FCP Euro is a company that sells Porsche parts. They’re popular with enthusiasts because they offer a program that can help you avoid paying for the same service parts repeatedly.
Porsche is the car brand this podcast is all about. The episode is going to focus on how to maintain Porsche cars in a smarter, cheaper way.
Concept
master mechanic
“Master mechanic” generally refers to a highly experienced technician who has advanced training and proven competence in diagnosing and repairing vehicles. In a Porsche-focused discussion, that background is useful because many issues come down to diagnosis and correct repair procedures, not just parts replacement.
Skip Barber Racing School is a place where people learn how to drive race cars properly. It’s designed to teach you the basics of racing so you can improve quickly and safely.
Formula cars are race cars you’d see in open-wheel racing. They’re usually very focused on performance, so wrenching on them and driving them teaches you a lot about how racing setups work.
BMW is referenced as the mechanic’s prior employer, used here to contrast “Bavarian engineering” with Porsche’s design and serviceability. The point isn’t performance specs—it’s how the cars are built and how parts come apart during maintenance.
When mechanics tighten bolts, they often don’t just tighten them randomly. A torquing sequence is the specific order/pattern that helps the parts sit flat and clamp evenly.
A wiring diagram is like a roadmap for the car’s electrical system. It helps you figure out which wires go where, which makes diagnosing problems and doing repairs much easier.
An “engine out” job is when the mechanic removes the engine from the car to get to a part that’s hard to reach. It’s usually a big job because there are lots of connections to disconnect and then put back.
The Porsche Cayenne is Porsche’s SUV. They’re using it as another example of how Porsche cars can be easier to work on when you need to do big repairs.
Coolant hoses move antifreeze through the engine to keep it from overheating. If the engine comes out, these hoses need to be disconnected so the engine can be taken out safely.
Fuel lines are the passages that move gasoline from the tank to the engine. When the engine is removed, these lines have to be disconnected carefully so fuel doesn’t leak.
Drive shafts are the parts that transfer power from the transmission to the wheels. If you’re taking the engine out, you usually have to disconnect them so everything can separate.
A subframe is like a supporting frame that helps hold parts of the car—often the suspension. If you have to lower it to do work, it usually means the job is more time-consuming.
This is about how easy it is to work on the car. If a car is designed so parts come out from underneath, repairs can be faster and require less taking-apart.
The oil pan is where your engine oil sits. If it’s made from plastic instead of metal, it may behave differently with heat and over time, which can affect how reliable it is.
The oil pump’s job is to push oil through the engine so everything stays lubricated. If parts of the oil system are plastic, they can potentially be more sensitive to heat and aging.
Thermal cycles are repeated heating and cooling events that cause materials to expand and contract. Over many cycles, that can contribute to cracking, warping, or seal degradation—especially for plastic components located deep in the engine bay.
The oil pan is usually one of the lowest parts on the car, so it can get hit more easily than you’d expect. If it cracks, you can lose oil fast, and the engine won’t be properly lubricated.
The speaker is pointing out that some oil system parts are made of plastic. Since engine oil gets very hot, the concern is whether plastic can handle that heat and stress over time.
They’re referring to BMW’s 5 Series, a common luxury car line. The point is that after a certain mileage range, repairs can get expensive, especially if you drive it hard.
The timing chain is like an internal “timing belt” that keeps the engine’s moving parts working in sync. If it wears out or fails, the engine can run poorly or even suffer serious damage.
Fuel injectors are the parts that deliver gasoline to the engine. If they start failing, the engine can run rough and you may need costly replacement work.
Direct injection puts fuel straight into the engine’s cylinders. Over time, it can leave carbon deposits on the intake valves, which can make the car feel jerky or stumble when you accelerate.
Walnut blasting is a service where crushed walnut shells are blasted into the intake to remove carbon buildup on intake valves. It’s commonly used on direct-injection engines that develop “coked up” valves, restoring airflow and smoothing acceleration.
They’re talking about a fuel system that sprays gas directly into the cylinders. That setup can cause carbon to build up on the intake valves, which can make the car run poorly until it’s cleaned.
A “Jetta” is a Volkswagen sedan. “04 Jetta” just means a 2004 model year, and they’re mentioning it as a personal example of where they used to look for car parts online.
ECS Tuning is a website/store that sells aftermarket parts for European cars. They’re bringing it up to explain where they used to buy parts before focusing on FCP Euro.
Company
Turner
“Turner” likely refers to Turner Motorsport, a well-known BMW-focused performance and parts company. Here it’s mentioned as part of the regional/online ecosystem the speaker is familiar with in the Northeast.
“European parts” just means replacement and upgrade parts for European car brands. They’re talking about where people go to buy parts for cars like Porsche and BMW.
A curated parts catalog is a parts list that’s organized specifically for certain car makes and models. Instead of guessing which part fits, it helps you pick the correct items for your exact car.
Brand
Audi bros
“Audi bros” is a nickname for Audi fans who know the brand well. They’re mentioned to show that the catalog is put together by people with real brand knowledge.
Brand
W bros
“W bros” is likely referring to Volkswagen fans, since VW is known for the “W” logo. They’re using it as part of the joke to describe different brand specialist groups.
A timing belt kit is a package of parts you replace together when doing a timing belt job. Instead of buying pieces one-by-one, the kit helps you make sure you have everything needed for the repair.
Fasteners are the little hardware pieces—like bolts and screws—that hold parts together. When a kit includes the right ones, you’re less likely to get stuck or accidentally use the wrong hardware.
The “one click option” means you can order everything you need for a repair with minimal searching. It’s meant to prevent mistakes like forgetting a small part and having to wait or redo work.
A “dealer” is the factory-authorized sales and service network, typically where OEM parts are sourced. The transcript frames the dealer as the fallback option when an aftermarket part isn’t available quickly enough.
A lifetime replacement warranty means that if a covered part wears out or fails, you can get a replacement later instead of paying again. It’s not “free forever” in every situation, but it can be very valuable for routine maintenance items.
The water pump moves coolant around the engine so it doesn’t overheat. If it’s covered by a warranty program, it can reduce the cost of a repair that would otherwise be pretty pricey.
Brake pads are the parts that squeeze against the rotors to slow the car down. They wear out with use, so replacing them is normal—but a warranty that covers them can make maintenance cheaper.
“Gaming the system” means trying to take advantage of a rule to get more value than most people. In this context, it’s about whether people are returning used parts/oil just to keep getting replacements.
This is a warranty/return setup where you don’t have to pay again for the same part later. The company makes it simple: you send the old part back and they help you get a replacement.
This pump makes sure fuel is delivered at the right pressure to the engine. If it breaks, the car may run poorly or not start, and the part can cost a lot.
A lifetime guarantee is basically a promise that the part will be replaced if it fails, for a long time. In this case, they’re comparing it to the shorter warranty you’d get from the car maker.
