Porsche Extended Warranty - worth it?

[evoke]

As i'm contemplating buying a used Porsche in the not too distant future, I'm wondering about the pros and cons of the Porsche extended warranty.

If I buy from an OPC i'll get the Porsche Approved Warranty for the first year so I won't have to worry about buying the Extended Warranty for 12 months. What i'm interested in is what the Extended Warranty does *not* cover. So, is it actually worth it?

I've searched the forums and found several threads about it but nothing conclusive.

 

[Guest]

It does not cover anything deemed consumable, e.g. brakes, shock abosorbers, clutch. I was told also the suspension components, so I expect the bushes are also excluded.
From another member, I understand electrical faults are also excluded.
However, I believe it should cover the major mechanical parts, such as gearbox, engine and driveshafts.
I have not read the small print, but I will in about 6 months time,

Whether it is worth it, depends. It you never claim, then no. Obviously it is priced so that they do not lose money, so obviously Porsche believe not that many cars are going to fail.
However, if the main items do fail, then the bill is going to be in 4 or 5 figures.
A new engine will cost 8-15K depending on whether you have a C2 or GT2 (or something like that) and a new gearbox 5K+. Whilst OPCs seem reluctant to rebuild things, preferring to put in a new engine or gearbox instead of replacing a few bearings and flushing the oil ways, independents can rebuild things considerably more cheaply, although you are looking at thousands.
The problem with independents (or even doing it yourself) is that the warranty and extended warranty is voided.
Clearly, all you need is one major issue before the car hits 10 years or 120K miles, and you are laughing. Bear in mind that the OPCs charge about £100 per hour, so any major work is expensive. You can also practice servicing tourism, and get major work done at a French or other OPC (where labour rates are lower).

I would say it is worth it, but you could also put £725 in a savings account every year instead. Over the long term you should be even or slightly better off, unless you are unlucky.
So ask yourself one question, do you feel lucky?

 

[evoke]

Stuart, thanks for the response. I'm inclined to err on the side of caution and take out an Extended Warranty. Does it include parts *and* labour for the items that are covered?

 

[Pete B]

The Becker radio is certainly not covered and as these are prone to electronic glitches and fragile, as well as being expensive to replace, it is certainly worth checking on an older model to see what condition the radio fascia is in (they split and fall apart) and whether or not (if a CD stacker is fitted) the logic controls work fully.

 

[evoke]

I didn't realise that Porsche Assist was included. What is the cost including VAT per year?

 

[Guest]

My 04 996 C2 just passed it's second birthday so is now on to it's first PEW.

What's not covered was my first question as well.

The biggest thing that worries me is that the PCM+Telephone is NOT covered. Other engine related electronics like the DME are covered though.

I'll still keep up the PEW as a blown engine or RMS ([] both of which are not that uncommon) would make it pay for it's self in an instant.

 

[Rotorhead]

I think the price, on a 996, including Porsche Assist, is £725 (no vat).

If a car already has the warranty, it is just a case of renewing it each year. However, if a car doesn't have it, it will need a full pre-warranty inspection, which can cost up to £200, plus any potential faults will need to be rectified (£???).

In my experience the 996s, particularly the later cars, are very reliable, and this is refelected in the relatively low cost of the warranty. OK it may not cover every eventuality, but I would still have it for peace of mind. And, if you are buying a car you are unfamiliar with, you should definitely have it.

 

[Guest]

Also makes for a big advantage against non warranted cars at re-sale time as you don't have to worry as to whether the car is going to pass the 111 point check.

I know it was a strong factor in my recent purchase.

 

[Guest]

I was told, that of the £725 for the extended warranty, Porsche Assist accounts for about £200 of that.

 

[Guest]

Bought a 02 996 Turbo from Reading 5 months ago which has had it Alternator fail.

I would strongly recomend a warranty with recovery as my car was stuck at home with no means of getting to a garage, and as it has a areo kit eventualy the RAC provided a true flat bed truck to enable us to get it on without damage to the car!

The cost of the alternator alone is £580 plus vat plus the labour to fit!

Had a call from the garage this morning saying that the wiring loom from the new alternator fitted is burning and is near a fuel line but is not covered under warranty?

After speaking to Porsche they are going to replace the wiring loom as good will but normaly this would not be covered?

But if the cost of a alternator alone without fitting is nearly £700 I still think warranty is well worth the money if only for certain very exspensive items.

