996 brake failure

Hello I am new to the club and forum and I apologise for the long message. I was wondering if anyone else has had any similar issues and if there are any alternatives. I have a 996 Carrara 4 convertible 2001 under 50k miles. I bought it from a Porsche dealership 3 years ago. It had an excellent history and had been serviced and maintained by the same Porsche dealership for 5 years. I decided to continue using the same dealership to maintain a consistent service history. No major issues apart from a water pump failure which they fixed. However recently while driving locally, it had an almost total brake failure, only worked when pushing all the way to the floor. I noticed oil in the front off-side arch. Once I got it to the service centre they said it could be the master brake cylinder approx. £650 + labour. This was replaced however it didn't fix the issue. Now they say it could be the ABS which needs to be replaced approx. £2700. It also didn’t sound like they were sure if it would fix the issue. Total bill could be £3500+. Not sure if this sounds correct. My question is, has anyone had similar failures? Are there any cheaper alternatives i.e refurbished parts? Would a failure take out the MC as well as the ABS? Would a Porsche specialist be considerably cheaper? Any advice would be appreciated

Could be loads of things. One might expect a dealership to have more diagnostic skills than just replacing random parts until the problem goes.

Presumably they've checked your brake hoses and lines / pipes... Might be worth asking them to do so if not.

To be honest that's what I thought and I did suggest this to them, a brake pipe issue or some sort of seal. I thought it would be a quick fix and wasn't expecting a major issue.

I would get a second opinion on this issue maybe from an Porsche independent garage as it seems they just want to replace parts rather than investigate the problem, so much for modern mechanics, prefer old school guys! Surely if its leaking then it can be traced. I have a not so serious brake problem here with one of the front calliper brake nipples rusted through and it broke off, the dealer wanted to replace the calliper with a new one but I can get the old one repaired by drilling a bigger hole in it using an "easy out" to get out the bit left inside and replace with a new nipple. Good luck with finding an answer that's cost effective.

The fact there is brake fluid escaping from a sealed system would tend to suggest an easy starting point in the diagnostic checks. Did they put an apprentice on the job? i recently had a rear caliper nipple work loose and air got in the system. The brake pedal was on the floor before the slightest braking effect was noticed. I wonder if your system was properly bled afterwards?

When I first spoke to them about the oil leak, the service engineer seemed to think it was not related. I also didn't get a clear reason for the oil in the arch but I will ask again. I didn't take the wheel off to check where it came from. However as he seemed to think it was not related and said the fault was with the master cylinder I presumed they had isolated the fault. I am questioning their current analysis as it is not fixed and they are saying it is now the ABS. My assumption is that it would be one faulty item, master cylinder or the ABS not both. As the car is with the service center and not safe to drive my options are limited. I will be calling them in the morning, if I don't get an assurance that it can be definitely fixed then i will consider transporting it to a specialist. Thanks for your comments and responses.

In my opinion, they have demonstrated incompetance of staggering proportions and you should be seeking a refund for the unnecessary work already done. We're not talking about a mystery electrical fault here - it's a serious loss of fluid which should be easy to trace by anyone with half a brain! As it's inside tbe wheelarch, my first port of call would have been the brake pipes feeding the flexible pipe - they are notorious for rusting through as they are mild steel. Good luck - and when it's sorted I'd suggsst a changing to someone who knows what they are doing - and let Porsche Reading know why you have...

Second opinion from your local Porsche specialist should resolve.