big spend on Panamera GTS suspension bits-but what a change!

[jackliebling]

Dear All,

In September I picked up a 2012 Panamera GTS for £26.5k with 85000 miles. It is in great condition, interior like new and body in good form. It is covered by the official Porsche warranty until April 2024 and I will be extending it to its 15th year (for £3k) as I am paranoid about the air ride, aircon, PDK or other expensive bits going pop.

However, it was driving a bit loosely and creaks and tapping noises coming from the front suspension, just didn't feel on top top form.

So I was recommended a fab garage in Tring - Morningside Motors. Their hourly rate is a fraction of OPC so I took it there and we just decided to get it all sorted and renewed - new sway bar bushes, new lower and upper control arms (front and rear). They also found lots of rotten bolts and clips (ffs Porsche!), a power steering pipe that was loose and rubbing on the drive shaft, and replaced the gearbox mount as it was also rotten.

So £4800 later and it drives like a brand new £100,000k car! Because of the warranty all the parts had to be OEM (despite totally identical Lemforder parts being less than half the price), OEM parts added roughly £1500 to the bill.

My opinion is that around 2008-2015 was probably the time when the greatest ICE cars will ever have been produced - natural aspiration V8 with no stupid filters. No stupid infotainment touch screens etc. It is such a wonderful car!

So all in I have spent £31800 (inc. 2 new tyres and an air con service). Perhaps I am crazy but it doesn't seem too bad to me for such a machine.

What say you? Would you have done the same? :-)

Cheers
Jack

[Discombobulate]

jackliebling said:

Dear All,

In September I picked up a 2012 Panamera GTS for £26.5k with 85000 miles. It is in great condition, interior like new and body in good form. It is covered by the official Porsche warranty until April 2024 and I will be extending it to its 15th year (for £3k) as I am paranoid about the air ride, aircon, PDK or other expensive bits going pop.

However, it was driving a bit loosely and creaks and tapping noises coming from the front suspension, just didn't feel on top top form.

So I was recommended a fab garage in Tring - Morningside Motors. Their hourly rate is a fraction of OPC so I took it there and we just decided to get it all sorted and renewed - new sway bar bushes, new lower and upper control arms (front and rear). They also found lots of rotten bolts and clips (ffs Porsche!), a power steering pipe that was loose and rubbing on the drive shaft, and replaced the gearbox mount as it was also rotten.

So £4800 later and it drives like a brand new £100,000k car! Because of the warranty all the parts had to be OEM (despite totally identical Lemforder parts being less than half the price), OEM parts added roughly £1500 to the bill.

My opinion is that around 2008-2015 was probably the time when the greatest ICE cars will ever have been produced - natural aspiration V8 with no stupid filters. No stupid infotainment touch screens etc. It is such a wonderful car!

So all in I have spent £31800 (inc. 2 new tyres and an air con service). Perhaps I am crazy but it doesn't seem too bad to me for such a machine.

What say you? Would you have done the same? :-)

Cheers
Jack

Can't speak for the Panamera but I have recently completely refreshed the suspension (at CoG - and everything was done) on our 65k mile 997.1 and it too transformed the car.
So much so, I then went and had Hartech convert it to a 4.1 and do all the other jobs - from coolant and brake lines, to clutch and engine mounts - required while they were in there.
Now skint but it's a keeper and will see me out.
I have had lots of Porsches and this is the only one we have never tired of (15 years so far).

[ChrisW.]

I find this an interesting post because, apart from being the green thing to do, I believe there is a lot of fun to be had from the constructive ownership and use of a wonderful piece of machinery ... the idea that apart from being older a "something" might just become a better "something" from doing well the job it was designed for ...

It also highlights my pet-hate ... stuff in cars that isn't really necessary but is simply more "stuff" to go wrong. I'd far rather have the features that will be used regularly designed to work regularly for longer ... as for the rotting clips etc, this is penny pinching to the point of stupidity when pennies on plating works so well.

But in the late '80's and early 90's Porsche did nearly go bust ... maybe that was partly because they did design and manufacture those cars for such a long life ??

[Grantstown]

Apparently the 996 shaved more than 30% from the production cost of the outgoing 993. I know it probably coincided with more efficient robotics etc at the factory, but perhaps it does say something for the longevity anticipated for the engineering in the old era.

[Mosdef]

I also had a 2012 GTS and had the same creaks and rattles, particularly in cold weather conditions going over speed bumps when the car was still cold. Porsche replaced lots of the same parts you have under warranty and it was well known at the time that the bushes originally fitted were not up to scratch. As with your experience, it made a huge difference and I’d consider doing the same next year with my 2019 Turbo. That’s started to squeak / creak a bit on cold mornings, I know it would make a difference but would do whatever I could to get the warranty to cover it.

[Cheburator mk2]

Grantstown said:

Apparently the 996 shaved more than 30% from the production cost of the outgoing 993. I know it probably coincided with more efficient robotics etc at the factory, but perhaps it does say something for the longevity anticipated for the engineering in the old era.

The cars pre-Boxster/996 were virtually hand build. Watch the old assembly line videos found on YouTube and you would love the quaint, almost small manufacture aspect of them all. You may also laugh when you compare Porsche to something like Mercedes or BMW at the time. Such was the contrast.

I also have a 996 - mk1 GT3 CS. Build quality is ok, but material quality compared to my 1993 928 GTS Manual is several centuries behind.