[kfahmi]

Looking at a great, great deal on a new 718 CS to add to my garage (next to my base 718 Boxster.)

The car is new, but here's what is giving me pause: it was delivered in November 2017 and has been at the dealer ever since. It has 180 miles on it and has apparently been showed at auto shows. The car is immaculate, but judging from my experience with aviation piston engines, the absolute worst thing you can do to an engine is to run it and then let it sit for months. Engine combustion creates moisture, which creates condensation and will build up rust on the cylinder walls. In the aviation world this is easy to determine: we pull a spark plug off each cylinder and do a borescope inspection and compression test. In the automobile world, I can envision doing that procedure for a well-used car but I can't imagine a Porsche dealer allowing that to be done to a new, never-sold car.

What do you all think? Do car engines suffer from inactivity in the same way that aircraft piston engines do? Obviously the car has the full Porsche warranty but obvious problems wouldn't necessarily arise until years down the road (low compression, etc etc.)

Any info would be splendid. Thank you folks!

 

[greywing]

Of course depends on what a great, great deal is but . . . get it!

 

[porkey]

Looking at a great, great deal on a new 718 CS to add to my garage (next to my base 718 Boxster.)

The car is new, but here's what is giving me pause: it was delivered in November 2017 and has been at the dealer ever since. It has 180 miles on it and has apparently been showed at auto shows. The car is immaculate, but judging from my experience with aviation piston engines, the absolute worst thing you can do to an engine is to run it and then let it sit for months. Engine combustion creates moisture, which creates condensation and will build up rust on the cylinder walls. In the aviation world this is easy to determine: we pull a spark plug off each cylinder and do a borescope inspection and compression test. In the automobile world, I can envision doing that procedure for a well-used car but I can't imagine a Porsche dealer allowing that to be done to a new, never-sold car.

What do you all think? Do car engines suffer from inactivity in the same way that aircraft piston engines do? Obviously the car has the full Porsche warranty but obvious problems wouldn't necessarily arise until years down the road (low compression, etc etc.)

Any info would be splendid. Thank you folks!

...as long as it wasn't abused between shows (over rev's etc.), and it truly is immaculate...yes, I'd buy it without reservation. However, I'd still expect a serious discount or what's the point? If not, might as well put my cash towards a "newer" one if that was the case...IMHO...

 

[Porsche2018]

I personally don't think there will be a problem but I would have them change the oil/oil filter and I would want a new battery. Other things to keep in mind is the fuel tank probably has moisture in it as well as the brake and transmission fluid. Though, I turned down a 2RS that had 15 miles but was sitting around for over a year............FYI.
If they will change the fluid(s) I would advise observing them while they change it (them).

 

[JazzCatGab]

That works out to about 10 miles/month, which I wouldn't be surprised for a dealer demo model. My point being related to your aviation engine example in that if the car is run a couple of times a month, even for short periods, my bigger concern would be the fluids (engine oil and brake fluid) getting condensation in the mix. Change the fluids and presto, new car!

 

[duegatti]

Cars get stored for 6 month winters all the time.

 

[Lamb]

My 718 has been in storage since November...full tank of gas with Stabil added...its been on a charger and hasn't been started...the worst thing for an engine is to start it and not drive it....the moisture builds up and doesn't get burned off...

 

[ANGST]

How many miles are you going to put on it before the warranty expires ? Those types of issues are going to show up sooner rather then later . I would not be concerned .

 

[rsmith]

not a car situation, but I have a boat with an outboard motor and it gets winterized and stored for 6-7 months a year outside in colorado. being an outboard the dealer changes the oil abd gear lubes, puts stabil in the tank (run into the motor) and I think fogs the plugs. it's coming up on it's 10th year and we've had no problems with the engine since we bought it. Well, we had a fuel system issue but that was not related to winter or storage - it was a known material issue the manufacture has since resolved.

 

[kfahmi]

Thanks all for the good advice! You're right about cars being stored 6 months at a time with no ill effects. We do that with airplane engines, but that requires them to be 'pickled' (we run them, change the oil when hot, then fill it with preservative oil, run that a little bit, and then stick dehydrator plugs in all the spark plug holes, as well as plug up the exhaust and intake manifold, and insert desiccant bags as well.

But I guess nobody really bothers doing that with cars.

And I suppose a failed battery would be covered under warranty...and if it's gonna die, it's going to do it well within the warranty period.

I asked if the dealer would throw in an oil change, but not gonna happen. Given that the offer is a 20% discount off MSRP for a new 718CS with 180 miles on it, I see where they're coming from.

I guess I could just pay for a full service (oil change, brake flush, etc) and rely on Porsche to replace the battery under warranty if it dies.

The only thing I wonder about is internal rust on the cylinder walls. This may well be due to the fact that while I am intimately familiar with air-cooled piston aircraft engines (which can develop cylinder wall rust after as little as 3 weeks of inactivity -- I've seen it myself), I am by no means very familiar with modern liquid-cooled car engines...

 

[GregW]

<snips>I asked if the dealer would throw in an oil change, but not gonna happen. Given that the offer is a 20% discount off MSRP for a new 718CS with 180 miles on it, I see where they're coming from.

I guess I could just pay for a full service (oil change, brake flush, etc) and rely on Porsche to replace the battery under warranty if it dies.

The only thing I wonder about is internal rust on the cylinder walls. This may well be due to the fact that while I am intimately familiar with air-cooled piston aircraft engines (which can develop cylinder wall rust after as little as 3 weeks of inactivity -- I've seen it myself), I am by no means very familiar with modern liquid-cooled car engines...

