Warranty Direct - Just Purchased!

[Bob O]

Of course warranties are priced to give the company a profit over the expected pay-outs. (If the company doesn't make a profit, they won't be there when you file a claim...there are LOTS of examples around of this very thing happening) They're dealing with averages and statistics. For all those Boxsters that have NO repairs during the coverage period, there are those that incur claims well above your cost of the warranty... hence the concept of "average". Do YOU have the average Boxster?

There appears to be three possibilites with purchasing a warranty. One; you incur repair costs less than the cost of the product. Company wins. Two; you incur repair costs exactly equal to your cost. Company wins (slightly), due to investment gains on your premiums (assuming you don't incur those costs in the first month or so of coverage) Three; you incur repair costs higher than your premium. You win. That looks to me like a 1 in 3 chance of you winning and a 2 in 3 chance of the company winning, from your perspective. (From the company's perspective its a totally different analysis.) So the company has 2 to 1 odds of winning. How much of a gambler are you?

I'm a CPA, and I did the math before purchasing Warranty Direct in November, 2005, just before my factory warranty expired, taking into account some of the more frequently reported potential repair costs. Could I invest the average expected repair costs somewhere, and maybe (big maybe) be money ahead. Sure. Is my car "average"? Who knows.

I don't remember the cost exactly, but it was somewhere around $2400 or so for complete coverage for four years up to 100,000 miles. You have to weigh the odds of your car suffering a catastrophic failure of something, (or, more likely, several smaller issues which add up to quite a large repair bill over time) and you being on the hook for it, versus the peace of mind the warranty gives you to cover those potential biggies.

So far, I haven't had to use the warranty (knock on wood). (Maybe I have a better than average Boxster! ) BUT... if something DOES happen, I'm covered, and, for me anyway, that's more important than going bare. It's just one less thing in my life to have to think about. But that's just me

Bob

[Perfectlap]

I got a $3600 quote for my 2000 S with 32K miles. 1/3 of that due up front and the rest paid in 10 installments. Kind of steep me thinks for a car that has been basically trouble free. But for $1,200 a year with a well known company it might be foolish to turn it down since i can transfer it to the new owner for $50. That might help in selling the car a great deal.

[BuffaloBoxster]

I had a claim through Warranty Direct for my O2 sensors and MAF. The company paid just like they said they would, and I had it fixed at the dealer. The dealer calls it in, WD OK's the repair, and they pay the bill, minus the deductable, with their corporate credit card right over the phone.

They may try to wimp out on paying the shop's full labor rate but this is nothing new with insurance companies and the shops will often accept what insurance pays. The same thing happened with my claim for the hood-keying incident, an the shop accepted the insurance company's rate for that repair as well.

I've got nothing but praise so far for WD, and having the warranty is peace of mind enough for me to drive the car as often as I like, on long trips, etc.

Money well spent as far as I'm concerned.

[Perfectlap]

was that your only claim? and what was the total bill for the sensors?

[dharrisonwu]

By the way, I called WD today and questioned them on their coverage for the Major Care policy. Specifically, I had a question regarding the following Engine coverage:

"All internally lubricated engine parts including: pistons, piston rings, piston pins, crankshaft and main bearings, connecting rods and bearings, camshaft and bearings, timing chain or belt, timing gears, tensioners/guides, intake and exhaust valves, valve springs, oil pump and oil pump housing, push rods, rocker arms, rocker arm shafts, hyrdraulic and solid lifters; intake and exhaust manifold; distributor shaft and housing; harmonic balancer; metal valve covers; timing gear cover; air filter and housing; water pump; fuel pump; vacuum pump; thermostatically controlled air intake; oil pan; engine block and heads are covered if damaged by the failure of an internally lubricated moving part."

The last sentence was the kicker - - I wasn't sure it it meant that all the damages had to be caused by internally lubricated moving parts for the damages to be covered. Their claims rep told me that this applies only to the engine block and heads. So, if you're coolant runs out and it warps the head, supposedly no coverage. But, if caused by the internal lubricated part, then coverage.

Any thoughts? Is the intermediate shaft an "internally lubricated engine part?"

[NickCats]

This question actually came up before in another thread :

http://986forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7759

Nick

[seventythree]

Originally Posted by dharrisonwu

By the way, I called WD today and questioned them on their coverage for the Major Care policy. Specifically, I had a question regarding the following Engine coverage:

"All internally lubricated engine parts including: pistons, piston rings, piston pins, crankshaft and main bearings, connecting rods and bearings, camshaft and bearings, timing chain or belt, timing gears, tensioners/guides, intake and exhaust valves, valve springs, oil pump and oil pump housing, push rods, rocker arms, rocker arm shafts, hyrdraulic and solid lifters; intake and exhaust manifold; distributor shaft and housing; harmonic balancer; metal valve covers; timing gear cover; air filter and housing; water pump; fuel pump; vacuum pump; thermostatically controlled air intake; oil pan; engine block and heads are covered if damaged by the failure of an internally lubricated moving part."