A lifetime warranty means the company promises to replace the part if it fails later on. Instead of paying again when something breaks, you can often get a replacement through the warranty.
“Mission critical parts” are components whose failure can quickly cause major drivability issues or safety problems. The speaker is arguing that warranty coverage matters most for these parts because you’re less willing to risk paying out-of-pocket if they fail.
Company
Peer Bird
“Peer Bird” appears to be a parts supplier mentioned as an alternative source for the same type of Porsche component. The speaker’s point is that you can sometimes buy the genuine supplier part and still get similar quality while saving money.
QC is the inspection and testing that decides whether a part meets the brand’s standards. If the supplier’s parts don’t pass the strict tests, they may be sold elsewhere instead of through the factory channel.
Bosch is a well-known company that makes car parts for many brands. Here, they’re the example of the supplier making the injectors before Porsche applies its stricter testing.
In this story, “FCP hero” is tied to FCP Euro, a company that sells parts. The claim is that they can offer lower prices by sourcing parts through different supply channels than the dealer.
Company
World Pack
World Pack is cited alongside SSF as an example of a company that buys up wholesale inventory. The segment uses it to illustrate how parts can be resold outside Porsche’s factory channels after QC sorting.
That little “P” mark on the part is Porsche’s way of signaling it passed their quality checks. It’s basically a shortcut for knowing you’re buying the better, more reliable version.
Failure rate is basically “how often parts break.” If it’s around 1%, the part is expected to fail very rarely compared with higher percentages.
Concept
failure rate math (likelihood vs cost)
They’re saying to think like this: “How likely is it to break, and how much does it cost if it does?” If the cheaper part is only slightly more likely to fail, it can still be worth it.
The idea is: if a part you bought later fails, you return it and get a replacement under warranty. That can save you from paying full price again, especially when you’re buying parts for older cars.
User error means the part failed because it was installed or handled incorrectly. Warranties often won’t cover damage caused by mistakes during installation.
An oil change is a recurring maintenance service where used engine oil is drained and replaced with fresh oil and a new filter. For Porsche owners, the cost can vary a lot between dealer service and DIY or aftermarket parts sourcing, which is why programs like the one discussed matter.
A “performance envelope” is basically the zone where the car feels strong and predictable. Outside that zone, the car may feel less capable or less consistent.
Concept
air-cooled vs water-cooled
Some older Porsches cool the engine with air, while newer ones use liquid coolant. That difference can change how the car handles heat and what problems you’re more likely to run into.
The host emphasizes track driving (“driven in anger around a racetrack”) to establish credibility and to frame the discussion around how cars hold up under hard use. This is a setup for comparing Porsche generations based on real performance and durability.
This is a Porsche 911 Carrera S from the “997.1” version of the 911 generation. The hosts are talking about how it drives and how it feels compared with the later 997.2.
Concept
direct fuel injection vs port injection
Direct injection and port injection are two different ways of getting fuel into the engine. The way fuel is delivered can change how the engine burns it, which can lead to different power and feel.
Modern cars use a computer to control fuel delivery. With newer fuel-injection setups, that computer can fine-tune how much fuel goes in at different engine speeds.
Concept
port injection vs horsepower differences
Even if two engines are the same size, they can make different power if the fuel system works differently. The way fuel is delivered changes how effectively the engine burns it.
They’re talking about how the car feels when you drive it—how directly it responds to your steering. Some cars feel more “connected,” meaning the response feels immediate and natural.
Concept
Analog vs digital driving feel
They’re talking about how some cars feel more mechanical and direct, while others feel more controlled by computers. Newer cars can be faster, but they may feel less raw because electronics do more of the work.
They’re saying stricter pollution rules can force automakers to add more systems to the car. More systems usually means more complexity and sometimes less of the old-school feel.
Concept
Last of the air-cooled heritage
They’re referencing the era when Porsche used air-cooled engines. The idea is that those cars are remembered for feeling more old-school and mechanical.
Concept
DIY serviceability (access panels vs. bumper removal)
This is about how easy it is to work on the car yourself. Some Porsche 911s let you reach things by opening the rear lid, while others make you remove more parts just to get to basic maintenance items.
A “drive belt” is a belt that helps run important accessories on the engine. They’re using it as an example of what’s easier (or harder) to replace depending on the 911 generation.
They mention the Porsche Cayman as another car that’s “pretty safe” for DIY work. The reason is that the engine layout and access are similar enough that you can learn one and apply that knowledge to the next.
They’re talking about the Porsche Boxster and how easy it is to work on. The host is saying some Boxsters are still manageable for DIYers because the layout stays similar.
“DIY friendly” means the car is laid out in a way that makes common repairs doable at home. The host is saying some Porsche generations are easier because you can follow a similar step-by-step process each time.
Fender liners are the inner plastic panels in the wheel area. Taking them out gives you access to parts underneath the car without having to remove the outside body panels.
A “false firewall” is a barrier panel inside the car that helps separate the passenger area from the engine area. It matters for DIY work because it can block access, so you may need to remove trim to get to what you’re fixing.
The engine cover is a removable panel that sits over the engine area. If you’re doing DIY work, you usually have to remove it to get to the parts you’re trying to service.
They mean switching between different Porsche generations or “platforms” and wondering if the same DIY steps still work. The idea is that some cars feel familiar, while others require a bigger learning curve.
A turbocharged engine uses a turbo to force more air into the engine. That can make the engine stronger, but it can also make maintenance harder because turbo parts take up space.
The wastegate is part of the turbo system that helps control how much boost the engine makes. The actuator is the piece that moves the wastegate, and in this case it can block access to spark plugs.
Spark plugs are what create the spark that starts combustion in the engine. If the turbo parts block access, changing them takes longer and costs more.
They’re talking about a problem where some engine cylinder heads had tiny defects inside the metal. That could let oil leak out, which is a reliability concern and something Porsche addressed.
If you go tens of thousands of miles without changing the oil, the oil can get dirty and lose its ability to protect the engine. That can lead to faster wear and expensive damage.
Term
Palm filters
They’re talking about the air filter getting packed with junk. When that happens, the engine can’t breathe as well, so it’s important to check and replace the filter.
The air box is where the engine’s air filter lives. If leaves or debris get in there, the engine may not get clean air, and it can cause problems over time.
Deferred maintenance is when you put off scheduled service. Instead of fixing things early, they get worse over time and can turn into bigger problems.
Before you buy, you want to check the car thoroughly so you don’t get stuck with hidden problems. Here they’re talking about using diagnostics and deeper inspections, not just trusting the seller’s story.
Scanning the car means plugging in a computer to check for warning codes stored in the car. It can reveal problems the car might not be showing on the dashboard.
This means looking inside the engine cylinders with a special camera. It helps you spot damage or wear that you can’t see without taking a closer look.
