Warranty Question
 

For those of you who have extended warranties I'm wondering which companies are reliable. When I bought my 1998 Boxster I asked the dealer about purchasing an extended warranty. He actually advised me against it saying Boxsters dont have many issues to justify that additional expense. I dont think he had ideas of me coming to his shop for my repairs because I live out of town from where I bought it. So I think it was his honest opinion. However after reading all of the blown engine issues on this forum I'm thinking an extended warranty would be a wise purchase. Therefore which companies should I compare for this car ? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

IF, someone will warranty a 98 Boxster it will be at least $3,000. IMHO, I recommend taking the money and put into an interest bearing account only to be used for unscheduled repairs.

The odds are that you will come out ahead.

This is what has made guys like Mr. Buffet very wealthy. Not the cheeseburger in paradise guy. But, he's rich too. :)

You're probably looking at about $3000 for a warranty. I got a warranty through the dealer I got my car at, so I can't recommend anyone that is national. I like the idea of the savings account for your $3k, but there is a flaw with that. If you have any major problems in the next 2-3 years, the savings account will not have built up enough to cover all the costs. If you buy a new car and put $3k in a savings account it's a great idea, but used, when you could have a problem next week it may not work as planned.
I know that my warranty has already paid for it self a couple of times in the last year.

I bought an extended warrant through Warranty Direct, cost: $2,600

so far they paid:
* CV boot: $450
* signal stalk: $180
* RMS leak: $900
* IMS failure (new engine): $14k

Boy, am I happy that I invested these $2.6k :D
I am already $13k ahead and still have 49k miles left on the warranty

Glad it worked out for you, Chris. It was also worked out great for Warranty Direct!

For example, there are over 13,800 members on this Forum. What if they purchased an "engine warranty" from Brucelee for $1,000. And just 1/4 of us signed up for the policy.

In the years I have been a member, I can only remember a handful of expired engines. I can't even think of 10. But let's just exaggerate the number to 100.

Here are the potential financials:

3,450 "policy holders" (13,800 x 0.25)
$1,000 policy premiums
$3,450,000

-$1,500,000 for failed engine claims
-$50,000 (my business plan fee! :cool: )

$1,900,000 potential profit.

Now imagine the profit if more members agreed to the policy and we did not exaggerate the number of failures.

Not to be a butt-head, but Warranty Direct is in business to make themselves and/or stockholders a nice profit.
The 2,600 smackers considering the life threatening failures a Porsche can throw at you is some pretty cheap sleep, in my opinion.
Quite frankly, I hope I never have to use a penny's worth of the extended warranty on mine. It will still be worth the cost for the piece of mind.

I have Warranty Direct and I was NOT as lucky as ChrisZang above. They DENIED my claim for a new engine even though it was covered by the contract. Currently my lawyer and their lawyer are discussing.

You can read it here and see if this is a company that you want to do business with or not:

Warranty Direct screwed me over

Mike

Yeah, but a blown engine isn't all they pay for. I've had my warranty with them a fairly short time, but already have had a window regulator and leaky cam plugs and cover, which Warranty Direct covered and saved me $500. RMS failures happen all the time and if you have Tip like me, it's $1500. I'm pretty sure by the time my extended warranty runs out, I'll likely break even or better. More than that, I have the peace of mind to drive it hard and not worry.

This car ain't no Toyota. Out of warranty, it can bite you.

gmboxster -

Try to get some quotes & look at what they exclude. You'll be able to determine whether or not it seems like a value. Most warranty companies will take a 1 time payment or let you pay it over 12 months. I have Warranty America. It was $2275 & they have already covered $2600 of my roughly $3600 in repairs ( I didn't say it was perfect!) I still have 63,000 miles or 4 years left on it, so I'm hoping I'll come out way ahead before it expires or I sell the car. It's true - a lot goes wrong besides the engine, and electrical or suspension issues can cost plenty. But you would DEF rather have someone else pay for the motor if comes to that...

As it is, I need a 6 speed gearbox - I will be sure to post my experience & the cost once I take it in.

I think you analysis is flawed. Assuming that if the insurance company wins, the individual policyholder loses is not the way to analyze this issue. If that were true, there would be, on balance, no insurance industry.

The real issue is that each person has a different risk apptetite and a different ability to ASSUME risk. So, for some folks, the warranty is appropriate and for others (maybe you), not.

That is fine. No one HAS to purchase insurance on a used car. Many do. The ones that file a claim and WIN, seem happy. The ones who never had a claims have still received something, the protection against a claim.

All in all, a good system.

PS-I think your math on the 10 engines failed is WAY OFF.

I have been around for 4 years and this issue is not an aberation.

:)

Warrenty Direct for me
 

I paid 2600$
2002 boxster S

3 RMS
2 CV joints with boots
Window regulator
2 valve cover leaks
1 spark plug oil leak
Something with the horn
Ignition switch
2 rear passenger wheel bearings
both front bearings
New convertible top due to rear window tear

Cost to me- $200 co-pay paid 4 times.

Cost to WD- I did not add all of this up but I would guess @12,000$

I bring the car in to porsche when they send me the service notice, and I change the oil myself in between services @5k miles. That way they cant say it was not serviced by a qualified person and deny a claim if the engine blows.

I think I am ahead so far.

Richard, I used 100 engine failures in my math, not 10. How many engine failures have you heard of on this Forum in the past 3-4 years? The number is much-much closer to 10 than it is to 100.

Lets be rigorous. Neither of us know the experience failure rate or cost per failure on a Boxster. To be fair, if the Boxster was such a winner in the warranty dept. these companies would be all over it. In fact they are not.

As of two years ago, many warranty companies would not touch a Porsche of any kind. That in some sense, tells you something about the profit on this type of coverage.

Having said all of that, I refer back to my earlier post. To some, the warranty is the best thing they ever did. To others, it is waste of money.

That is what is so cool about capitalism. CHOICE>


:)