The last sentence was the kicker - - I wasn't sure it it meant that all the damages had to be caused by internally lubricated moving parts for the damages to be covered. Their claims rep told me that this applies only to the engine block and heads. So, if you're coolant runs out and it warps the head, supposedly no coverage. But, if caused by the internal lubricated part, then coverage.

Any thoughts? Is the intermediate shaft an "internally lubricated engine part?"

See, that is the kind of inconsistency that is bothersome to me. One of their selling points is that they do not exclude any engine damage caused by overheating, yet they assume the contradictory position above, with respect to the coolant running out.

Also, isn't the RMS leak an engine block failure that is not caused by the failure of an internally lubricated moving part?

I really like to figure this out as well, because, I will also purchase the MajorCare plan in a heart beat, if it in fact would cover engine repairs arising from RMS and IMS issues.

[dharrisonwu]

Surprisingly, regarding the RMS issue, the guy I spoke with raised this issue. Apparently, this has been an issue with other porsche's as well. In any event, there's coverage that speaks to seals as well:

"seals and gaskets, if needed, are covered for the following assemblies: engine; turbo/supercharger; transmission; transfer unit, drive axles, steering; front suspension; brakes and air conditioning."

So, it looks like RMS is covered as well. You should give them a call to clarify. I haven't used the policy yet so I can't speak to what will actually happen when RMS or Intermediate shaft fails. 1- 800-632-4222.

By the way, I'm not getting compensated or anything like that from WD. I just thought that will all the issues out there with the boxster, this would help us all.

[seventythree]

Originally Posted by BuffaloBoxster

I had a claim through Warranty Direct for my O2 sensors and MAF. The company paid just like they said they would, and I had it fixed at the dealer. The dealer calls it in, WD OK's the repair, and they pay the bill, minus the deductable, with their corporate credit card right over the phone.

They may try to wimp out on paying the shop's full labor rate but this is nothing new with insurance companies and the shops will often accept what insurance pays. The same thing happened with my claim for the hood-keying incident, an the shop accepted the insurance company's rate for that repair as well.

I've got nothing but praise so far for WD, and having the warranty is peace of mind enough for me to drive the car as often as I like, on long trips, etc.

Money well spent as far as I'm concerned.

For clarification, I am not suggesting that Warranty Direct does not offer a good product. All I said was that their MajorCare MBI does not cover what most Boxster owners are concerned about. The key language in the actual policy is "All internally lubricated engine parts are covered if damaged by the Failure of an internally lubricated moving part." In essence, meaning that unless the engine problem was caused by failure of the oil pump, there is no coverage!

The more appropriate plan would be their SecureCare MBI, which has no such language in its policy. If you are OK with what that plan costs, buy it.

[dharrisonwu]

"For clarification, I am not suggesting that Warranty Direct does not offer a good product. All I said was that their MajorCare MBI does not cover what most Boxster owners are concerned about. The key language in the actual policy is "All internally lubricated engine parts are covered if damaged by the Failure of an internally lubricated moving part." In essence, meaning that unless the engine problem was caused by failure of the oil pump, there is no coverage!

The more appropriate plan would be their SecureCare MBI, which has no such language in its policy. If you are OK with what that plan costs, buy it."

Seventythree - -

That was exactly my question to them because it initially appeared to me that for the engine parts to be covered, it had to be caused by the failure an internal lubricated moving part. HOWEVER, the WD person advised me that this last sentence only referred to damage to the engine block and heads. They also indicated that I was not the first to ask this question. In reading the policy again, it made sense.

Anyone have any experiences which would suggest the contrary?

[YellowJacket]

Originally Posted by seventythree

The key language in the actual policy is "All internally lubricated engine parts are covered if damaged by the Failure of an internally lubricated moving part." In essence, meaning that unless the engine problem was caused by failure of the oil pump, there is no coverage!

I'm not sure if you're interpreting that right. There is a list of several items identified as "internally lubricated" in another post, so this would mean that a failure caused by any of those parts would be covered. I think you're interpreting the sentence to mean that the failure has to be caused by the lubrication system (i.e. oil pump), which is not what it says. Am I missing something here?

[seventythree]

Originally Posted by YellowJacket

I'm not sure if you're interpreting that right. There is a list of several items identified as "internally lubricated" in another post, so this would mean that a failure caused by any of those parts would be covered. I think you're interpreting the sentence to mean that the failure has to be caused by the lubrication system (i.e. oil pump), which is not what it says. Am I missing something here?

I agree with your interpretation of the policy language; but having had the displeasure of dealing with attorneys and potential litigation in the past, I figured it would be best to run the policy by a Porsche specialty repair shop and get their opinion on it. They said that in their experience, all that mumbo jumbo on internally lubricated parts simply means that the problem must be caused by oil pump failure to be coverd.