Maintenance history is the paper trail (or digital record) of what work was done on the car. It helps you judge whether the car was cared for and what might need fixing soon.
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I'm Derek.
This is 11 After 9 the podcast, and I am so excited to share my guest today.
I have Joe Finkel.
Joe is with FCP Euro.
He is the Porsche product manager.
He is a master mechanic.
He's worked at BMW.
He's worked at Porsche for a decade.
And he was good enough to come on with me today and allow me to bombard him with all
the questions that I, as a complete leadite on so many things, just want to ask the guy
in the know.
And Joe, I have to say, I want to say thank you for being here.
And some of the questions I'm going to ask, they might sound kind of stupid because this
is like, I've owned a lot of these cars and sometimes I'm just driving and being like,
why does this do this?
Or why did they do this?
So I might have to ask you those questions.
But hey, listen, welcome to the podcast.
Thanks for being here.
Yeah, thanks for having me on.
I'm excited.
Yeah, dude, it's great to have you.
So you were at Porsche for quite some time.
What years were you there, just so we know what kind of cars we can really talk about?
So a little history there.
Got my start in the industry.
Skip Barber Racing School.
Here in Connecticut.
So had two years of traveling and, you know, wrenching on the formula cars and occasionally
driving them, which, you know, really kind of kind of catch the bug from that.
Then transitioned into BMW had always always liked them.
I remember the first time I saw one, we were coming back from Thanksgiving.
It was probably 1997, 98, and I saw a BMW and I was like, hey, dad, what's that car?
And he's like, that's a BMWs.
You know, you know, I don't know what model it is.
It was an E36 M3 and that was like the first time I think it was like, OK, I like cars.
Your little boy, your brain exploded.
Yeah.
And I was like, that thing had the right shape and had the right stance and had everything.
And I was like, OK, I'm in the cars.
So always had that BMW thing inside of me, you know, at the same time, you know, they
were kind of winning in the racing series, IMSA with the E46 and this is E4.
And I'm like, yeah, you know, hard-core BMW guy.
And then I had the sales guy come up to me and he goes, you ever think about Porsche?
And I was like, what's Porsche?
And then I find myself in the GM's office at Porsche and having conversation about moving
over and in 2012, I moved over to Porsche.
And I always like to say, Porsche chose me.
I didn't choose it and I happened to get in at the right time, right?
Like 2012, we're getting the 997.2 GTS.
We're getting all the special models like the GT3 RS 4.0.
I mean, for me, that's pinnacle right there.
I don't I stop there usually because.
Yeah, the 4.0s.
I mean, those are legendary, right?
And yeah, to see those were rolling through your shop as you were like starting your
mechanic journey with Porsche.
So I have a question for you before we get into like transferring from the 997 to the 991.
You hear you are with BMW and you go to Porsche.
And I'm going to ask my first of kind of my silly boyish questions as a mechanic.
Which do you think is better engineered a BMW or Porsche?
It's hard to give an unbiased opinion, but.
This is a Porsche podcasters only one right answer.
I'm just kidding.
I'm just kidding.
You know, I always told technicians that were coming into the field work on cars that make
sense to you.
And I would say my six years at BMW.
I actually struggled to understand Bavarian engineering.
As soon as I got into Porsche, you know, on the Shraibian side of Germany, everything
just made sense.
The way things came apart, the way they went back together, you know, a torquing sequence.
Although the finite details just made more sense.
It was easier to find information, especially like wiring diagrams.
It just, I got to Porsche and everything clicked.
So for me, I'm going to say Porsche is the better engineer, but that's a little biased
because I just feel like it makes better sense to me.
Well, that's that, but it's an honest answer.
And that's all I'm looking for.
You know what I mean?
It's, it is, I'm sure different companies have different ethos in terms of how they
approach when they build a machine.
Which, which do you think is, and again, this doesn't really have anything to do with
anything, but which do you think is easier to work on?
Oh, push your hands down.
Oh, really?
Yeah.
Because of just how it's like designed, like to get to something, you don't have to
take three things apart to get to a type of deal.
Yeah.
Uh, so I'll use like a big example.
Let's say an engine out job, right?
I know on, I mean, this is 9-11, Panamera, Cayenne.
I can do undo like a handful of connectors, a couple fuel lines, a couple
cool hoses, you know, break the drive shafts free and then on a table.
You know, you could do that in an hour, an hour and a half, maybe.
If you're taking your time.
Okay.
Uh, BMW, they weren't set up with the table.
Uh, a lot of it was, you know, suspending the engine, lowering the subframe, kind of
moving a lot of things all the way to get in there.
Um, again, it just goes back to the Porsche engineered their cars to have
everything come out from the bottom so you could service it and then you can go
right back in where BMW kind of, they just, they didn't have it.
One of the things that annoyed me, I've had a number, I've, so I, I'm a
BMW fan and a Porsche fan.
I have a, uh, uh, an O11, a BMW 128 in my garage that I use quite a few days of
the week and I love it.
Um, I've owned so many X5s.
I've owned, um, five series, three series, all this.
So I actually really like the brand, even though I'm being a little cheeky, um,
pushing you to saying Porsche is way better.
Um, but the, the one thing I'd have noticed over the last like 10 years, 15
years with BMW, and this is no secret that like a lot of very integral parts, a
lot of really critical parts have moved to being made of plastic, like, um, like,
like oil pans and oil pumps, oil pumps.
Yes.
Like things like seated deep in the engine that take thermal cycles or like
made of plastic.
And do you, do you, I don't know, that's not a secret to anyone out there.
So that's not my question, but, um, do you get the sense in your tenure with
Porsche that it was going the same way where a lot more things made of plastic
that would wear, I'm not going to say prematurely, but couldn't handle the
stresses if the part was made of metal that they would have.
Yeah.
You could see that, uh, first big noticeable thing was like oil pans, which
always, for me, it was like a head scratcher because for the most part, the
oil pan is unprotected.
Yeah.
Sure.
How's that like, thin layer on most cars, you know, the thin under body panel
underneath that, that offers, you know, some level of protection.
But if that thing was to take a bump, those pans, you know, they weren't
anything special.
They weren't any, you know, overly thick plastic.
So you could easily crack a pan and, you know, dump nine liters of oil on the
pavement.
Uh, so that's where I first saw it.
As far as like mission critical stuff, there was, there's not much else that
really jumps out where, you know, I mentioned oil pump on BMWs.
I just watched our, our, uh, lead BMW, uh, product manager do his oil pump on
his X five and, you know, he pulled it out and it's just all plastic bits.
And I'm like, dude, are you kidding me?
Like this is what BMW put in a motor.
And he's like, yeah, man, we got to use plastic in the engine, right?
And it just completely blew my mind.
Like plastic being subjected to hundreds of degrees of hot oil over and over and
over again, I'm not going to pretend to understand it.
