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-   -   Carmax sells Porsche warrantee (http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/27440-carmax-sells-porsche-warrantee.html)

baxster 01-08-2011 11:08 PM

Carmax sells Porsche warrantee
 
I did a forum search on Carmax and didn't see anything like this.

I test drove a nice 04 S today at carmax. It has 43k miles for $22600. The sales guy say I can get an extended warrantee through carmax from PORSCHE. He says a bumper to bumper 125,000 total mile (that would give me 82,000 miles), 6 year warrantee would cost $2500.

Has anyone heard of Carmax selling a Porsche warrantee? Does this sound like a good deal? As for the car, Kelly's says it's a fair private party price.

tonycarreon 01-08-2011 11:20 PM

the only way to get a porsche-backed warranty is to buy the car from porsche, either new or CPO. they do not offer a warranty through other dealers. remember - a lot of used car salesmen will say just about anything to close a deal. i'm sure once you see the paperwork does not include the name "porsche" the next statement would be "it's the same company that backs porsche's warranty."

secondly, most aftermarket warranties are quite restrictive, especially once you need it. you'd probably be better served to save your money. if you do decide to get one, check for clauses like "competitive" racing - no AX, DE, etc. make sure that you are bound to only the MFR recommended maintenance schedule and that you can do your own work or select your own mechanic, and over revs do not void the warranty. ask if the clutch is considered a wear item or covered, etc...

$2500 for 6 yr/82k miles is quite cheap, i personally would be leary.

Lordblood 01-09-2011 12:04 AM

The price sounds way too low for a guarantee that would cover a used car for that long, CPO on Porsche's is 2 year/100k miles on cars that do not have the original warranty. I'd say the guy is lying to make the sale, and once you go to him for any repairs he will make some BS up and not work on your car.

Since I was on the market for a Boxster until just 4 days ago, I can say that working with used car dealers, no matter how competitive and prestigious the company is, turns out to be a complete hassle as when you start negotiating price they start to get completely hostile and insult you for negotiating.

A personal story: I live about 600 miles from LA, and there was a nice Boxster S I wanted to see in Thousand Oaks, CA (northern LA). I called the dealer, and said if the car is available I'd like to see it the next day. He said that if we were truly serious about buying the car he would hold the car for us until the next day. We agreed and left the house around 3 PM. The dealer calls back at about 4:30 PM, and tells us that he has found a buyer and will sell his car unless we give him a deposit to hold it until the next day. We did not agree to this offer and turned back and came home, obviously quite upset that he made a bogus promise to us. To make things worse, the next day the guy calls back and asks where we are, because they are waiting for us to see that car.

Moral of the story: don't believe anyone unless its in fine print on a contract.

Flavor 987S 01-09-2011 03:59 AM

Yes, I am sure the Carmax salesperson is 110% correct. They sell a extended warranty from Pore-shaw. ;)

Brucelee 01-09-2011 05:21 AM

I would be HIGHLY skeptical of this claim. In my experience, this is not gonna happen.

:)

mikefocke 01-09-2011 06:08 AM

There is no Porsche sponsored/financed/backed
 
used car warranty in the US (there are in other countries, BTW). It is a decision of the distributor.

Porsche North America (PNA) is the US distributor and offers a new car warranty and a CPO warranty and your '04 would be eligible for neither as it is not a new car, its warranty period has expired and it is being sold by a dealer who isn't authorized by PNA and thus couldn't be covered by a CPO even if the car was eligible. (Used CPOs can transfer only if from a Porsche dealer or private seller and there was no intervening auction or non-Porsche dealer etc)

You can not buy coverage backed by Porsche.

Now some Porsche dealers sell third party warranties and the salesperson makes them sound like Porsche warranties. Read the contract first before you sign. They are just moneymakers for the dealer/salesperson/etc. They pay out around one quarter of the money they cost.

Idaho Red Rocket 3 01-09-2011 07:28 AM

Hi Baxster,

You are getting a lot of opinions here. So I have a very recent Carmax experience to share with you. I consider myself to be an informed and somewhat intelligent consumer. My past experiences with aftermarket warranties with cars, motorcycles, p/u trucks and 18 wheelers leads me to believe the Carmax warranty is a good one.

Between Christmas and New Years my Wife and I took a road trip from Idaho to Arizoma just for the purpose of looking around in Phoenix and Tucson Boxster shopping. One of the cars we went to look at was a 2006 at the Carmax in Tucson. The salesman there gave us the detailed explaination of the extended warranty Carmax offers. The warranty is through an aftermarket company called Liberty something. ( I forget the full name.) The salesman took his time and showed us all the differant combinations of deductables and lenth of milage coverages of the plans he could offer on that car. For what I know from personal experiance from being a purchaser and user of aftermarket warranties, I would tell all of the forum members the Carmax plan is a good one. If you are considering buying the Carmax car, ask the salesman to show you the differant plans such as length of milage coverage and with differant deductable levels. The importamt part here is the warranty is designed to be honored at almost any repair shop including a Porsche dealer.

