After market warranty data base
 

Hi guys,

Since so many of us have Boxes that are out of warranty, I thought it might be useful to collect the experiences of those of you who have purchased an aftermarket warranty, the good, bad and the ugly!

Please share with us your experiences as completely and candidly as you can. Use names and other specific facts if you can.

This may be one of the more valuable threads we can post to.

Thanks for joining in.

Bruce (Rich)

My 2001 still has warranty til August (48 mo). I asked about getting an extended warranty through the Porsche dealer, was told "no can do".
Will be interested in hearing if aftermarkets are an option.

If I got any aftermarket warranty it would be from these guys:

www.warrantydirect.com

I guess thier actually regulated by the insurance industry.

KRZ

Depending on the state you are in, warranty companies may be required to be regulated by the insurance dept of that state. This does provide SOME protection against insolvency and to some degree, provide for a complaint mechanism with the state.

In many states, there warranties are not considered as insurance, which they clearly are.

Buyer beware, no?

On another note, wouldn't it make sense for Porsche to offer an extended warranty other than at the time of initial purchase???????

Warranty Direct is awesome
 

I have a '99 Boxster w/ Warranty Direct and 0 deductible.

They paid all repairs and received $30 per day allowance for loaner.

It has more than paid for itself.

Highly recommend..

Ordered one, but sent it back after reading it.
 

Warrenty Direct sent me the contract, but it was so restrictive that I sent it back. I sent it within the 30 days for a full refund and they tried to get out of sending back all of my money. I had proof of when they received it, so they gave in and returned the rest of my premium. BE SURE TO READ THE WHOLE CONTRACT!

TOM986,

I have been looking at warrany direct for some time they seemed to be a good company, could you please expand on what you mean by restrictive. Do you have a copy of the contract that you could post on this forum???? I have to agree with Bruce this could be one of the most important and informative post on this forum!!!

Mike

Brucelee Quote:
"On another note, wouldn't it make sense for Porsche to offer an extended warranty other than at the time of initial purchase???????".

Seems like they would. They could charge their normal exorbitant prices and I probably would have taken it anyway because it was through the dealer... :confused:

When Porsche issues a CPO warranty, it charges the dealer $1500 for the contract. It seems to me that they could do the same with direct sales to existing Porsche owners under the standard factory warranty.

Now, the buyer would also have to have the car inspected by a Porsche service shop and be brought up to standard but then, the overall cost should still be reasonable.

Why doesn't Porsche do this? Well, it COULD be that they want to give their dealers an edge in selling their used cars.

What do you think?

Those wiley Porsche guys... :rolleyes:

I checked out the site for Warranty Direct.

Coverage: Covers all BUT: Battery; shock absorbers; manual transmission clutch assembly; friction clutch disc & pressure plate; throw out bearing; manual and hydraulic linkages; GPS/navigation systems; safety restraint systems; glass; lenses; sealed beams; bulbs; brake rotors & drums; TV/video/game systems; weather strips; exterior body parts/ornamentation; paint; upholstery & carpet; tires; wheels/rims; phone systems; exhaust and emissions systems.

Quote I got on my 2001 with 14,700 miles was $1625, or $1725 with added emissions control equipment coverage. Coverage would be for 4 years/60,000 miles. An inspection is required. Doesn't seem too bad a first glance (how much will I spend the first time my top goes crooked?), but the real test is whether they come through when something happens.

Any other first hand experience with this firm? Or other firms? Thanks much.

It just strikes me that most people (like me) tend to go without when the factory warranty ends.

I had only about 60days left on the factory warranty...and no expirence with Porsche to speak of, so I bit for an extended 'service contract' (I think that's how they get around the state insurance comissions.)

Rather than ones where you simply pre-pay for repairs you might not need .. with this one: I paid up-front...BUT: I get most of the money back if I don't use it. This cotract expires in March 2010, or 80,000mi (I have about 17,500 now) and of the total cost of $1920.- I get $1810. back if I don't use it.

My original post: http://986forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2174

Shsssssssssh - no noises!

Jim

wetstuff,

I went to Intercontinental Warranty Services website and since I belong to a Credit Union I wanted to get a "Free Quote". When I got down to the Make and Model information "Porsche" was NOT on their list of cars. Too good to be true? My 2001 warranty is up in July.

It is not unusual for warranty companies to lay off the Porsche market. Other exotics also get declined.

Contract
 

The contract that I received was for mechanical only. This would excluded any seals or the famous RMS. I got to thinking how many things go wrong that are not mechanical parts and decided that it was too restrictive. See my earlier post.

Sp_007: Me too - no P listing. I just entered ACURA..or whatever was first and then told them when they called me. They do it. Hell, I'd call the CU. I can't imagine yours would be much more/less than mine?! I even sneaked the 'S' by them... (always expecting the raised eyebrow w/ German half smile.)