I mean, I understand like, you know, when it comes to volume cars and saving a
couple cents here and a couple cents here, you know, to try to keep profit
margins where they are and, and all this, but, um, I don't know.
It's no secret that I think with BMW, I've really lost a lot of my love for them
or the last five years because I feel like they're just, they just feel more
plastic-y and they don't last.
And like every BMW I've had five series X fives, I, I dread the 90,000 to 110,000
window that the car comes into.
Cause I like to drive my cars.
I like to keep into 140, 150 or more.
If they drive, I had a X five diesel.
I took to 180, um, before the timing chain went with the guides, but, but like that
little window, like 90 to 110,000 miles, Joe, like I'd end up doing injectors,
turbos, like you name it.
Like it would always be six, eight grand worth of work.
And I'd be like, Oh man, it's only has a hundred thousand miles.
Like this isn't a disposable car.
What am I doing?
Right.
Right.
What years were they?
Oh gosh.
Uh, so I was driving the five series, um, like the five 30 from O five.
So the E sixties.
Okay.
And then I had the first year, 2009, five, three, five twin turbo five series sedan.
And I thought I was the B's knees.
I bought it used and I got it and it already had like that dreaded, um, intake issue where
like, because it was direct injected, I think O nine was the first year it was
direct injected.
It was like under acceleration, it would buck and it was one of the very first cars
in New Hampshire.
They had to like take apart the engine and walnut blast, all of the coked up crap from
the valves and, and anyways, it, obviously it's a known problem with DFI direct
fuel injected motors, BMW.
I feel like has the cornered the market on walnut blasting.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Um, but here I am telling the mechanic.
What's up with BMW.
So, um, moving on to that, like from that super nerdy subject, um, FCP Euro.
Can we talk about that for a minute?
So you're, dude, you're located around the corner for me.
I'm in New Hampshire.
You're in Connecticut.
Milford, Connecticut is where FCP Euro is located.
Um, and it is a huge company, right?
Or is it a small company?
Cause it seems like you're everywhere.
Yeah.
It's, uh, I still struggle with like how big our reach is.
Um, cause then, you know, again, being in the cars and being in it for a while, you
see, or at least I had a 04 Jetta and so I was on ECS tuning or, you know, being up
in the Northeast where we're at, we have Turner.
So those are the websites that would populate for us in a Google search.
And FCP Euro has never really been on my radar until more recently.
Uh, but now that I know a little bit more about the company, I want to say we're number
one in the country for European parts.
If we're not number one, then we're definitely right behind that number two,
number three spot.
Um, that's huge.
Yeah.
They've done a great job at identifying the need to have these personalized
curated parts catalogs where they've got a team of two per make.
Uh, so like it's myself and I have an associate and we're just two Porsche
bros sitting behind a parts catalog, uploading, you know, pieces and items that
the community needs and they have, you know, BMW bros and they have Audi bros
and they have the W bros and it's just a bunch of die hard, uh, brand enthusiasts
that are building these catalogs.
Maybe that'll be the name of this episode.
Porsche bros.
I like that.
Porsche bros.
Um, but you know what I do like that you guys do.
So two things I think that FCP Euro does really well.
Number one, you guys really do a wonderful job of like, okay, you have this job,
you have to do whatever it is, break job, um, uh, timing belt, whatever it is.
You make these kits and you put together these kits and you buy the kit and
everything that you need comes with it.
And it's all for the right make.
And unlike me, who's like searching through parts, fish is trying to find like,
Oh, do I need this part?
Do I need these fasteners?
Oh, this it's, it's made for people like me that I just don't want to think about it.
I just want to buy what I need.
And so then I can properly not do the job right in my garage.
Um, and so you're kind of in charge of putting that together, right?
As well.
Yeah.
Kidding is, is huge for us for that very reason, right?
Um, not everybody who comes to the website is familiar with the nuances of Porsche.
And so we kind of figure out all those nuances so that you don't have to.
Um, and I, you know, take my 20 years of experience and blood, sweat and tears and
make sure that you guys get the one click option where you can buy what you need.
And you're not having to scramble to, you know, another automotive art store or
wait another two, three days for another part to come in because you forgot this
industry, you forgot that.
I, Joe, hand on heart, I, I invented that.
I, I have everything I need for a job and I get into it.
And then I realized that I bought like one wrong part.
And here I am with two days more to wait.
I have to leave the job and walk away because I have to wait for it to be
shipped in unless I go to the dealer and hope that they have it.
Now granted, Porsche Nash was a, is a pretty big institution.
They have a ton of parts, but, um, I feel you, but here's where I think
FCP Euro kind of wins.
Cause like they came on the scene for me, like in my mind, in my, in like my world,
like maybe like five years ago, I really started to hear a lot about them.
Um, and it was mainly because of this, like this crazy idea of the warranty is
a lifetime replacement warranty or guarantee.
And I'm like, all right, well, that's cool.
You know, if you, you get like a water pump, it has a lifetime warranty.
Well, that's pretty cool.
It's like, oh, no, no, no, if you buy a set of brake pads, those have a lifetime
warranty, or if you buy, uh, uh, stuff to change your oil, that has a lifetime
guarantee.
And at first I'm kind of like, well, that doesn't make any sense.
Cause those are naturally like wear out items, like you're supposed to use them
and then throw them away and get new ones.
And then you start to think like, well, how many people are gaming the system
by like just returning their used oil and getting new oil from FCP.
So can you talk to that for a minute?
Cause I'm really curious, cause obviously as a, you know, you own these expensive
cars, you try to save money where you can.
And it seems like an amazing, uh, program.
Uh, but how do you guys stay in business by doing that?
Yeah.
Uh, LRG is definitely a multifaceted, uh, a product that we offer.
Um, a lot of it really for the customers is being comfortable with sending it back.
I, you know, I know some people they'll do the oil change, but they won't send
the oil back cause you know, they're not, they just same, same thing, right?
You're like, how, how do I package this back up?
What you can, you know, reuse the bottles and then get a, get a shipping label
and then return it and, and this thing is now paid for, but it really is that simple.
Um, you know, it's kind of like, don't overthink it there.
Um, story of my life show.
Yeah.
A lot of people overthink it, uh, but don't overthink it.
You know, like the LRG program is, is set up for that.
I think part of it too is working with our vendors.
They also step in with the LRG program and, and help out with, uh, some
of the cost covering there, but really it's, it's the peace of mind being think
about being able to go on and buy an expensive part.
You know, let's say 997.2991 high pressure fuel pump.
You know, those aren't cheap.
You can go to our website and buy the genuine part and have a lifetime
guarantee where Porsche North America is going to give you two years.
So, so that is a great point.
And I really want to hammer that home.
You had mentioned to me that, uh, in a previous discussion and it blew my mind.
So like here I am thinking like, okay, you can get OEM quality parts from FCP Euro
and their good parts and their lifetime warranty.
Awesome.