Lucky 01-09-2011 08:39 AM

I'll second much of what Red Rocket says. I'm also shopping for a car (daily driver) and have spent time researching the Carmax Maxcare warranty. It is an aftermarket warranty, not from the car manufacturer. You can choose different mileage and deductible amounts to adjust the price point to your desired amount. Unlike most dealers, Carmax doesn't generally negotiate on prices including those for warranty.

Something to keep in mind, all warranty repairs will require pre-authorization. You can use whatever shop you want, including dealers, but you must make sure the shop knows you are using a warranty and agrees to get work approved before they do it.

If I end up buying a car from Carmax, I'm going to ask for a few days to decide on Maxcare and see what I can get from other sellers. I'm confident you can get the equivalent at lower cost from someone else. However if the saving isn't significant, I may go with Maxcare as I think it would provide another avenue for recourse if a dispute arises with the warranty company.

mikefocke 01-09-2011 11:15 AM

The car price sounds good.
 
Ask to read the contract. Read it 3 times. Not the sales literature, the contract. If they won't give it to you ....

A warranty does you no good if it doesn't cover the things that can cost big money on your car.

And research the financial strength of the company that is behind the warranty. Does you no good if you find the company went out of business (they often do). Oregon has a list of who is behind what warranty sellers policies at http://insurance.oregon.gov/insurer/financial_regulation/obligors.pdf

Third party warranties (aka service contracts) have interesting reputations with the insurance commissioners of the various states. Consumer Reports says they pay out very little compared to what you pay in.


Something that sounds too good to be true probably is. And $2,200 for 6 years coverage on a car whose engine can cost what our does just doesn't pass my smell test. Becasue I've priced these things from companies and they would only go 3 years and for a lot more. There may be something we don't understand, some exclusion, some deductible, etc. Because the sales guy has to get paid out of that, the sales manager, the dealer, the insurer, the people who administer the policy, etc. Leaves very little for parts and labor does it? What is the limit on the labor rate per hour? What book do they use to define the number of hours covered for a specific repair? Does your mechanic work with that company? Are they slow pay or slow approval? Some shops insist you pay and then you have to negotiate with the insurance company which makes it impossible because they want to approve before the work is done...and you may have to wait for an inspection.

Bumper to bumper like a new car with every part covered? So what is the difference?

Extended warranties are like a casino:

* some who play will win
* a very very few will win very big
* most by far will lose
* the casino will make a lot of money.

Only the casino odds are so much better...there the percent returned to the person who places the bet is generally more than 80% as opposed to the extended warranty where it approaches 20-30%. Like a casino, you hear the stories of the people who win big and that persuades you to play. You mostly don't hear about all the many, many more people who lose.

baxster 01-09-2011 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikefocke
Extended warranties are like a casino:

* some who play will win
* a very very few will win very big
* most by far will lose
* the casino will make a lot of money.

This would have to be true for the warrantee company or casino to stay in business. I've dropped a few bucks at casinos never expecting to get anything back except for entertainment. Maybe I could say that the warrantee could buy me piece of mind to enjoy the entertainment of my car more. My main concern is that an engine failure would be covered.

Otherwise, you make some good points. I'm going to check out the salesman's claims and the other details of the warrantee that you suggest. I'll get back to this thread when I find out more.

baxster 01-09-2011 07:02 PM

it IS the Maxcare warrantee
 
I talked to the sales guy again. This time he said that Porsche would honor the Maxcare warrantee. he's going to fax me the terms.

So the question is, would a Maxcare warrantee cover a engine failure due to an IMS failure?

mikefocke 01-10-2011 04:19 AM

http://www.carmax.com/enus/maxcare/default.html

Claims that all parts are covered except those listed. Then goes on to give an elaborate list of what is covered. Which is it? IMS not listed.

Claims non-covered parts covered if the result of covered part failure. No claim of covered part covered as the result of non-covered part failing (as in IMS taking out engine if IMS not covered).

At the bottom reveals Porsche and CarMax aren't behind the warranty, it is just a warranty from one of several third parties. Research those companies.

Read the contract...not the sales literature.

If it is as you hope, the price and length make it a great deal. It is those little details that always worry me and I hear from my lawyer friends about.

jditom 01-10-2011 06:00 AM

I bought my Boxster from Carmax in Salt Lake and I got the extended warranty. It covers all major components including engine failure. It does not mention every engine component but if any fail you are covered. Believe me no warranty lists a IMS simply because it is part of the engine. You must get pre-approved by any shop that has certified mechanics including Porsche if that is your choice. So your brothers garage does not count.
They are a very large co and doing well and I doubt this is a scam.

My 04 S only had 20k miles when I bought her and I got a 6 year up to 75,000 warranty for about $1400. It gives me some breathing room before I do the IMS.

