1K Warranty Cover

[rspecos]

I'm fully aware of the long debate around the warranty issues (it's taken me a while to read it all!) and, therefore, I've no intention to reopen those discussions with this post.

All I'd like is some views on a £1K price tag to extend to 2 years the warranty cover that comes with the used 997 I'm buying from the OPC. Being totally new to Porsche ownership and, therefore, having no experience of what can go wrong and the price to fix it, I thought that extending the cover would give me some additional piece of mind for an extra 12 months. The OPC offered to knock off £400 the standard warranty charge if the cover is extended at the point of car delivery. Any thoughts?

Many thanks

 

[jonathanw]

I would think that the extra 1K to give you in total 2 years cover is well worthwhile when you consider that a brand new car comes with 2 years warranty. You must be careful not to add non Porsche approved extras which could mean non approved tyres - all can invalidate the warranty.

Enjoy your car.

 

[phil993]

I agree that the warranty is well worthwhile and I have had no issues with the fact that I have a miltek exhaust and remap. Last year Porsche Hatfield replaced all radiators including the a/c rad and the clutch slave cylinder and did not even mention the mods which they know about. I have just renewed the warranty for £1300 for 1 year and will shortly be getting a complete new pcm unit (£1500) and oil pressure sender (£350) all covered under the new warranty which covers these parts whereas the previous warranty did not. My car is October 2003 with 41000 miles.

 

[snarf]

ORIGINAL: jonathanw

I would think that the extra 1K to give you in total 2 years cover is well worthwhile when you consider that a brand new car comes with 2 years warranty. You must be careful not to add non Porsche approved extras which could mean non approved tyres - all can invalidate the warranty.

Enjoy your car.

Yes I agree but would add that to be absolutely certain that a claim is not rejected it is important that neither you nor a third party do any work on the car. I have paint film on my front bumper and the underwriters have refused cover. Even getting your wheel alignment sorted by an independent will invalidate the policy; although your OPC may promise to turn a blind eye to such issues as they obviously did in Phil's experience. My concern is that in the event of a major claim the underwriters come looking for an excuse not to pay out.

 

[Dylan1]

as with many things it seems to depend on your particular opc what you can and cant get away with from the rigid enforcement through to almost total flexibility-worth checking out how your opc fits in with this ,but 1k seems a fair offer and may indicate they fall into the latter category

 

[Rotorhead]

Sounds like a good deal. Personally, I think the new warranty is OK - costs more but very thorough cover.

It's painful paying the premium each year, but that's the same with all insurance.

 

[snarf]

ORIGINAL: dyllan

as with many things it seems to depend on your particular opc what you can and cant get away with from the rigid enforcement through to almost total flexibility-worth checking out how your opc fits in with this ,but 1k seems a fair offer and may indicate they fall into the latter category

I agree, the OPCs in general appear to take a more relaxed view than the wording of the policy booklet indicates. This is fine so long as the underwriter is prepared to accept the OPC's assessment of any claim. I'm also unsure of the legal implications of making a claim if a reason for the claim being invalid is knowingly not declared.

 

[jonathanw]

Allan

I dont think wheel alignment should be a problem - how would the OPC know. As for paint film I had the entire front of mine done at the OPC and would expect to pass the warranty check when my car is 2 years old. As I have mentioned on other threads paint chips and dings are not Porsche approved and should not invalidate the new warranty so I cant see any reasonable OPC rejecting a warranty for that unless there was a problem with the paint due to the film.

 

[spyderman]

Some people have had the warranty refused do to paint protection films. A Tracker, fitted by the OPC, shouldn't violate the warranty either - but for my car, it does. phil993's earliler post really annoys me - two modifications that obviously could have an affect on the engine (MAF, etc) on the car and yet the OPC allow a warranty renewal (not your fault of course, Phil). Total inconsistancy from the dealers. A bloody absurd situation.

Apologies to the thread starter - it appears the thread has gone in the direction they didn't want to take it. But with such inconsistancy, its hardly surprising.

 

[snarf]

ORIGINAL: jonathanw

Allan

I dont think wheel alignment should be a problem - how would the OPC know. As for paint film I had the entire front of mine done at the OPC and would expect to pass the warranty check when my car is 2 years old. As I have mentioned on other threads paint chips and dings are not Porsche approved and should not invalidate the new warranty so I cant see any reasonable OPC rejecting a warranty for that unless there was a problem with the paint due to the film.

Again echoing spyderman's apologies for continuing to drive this thread off-track and also for the length of this reply

Logic and common sense would support your view; however, regrettably reality does not and this is not idle speculation on my part.

My existing warranty will shortly expire and having been alarmed by the various adverse comments in numerous threads on the subject of the new warranty I decided to check things out for myself.

The new policy booklet states explicitly that, amongst other factors, a claim will be invalid if service, repair or maintenance has been performed by on the vehicle by you or by a third party or if genuine Porsche parts have not been fitted. My car had paint shield fitted from new, had a couple of oil and filter changes carried by an independent before its first 2 year OPC service (I'm from the old school that likes to see the oil changed after the initial run-in and every 12 months thereafter) and had the suspension alignment sorted out by Center Gravity earlier this year (Chris at cg marks all relevant suspension bolts with indicator paint, so there is evidence of third party work). For these reasons I thought it prudent to check whether my car was eligible for the new warranty.