But if they fail, you can, you know, pull them out and for the cost of labor,
get a new part.
Great.
But what you're saying is you have Porsche genuine parts, like going
through the QC model of Porsche and you warranty them for life, correct?
Correct.
Yeah.
And when it comes to mission critical parts, uh, I think that's a huge win.
Now that same pump you could buy from Peer Bird, which is on the site.
They are the genuine supplier to Porsche for that.
So you could still save there as well.
Uh, but, and it comes with that LRG.
So you have the peace of mind of a few options there, right?
You can go with the genuine and have LR, you know, have a lifetime guarantee.
You could go with the Peer Berg and save yourself, you know, uh, take the
cost effective route, save yourself a little bit there and still have the LRG.
All right.
Here's another stupid question that I, I think about all the time when I'm on,
when I used to be on Pelican parts and now when I'm shopping on FCP Euro and by
the way, I'm going to, you'll be seeing my, my shopping cart getting filled up now
that I have my 997.1 and I have a lot of things to do.
So you'll be, you'll be seeing my orders come in.
I'm, I'm given the choices between Porsche factory, Porsche genuine and, um, OEM.
And the OEM is less expensive.
And then I say to myself, well, is it less gooder than the Porsche quality?
Like how can I, so can you demystify that for me, please?
Is it, are they both equal, um, in the Porsche name brings the price tag or is
there a quality difference between the two?
So the way it was explained to me from someone at Porsche, it's all about QC.
And so they approach the company.
It's all about quality control.
So Porsche will approach a company and say, Hey, we need you to make a thousand
of X, uh, let's say fuel injectors from Bosch.
Okay.
Bosch says, sure, we'll make a thousand.
And then Porsche will stipulate, Hey, it's got to pass X, Y, Z, QC tests.
And so we'll make a thousand and let's say out of the thousand nine hundred
past the stringent QC test.
So Bosch now has a hundred fuel injectors, technically still good.
They'll still work, but let's say maybe their failure rate is.
5% versus Porsche's QC, where they only want a 1% failure rate.
A wholesaler will come along and take those fuel injectors, buy them up and
then resell and that's where you get FCP hero.
That's where you get companies like SSF, World Pack.
They step in, buy up that whole sale.
You're listening to this podcast, so I know you've got a curious mind.
Here's a helpful fact you might not know yet.
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Oh, OK, so they'll buy the pallets of the good parts, but not passing the stringent one
percent kind of Porsche quality and then sell them at somewhat of I'm going to use
a word discount or just less money.
Yeah.
And so the differentiating factor in a lot of those is a little Porsche P stamp that
you see on parts.
It's the upside down triangle with the P in it.
And that's how you know it's past Porsche's QC and that it's probably got a one
percent or less failure rate.
And so it's going to be high quality, highest tier level part there.
Thank you for demystifying that for me because sometimes the price difference
really is pretty significant.
I mean, sometimes two X or at least at least maybe two thirds more expensive.
And so I guess I guess it's really going to be a math equation in your head where
you're like, you know, what's the likelihood?
Is it a three percent or a five percent failure rate versus a one percent?
And how hard is it to get to this part if I have to replace it?
Yeah.
But with other things that maybe are easily replaceable, you know, that's an easy hey,
I'll take the risk.
I'll take the part that maybe didn't pass Porsche's QC standards, but I also have a
lifetime guarantee now.
Save your receipt for sure.
Do you find again, this is kind of a weird question, but do you find that
FCP euros like pretty like lenient, like when stuff comes back, are they like pretty
cool about, you know, if I, let's say I buy an injector and after like two years,
it fails and I send it back with my email receipt and say, hey, this, this failed.
Can you send me another?
Like, is FCP euro like pretty cool?
They're like, all right, yeah, no, it failed.
Lifetime warranty or guarantee.
There you go.
Yeah.
There's only a few stipulations, I believe that would prevent you from sending
something back.
I think one of those is like user error, you know, if you installed your fuel
injector with a five pound hammer, yeah, we're probably not going to take that back.
Right.
But it wouldn't go in, Joe.
I had to, I had to give it encouragement.
Yeah.
But if you, you know, if you put that in and two years later, that injector says,
hey, I'm done.
I'm at the end of my life and you need a new one, then yeah, you follow the, I
believe there's a form online that you fill out.
So you fill out the paperwork and on your way.
Oh, that's cool.
So I hope for the audience out there, I didn't belabor the point.
I just think that's such a cool differentiator in the world of used parts.
And I don't know if it's because you're local.
I kind of always thought of FCP euro is just kind of more of like the DIY or
regular guy type of car supplier versus some of the others, which would seem a
little bit more like aimed towards like higher, you know, a higher ticket items.
And so I appreciate that fact, because if I'm going to like shell out 800
bucks or 1500 bucks for, you know, some part, it's really nice to know that
whether it gets delivered by UPS and what, who's the Jim Carrey?
What was it?
What was the Jim Carrey movie where he talks to animals?
Um,
it wasn't Ace Ventura Pet Detective.
Dude, Ace Ventura Pet Detective.
Yes, thank you.
I can't, I can't live that down.
So off topic here, but my last name is Finkel.
And so if you've watched this, I have purposely not watched that film
because of the last name, because mine from elementary school throughout
my entire life, it is always been Einhorn is Finkel and Finkel is Einhorn.
My God.
And I've purposely not watched it.
So no one has ever had the pleasure of, they have to explain the joke every
time because I'm like, I've never seen it just for that reason.
Well, number one, I don't blame you.
Number two, I swear to God, Joe, that was not a setup.
I swear to God, the reason I bring it up is I was trying to make the comparison
that like if UPS like brought you a busted package.
And at the beginning of Ace Ventura Pet Detective, he acts like a UPS type of
driver and he's literally punting football, punting packages down a hallway,
throwing them downstairs.
You hear glass breaking stuff like that.
That was the analogy I was trying to make.
And I wasn't trying to bust on your last name.
So too close to home.
My apologies.
No, it's fine.
It's fine.
It's actually a really good movie, but give it a chance.
All right, I'm going to ask some real questions now, but I just wanted to
really go over that guarantee because I think that was super cool.
And thank you for, for explaining that.
You're welcome.
All right, dude.
So here you are, Porsche, 2012 into the 2020s.
You've seen some sick cars come in.
You've put your hand on probably most generations of cars.
I would love to know for you.
So I really am so proud of our audience that we have such like a huge
collection of people that are vetting the brand and they like they love Porsche,
but they don't know which car to get.
They're trying to decide between different generations of 9-Elevens or
Boxters, Caimans, Cayans, I mean, you name it.
And they, they want to just hear kind of like honest opinions about from
the guy who works on the cars, if I were to say to you, like, Hey, Joe,
I'm going to give you 40 or $50,000 say, or actually, let's do this.
Let's, let's, let's just say under $70,000 because who knows how much
money people have to play with.