Off topic: We also have an 01 Merc ML320 and it was almost double if I remember correctly... Boy, MB's fallen into a tar pit. (I've not had an real problems with it.)

Jim

AAA After Market Warranty
 

I just purchased an extended warranty for my 03 S which still has over a year of factory cover left and 12,000 miles on it.

The warranty runs for 7 years (from purchase date of the warranty) or 85,000 total odometer miles and matches the factor bumper to bumper warranty.

Price is about $2,300 paid over 12 months, fully refundable in the first 60 days if I decide I don't like the idea.

Can you provide more info.

Name of company

Miles on your car right now?

Website address

Thanks

:cheers:

Name of company : AAA (See post title)

Miles on your car right now? : 13,100 (they backdated the warranty as 12k makes a difference)

Website address : http://www.aaa.com

You have to be a AAA member, they also say you have to buy it within ten days of purchase but after the ten days are up there seem to suddenly be way around that.

Chris.

I've got the top level coverage from Warranty Direct with emissions coverage. I actually spoke to a human on the phone, and they answered all my questions. The top is covered (although not against wear), as well as all seals. And they'll cover repairs at the dealer. Price for my 2001 was a little over $2k to extend coverage to 100k miles or four years. At the time I think my car had 44k on it and had one month left on the warranty.

I've not yet had to use it.

It's going to be very valuable information as the extended warranty holders actually have claims... so all of you be sure to come back to this thread and add your experiences with the companies you've used.

Sadly, my 97 with 87k is no longer eligible for any extended warranties. I'd like to know for the next Boxster I buy though! (Shhhh. Don't tell my wife I typed that).

What happens on this Forum, stays on this Forum!




:p

uk chris,

I went to the aaa.com site but they say they don't cover Porsche Boxsters. Please advise.

to be or not to be...
 

My research on this issues resulted with several conclusions
1. Usually the extended warranties are not rip-off.
2. Great exception is warranty direct, at least i could find a person who would tell me that warranty direct is not working.
3.Very difficult to find a positive stories, even for warranty direct.
4.In able to make a profit, they need to take money from you, and logically try to find any loophole to get away from payment. if you have an that warranty, its nice if you have a friend who is a attorney and will help you to understand and win the battle during the claim.
5.For myself, believe it or not could decide, so mysterious this topic is, you would imagine. The tears and cry mixed with happy laughs,

interesting topic, drama and comedy in the one bottle.

and here is quote which i find helpful from BMW Roadfly 3 series forum:

To bein with, shop around if you are hell bent on getting one. Many 3rd parties will write such warrenties. Dealers and others mark these up by 100% or MORE. They are usually WAY overpriced. You can get them much cheaper if you shop around.

Then read them carefully. Many do not cover anything except stuff that NEVER breaks - like the crankshaft. And unless you can show proper maintenance (oil changes, etc.) you are not covered for even that. Don't expect new tires and free brake pads out of this deal.

Also, review the repair policies. Many folks end up with "claim denied" when they fail to follow the procedure for repair. You have to go to a mechanic (usually authorized by them) who will work with the company. Then you have to get pre-approval for all work. If you are on the road and get a repair done at a non-authorized shop, they will not reimburse you later on.

Much is not covered by these policies. The salesman will verbally tell you that it covers "bumper to bumper" (a meaningless phrase). One big problem with the extended warranty industry is the verbal misrepresentations by salesmen. Salesmen usually get huge commissions on these warranties - like half the markup. So if you buy a $3000 policy, he probably gets $750. He has a big incentive to sell you this stuff.

My experience with these plans has been they are not worthwhile. You will pay a lot for them, and rarely obtain more in service than you paid for (think about it, this is how they work). Most times, you will receive NOTHING in return. Catastrophic failure of major engine parts is very, very rare in a car that has been properly maintained. Usually such catastrophic failures occur when the car is fairly new (and are often covered under secret warrenties, anyway, such as the M engine crank problem, or the Nikasil issue on the 5 series).

Buy a car with a KNOWN service history, in great shape, with low miles. You will be far better off than buying any warranty. Spend the money you'd waste on an extended warrenty on regular fluid changes (e.g., synthetic oil every 3,000 miles) and regular service. You 'll get far more mileage out of the car.

Now, in response to this, you'll see a posting from someone who claims that they got a new engine out of the extended warranty and it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Assuming they are not a plant (e.g., actually someone who works for BMW or an extended warranty company) these people are the small exception to the rule - the one percenters. The overwhelming majority of people spends huge bucks on these things and never get anything.