1. At a year old the car is due for its first service (basically an oil change and inspection) so I'd be getting that be done or you may have warranty problems later.

2. As far as I know the cylinder linings are Nikasil and don't rust.

 

[kfahmi]

1. At a year old the car is due for its first service (basically an oil change and inspection) so I'd be getting that be done or you may have warranty problems later.

Good point. I guess I could use that free first service for this purpose.

2. As far as I know the cylinder linings are Nikasil and don't rust.

Sure wish they offered that for airplanes! It's amazing how fast steel cylinders can rust internally.

 

[TEST DRyVer]

Good point. I guess I could use that free first service for this purpose.



Sure wish they offered that for airplanes! It's amazing how fast steel cylinders can rust internally.

Sounds like a real good deal! I personally wouldn't worry about it... The car is under warranty, and if it's certified, even better. Odds of it being 20% off and certified is slim, but I figured I'd ask. Either way, you're fine. Enjoy the killer deal on a near new car! We've sold several Porsche's recently, that are 17's with less than 200 miles on the odometer. No problems to note... I would recommend an oil change, and your battery is not likely to last long. Also, I could be wrong (someone please correct me if I am), but I don't believe a battery is covered under warranty, unless there's a failure. By failure, I don't mean letting the car sit too long. That sounds like a wear & tear item to me, but again, I could be wrong...

 

[kfahmi]

Sounds like a real good deal! I personally wouldn't worry about it... The car is under warranty, and if it's certified, even better. Odds of it being 20% off and certified is slim, but I figured I'd ask. Either way, you're fine. Enjoy the killer deal on a near new car! We've sold several Porsche's recently, that are 17's with less than 200 miles on the odometer. No problems to note... I would recommend an oil change, and your battery is not likely to last long. Also, I could be wrong (someone please correct me if I am), but I don't believe a battery is covered under warranty, unless there's a failure. By failure, I don't mean letting the car sit too long. That sounds like a wear & tear item to me, but again, I could be wrong...

Thank you for that advice, very helpful. Oil change and new battery, that makes good sense. Although, I'd hope that the warranty would cover the cost of battery replacement. I mean, how does Porsche know whether the car has sat in a lot somewhere, or has been stored inside a garage on a battery maintainer? But then again we're talking pennies here when compared to the cost of a car, so I should probably just STFU, quit worrying and buy the car

 

[Chris NZ]

A battery is considered a consumable and is generally not covered by warranty. My experience has shown that they often tend to fail outside of the warranty window anyway.

 

[kfahmi]

Well, I couldn't resist, so I just snagged the deal. 2018 Cayman S, Guards Red, Black standard interior with leather package (not full leather), Sport Chrono, PASM, heated & ventilated seats, auto climate control, dynamic headlights, sport exhaust, 20" Carrera S wheels in glossy black. Total of 180 miles. Discounted 20% off MSRP.

Oil and filter change will be done prior to delivery, and will count as the first (free) scheduled service. As for the brake fluid and battery, I'll figure that out shortly.

Of course the car is under the stop-sale order but I'm sure that'll be resolved quickly.

And you want to know the crazy thing? This is going to be my wife's daily driver. Yes, she's going to be taking it to work every day, to Safeway, etc. I will use it once or twice a week as a commute car. It will be parked in our garage next to our lovely Night Blue 718 Boxster, because apparently one Porsche was not enough.

Clearly, I have lost all grip on reality. >

 

[porkey]

Well, I couldn't resist, so I just snagged the deal. 2018 Cayman S, Guards Red, Black standard interior with leather package (not full leather), Sport Chrono, PASM, heated & ventilated seats, auto climate control, dynamic headlights, sport exhaust, 20" Carrera S wheels in glossy black. Total of 180 miles. Discounted 20% off MSRP.

Oil and filter change will be done prior to delivery, and will count as the first (free) scheduled service. As for the brake fluid and battery, I'll figure that out shortly.

Of course the car is under the stop-sale order but I'm sure that'll be resolved quickly.

And you want to know the crazy thing? This is going to be my wife's daily driver. Yes, she's going to be taking it to work every day, to Safeway, etc. I will use it once or twice a week as a commute car. It will be parked in our garage next to our lovely Night Blue 718 Boxster, because apparently one Porsche was not enough.

Clearly, I have lost all grip on reality. /forum/images/718forum/smilies/tango_face_devil.png

...Congratulations. Nicely appointed and a great deal for essentially a brand new car! Also love the fact that the color is a "shouter"! Enjoy!

 

[Porsche2018]

I would buy a battery maintainer and use it. After I finish driving my car I routinely connect the maintainer, and I am confident this will extend the life of the battery.

 

[kfahmi]

I would buy a battery maintainer and use it. After I finish driving my car I routinely connect the maintainer, and I am confident this will extend the life of the battery.

Yup, I do as well. The 718 Boxster always sits on a maintainer. In fact I'm just about to order another one.

Now I gotta schedule the ceramic coating...and PPF. It never ends, does it? Ah well. If I didn't care about this stuff I guess I'd just go get a Prius

 

[Porsche2018]

Yup, I do as well. The 718 Boxster always sits on a maintainer. In fact I'm just about to order another one.

Now I gotta schedule the ceramic coating...and PPF. It never ends, does it? Ah well. If I didn't care about this stuff I guess I'd just go get a Prius

Great about the Battery maintainer.

Regarding it never ends, well that's part of the fun. For me and my wife cars have become a hobby that we both enjoy and that includes the car detailing. A week ago we both spent 5 hours detailing the GT2 and had allot of fun. Our cars always look better after we take possession and "detail" it up.