But it can be as little amount of money as possible or the most amount
of money up to say 70 grand.
But like having seen these cars, having seen them apart, having seen the
common faults, having seen the performance envelopes of these cars.
If I had to say, Joe, give me a generation of car, say in a 9-Eleven,
which one would you pick?
You know what?
I'm going to make it easier for you.
Let's separate air cooled water cooled.
Okay.
I can ask what your favorite air cool car is later.
Let's talk water cool just because there's not a ton of air cool cars under
$70,000 that you're going to pick from.
So let's keep it water cool.
I mean, that's an easy one for me.
I've driven a lot of cars.
The list gets longer every day.
And when I say driven, I mean, like driven in anger around a racetrack.
And at the end of the day, there's one car that always puts a big, the biggest
smile on my face and it's a 997.1 Carrera S.
Really?
If you can give me all the money in the world and I'm still going to go by a 997.1
Carrera S.
I have to ask why.
Please tell me why.
Pre-digital era.
You know, you can even consider DFI to be digital.
Because that's the direct fuel injection for those of you out there that don't know
what DFI is.
So it's the when they changed the motor in 2009 for the 997.2s, they went to a
different way of introducing gasoline into the motor called direct fuel injection.
So Joe's talking about the engine that came before that in the first generation of 997.
Yeah.
So with that introduction, the computer engine computer got way more sophisticated.
It can do so many cool things to manage fuel injection across the entire RPM range.
Right.
But maybe, I don't know, cheating.
I don't know in a way because you got the same engine sizes in like the 3.8 and you
have a 3.8 DFI versus a 3.8 port injection.
You know, they make very much different horsepower.
It's not so much that for me.
I just there's something about the 997.1 that just feels like you're more connected to the
car, more connected to the chassis, the steering inputs are different.
The car does exactly what you ask it to do.
There's no pause.
There's no weight.
There's no there's just no disconnect.
And not that that went away in the dot too.
I just there's just something about the dot one that just sits right with me.
I think it's a fair point and something that I've noticed and I've commented on in the
past and I don't know, it sounds like you'd agree with me on this.
It's, you know, as as Porsche progresses, as they develop these
evolutions of say the 911 and the same can be said about the Boxster that came in
two, right? But as as Porsche doesn't do revolution, but evolution of these of these
cars, every iteration becomes ever so much faster, ever so much more capable, ever so
much more shooting for, you know, kind of where Porsche came from, which is the racetrack.
And I think that in a world where you can't have everything, when you when you
try to reach for that brass ring, you have to give up some things too.
And a lot of times those idiosyncrasies, the the things that give cars character get
scrubbed out a little bit, where you're becoming more digital to go faster, you
know, where they're becoming more complicated because you have to meet
certain emission requirements and things like that.
And so, you know, when I get in a 996 or a 997.1 in it, I can feel a little bit that
heritage of the last of the air cooled, still very kind of analog, very granular,
times a little kind of lumpy, sometimes a little grumpy, when it gets started, you
know, then you fast forward to like a 991.
So a 911 from the early 2000 teens that I owned, and it was a lot more like a car.
It didn't have a lot of those like weird things that you had to deal with.
It was it was fast.
It was much more approachable, it was much more comfortable.
Then you get into a 992.
And I mean, it's much more of a spaceship, but you lose that granularity you had in
those first generations of 911s, which I think I appreciate it.
Am I kind of hitting somewhere around what you're talking about?
Yeah, yeah, I think that's a great connection.
Neither is right, neither is wrong.
It's just it's it's what you look for in a car, you know, because I know lots
of people that just they want to go fast and they want to go as fast.
They want to get fast, as fast as they pass, but they possibly can.
And that's cool.
And then there's other people, and it's just because I'm getting old as dirt,
where I'm really enjoying laying into the throttle and hear the engine rev out.
And if it takes three, four, five seconds to get to red line versus, you know,
yeah, I kind of revel in that a little bit, but that's just me.
So so 997.1 probably a little bit easier to work on than some of the later
iterations as well.
Oh, yeah, you're not having to pull the rear bumper off to do
drive belt or air filters or and you know, we're talking about 991.1.2 stuff.
If you're a technical person and you like working on your cars, you know,
997.1.2 is I would say maybe 996 is a pretty good sweet spot, right?
You can flip over in the rear lid and you can actually see your engine
and put your hands on stuff.
And, you know, if you're a guy who likes to clean engine bay and likes to
detail and see how pretty it is when it's all clean, awesome.
Like 997, 996, like that's your that's your speed right there.
Would you, for a DIYer, for someone who prides himself?
And I don't know if I told you this, but I've joked around in the past that
like if you give me a right way and a wrong way to do something,
I'll probably do it wrong two or three times before I do it the right way.
So my batting average isn't great, but that's how I just kind of learn.
Do you think there's a generation of 9-11 Boxster Cayman?
I'm not going to say Cayenne because I don't feel like a lot of people
wrench on their Cayens past like the early 2000s.
But is there like an end of the DIY friendly, say 9-11s or Boxters where you
I wouldn't recommend getting a car or, you know, newer than this?
Boxster Cayman, I'd say you're pretty safe.
If you've worked on 986, 987, 718 or 982,
it really just followed the same pattern, right?
You got the car in the air, you get the rear wheels off,
you take the fender line, fender liners out and you can do stuff on the bottom.
You've still got the false firewall behind the driver passenger seat.
And then you still have that big cover on top of the engine.
So you're still, if you're, well, you're forced into it,
but you have to take, you know, interior trim panels off to get everything out.
And nothing's really changed there.
So if that's your comfort level, there's no problem.
You know, if you're jumping from platform to platform there.
9-11, unfortunately, that changed in 2017
when Porsche put the three liter and just about everything,
the three liter turbocharged engine.
So the 991.2.
Yeah. And that just added another layer of complexity where
A lot of the induction pipes for the air intake have to come out of the way.
Sometimes I can't remember, I think it's the turbo wastegate actuator
has to get completely removed sometimes in order to get the spark plugs out.
You just there's just added steps to do what I would call the simple stuff.
If you're used to working on like a 996, 997.
OK, OK, gotcha.
Do you think do you think that turbo motor is a reliable motor?
The three liter that they put in everything?
Is it a good motor in your mind?
We didn't see too many issues at the dealership.
You know, there were some manufacturing defects on the heads
right when they came out 2017.
Like the cylinder head was porous,
then you would actually oil would be flowing out of the cylinder head.
Oh, wow, I didn't know that.
I would say by now all of those got taken care of that.
That was remedied pretty quickly from Porsche.
You're listening to this podcast, so I know you've got a curious mind.
Here's a helpful fact you might not know yet.
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Pop over to progressive.com, answer some questions,
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Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates.
National average 12 month savings by $946 by new customers surveyed
who saved with progressive between June 2024 and May 2025.
