Warranty Direct (13 1/2 months after claim, we have settled :) )
 

I spun a rod bearing on my 2001 986 Boxster which is covered by the XtraCare + package offered by Warranty Direct. See attachment for PDF of the service contract. They were notified and asked me to provide copies of service records, I did not have them on me initially, and they denied the claim. I then contacted my garages and got my records and forwarded them to Warranty Direct. They then reopened my claim. They sent inspector down to inspect engine and he wrote the following inspection report (which they provided to me upon my subsequent request for the reason they turned my claim down)
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The service contract states that "All internally lubricated engine parts" are covered, and even mentions bearings specifically. As you can see on page 3 of the inspection report, their own inspector clearly states under Cause of Failure - "The condition of the engine is consistent with the failure of the #2 rod bearing resulting in subsequent damage to the engine from continued operation and a loss of oil pressure DUE to the #2 rod bearing." I pulled over within a couple of hundred yards when the failure occurred, I had to have time to brake and get over.

The engine teardown showed metal shavings in the oil which they say kept the oil from flowing (obviously again, if metal was in the oil, it originated from a failure of one of the "internally lubricated parts" which contract says they cover.

Warranty Direct is telling me that they are denying my claim based on "lack of lube" and that "oil leaks were long term and not addressed in a timely manner." I check my oil via stick every Saturday morning and have NEVER had a bad oil leak that caused a real low level. I did have a Rear Main Seal replaced two days before the failure by Warranty Direct upon recommendation by my dealer.

I wanted to post this so everyone would know that upon a MAJOR claim, that they will fight you tooth and nail. On the minor ones, they have been fine so far, but when my family and I need them the most, they are bailing on me.

I am going to have to take them to arbitration to get something done. That won't be immediately as I don't have deep pockets (arbitration through the American Arbitration Association is going to cost me $1050.00 to file and get started), and my family's Christmas will come first, and I had to buy a beater car to drive until I can afford to fix the Boxster (which I need to do first as I need my good car back) and I do plan on getting it fixed out of my own pocket and seeking reimbursement from Warranty Direct.

I am considering an engine from a board member as well as one from Oklahoma Foreign. That looks like the engine is going to run me from $5800-7500 delivered, and then I'll have installation on top of that as I'm not the most handy person in the garage.

Sorry if I'm ********************ing, I'm just really, really, really bitter right now toward a company that previous to this had treated me OK and whom I've given countless references to in the past. This whole situation has been extremely frustrating and I just need to get some of it off my chest.

I'll be back amongst my Boxster brethren eventually, my family asks me if I've gotten enough of Porsche now, but my beef is not with Porsche, as Porsche has given me many years of enjoyment and smiles and permagrin, my chagrin is with Warranty Direct.

Take care and thanks for listening to me ramble.

Mike

This is total BS! Please keep after them. The first thing they try to do is deny it for anything they possibly can. They are trained to do this. The person who told you it was denied probably knows next to nothing about cars but they are trained to say no. Please be a major pain in their butt and ask the mechanic/dealer to be also. They will fight and delay as long as possible but they cannot get away with this.

They probably have statistics for how many people give up when they are told no. For example if they automatically say no the first time no matter what the problem is in reality, they may not have to pay for 50% of their claims. These guys are in this to make money, not to help.

Their BS system is designed to make you give up. If you stay after them, you can beat their system and get what is fair!

Before expending any costs on arbitration, I would suggest being a major pain in their butt with written and oral correspondence from you and the dealer, of course bring in the Better bussiness bureau and the appropriate state governement office. The trick is to get past all their people who are trained to say no and that will take time and effort.

"subsequent damage to the engine from continued operation and a loss of oil pressure"

Here's where they get you....bastards :mad: First, sorry for the total engine lose, all I can say is THAT SUCKS! Is the engine type or year a typo? The report states you have a 2.5 L in an '01?

You are probably close to 10K to replace the engine, if it were me, I'd negotiate a settlement with Warranty Direct (they will settle for less outside of arbitration, they're just waiting for you to ask), then I'd save the rest of my breath and part this one out. After I had 10 - 15K, I'd go drop it on another, newer 987 S with the new vehicle warranty still attached. Once that warranty expired, I'd trade it in for another....etc Any warranty outside of the new vehicle warranty is not worth it to me, think about, not only did you lose an engine, you lost the money you dropped on the warranty in the first place :(

Keep us up to date

That blows. Any other pressure you can apply on them?

Ask the arbitrator to make them pay the fee if he rules for you.

Good luck.

I agree, keep on then and pressure them. Threatening with calling the Better Business bureau or threatening to sue will get there attention and make them reconsider. Best of Luck! :cheers:

Sorry to hear Mike! :mad: Keep the pressure on them! Let us know how it goes.

I would have an attorney write a certified letter immediately...that always gets their attention. As said previously, warranty companies are this game for profit, not problem resolution.

You may also want to check with the dealer for what a new crate engine from Porsche costs. My dealer said $9000+labor for a 3.2 liter. May be worth it to pay a little more for a brand new engine with it's included warranty?