An initial telephone conversation with my OPC suggested there would be no problem, however, before spending £2,500 on two year's cover I decided to ask for written confirmation from the underwriter. After a week or so the OPC called to say that written confirmation would not be provided but that I should proceed as the only clearly visible evidence of third party work was the paint protection and that the underwriter would accept the OPC's recommendation regarding any claim.

I accept that for most people this would be sufficient assurance but I felt it unreasonable that any business should require me to behave dishonestly in order to give them £2,500 of my money. But further to this I do about 30% of my annual mileage outside of the UK and how could I be sure that for example a German, Swiss or French OPC would take a view similar to my local OPC? A final consideration is that I now have the option to take out an independent warranty but this option expires if I take out the Porsche warranty and if I were unfortunate enough to have a major claim rejected by Porsche at some time in the future even having my £2,500 refunded would be poor compensation.

 

[phil993]

In reply to Spyderman - it is not that the OPC allowed the warranty renewal - the fact is the salesman actively sold my the warranty. The reason for this is quite straightforward, in my cynical opinion - Firstly the salesman gets commission. Secondly the dealership makes profit on the policy sale. Thirdly the dealership makes profit on the parts and labour in the event of a claim. I would also be very surprised if the claim process involves the cost of a loss assessor to be sent to inspect every claim before sanction as this costs MONEY. An insurer cannot unreasonably refuse a claim - to refuse a claim for a mecahanical fault, for example, because of some film placed on the paintwork would clearly be unreasonable.

I am an FSA registered person in my profession and know the ombudsman is very clearly and openly consumer biased in these disputes. (Quite rightly)

Has any claimant persued a rejected claim up to FSA Ombudsman level? If so I would suggest data could be collected.

 

[Porrohman]

I have had my 05 C2 2.5 years and in that space of time have had 4 repairs under warranty including 2 major oil leak repairs (requiring the engine out) which I am told would have cost £2000-£3000 each so I feel having the warranty has been money well spent. The only thing putting me off the 2 year warranty is that it is not transferable (so I have been told by an OPC) if you sell the vehicle and I like to keep my options open.

 

[Rotorhead]

Isn't it transferrable to a private buyer, but not to a trade buyer?

If so, and you are selling privately, then it definitely adds value. Much more comforting for the private buyer to know that they have the full warranty.

 

[phil993]

I bought my car from a dealer but contacted the previous owner personally who then signed the booklet to transfer the warranty to me so it is not a problem if you work around it...

 

[Lancerlot]

I wouldn't bother unless:-

a.) You're going to be doing mega-miles or
b.) You can persuade your OPC to include it in the deal.

Most faults will show up inside 12 months anyway (and I doubt they'll be covered by warranty in any case! [8|]).

If something crops up after this time, you've a grand in hand to fix it.

The following year, you've 2 grand in hand and so on and so forth. Quite quickly, you'll have enough even to replace a motor if it blows up!

The beauty is, you'll never have to worry about invalidating a warranty, so you can do what you like to and with the car and that's the best way to enjoy it! []

I've owned Porsches for over 30 years and never purchased extended warranties, but I've had dozens of arguments with Porsche over OMW claims and once even needed a solicitor to resolve one! [8|]

Why give yourself all that hassle?

lt's a bit like those extended warranties they try to foist upon you in the electrical shops -don't waste your money. Like insurance, you only know how good it is when the time comes to make a claim. []

Good luck with whatever you decide. []

Regards,

Clive

 

[Black80XSA]

As a deal on an extended warranty then it's not a bad deal, however you are tied into OPC servicing and repair costs i.e. 40'/' above specialists. If you are happy to be tied in then, and you are risk averse, it's probably worth it.

 

[rspecos]

Many thanks for your replies. I find them all very pertinent even when conflicting in opinion. It's a lot of food for my thoughts. I must admit that my cautious side tells me to extend the warranty (especially in consideration that this is my first Porsche) whist my positive and optimistic side tells me to save that money and enjoy the freedom of being completely free from the responsibility to comply with such rigid rules that the warranty imposes. Well, it's up to me now I guess!

 

[Dylan1]

just to throw another option----do as others(inc myself)have done-go straight to an indi like jz machtech and get one of their guys to look after yoir car and take a warranty for expensive items out with them at fraction of opc price?

 

[spyderman]

ORIGINAL: dyllan
go straight to an indi like jz machtech and get one of their guys to look after yoir car and take a warranty for expensive items out with them at fraction of opc price?

JZ doing warranties already? Only on cars they've sold or anyone? Can I ask how much?

 

[okellyt]

I believe that JZ do a an extended warranty for those outside of their OPC warranty. However I couldn't find any details on their website las time I looked.

Tech9 do but are a long way away from me, so I didn't look into the detail.