Potential savings will vary.
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But past that, you know, as long as you kept up with maintenance, they were.
It's a solid car.
Classic though, as long as you keep up with maintenance, it's always that, right?
Yeah.
It really is.
That's the, I would say that's the Achilles heel of the Porsche platform is.
The stringent maintenance intervals.
And if you adhere to them, long life, if you don't, if you don't, you're in for a world of pain.
Yeah, yeah, easily.
Did you, did you ever see that Joe?
Like when you're working as a mechanic and did you ever get like a, like a pandemic
and that the oil hadn't been changed in like 40, 50,000 miles or something stupid like that?
It's funny you mentioned it because that's the platform.
That's the panoramas.
Yeah, that's the platform that got neglected to most, the most.
Really?
Yeah, it was the people who were driving around for two years without an oil change or, you know,
they would go 20, 30,000 miles past their PDK service.
And now the PDK is going, Hey, I'm done.
You got to put a new one in.
Palm filters would be packed with, you know, leaves and debris and bird feathers and, you know,
whatever else, you know, the air box is pulling out of the atmosphere.
Uh, man, they really got the brunt of, of, uh, deferred maintenance.
Why, why do you think that is the panoramas if you had a guess?
Appreciation, you know, they, they were sure they were expensive when they came out,
but all of a sudden they just nose dived and they got to a point where anybody can pick
them up and you had a lot of people who didn't understand what they were getting into before
they got into it and they're like, Hey, I'm good.
I got a Porsche, the used car dealership said they, they did all the maintenance.
Yeah.
And I don't have to touch this thing for a while.
Right.
And that, I would say that owner of the 911 owner are two different people
where the 911 owner or someone who's aspiring to own one does a lot of research, right?
It's, Hey, let's, let's go scan the car, make sure there's no faults.
Let's make sure there's no over revs.
Let's make sure, you know, we scope the cylinders and everything's good.
I want to see a full maintenance history, right?
Like I want to see a stack deck of I did this maintenance at this year, this year,
this year, this mileage where I feel like the Panamera customer was like, that
thing's got a Porsche badge on the front and four doors and me and my boys can jump
in and we can go, you know, roll through the town.
Dude, it's a 2012
Panamera S for like 12 grand.
What can be, what can be wrong?
It's sweet.
It's a Porsche for 12 grand.
Let's do this.
Yep.
Yeah.
And then you find out really quick that that's that car's, you know,
$15,000 away from a $15,000 car.
Yeah.
That's, oh God, isn't that like just the thing though?
Really where, and I'm going to raise my hand and I've been this guy more than I
care to admit where, you know, you're looking for a great deal and you find a
car that's five or six grand underwear kind of should be and you feel like you
stole it and then those cars are, you know, I forget who's, there was like a
saying, it's like, you know, a 996 is always a $30,000 Porsche.
It's, whether you buy it at 18 or $22,000, it's always a $30,000 Porsche by
the time you're done and you get it where you want to get it or you buy the
$30,000 996 and, and then maybe you don't have to do it.
And, and I've been that guy, dude.
I've been that guy where I get it and all of a sudden I'm putting money into it.
So it's really true.
I have such a soft spot, Joe, for the Panameras.
I don't know why.
I know people think the early generations are ugly.
I think that they're, they're unique and I kind of dig them.
And then when they refreshed them in the mid teens, um, I just think they look
badass and maybe it's just like the idea of like that BMW five series we talked
about me owning a couple of them and it's like, well, this is the Porsche version.
And I just love driving a Porsche every day anyways, if I could, you know?
And so I don't know, maybe it's that.
What, what do you daily drive?
So I want to complete your thought there because you mentioned, you know,
Panamera split, right?
Went to the teens and those of you who are listening, who are I panameras and are
asking what model do I get if I'm looking?
Yes.
Personally, for me, uh, 2016, 2015, 2016 Panamera GTS is like sweet spot.
So that's before they did the refresh, before they did the refresh, before
they put the V six in it, like the 4.8 later V8 motor that came in that car.
Like every time you fire it up, that thing just, just belts out this loud growl.
Really?
Okay.
Um, and actually one of my clients stopped by the house and I was outside with my
daughter and he started it up to pull away and it was loud enough that she
actually got scared and started to cry.
She was like, dad, what's that noise?
You know, and so like that's, that's what that car is.
Dude garage goals.
I want cars that makes kids cry when I start them up.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So if you're in the market, 15, 16, 4.8 GTS, uh, I don't know why.
I don't know how I don't believe they're built any different, but those cars
historically when I, at my time at the dealership had less problems.
Couldn't, right.
Can't, can't associate that with anything.
I just, they held their own.
I knew a guy once who had an O 15 GTS Panamera and he swore it was the
best Porsche he's ever owned, uh, more, more reliable than nine 11's, more
usable, more fun.
He said he, and this is a guy who's owned quite a few.
And so just to kind of back up what you're saying, um, what, I want to get
to your daily driver, but let's talk about, I hear, I want to talk about
McCons because people, I think are really confused about McCons because
people look at them as kind of like the entry level kind of every day, every
man kind of Porsche to get into the brand.
Um, they're really good cars, but then you hear these horror stories about
like the VW motors that are in them and some have them and some don't.
And then you see pictures, you see reels online of people with the entire front
of their McCon taken apart because they're trying to get to like, um, uh,
timing chain guides and stuff like that.
What, can you just demystify that for me personally?
Like if I was going to buy a McCon, do I look for the early ones?
Do I look for the later ones?
Do I look, is the S better than the base?
I mean, outside of performance, of course, but I'm kind of talking about
reliability.
So if you're going to go for an early one, I wouldn't steer anyone away from
that, as long as the front timing cover reseal had been done, whether it was
done at the dealership, which hopefully it was, um, cause Porsche actually
really emphasized that that repair be not flat rated, if that makes sense.
Like there was no, what does that mean?
So flat rate, you know, uh, as a technician, you work on enough cars.
You can kind of see where you could say, Hey, I don't really have to take X,
Y and Z off to access this part.
I'm not going to damage anything coming out.
I'm not going to damage the new part going in.
I can do this repair, uh, 100% successfully without any casualties.
Right.
And so that allows the technician to kind of make up some time on, let's say, a
warranty labor time, right?
Portious sets of time.
They say, Hey, you know, uh, this job pays X, Y, Z, and you can bill us, you
know, uh, an hour or so for this repair.
Um, and so as, if you can do something flat rate, you can now actually
make time on a warranty repair.
So that's kind of where flat rate kind of stems from.
Okay.
We're not, uh, it's not, it's not dishon, there's no dishonesty.
There's no, uh, you know, we're not trying to, you know, get one over on somebody else.
It's just, you know, you do something enough, you kind of know the best way to do it.
And actually a lot of that stuff does come out.