The second flame I'll get is from Joe Car Clueless (This is a guy who goes to the dealer to get the radio station pre-sets changed) who claims that the warranty gives him "peace of mind". Of course, this is a fool's paradise. If you really want peace of mind, buy a low mileage, late model car from an enthusiast (not a dealer) and take really, really good care of it. You'll have more peace of mind that 1,000 extended warranties.

Car dealers have a litany of add-on products they can use to get you to pay more for your car than it is worth. These include:

1. Extended Warranties
2. Paint Sealer (you need trucoat Mr. Lundegaard!)
3. Undercoating
4. Fabric protector
5. Dealer financing
6. Loan life insurance (pays the loan off if you are disabled!)
7. Various junk fees ("document prep" is a classic)

While some of these add-on items may have some intrinsic value, the Dealer usually sells them for much, much more than they are worth.

BTW, you can'd blame Dealers for doing their thing, anymore than you can blame a shark for chewing on surfers. It is in their nature. If you don't want to get bit, don't swim in their waters. A guy in the Z3 forum is whining because the dealer charged him $9 for a quart of oil - so he returned it. Who buys oil from a dealer, anyway?

FWIW.

A couple of quick points!

Not all dealers sell warranties (I don't) nor are all dealers out to screw their customers (I am not). Clearly some are, so buyers do need to beware.

Your point on 3000 mile oil changes with synthetic oil is off base and not supported by any credible information that I have seen.

However, you cautionary tales on aftermarket warranties are useful.

Thanks for posting.

:cheers:

what about going on the track?
 

What do warranties (manufacturer and third party extended) say about taking your car on a racetrack or autocross? Once you do that is the entire thing null and void? Or can it be somehow specific to not cover racing-type failures? Or do you just whistle a tune and play innocent and pretend you never drive hard?

Generally speaking, most warranties of any kind exclude racing related claims. This gets dicey to interpret but def. puts you on the defensive if they detect some evidence of tracking!

Well I have the porsche pre-owned warranty on my car, and my seatbelt ABS problem occured, and guess what not covered. The warranty covers ABS sensors, but according to them the seatbelt is part of the passenger restraint system so the seatbelt itself is not covered, so I am out of luck.

Strike One for the warranty..

Mike

Does anyone have any experience with Century Warranty Services. I found them off of Carfax's website. It looks like their policy would be ok.

AAA Warranty Update
 

As I posted earlier I have just purchased an extended warranty from AAA. The paperwork has now come through and everything looks fine, no suprises in the details.

As an aside it says I can get a $100 referral for any references, if you decide to look in to the AAA warranty and go ahead I'd be happy to split this with you and share the benefits. If you're interested drop me a PM or email lawlessc #at# gmail #dot# com and I'll send you the details.

Just for future references, are you sure that its is AAA, not AA Auto Warranty. When i first saw it, i said to myself this is something, atleast there is a huge organization's reputation.

I'm right now discussing an extended new car warrantee with the dealer. The notes are in my car, but the warrantee is for 3 years (past the 4 year new warrantee, for a total of 7) and I forget the additional miles

Platinum - $2500 - same as new car warrantee
Gold Plus - something like $2000, covers less
Gold - something like $1800, covers less

The more I think about it, the less I like the idea of a warrantee now. I figure in about a year or two I will trade up to a 987. I wonder how much of this $2500 I can recover? If I can't recover any of it, then I might just take the risk that I won't have more than $2500 in repairs costs in the next 24 months. Am I nuts?

The other thing is that this "extended new car warrantee" is available only up to one month prior to your regular new car warrantee expiration. After that, then you have to get a "used car warrantee" which I haven't asked about.

I have many questions to ask the dealer.

Then I need to call some third parties...

cheers
:cheers:

Here's a couple of thoughts to help you decide:

If you plan to trade the car, you need to know that the warranty transfers to the new owner... if so, it may be that feature that sells the car for what it's worth and not a penny less (I know I'd love to buy a used Boxster with a good extended warranty that was worth something!)

I'd also see if there's any way you can visit with others who have this warranty and find out if it really pays out or every claim is denied with creative explanations of the fine print.

Is the warranty from Porsche, or resold to you from a Porsche dealer? That's better than a 3rd party dealer selling you a 3rd party warranty.

I'll tell you this... Boxsters need all kinds of expensive stuff in years 4-8. See if convertible top transmissions, cables and the like are covered as well as oxygen sensors and the MAF. If these are indeed covered, then you'll certainly get your $2500 out of it if you keep the car that long.

Hope this helps!

Does Any One Have A Experience With Those Non-porsche Warranties
 

I mean the real experience, like something was broken. How those companies were behaving. Do we have a really nice company, because we do not have enough legislative power to control them, like insurance companies, we really need a trustable and proven company.

I got the "new car extended warrantee" from the dealer. Platinum plan at $2500.

