Newbie Porsche owner - Questions

Hi, have just driven back from Harrogate having bought, from an independent trader, a 2000 C4 Cabrio in Basalt Black. Have a few questions, and depending on some of the answers, I may be contacting the dealer again for some "assistance"... (1) the plastic cover that goes over the front lock of the hardtop is mising - can anyone suggest a source (other than OPC)? (2) the User manuals for the PCM and CDR22 are absent. Again, can anyone suggest any sources? (3) when I leave the vehicle and use the remote to lock & alarm the car, after a few second, the horn beeps - one short blast. According to the user manual, this denotes a door or compartment not activated. Is this right, or is the short horn beep normal? (4) the car had all 4 discs skimmed before I purchased it, and the pads are in good condition (I know that it is recommended that the pads are replaced when discs are skimmed, but they weren't!), however, the pad wear light is coming on intermittently? Other than the pads being worn (which they're clearly NOT) any idea why this is happening? (5) when I boot the car, I mean really give it some welly, the PSM and ABS lights both come on, and stay on until I stop and sw off the ignition. The dealer saw this happen and couldn't explain it. The car is low mileage (25k) and has been stood for some weeks. He asked me to see how it got on, and to let him know if it persisted or got worse. I had this happen to a VW Golf 4Motion, and it was the longtitudinal acceleration sensor. Anyone have any views or experience? (6) After a run, even a relatively short run, I can smell rubber when I get out of the car?? Even when it's not been driven hard...? I'm sure I'll have more Q's in the next few weeks, so thanks in anticipation. Regards, Neil.

FOR CHRISTS SAKE!!!!! I have nearly the same car and have NONE of the above problems. TAKE IT BACK and demand all issues, service books, dashboard lights etc are replaced/resolved. The horn beep will mean that something is open ie door, boot or armrest compartment however. JEeeeeeeeeesh[ ][&:]

I'd be suprised if a 2000MY was in Basalt Black. Metallic Black yes, but Basalt did not come in until 2002MY if I recall. You MAY have a special colour car, but I'd check before you buy any touch up paint [ ] (Paint code is on the sticker under the bonnett, and in the front of the service book)

Neil (1) You could try Porsch-apart for a used one. (2) Renntech.org has the later PCM and CDR Manuals, otherwise its an OPC. (3) A single beep, and double-flash on the led's, indicates an alarm fault. Either a switch is open, or there is a fault. Most common is the centre console compartment lid switch. A decent independent with a PST2 should be able to find what is wrong in 5 minutes. (4) Could be the sensors weren't put back in the pads properly when the disks were skimmed. The sensors are of a size and position that they will come on when there is quite a lot of meat still left on the pads. A quick glance isn't enough to determine the state of the pads. (5) Again, the PST2 would pick this up straight away, as the car will have lodged a fault in the fault register. Sounds like it could be a dodgy ABS sensor to me. (6) That's fairly normal - they all seem to do it to a degree. I agree with Simon - take it back and get them to sort it out. HTH.

You may find that the problem with the ABS and PSM lights coming on together is down to a faulty brake light switch. This sits just above the brake pedal and switches the brake lights on when you press the pedal. I had this problem recur more than once on my last car (a 3.4 C4). According to my local Porsche specialist the switches are a pain in the rear and fail regularly! Good news is they're cheap and take about a minute to replace. Plus the time to hook up the PST and reset the fault code. I agree with the advice above - take the car to a reputable specialist - they will find the cause(s) of all the issues in no time with the PST tester. Ian W

Thanks Ian (/thanks all)... I got the responses I expected to the technial stuff, and have contacted the supplying trader regarding the dashboard lights...I don't fancy another (100mile) drive to Harrogate so he's planning to get something sorted more locally for me, and as I'm in Staffs, and don't know of any Porsche approved independents in the locale, then I guess I may be facing a trip to either the OPC in Wilmslow, or possibly PCT in Coventry...(preferably the former, as it's much closer). Will contact Porsche-apart for this missing items - if I'd bought from an OPC then I'd expect these things to be provided, but as it was a "prestige independent", meaning a saving of probably £3-4k, I'm prepared to sort such matters myself. Cheers, Neil.

I had same issue with hardtop mech' cover, contacted previous owner who couldn't locate it, then one weekend when cleaning car raised seats to clean under found cover jammed under and a pair of posh sunglasses, result! may be worth having a look.

Have priced one from Porsch Apart at £11.75 (in vat & delivery)...but sod's law dictates that the moment it arrives, I'll find the original one as you suggested. Did find some Porsche perxpex screen cleaner though while I was cleaning her at the weekend...