A little "Oh Wow!" about cost of ownership..

[aramati]

I tried the IWS website. When it came to cars, it did not list Porsche. What am I doing wrong?

As to the Mercedes, I have a '00 ML430 with a Starmark extended warranty. The car has 83K miles and had its share of repairs. Without Starmark, it would have been bankrupcy! Yet Starmark covers only the big ticket items.

Get this, at 83K, one of the catalytic converters goes. Federal law requires an 80K warranty. Soooo, Mercedes wouldn't cover it. The part is $1200 and about $300 in labor. I argued with the Dealership, the best I could do is have them supply the part with me paying the labor. I took the car to a local muffler shop. It was the 2nd ML they had seen in a week with the same problem. It seems one the seams on the cat goes open. He welded it back for me for $60.

I live in Las Vegas. Does anyone knows a good garage that is a cheaper alternative to the local MB dealership?

[wetstuff]

Ara: You're right Porsche isn't on the list - I put Boxster under Acura anyway. They'll quote it. ...my nose tells me the price rises quickly with higher mileage but I didn't ask directly.

In reading the fine print - if bought after existing warranty is expired; they require oil changes ev. 3k. Whereas, regular factory maint. is required if bought 24hrs. before factory warranty expired. They're clearly not tuned into 10qt oil pans and SynOil.

I got it only for catastrophic failure. I don't expect to need it, and I'm looking forward to getting my $1900 back

Jim