Certified Porsche - What does it really mean?

[RandallNeighbour]

Hey BruceLee, is the CPO warranty work done on a Porsche with more operator scrutiny than on my Lexus?

[Onad]

Does anyone on the board have a copy of what the "limited certified warranty" covers (or doesn't cover)? My 03 is certified, but I never recieved any information (even after requesting it) regarding what will change when the regular warranty ends and the certified kicks in.

Also, I read a couple of months back that Porsche had hired a team to go around to their dealerships to do random checks of their CPO vehicles. Apparently this is to ensure all cars meet the basic CPO standards and dealers don't cheat to earn a few extra bucks.



From a dealer's website:

"Once enrolled, your Porsche Approved Certified Pre-Owned vehicle comes with the Porsche Approved Limited Warranty coverage of up to 6 years/100,000 miles, plus Porsche Roadside Assistance, an exclusive support service that offers added security when travelling."

[Brucelee]

I asked for one recently and was told, "Hey, we have never seen that, but your car is marked in our computer as "extended warranty." This leads me to believe that the coverage is the same that you can buy when you buy your new Porsche, but that is a hunch.

If it were me, I would never buy a CPO car unless they had a written coverage statement (contract) to hand me. Or, if in writing, they affirm that the new car warranty is simply extended.

However, that is not the way most CPO car warranties are sold and that is why CA is taking steps to regulate this a bit more.

Normally, I am agin regulation but in this case, I would support it.

Originally Posted by Onad

Does anyone on the board have a copy of what the "limited certified warranty" covers (or doesn't cover)? My 03 is certified, but I never recieved any information (even after requesting it) regarding what will change when the regular warranty ends and the certified kicks in.

Also, I read a couple of months back that Porsche had hired a team to go around to their dealerships to do random checks of their CPO vehicles. Apparently this is to ensure all cars meet the basic CPO standards and dealers don't cheat to earn a few extra bucks.



From a dealer's website:

"Once enrolled, your Porsche Approved Certified Pre-Owned vehicle comes with the Porsche Approved Limited Warranty coverage of up to 6 years/100,000 miles, plus Porsche Roadside Assistance, an exclusive support service that offers added security when travelling."

[RandallNeighbour]

BruceLee: I'll elaborate to see if it clears up any confusion...

My lexus had a 100k extended warranty as a CPO car purchased off the Lexus lot. It seemed as if it were exactly the same as the factory warranty... I complained, they fixed it with a big smile on their face. When I'd bring it in for an overpriced oil change, they'd clean the car inside and out (even waxed it once for free!) and I'd always get a five foot long no-charge bill of the stuff they did to it while in their possession for that single day. They'd do all sorts of stuff under the extended warranty, such as update computer chips, replace struts, put in a new battery once, worked on my A/C, replaced the retractable antenna (even though I damaged that myself by listening to the radio in a car wash) etc.

My question was to ask if you knew if local dealerships milked the warranty to do all sorts of things to cars to make money, or is that just the Lexus dealers? My friends and brother all have Lexus autos and said it's the same at their dealerships.

Does a CPO Porsche owner get all kinds of stuff replaced like this as well, or are they more stringent and wait for the owner to complain and bring it in specifically for the issue at hand?

[Brucelee]

In my experience, Lexus and Porsche approach warranty work in very different ways. Lexus bends WAY over backwards to handle customer issues of any kind.

Porsche is a bit more Germanic about warranty work in general and will nick you for things that you would think would be covered under warranty.

Gereralizations I know but that is my experience to date.

BTW-doesn't make Porsche bad, they are just not Lexus (who is?) in this regard.

[Mr. Boone]

My car too has a CPO extended warantee for and additional 2 years or up to 100K. It comes up in Porsches network whenever they key in the VIN for the car. All the dealer can tell me is that it will not cover eveything the factory warantee covers once the factory 4 year 50K warantee expires. He cannot tell me exacltly what is covered and what is not. It seams to be on a case by case and dealership by dealership and how hard are you willing to scream basis. The fact the car has this is one of the main reasons I bought this particular car as I figure it must cover any drive train problems. Since purchase I have discovered it really does not take much to run up a really big repair bill on a Boxster. Non drivetrain issues can costa ya plente. Does anyone have data on what this "CPO" warantee is really supposed to cover?

[Brucelee]

If it were me and Porsche refused to produce a written list of coverage, I would go straight to the insurance dept in that state.

There is no excuse for this kind of fraud.

BTW-for all of you who have or do buy a CPO car, I would make this a deal breaker. You are paying about $4K for that warranty and it should bloody well be in writing.

If you have already done this dead, at least keep the window sticker and any related advertising about the warranty. You may need it in court.