1st- ask to speak to a supervisor.

Give them a copy of this link.

Tell them you are going to post a copy of their denial on not only every Porche Board but every Benz, Vette, Audi, Honda, etc you can think of. My guess is they will pay up rather than risk that much bad publicity.

jmatta has real good advice too. A letter from an attorney would be the cheapest way of resolving this at this point. Arbitration fees are never recoupable. The whole point of getting someone to agree to arbitration is to keep the matter out of court. Sending a letter from an attorney will show them you are not afraid of spending the money on arbitration.

This is an awesome idea because one would think they would rather forego the fight with you over one incident than get their name blacklisted all over the internet. Double check with your attorney re: slander laws before you actually do it though. Threatening it should be fine IMO.

Never waste your time negotiating with someone who does not have the power to say: "Yes."

Find someone that can say: "YES" and tell him you want to give them 1 more chance before you hire a lawyer.

I am not sure hiring a lawyer will help, unless it is to assist in the arbitration hearing. Usually, if you agree to arb, you need to follow through.

Thanks for the comments so far. I'm definitely taking in all the advice and trying to come up with the best strategy to proceed.


Mike

rather than spend the $1000 on a arbitration proceeding....spend the money on a single full page advertisement in Excellence magazine. Have a graphics shop make the advertisement and pdf it to Warranty Direct before running the ad.
And look into runnng the ad on Bimmer magazine, Road and Track, etc.

I'm the sort of person that can take no for an answer but it will cost you...

You may need to spend some money, but don't get ahead of yourself. You may be able to resolve the entire thing by calling them up and possible threatening them, or involving the government free of charge. If those don't work then you may have to spend some money. But I think talking to a supervisor, and threatening them will probably get it resolved.

Before you do anything, I would get an attorney to write a demand letter that they cover your failure as per the terms of your warranty contract. It really is a shame, but you'd be amazed how many companies try to screw the consumer over, however, once said consumer has an attorney handle the matter on their behalf its amazing how many of these companies decide to play ball fairly. They're not stupid: If they can deny your claim (or whatever line of business they are in) and you shut up and go away, they just significantly padded their bottom line. However, as they are not stupid, once things get to the legal level, they know they are not going to win that fight and will thus cooperate (as they were supposed to in the beginning).

It may cost you a few hundred dollars, but the first thing I would do would be to contact an attorney and have him write a letter and make a phone call. If you have go further after that, that becomes a decision of risk and reward (i.e. how much it will cost you to fight and how likely it is you'll win).

Patrick

I would start off with filing a complaint with the following:

Better Business Bureau Serving Metropolitan New York
(New York, NY)
257 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10010-7384
Phone (212)533-6200
Fax (212)477-4912
Email inquiry@newyork.bbb.org
Web http://www.newyork.bbb.org

Warrany Direct's information you will need:

Warranty Direct
333 Earle Ovington Blvd # 700
Uniondale, NY 11553
Principal: Shaun Fetherston, Chief Executive Officer
Phone Number (800) 621-2783
Additional Phone Numbers:
(800) 632-4222
(516) 228-8600
(800) 942-0400

Fax Number (516) 222-1818
Website www.warrantydirect.com
Additional Websites www.travelamericard.com


I had a similar issue and it was resolved just by filling a complaint with the BBB. also on the form they will give you an area to state your complaint, do not get to long just the bullet points and specify that you also will post on Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds, CarBuyingTips.com about your issues with them if the matter goes unresolved. Do not make threats, be civil but firm.

Good luck

Thanks for the contacts Boxster 6354.

Mike

Another possible avenue
 

You might want to contact the state attorney general's office. They may be able to give you good advice and possibly help you in other ways too.

http://www.oag.state.ny.us/

Also, the last time I checked the truth is a valid defense for a libel claim.

question:
how did they determine/prove that the leak occured before the engine went south?

Removed by thenavarro

Fight them tooth and nail on everything. Ask your independent shop for a statement as to what caused the issue, and escalate it with the warranty company. Don't threaten just yet, just state the facts and be persistent. IF that doesn't work then you need to step it up on the forums, and send a letter to consumerist.com and other customer service blogs you can find. Lawyer up to negotiate a settlement and drop a 996 engine in that badboy.

When Fidelity took over administration of my company's health care plan they screwed up and stopped deducting payments from my wife's paycheck. I didn't notice (direct deposit) until they canceled the family's health care.
I asked them for a bill and volunteered to pay for each of the months they forgot to deduct but they refused to reinstate, claiming it was our fault for not noticing their oversight.

One threatening letter from a lawyer got immediate resolution. Full reinstatement and a verbal apology.

It's painful but worth it. Hire a lawyer to send a letter on his letterhead. Good luck.

Talk to someone in charge. Inform them that the data inputted into the document by them is false. Your car could not possibly have a 2.5L,also if I remember correctly it was a base which would have a 5-spd(not a 6-spd). Inform them there is no way you will accept any decision by them until they can figure out the correct information on your car. Then take it from there.

