How many miles are on your IMS Retrofit?

[Cloudsurfer]

Originally Posted by autodoctor911

I am quite in agreement that it is an amazingly gracious means to fix a bearing that is known to be going out. salvation indeed. but what is the actual risk. everone here seems to talk like it is inevitable, but ehat are the actual percentages. one source that would definitely have this kind of info is the extended warranty company. they track repair costs on various vehicles.

The odds are clearly in your favor for the bearing NOT failing (do the math on the numbers of 98X and 99X cars sold, and the number of IMS failures- it's likely under 1%), but considering that the gamble has the potential to create a need for a motor swap, upgrading the bearing is cheap insurance.

If you study this forum and/or Renntech, you'll find several stories of people who paid for extended warranties and then got denied coverage for a new motor when the IMS failed, so I would hardly consider the warranty "insurance."

[autodoctor911]

how could a warranty not cover engine failure due to an internal bearing?

[jhandy]

speaking from experience.....they will blame it on oil change interval ( too soon or too long), have you ever redlined the motor, one missing reciept for a oil change, not using the recommended oil, but for me after working through all of these issues....

was the fact they could not put a price on the bearing replacement proceedure because the bearing is not for sale from porsche and the proceedure is not listed in the cost/hour book they use.

after a 5 month delay, they finally paid to have my bearing replaced to save the motor. At one point they even tried to give me a used pull motor instead of paying for the retrofit.

[Frank M]

Originally Posted by autodoctor911

how could a warranty not cover engine failure due to an internal bearing?

in addition to the afore mentioned reasons,
was there a noise or other symptoms that were ignored until complete failure
any prior leaks that could suggest low oil level
is it wear and not a sudden catastrophe as many warranties do not cover wear

any song can be sung by an extended warranty compnay by using what is printed in their contract.

persistent communication with them over a declined repair can sometimes net an approval.

unfortunately most people just roll over.

[autodoctor911]

from my experience the good warranty companies,i.e. ones that have been in business 10 years ore more, espepecially the ones that are attatched to major auto manufacturers e.g. G.M.P.P., Ford E.S.P., etc. would not pull such a thing. Now the warranties they sell you over the phone when you already have a car are probably bogus. the warranties from used car lots not associated with a major new car dealership may or may not have a good history. Allways checkout a warranty company before purchasing a warranty.

[jhandy]

Frank M, instead of reading what is included, read what is excluded. Like I said, if you have ever red lined your motor, It is in the ECU. That one redline can be used to exclude you. Miss one scheduled oil change by more than 500 miles? Do you have every reciept for oil changes?
Have you done regularly scheduled matinance within 500 miles of the set number?

It is not the question if the bearing is covered or not......they will use every loophole they can.

I fought with them for 5 months, the cost was not enought to get a lawyer, but just enough to fight. I did not roll over, but after a while the mechanic that HAD TO TEAR DOWN the motor down to prove or disprove wants to get paid and the car out of the shop.

Thats another catch, Before they pay, they ask that the motor be torn down for inspection, If they end up not covering something, then they do not pay for the labor to tear it down or put it back.

That alone kind of gets you under thier thumb to accept what they pay.


The company I had was warrenty direct. It has been around for 30 years. They still screwed me. My claim for roughly 9,000 was worn down to around 5,000 and I was out of a car for 5 months.

[Frank M]

Having some experience with warranty companies as I have been doing independent mechanical inspections for over 40 companies, 12 years now.
My advice is to get a reputable company as mentioned in a previous post.

For service go to the selling dealer that sold you the warranty as they have some pull due to their warranty sales. (notice I didn't say you bought it online. from a solicitor or through the mail)

do your maintenance right to the tee, do not modify your vehicle or use questionable products, use what is recommended by the manufacturer only.

[JFP in PA]

As someone that runs a shop, let me give you another perspective on these warranties:

1. Many aftermarket insurers try to act like these repairs are medical insurance, they try tell the shop what you can expect to be paid, how long it should take, and even where to buy parts. Not in my shop…….

2. They want you to disassemble the engine, then wait for their “inspector” to show up, which takes anywhere from a couple of days to weeks. Shops typically have limited space, particularly inside. No owner wants his car sitting outside for weeks, particularly with the engine partially disassembled.

3. As others have noted, many of these companies try to weasel out of paying a claim for reasons totally unconnected to the problem. ECU/DME data, “competition tires”, “extensive modification” (aftermarket exhaust system), etc., etc….. Anything to keep from paying out…….

4. “Partial settlements” where they will pay for only part of the job, or only cover the parts. I actually had one tell me that they would only cover the time to swap out the bearing, not the labor to get at it. Right……..

5. The warranty companies often use poorly trained or totally incompetent personnel to review the claims. Often they know little, if anything, about the make or model involved, much less what is required to make the repair. Yet they are the individuals that determine if the claim will be paid and at what rate.

6. After market warranty companies are amongst the slowest payers out there, often trying to string the shop out for months on a claim, and sometimes go out of business while you are waiting, leaving the shop to file a legal claim with little to no chance of getting paid.

Like many other shops, we no longer deal with any warranty company, period. If the owner wants to file a claim, that fine by me, but the repair is cash, check or credit card only………