How many ways, and how damaging can they be, to get in and out of a car, such that we should be content with holes through the leather in 18,000 miles? I'd benefit from pictures here.

 

[autobahn]

short of wearing sandpaper clothing, I see no reason why leather should be wearing out after 18k miles of even rougher use. just shouldn't happen.

 

[Basaltbox]

My 986 standard leather seats still look very good after 14.5 years, 106k miles and about 2 valets over that time.

 

[timlaw]

my friend has a 2011 cayman with 130K miles on it - black leather - next to no wear at all

actually the whole car has taken the mileage remarkably well

 

[Uz718]

my friend has a 2011 cayman with 130K miles on it - black leather - next to no wear at all

actually the whole car has taken the mileage remarkably well

The GOAT giving me hope in the high mileage reliability of our cars...

 

[Basaltbox]

Must be those sandpaper pants John.

 

[timlaw]

While car looks amazing given the mileage but it is probably the only 987 gen 2 in the country that has had 7 main dealer services

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Uz718]

While car looks amazing given the mileage but it is probably the only 987 gen 2 in the country that has had 7 main dealer services

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That does still look fantastic....

 

[timlaw]

That does still look fantastic....

Uzzy it drives ridiculously well as well - I went with my friend to collect it from Kent and it remarkably planted and free from groans and rattles - a real testament to the vehicle's strength and the value of good service history

it cost him £16k and in 6 months about £500 in minor bits and pieces inc cosmetics like new mats and wheel centres

for a 2.9L with PDK it aint slow either

if you were worried about residuals an older spyder might be the way to go as the cars will clearly take the miles you are doing

Tim

 

[Uz718]

That does still look fantastic....

Uzzy it drives ridiculously well as well - I went with my friend to collect it from Kent and it remarkably planted and free from groans and rattles - a real testament to the vehicle's strength and the value of good service history

it cost him £16k and in 6 months about £500 in minor bits and pieces inc cosmetics like new mats and wheel centres

for a 2.9L with PDK it aint slow either

if you were worried about residuals an older spyder might be the way to go as the cars will clearly take the miles you are doing

Tim

More food for thought.... Hmm mm....