Boxster/ Warranty

[mikefocke]

that the special offer 'today only' 'just to you' is the sign of a deal that isn't going to be in your long term interest.

If their way of doing business was honestly in your favor they wouldn't need all those high pressure tactics and the high priced salespeople (that you ultimately are paying for).

You'll hear stories of people who made out by buying a warranty. Just as you'll hear stories of people who made money on the slot machines in Vegas. A few win big, a few break even, but by far the most folk lose. The odds are much more in favor of you in Vegas....at least 3x better. Consumer Reports says Extended Warranties pay out only about 30% of the $ they take in in repairs, the rest of the money you pay goes to selling, admin and profit.

And you run the risk of these companies going out of business leaving you stuck.

I've always self-insured for things I can afford to pay out on if something were to happen. And over a lifetime, I'm tens of thousands ahead. I insure big things like the house, car, liability...those have potential for bigger bills than I could pay.

I declined the Extended Warranty my '01S Boxster seller offered to transfer to me in favor of a lower purchase price. 5 years later I am way way ahead.

Consider instead doing the IMS replacement now and putting the rest of the $ into a savings account.

[Extra]

Ericbythebay,

It really is a small world. I just purchased a 2005 Seal Gray Base Boxster. Here is the small world part...I live in Knoxville and looked seriously at your Boxster but decided to purchase the Gray one from Carmax. I did two walk arounds on your car at USI Motors.

I had mine 1 day and the engine blew...but Carmax is paying the Porsche dealship to put a new engine in it. So besides the delay, I am very happy.

Your Carmona Red Boxster was in great shape and I was seriously tempted. USI is a good dealership (they are the SAAB factory dealership for our area by the way).

Anyway, small world from a person who was lusting after your car while you must have been putting the finishing touches on your deal!

Enjoy the car and tell it Knoxville says hello!

Extra

[tonycarreon]

all the emblems are pointed at the air valves on the tires - it's a winner!

[thstone]

Congratulations! Great looking car.

Generally aftermarket warranties favor the company rather than the buyer and these companies, as a group, are renown for denying claims.

Be sure to read all of the fine print and convince yourself that the warranty will actually cover the most likely high cost problems like IMS, RMS, all five chains and both tensioners, MAF, engine mount, etc.

Even with a warranty, you'll still need to keep $1,000 or more in reserve for maintenance/repairs that won't be covered under the warranty like tires, brakes, oil changes, 30K service, etc.

[ericbythebay]

Yes, it is a small world. Sorry to hear about your Boxster! Glad to here Carmax backs up there vehicles. I looked at there as well, but just thought they were a little expensive, and wouldnt haggle...I think I paid a fair price and honestly, I would have paid asking as I wanted that car, color/options and low mileage. I did a car fax on the and it was maintained by Harper Porsche in Knoxville since new and it got 2OK service from the dealer in July. Not sure why somebody would trade in a car that was so meticulously maintained. It got oil changes once a year and nothing was overlooked. I bet they are regretting it, or maybe there is something I dont know... I have the funds for normal items, but I (after reading the boards) wanted the big ticket items covered. Dealerships I hope wouldnt sell a warranty that causes a lot of problems to the buyer. I discussed this very thing with Porsche of Livermore and was advised the owner of the dealership also owns the Jag/Bentley/Sports car store in San Francisco. He wouldnt offer a product to people buying a car like these that wasnt reputable. They also want the business as most of the people would bring car into there dealer for service and warranty work. They certainly dont want the customer telling them "you recommended the warranty and you sell it" Why do you sell it if its no good? Hopefully, I dont have to use it for big ticket items. I am though a little concerned about 3 dealerships selling same warranty and such a price variation. I went onto www. Yelp.com and found out which dealer was providing best service. I gotta admit all 3 had 4 stars which is pretty good. I am going to bring up these items tomorrow with Carlsen Porsche and see if they are covered under the JM &A warranty company. I also today got another 5 calls from Direct Warranty wanting me to sign up with them....

[thstone]

"...Hopefully, I dont have to use it for big ticket items."

Big ticket items are the primary reason to buy a warranty. If you don't think that you'll need it for big ticket items then it's definitely not cost effective.

I bought both of my BMW's as CPO vehicles with extended factory warranties (which are much better than any aftermarket warranty). I paid about $2,500 for the CPO assurance and extended warranty on each vehicle. From my point of view, I broke even on my X5 (retail price of covered repairs was about $2,500) and lost money on the 325i (retail price of covered repairs was much less than $2,500). From the dealer point of view, the warranty on both cars was profitable because they pay internal wholesale prices for parts and labor saving quite a bit over retail repair prices. However, I slept better knowing that I was covered in case of a big ticket item failure like an engine or a transmission.

Now, I "self insure" and have savings set aside for small and big ticket items.