The thing is transferable to a new owner, so if I sell it then I can argue the added value of this warrantee.

...and the investment is refundable for the prorated amount. So if I total the car tomorrow I will get the warrantee money back.

Also, I have been building a good relationship with this dealer, so I think there is added benefit to working with them on their recommended warrantee plan. I suppose someone could argue that its a trap, but I favor the "good relationsihp" argument.

Experience with Warranty Direct
 

I bought an extended warranty for our 99 Boxster through Warranty Direct prior to our factory warranty running out. I can't recall exactly what I spent, but I thought it was almost $1800. I already had another extended warranty through this company for an SUV, but hadn't needed to use it yet. This spring, about 2-1/2 years after buying the Boxster and the warranty, I had enough problems with the Boxster that I finally took it in to the dealer. I needed to have the coolant overflow tank replaced because it was leaking (and the dealer reported that there is no repair because it's a highly-pressurized, sealed system). I also needed to have the passenger window regulator replaced and the emergency brake switch. These are all quite common experiences from what I heard at the dealer and read on the Internet. I had all of the work done at the dealer (Porsche of Honolulu). I didn't have to call Warranty Direct at all, the dealer took care of the eligibility verification and all the details on the work. In the end, Warranty Direct covered the full amount on all parts (which was very expensive), and most of the labor. Warranty Direct would not pay the dealer's full price for labor, and the dealer wouldn't just accept what Warranty Direct wanted to pay, they made me pay the difference. It must have been a significant difference, I didn't ask for the details. In the end, with the deductible and extra labor amount prorated to me, it turned out to cost me about $350 and it cost Warranty Direct about $1,550. It hasn't completely paid for itself yet, but the warranty is still good for more than one more year, and it has almost paid for itself, and it is transferable so if we do sell it we can use that as a bargaining tool as well.

We probably will sell it, because I already picked up a used 996 and I don't want to own this car without it being under warranty, it's going to cost quite a bit to maintain. Just had the clutch replaced at 65k miles, and it was pretty hefty (had to do the rear seals too because it was only a matter of time and the transmission was already off). The new clutch makes an amazing difference, though.

Hi,

An aftermarket Warranty can be an excellent thing for those who cannot, or simply do not want to work on their own vehicles. You may have no need for it, but there's comfort in just being 'insured'.

Personally, I have never worked with my hands in any job(s) I have held since college. This is one of the reasons I own collector/performance cars, so that I can wrench on them. For me, it's better therapy than Bass Fishing or a Thursday Nite Poker Game.

Several years ago, just for '********************s & Giggles', I earned both an ISM CIMM (Certified Industrial Mechanic) and an ASE certification. I don't want a car I can't work on, for me, it's an essential part of the package.

In fact, one anniversary, Mrs. MNBoxster bought a LawnChair and a 'BoomBox' so she could spend time with me in the Garage - me under the car(s) and her in the Lawnchair reading a book and listening to music. Whatever works I guess...

Happy Motoring!...Jim'99

I think I will tell my wife to buy a lawn chair and boom box and do the same.
Though I have barely touched my Boxster I work on my own car's allways have.
For a sports car like this I have to as well.
I spent to much time working on my first 928. Pissed her off. Especialy when I decided to pull the engine and change it and convert from an auto to a 5sp, did a bunch of powder coating of parts my self. Very time consumeing project.
So, now I try to work on my car's when she is not home:) Easy to do since I normaly work afternoon shift.

As for extended warrantys, I used to me skeptical(still am of most of them) however the warranty we have on our Town and Country van paid for it's self as the transmission failed at 39K miles. Chrysler just can't build a tranny even today!
On my 97 Boxster I got one from my credit union. It is ICS. My car had 74,000 miles on it when I bought it just over a year and half ago. I got 3 year 36,000 mile waranty no deductable and includes ware, also transferable to an individual or can cancle at any time for a prorate.. It cost me $2175. I can bring it to any certified mechanic so I use the local dealer for warranty stuff. Me for whats not covered. Like rear suspenion, so I will do my own trailing arms and did the coolant tank. Warranty has picked up 100% of window regulator, water pump(plus nearly all of the toweing-I had to pay $48). Their was some thing else put can't recall what it was off hand. So, it is close to paying for it's self.

CV boots under warranty Direct coverage?
 

Does anyone know if Warranty Direct will cover CV boot replacement if they are broken?

free emissions coverage from Warranty Direct
 

BTW: Along with some great tips, this website tells you how to get free emissions coverage from Warranty Direct...


http://www.carbuyingtips.com/warranty.htm

FYI: AAA Warranty
 

Old Post but FYI: their site indicates that they DO cover Porsche Boxsters..... reasonable terms and conditions