Give them hell. :troll:

I had of hell of time fighting with my insurance company on what was happening to my 99' when I crashed. They didn't want to replace stuff and they wanted to cut corners. I kept a FIRM hand on what I wanted done and wouldn't sign for anything until it was the right/fair decision.

Keep your pimp hand strong!

i agree with blinkwatt stay firm and strong.

Just a free bump so Warranty Direct can get the advertising they deserve.

Mike

BBB has no strength.....Trust me on this one, make copies of the documents, outline the strengths of your argument, keep the letter polite and brief..Then send the entire package to your state attorney general, you may even want to tell the insurance company you plan such action as just the threat of that kind of heat usually gets their attention, good luck, sorry bout the engine.

agreed...your states AG is the way to go...

Actually, in many states, these warranties are considered insurance and are regulated by the insurance depts. These depts have complaint depts and again, depending on the state, can be quite responsive.

You may want to check this out.

:)

This is a good call too, it's inexcusable for these warranties to pull this nonsense. If they did their homework and decided Boxsters needed a special premium due to their propensity to blow up, then fine, however their lack of foresight isn't your problem.

I know it's been a ******************** lately, but bless this country for having all these levels of recourse for the consumer (without having too many and turning into a regulatory nightmare). It's by no means perfect, but it does put things in perspective vs. some places in the world.

-David

I second the NYS Attorney General's Office route. They were very helpful and successful in a rebate dispute I recently had. The BBB was useless, however with my complaint last year against Warranty Direct. It seems that Warranty Direct is a "Sponsor / Member" of the BBB and as such is treated with "kid gloves" by the BBB. They obviously don't want to bite the hand that's feeding them. Good luck in any case.

Tom

Oh DUDE I didn't know you lived in NY, the NYS AG kicks ass, that's the same office I had to use against an unscrupulous Searay dealer. By the time the NYS AG was done with them they were offering me a cash refund in full or repairs, you can count on that office unlike so many other lame government entities.

so how did the whole thing end, did they pay?

It is still going on and upon advice of counsel, I can't say much right now. Looks promising though. I'll update the thread when we have a final resolution.

If it hadn't been for legal representation, then I'm sad to say in my opinion that they probably wouldn't have honored their commitment or contract.

Mike

I think we all appreciate finding out about the problems with Warranty Direct. I called them for a quote on my 04 several months ago, and I decided against it. My fear was exactly what happened to you - get big claim and suddenly they aren't your friend anymore. Another thing to be aware of is that once you talk to them, you will hear from them constantly. Of course the repeated contacts are simply concern that you may be driving an uninsured car and putting yourself at risk - but it can be annoying.

Mike, after you get your motor rebuilt or replaced by them, sue them to recoup your lawyer fees!

What a total pain. Sadly, I hear the same thing about PCNA not covering major engine issues in CPO cars.

i had a problem with these warranty people when i first bought my car. aside from the dealer trying to steal my warranty money (he never turned it in...kept my $1800), i had an oil issue about a month after i bought the car and they were of no help. i came home one day, and oil was raining down from under the car. after taking it to a porsche dealer (i bought it from a "luxury" car lot), they told me the other dealer tried to re-use the valve cover gaskets and cover them with sealant. one of the cam plugs fell out, and that's where the oil was coming from. the warranty people wouldn't cover the bill, and said they don't cover seals and gaskets. the old dealer wouldn't pay porsche, he told me he'd fix it for free if i brought it to him. i just bit the bullet, and paid the bill ($1500)! i immediately cancelled the warranty after that.

that internally lubricated parts clause is so vague. after they told me that, i asked them "if something goes wrong internally, do you usually relate it to an external issue?" after avoiding the question, the lady never fully answered me, but she did say that a lot of times it's due to neglect. that pretty much told me right there how they treat claims. good luck though! i hope it all works out for you!

HI Randall,

I already replaced it on my own nickel. Now I'm trying to recover the funds from them, including all the indidentals such as legal, alternate transportation while mine was out and they delayed, interest on having to use my own funds, etc., etc, etc. I want them to make me whole.

Mike

Just a quick update to those that are interested in this thread:

After two letters from my attorney and a slew of documentation, Warranty Direct made me a settlement offer a week or so ago for $4800.00 and change. They have now made up a different reason to deny the rest of my claim above that though. This is getting absurd, as we debunk their reasons, they simply make up another.

As indicated earlier, I'm not letting them off the hook so easily for something I paid for and that I feel I am entitled to. I instructed my lawyer to deny the offer and give them a deadline to make me whole and to send them a copy of the filled out paperwork to show them we are serious about filing. If they don't make me whole, then we are going for everything I'm entitled to plus attorney's fees, plus expert witness fees, plus all arbitration fees plus interest. I was going to file earlier, but on the last deadline day we gave them, they made the above offer, so they are at least beginning to show that they realize they have responsibility.

Mike