Boxster/Cayman 718 GPF - ticking timebomb? - Page 2 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

I've been to see an OPC Approved Used Boxster 718 today, lovely car, good spec and in great condition so I've placed a deposit on it. It's an 2.0 base, early 2019 car that's done 24k miles and has a GPF fitted. Everything checked out but crucially, in the car's service history it mentioned 'GPF Blocked, repaired'. Mileage at the time was ~16k miles. I didn't question it much at the time as the car was exemplary, but curiosity got the better of me now I'm home and it seems there's a few horror stories on the internet about these blocking up and then not being covered by the Porsche Warranty, throwing new owners a £6-7k bill. These GPF equipped cars have now been on sale for 5 years now as the change over to GPFs happened in early 2019. I can't find a great deal about it but research indicates it could be due to the solely off boost usage (which wouldn't affect me) or the wrong oil but this is anecdotal at best and it's happened to OPC serviced cars where you would expect the correct oil has been used. Is this something to be concerned about buying a used 718?

If it concerns you take it up with the OPC you are buying it from and get assurances in writing ..as its a used car it will come with a 2yr warranty does the warranty cover it. I am not a fan of the 718 personally prefer the 981 6cyl model and no idea what your car is costing you would a 981 GTS be in your budget

I will take it up with the OPC on Monday yes. Unfortunately they're shut tomorrow, so in the meantime I wanted to see what PH thought. 981 GTS is a bit out of budget. I've test driven both 981 and 718 and as I'll be using it as a daily, I preferred the 718. The 981 GTS are lovely cars though.

There is a long thread on this on PCGB: https://www.porscheclubgb.com/forum/threads/cayman... In short, the starter of the thread had an issue with the GPF and Porsche refused the claim stating it was a filter which was not covered under warranty. The reason the GPF is so expensive is that it's a combined GPF and Cat and the part alone is c. £2500. It's an ongoing argument that the GPF 'should' last the lifetime of the car but it seems that Porsche are not interested. The only suggestion I can give is speak to your OPC and if you do decide to buy it give it an 'Italian tune' every month.

'GPF Blocked, Repaired' sounds different to Replaced. So what does a repair look like given that normally Porsche will just replace defective parts? The 981 v 718 debate rolls on Everything about the 981 is dated compared to the 718 but as ever it will divide opinon

Thanks both. I had already read the thread on PCGB as well as all the other threads on the subject. It's difficult to separate out the facts of the matter and if they're isolated incidents or not. It's disappointing that Porsche GB won't cover it under the warranty, if they did I'd be happy to take it on risk. A potential £7k bill on a new to me OPC car with a warranty isn't something I'm happy with however. I will speak to the OPC in the morning, I need more detail on whether the GPF was repaired or replaced, but I'm inclined to get my deposit back and look for a 2018 car with no GPF.

Armitage.Shanks said: The 981 v 718 debate rolls on Everything about the 981 is dated compared to the 718 but as ever it will divide opinon Ooh, bit harsh, surely? What’s dated on the 982 compared with the 981? Outside is a bit, different, inside is almost the same. Engine is very different but, as you say, that’s been done to death already. :-)

Isn't this just like the DPF on diesels? If the car has done lots of short journeys it will clog, just needs an Italian tune up now and again.

The speculation is that if you get any other failure such as an oil separator issue which contaminates the filter, then it may clog in a way which cannot be cleared by either the driver or the car ... Where the particulate filter is combined with a catalytic converter as it is on the 2.0 4 cylinder car, this can cost £7000 which is not currently covered by the OPC warranty. It remains to be seen how serious an issue this may become ... either way I had the choice of choosing a car without the GPF (2018 supplied car) or with (2019 supplied car) ... and I chose the earlier car.

Maxym said: Armitage.Shanks said: The 981 v 718 debate rolls on Everything about the 981 is dated compared to the 718 but as ever it will divide opinon Ooh, bit harsh, surely? What’s dated on the 982 compared with the 981? Outside is a bit, different, inside is almost the same. Engine is very different but, as you say, that’s been done to death already. :-) There were a number of improvements over the old 981 model: https://newsroom.porsche.com/dam/jcr:86a2a46d-fa29... 981s will be coming up to ten years old now, I do remember the steering being very sluggish on that early EPAS version, thankfully they fixed it on the 982s. Can't believe 981s had the PDK gearing the wrong way around (push gear selector forward to change up wtf) and those awful steering wheel buttons rather than paddles if you didn't opt for the GT sport design steering wheel. Back to the 982s and I think it is ridiculous if they are trying to sting people for GPFs despite the cars being under warranty. CRA 2015 might have something to say if you're left with a seven grand bill on a nearly new car, "not fit for purpose" would be my thinking but presume these 'settlements' would be subject to NDAs? Irrespective, rather underhanded either way. Safest option for me would be be a pre 2019 pre GPF car also without sports chrono so no dynamic engine mounts to replace every six months...

