[pbanders]

It's all about risk tolerance, and perceived and monetary benefits, and your own ability to afford either a warranty or to pay for repairs. The answers will be different for everyone.

What I've observed with owners of "affordable" Porsches is that many buy the car without understanding that the cost of a repair on a cheaper Porsche is similar to the cost of the same repair on a high-end Porsche, since a large portion of the cost is in labor. Porsches and BMW's also have very high part costs, and often have a few chronic repair areas that affect many owners (for Boxsters: e.g., window regulators, leaky seals, coolant reservoir, MAF, RMS, etc...). Many people go in with the idea that they're going to DIY the repairs, and many are successful. However, many find it challenging, when they find out what's involved with doing some of the more complex repairs.

All of these factors figure in to whether or not someone wants to get an aftermarket warranty and how much they'll pay for it. For me, I was able to get good warranty coverage for duration I plan on owning the car for just under $2K. From my experience, if you drive a Porsche or a BMW about 5000 miles a year that's old enough to be out of factory warranty (probably with 35K+ miles), you can expect standard minor repairs will run you about $500 per year on the average, and you're likely to have something else that costs $1K and up fail over about a 4 year period. BMW example: my M3 has had emissions failures (secondary air valve and fan, fuel evap), door lock solenoids, air bag seat sensor, and "sticky 5th" tranny issues (to name a few) that happened out of warranty. BTW, I'm not including the repairs due to wear (e.g. rear suspension bushings and shock tower mounts, brakes/pads, etc.), nor the repairs for preventive maintenance (e.g. 70K mile replacement of radiator, hoses, water pump, and reservoir tank).

So far, my suspicions that the Boxster would have similar costs have held true. I had the RMS done just as my factory warranty expired, and under the new warranty, I've already had about $500 of repairs (window regulator, cam cover seal), so it's about on schedule. Even if I end up with $500 to $1000 left on the table when the warranty ends, I look at it as the cost of peace of mind knowing I was covered for major repairs and could drive the car hard without worry.

As for the difficulty of getting the warranty company to pay for major repairs, it's something I'm prepared to deal with. My Boxster isn't my only car, so I have no problem waiting them out. I also keep careful records and get service done on schedule and on time. Others may not want the hassle of this.