You'll, you know, I'm sure there's YouTube channels of people replacing Porsche parts
and, you know, they found the, the flat rate way to do it so that you could save
your time, you could save time at home, right?
You know, your Saturdays are valuable.
You know, if you can shave an hour off doing a repair, like we're happy to share that, right?
I have sticky, I have sticky buttons in my 997.1, the, the, the heater control buttons
are all crapped up and they're falling apart with the rubberized coating on them.
And to do it right, you got to take off all the trim.
You got to take out like the stereo and then you shake out the heater box and you
do it the right way.
Uh, I saw a video the other day where someone takes like a little drill and just
literally drills into the buttons themselves.
Uh, and then takes like a hook tool and gets the hook tool in there and just like
pops them out.
And then the new one just popped right back in and you don't have to take anything out.
There you go.
Maybe that's an example of what you're talking about.
That's a perfect example.
As long as you didn't hurt the supporting part or the main part, right?
I'm sure when he drilled through, he did it easy.
Uh, there's really, there is a board, you know, electrical board behind that.
So you probably can't drill in too far, but kind of knowing that and sharing that information,
you know, there you go.
Now, you know that you can drill a hole, get a hook tool, pull it out and then put,
pop the new ones in and be done.
I got my Saturday back.
So, so in other words, so then for the, for when we talk about the McCons and this is
like, again, like kind of deep nursery, but I think it's really important that people
like understand this because, um, Kyan's, McCons and some other cars, the timing, uh, cover
is a, is a major kind of Achilles heel in these cars.
Because now correct me if I'm wrong here.
The bolts that they used to put the timing cover on were aluminum.
And what would happen is with the heat cycles, they would, uh, expand and contract, expand
and contract.
And sometimes it would just like shear off and you'd get like oil dripping from there
and maybe other issues.
So they were always the bolts right at the very outer corners on the, the V shape of
the timing cover and out here is, is right where they would break.
And like you said, it's, you know, thermocycling, vibration, all that stuff.
They fracture.
And actually we just posted a how-to video on how to do that yourself on the channel and
the technician who's doing the repair, he extract it, not extracted.
He took out one of the bolts, um, and there's not much torque.
So he broke the bolt free with a small quarter inch and then he backed it out the rest of
the way by finger.
And as soon as he gets it out, he grabs both sides of it and he does this immediately splits
in half.
No way.
So it came out in one piece, but as soon as he put any pressure on it, completely snapped
in half, which means that bolt was not holding properly.
And we ended, we did do that valve or that timing cover because it was leaking from that
area.
You know, Joe, I literally just got my Ki, I have an O13 Ki NS, um, uh, is one of our
family cars and I just got it back from Porsche Nashua because it was leaking oil.
And it was the timing cover and they, they did all those bolts for me.
I guess there's like an updated kit from Porsche to fix that.
Yep.
And that's one of the kits that we offer on the site for that very reason.
Oh, now I know.
Yeah.
So that's, that's where Porsche would have a start, right?
Porsche was collecting information and they also, you know, came to the same conclusion.
Hey, these outer bolts are breaking.
If you get a car in that has an oil leak, we want you to start with these bolts.
If it happens to actually be the front timing cover, then it's engine out, separate the
transmission in the engine, engine on the engine stand, oil pan off, and you're doing
the, you're doing it right.
You're doing it by the book in that case.
So yeah, if you're looking for an early McCon turbo S, doesn't matter.
You definitely want to have, that's a place to look for sure on maintenance history.
And you're definitely looking to see that that repair has been done in one fashion or another,
but you definitely need to be done before you say, yes, I'll take this car.
So that's a big one.
That's the one, that's the, the McCon's Borscope.
That's the McCon's IMS repair type of thing.
Yep. If not, that oil gets everywhere.
It soaks the alternator housing.
It, it soaks just anything that's underneath that valve cover is completely drenched in oil
and could cost you later alternators.
Alternators don't like to be lubricated.
No, no, no, they're lubrication free on that one.
All right. You know, what we're going to do, Joe, is there's,
there's so much more to talk about.
Let, let's do this.
Let's pause here and I want to thank the audience for listening to us.
And we're going to, we're going to record another episode after this that we'll post.
And because I have so many more questions I have,
I have questions from the audience that I had reached out to some people saying,
you know, what would you like to ask my buddy, Joe, about FCP, about Porsche in general?
And so I just, I really want to thank everyone out there for continuing to patronize 11 After 9.
The podcast has taken off like a rocket ship and I'm super psyched for that.
Joe, I want to thank you. You're so kind to be here.
I'm excited to have you in the 11 After 9 orbit as one of our resident experts.
And it's, it's just really a pleasure. So thank you so much.
Yeah. Thanks for having me on. I definitely had fun today.
Yeah, dude. Absolutely. What are we going to do it again?
I love it. I love talking Porsches.
Me too. Me too. All right, everyone. We will see you next Tuesday.
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About this episode
Joe Finkel, Porsche product manager and master mechanic at FCP Euro, breaks down why Porsche engineering feels more serviceable than BMW—citing easier access for major jobs and fewer “plastic-y” mission-critical parts. The conversation then zooms into FCP Euro’s business model, especially its lifetime replacement/return warranty (LRG) and how it stays viable. Joe explains Porsche vs. OEM vs. aftermarket quality via QC failure-rate logic, then gives buying and DIY guidance: he’d pick a 997.1 Carrera S under $70k, warns about maintenance discipline, and outlines common issues like 2017+ 3.0 turbo complexity and early Macan timing-cover bolt leaks.
Is the "Lifetime Replacement Guarantee" at FCP Euro actually real, or is it too good to be true? Today, we’re joined by Joe Finkel, former Porsche Master Tech and current Porsche Product Manager at FCP Euro, to pull back the curtain on the ultimate European car ownership hack—including how to never pay for an oil change again—while diving into which specific Porsche models and years are actually the most reliable to own. Whether you’re a DIYer trying to save on the "Porsche Tax" or a 911 purist looking for the best-engineered parts, Joe breaks down the mechanics of the FCP program and shares his expert verdict on the 997.1 vs. 997.2 debate, the hidden issues with modern "plastic" engines, and the exact Panamera and Macan years that deserve a spot in your garage.
In this episode, we discuss:
The Oil Change Hack: How the Lifetime Replacement Guarantee (LRG) works for consumables.
BMW vs. Porsche Engineering: A Master Tech’s honest take on who builds a better machine.
The "Plastic" Problem: Why modern engines feel more "disposable."
Reliability Guide: Why Joe thinks the 997.1 Carrera S is the sweet spot of the 911 lineage.
Panameras & Macans: Identifying the common "Achilles heel" (like those aluminum timing cover bolts) and the specific years you should buy.
Support the Show: Please leave a worded review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to help us grow the community!
New episodes every Tuesday! ElevenAfterNine is an independent enthusiast podcast and is not affiliated with, authorized, or endorsed by Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG.