If you were buying a new car then you would be stuck with it, but given that you are aiming for a 2019 car anyway wouldn’t it just make sense to buy one without a GPF on it?

trumpton7291 said: There were a number of improvements over the old 981 model: https://newsroom.porsche.com/dam/jcr:86a2a46d-fa29... 981s will be coming up to ten years old now, I do remember the steering being very sluggish on that early EPAS version, thankfully they fixed it on the 982s. Can't believe 981s had the PDK gearing the wrong way around (push gear selector forward to change up wtf) and those awful steering wheel buttons rather than paddles if you didn't opt for the GT sport design steering wheel. Back to the 982s and I think it is ridiculous if they are trying to sting people for GPFs despite the cars being under warranty. CRA 2015 might have something to say if you're left with a seven grand bill on a nearly new car, "not fit for purpose" would be my thinking but presume these 'settlements' would be subject to NDAs? Irrespective, rather underhanded either way. Safest option for me would be be a pre 2019 pre GPF car also without sports chrono so no dynamic engine mounts to replace every six months... Umm well I have had 2 cars with the sports chrono pack both of them for longer than 6 months never had an issue

OP you're correct it is difficult to know how prevelant the issue is. Also the wrong oil issues appears to stem from people being given the gold rather than green top-up bottles by the service managers when collecting their cars.

Thanks all, my main concern is that it's simply not well known how/why the GPFs are blocking. The crucial point here is that should it block, the warranty doesn't cover it. Without getting in to the 981 vs 718 debate, my deposit is being refunded by the OPC who were understanding and didn't argue, so I'll be looking for a 2018 pre GPF car. Edited by AndrewGP on Monday 29th January 13:36

AndrewGP said: Thanks all, my main concern is that it's simply not well known how/why the GPFs are blocking. The crucial point here is that should it block, the warranty doesn't cover it. Without getting in to the 981 vs 718 debate, my deposit is being refunded by the OPC who were understanding and didn't argue, so I'll be looking for a 2018 pre GPF car. Edited by AndrewGP on Monday 29th January 13:36 If you’re not happy you’ve done the right thing walking away! Good luck in your search . Be interesting to know how many cars on the forum have had the issue - to get an idea of the % cars that are having the problem?

TheOctaneAddict said: Isn't this just like the DPF on diesels? If the car has done lots of short journeys it will clog, just needs an Italian tune up now and again. Replacement of the DPF is a service part on a F56 Mini D at 120k miles. I don't fancy paying that bill!

trumpton7291 said: Can't believe 981s had the PDK gearing the wrong way around (push gear selector forward to change up wtf)... Same with the cruise control stalk... push forward to go forward faster, pull back to go slower. Very unintuitive, eh? Oh, hang on, that actually sounds correct? Push the gear lever to go faster (change up), pull to go slower (change down). Who knew! The Germans actually thought logically and "changed it up."

DJMC said: Same with the cruise control stalk... push forward to go forward faster, pull back to go slower. Very unintuitive, eh? Oh, hang on, that actually sounds correct? Push the gear lever to go faster (change up), pull to go slower (change down). Who knew! The Germans actually thought logically and "changed it up." If you're slowing down, and therefore changing down, weight shifts forward - it's unintuitive to pull the lever back as everything else is going forward. The opposite for acceleration - weight transfers back, makes sense to pull the lever back to match.

john_1983 said: If you're slowing down, and therefore changing down, weight shifts forward - it's unintuitive to pull the lever back as everything else is going forward. The opposite for acceleration - weight transfers back, makes sense to pull the lever back to match. Using the lever as opposed to the paddles makes no sense at all in either direction, you either have a manual car with a gear lever or a PDK with paddles. No idea who thought of those awful buttons on the wheel some cars have though.

Lever is handy for changing gear if you're turning the wheel at the same time and can't hit the paddles.

981Boxess said: Using the lever as opposed to the paddles makes no sense at all in either direction, you either have a manual car with a gear lever or a PDK with paddles. No idea who thought of those awful buttons on the wheel some cars have though. I was mostly thinking of 1990s BTCC

trumpton7291 said: Lever is handy for changing gear if you're turning the wheel at the same time and can't hit the paddles. Yes, very useful and easier pulling the gear up than it was pushing the gear up !