Man, this topic pisses me off!

[wetstuff]

I calculated the premium my local P-dealer wanted was really closer to $8-10K for a certifited car with more mileage and frewer options. I bought a car with three months of factory warranty from a Chevy dealer.

...THEN - I took it to my P-dealer and has them do the 'certified' inspection for, like $175. Passed.

...THEN - I went and bought an external warranty. (noted above)

Given the cars I saw at the P-dealer were really nothing special in condtion or options, I'd sooner - if I felt insecure in my lack of knowledge/resources - have someone like our host find me a car in the colors with options I wanted.

Jim

[mjw930]

From the Porsche Website: (See attached file for their brochure)

From what I understand the dealer cost for the extended warranty is ~$1500 on a Boxster. Compare that to what you get with an outside warranty company but remember, the Porsche warranty is $0 deductable and comes with roadside assistance.

What distinguishes a vehicle from the Porsche Approved Pre-owned Car Program from a conventional pre-owned vehicle?

* We check each vehicle using a 100-item checklist
* Repairs are carried out in line with the strict Porsche quality criteria
* You are given a 1-year guarantee which is valid around the world
* You benefit from the Porsche Assistance mobility guarantee

What can you expect?
Driving pleasure, quality, safety and stability of value. In short: A Porsche which really cannot be described as a pre-owned vehicle. Rather, as a thoroughbred sports car the charm of which was once tasted by another driver.

[cyclocross]

Originally Posted by Onad

Does anyone on the board have a copy of what the "limited certified warranty" covers (or doesn't cover)? My 03 is certified, but I never recieved any information (even after requesting it) regarding what will change when the regular warranty ends and the certified kicks in.

When you purchased your CPO Boxster the salesman should have given to you the completed "Record of Certification" and a brochure entitled "Porsche Approved Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles" (MKT 001 00009 04). The brochure explaines the CPO program and mentions the approved limited warranty. Later, you should have received the "Welcome Kit" from PCNA. In this kit is the "Porsche Approved Limited Warranty" (PNA 000 196 ed. 1/04) which details the warranty coverage. Work with your dealer if you do not have these documents.

It pays to thoroughly inspect the car prior to purchase. My 2001 Boxster had a repaired windshield and came with a set of new Federal tires of the correct size. Not having heard of Federal tires I asked to see the 100+ point inspection sheet. The dealer was not able to provide to me the actual inspection sheet. I was able to look at a blank inspection sheet at a different dealer. It clearly states that a Porsche must have Porsche approved tires to be certified, amongst other points. Federal tires are not Porsche approved. I brought this to the dealer's attention and they promptly installed a set of new Conti CSC2s and replaced the windshield. They did not have to replace the windshield under the terms of the limited warranty. The dealer also R&R'd the dash under warranty to fix a creaking noise. Many thanks to Porsche of Oakland for stepping up to the mark!

I hope this helps.

[Brucelee]

I am going to take with up with the service manager of my local dealer, who is a straight up guy and very experienced.

Let me see what a non-salesman says.

[Brucelee]

According to my local service manager:

The CPO warranty is NOT identical to the new car warranty but it is close. He has a CPO specific written list of items that is covered by the CPO that differs from the same list for the new car warranty.


He also indicated that he thought sales had a written summary of the warranty but he had not seen it directly.

The Extended warranty that is sold when a Porsche is new is NOT underwritten by Porsche and therefore varies by the warranty company in terms of coverages.

Interesting!

[tonyg]

I received my Certified Pre-owned Warrantee from Porsche North America in the mail today packaged in a "box". The warrantee is 6yrs/100,000K bumper to bumper excluding wear items - identical to the new car warrantee!! With it comes the Road Side Assistance as a companion to the warrantee, the obligatory book of dealers, and the gift catalogue. Needless to say - I'm releived and very satisfied.

[Brucelee]

Originally Posted by tonyg

I received my Certified Pre-owned Warrantee from Porsche North America in the mail today packaged in a "box". The warrantee is 6yrs/100,000K bumper to bumper excluding wear items - identical to the new car warrantee!! With it comes the Road Side Assistance as a companion to the warrantee, the obligatory book of dealers, and the gift catalogue. Needless to say - I'm releived and very satisfied.

I am glad that you received something in writing, which makes you in the minority.

When you say that it is identical to the new car warranty, how did you arrive at that conclusion?

Does it say that in your warranty package or did you do a side by side comparison of the language.

I ask this because the local service manager would disagree with you on this point.

Interesting.

[Brucelee]

Randall,

Not sure what you mean? Can you clarify your question, please?

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

Hey BruceLee, is the CPO warranty work done on a Porsche with more operator scrutiny than on my Lexus?