Brucelee 01-10-2011 06:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jditom
I bought my Boxster from Carmax in Salt Lake and I got the extended warranty. It covers all major components including engine failure. It does not mention every engine component but if any fail you are covered. Believe me no warranty lists a IMS simply because it is part of the engine. You must get pre-approved by any shop that has certified mechanics including Porsche if that is your choice. So your brothers garage does not count.
They are a very large co and doing well and I doubt this is a scam.

My 04 S only had 20k miles when I bought her and I got a 6 year up to 75,000 warranty for about $1400. It gives me some breathing room before I do the IMS.


Carmax can offer a warranty, no issue there.

They cannot offer a Porsche CPO warranty or anything else through Porschae NA without Porsche's agreement.

That is the issue, not whether a warranty can be offered.

baxster 01-10-2011 06:44 AM

new issue
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Brucelee
Carmax can offer a warranty, no issue there.

They cannot offer a Porsche CPO warranty or anything else through Porschae NA without Porsche's agreement.

That is the issue, not whether a warranty can be offered.

The sales guy clarified that it is a Maxcare, not a Porsche warrantee. So now my issue is if Maxcare will cover an engine failure due to an IMS failure.

Lobo1186 01-10-2011 08:37 AM

call them and ask. get it in writing. the worst that can be said is no.

Perfectlap 01-10-2011 09:44 AM

put that money into a money market account and kick in another $100 every month (at least). If you read the fine print of those warranties they are chock full of 'get out of paying you for catastrophic claims" language. They'll require all maintenance be done by a licensed mechanic, and I mean everything, no matter how minor like chaning the air filter (5 minute DIY) and you can't miss or be late on a single service item. When you add up how much this will cost you it negates the value of the warranty. I bought one of those when I first picked up this car because it was so cheap I thought what the heck. I opted to pay over several installments. Almost immediately I had a problem, top wouldn't come down. I brought it to the dealer and they said "$4 switch but we have to charge you $140 labor". Fine I said I'm covered "bumper to bumper". The Porsche tech comes back an hour later "you're warranty will not cover it". A $4 switch. So I stopped making the payments and allowed them to cancel the warranty. Glad I didn't pay all up front.

baxster 01-10-2011 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perfectlap
put that money into a money market account and kick in another $100 every month (at least). If you read the fine print of those warranties they are chock full of 'get out of paying you for catastrophic claims" language. They'll require all maintenance be done by a licensed mechanic, and I mean everything, no matter how minor like chaning the air filter (5 minute DIY) and you can't miss or be late on a single service item. When you add up how much this will cost you it negates the value of the warranty. I bought one of those when I first picked up this car because it was so cheap I thought what the heck. I opted to pay over several installments. Almost immediately I had a problem, top wouldn't come down. I brought it to the dealer and they said "$4 switch but we have to charge you $140 labor". Fine I said I'm covered "bumper to bumper". The Porsche tech comes back an hour later "you're warranty will not cover it". A $4 switch. So I stopped making the payments and allowed them to cancel the warranty. Glad I didn't pay all up front.

Did you find the language in the b2b warrantee that excluded that job?

Perfectlap 01-10-2011 02:52 PM

I went through the language almost word for word with the phone rep. I asked him part by part from engine to brakes, to HVAC, lights, all that, whatever wasn't mentioned in the fine print. He either said yes or no. I was a real pain in the arese. Anything not mentioned explcitily I figured they'd chalk up to 'normal wear and tare". THat's a pretty clever clause to throw into a service agreement. A sort of catch all for them. When you think about it, what isn't getting worn and torn to some degree when you drive it? There was a forum member here who had a warranty with probably the best known of the firms (Warranty Direct) when they were still covering Porsches and his engine let go, IMS I think it was. They denied his claim and he had to take them to court. I think he won but most people wouldn't show that kind of tenacity. Point being the guys who write those contracts make sure their lawyers put in the right words to avoid a really big pay out. Only a judge can force them to do otherwise.

Banana S 01-11-2011 09:08 AM

FWIW, I have the CarMax Maxcare warranty on my Boxster S. It's already paid for itself in the 2 years I've had the car. CV boots on both sides, a bad camshaft position sensor, front motor mount, and a couple other things that I can't recall at the moment. What I like about it is:

1) You have the option of bringing the car back to CarMax for repairs, for a $50 deductible each time, or taking it to the shop of your choice for a $75 deductible. (Which means that every time I need a repair, I go straight to the local Porsche dealership. No way the CarMax service techs are EVER going to touch my car.)

2) You can cancel the Maxcare warranty at any time and get a refund of the amount you paid for it, prorated for the greater of the miles traveled or the time left on the warranty. (Did that with a previous CarMax car that I decided to sell before the warranty was up.)

I'm happy to say that I can't answer your question of whether Maxcare would warranty an IMS failure. I know that my service writer at the dealership would fight for me to get them to do so, but frankly I hope I never find out. (And he is actually a big supporter of HPDE's, performing a free tech inspection for me before every event. It helps that the dealership sponsors the events through our local PCA chapter.) :cheers:


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