The cost to replace the wiring loom was going to be £60 plus 3 hours labour.

Ps At least they have supplied a Jaguar to run round in with beige interior urghh!

 

[OGiii]

A warranty is a great thing to have but I went down a slightly different route.

When I bought a 996 last year I'd planned on spending up to £35k and was looking at getting 2000ish with 30-40000 miles

My biggest worry was the reported engine problems which often seemed to happen at relatively low miles. I ended up buying a MY99 with 80k and rather than putting it on the Porsche warranty I opted for Hartech's Lifetime Maintenance plan (www.hartech.org), partly because I didn't fancy the OPC servicing costs and partly because the Hartech plan does cover wear and tear. I figured that by paying £6k less for the car up front I had a new engine in my back pocket should the worst happen.

The Hartech plan isn't a warranty as such though - basically I pay them £70 per month, they then service and MOT the car when ever it's needed at no cost, including oils, parts etc. The warranty element is that I then never pay for any labour for pretty much anything, if the clutch needs replacing or the brakes wear out you just pay for the parts, which are quite reasonable.

As an example, I thought I had engine failure at the back end of last year. Hartech stripped it and found that one of the valve springs had broken. Fortunately for me, the engine was saved and they rebuilt it replacing all the springs, new head gasket etc. I'm sure it would have been cheaper for them just to have replaced the engine but they fixed it with all the labour involved being free to me. It cost me about £400 all in which was the price of the springs, oil etc. Had I needed a replacement engine I estimate I would have been into about £3k.

I have a breakdown policy from Quoteline Direct, which costs £59 per year including home start and European cover. They recover you to where ever you want to go so when I had the engine problem I called them and asked them to recover the car to Hartech, which they did without question.

It's horses for courses I suppose, for me, having had company cars for 17 years or more I liked the idea of fixing the costs as much as possible. One thing's for sure, which ever way you buy it and warranty it, you're buying lots of smiles "" they cars are amazing!

 

[evoke]

Good to hear all this excellent advice! I've only had new cars for the last 16 years (some company cars and, latterly, privately purchased new cars). Hence, the warranty hasn't really been an issue as i've always sold the car just prior to its original manufacturers' warranty expiring.

However, I will get the Porsche Extended Warranty when I purchase my used 996 later this year. Has anyone with this warranty actually taken note of the 111-point check the vehicle must pass in order to qualify for the Extended Warranty? Are they *useful* points or have they got to the 111-point check by including items like 'is the windscreen clean' or 'is the ashtray empty'?

 

[Michael Downing]

All insurance products such as warranties are priced so that the provider makes a profit. If they didn't expect to, the product would not be on sale. So, in the long term you can make that profit for yourself by not buying any and self-insuring instead.

Several local authorities have apparently realised this and no longer insure their buildings. They have so many buildings that there is a steady stream of claims ... so it is cheaper just to pay the repair bill.

My practice is to look at whether or not I could fund the claim myself. If I can, say in the case of an extended warranty on a video player, then I keep the money and take the insurer's profit for myself. If I can't, say if the house falls down and needs rebuilding, I pay the insurer to take the risk for me.

I took the view that a new engine was not something I could fund at short notice, so went for the extended warranty.

 

[John Ware]

I've effectively self insured. I bought from a specialist and saved about £5k compared to an OPC, got a friend of a friend at an OPC to inspect the car (which had no problems) and I've run it for 1000 miles a month ever since without a warranty. The £725 + £120 for the check will cover anything short of a total engine failure, which itself is largely covered by the initial £5k saving. The car is specialist serviced now and is proving to be the most cost effective car I've ever owned. At worst, if it goes pop, Autofarm will do a full engine rebuild and an upgrade for £7k (probably better than a replacement engine). In terms of savings I've already made, this rebuild (which statistically is quite unlikely to be necessary) will effectively cost me £1200.

Horses for courses I suppose. The only thing that puts me off about the OPC warranty is the small print and the fact that you may not be covered for something for which you thought you were.

 

[Rodney Naghar]

All insurance products such as warranties are priced so that the provider makes a profit. If they didn't expect to, the product would not be on sale. So, in the long term you can make that profit for yourself by not buying any and self-insuring instead.

That is flawed logic.

Example: An OPC charges you £725 for the warranty. The last day of your warranty you have an issue which the OPC would have charged you £800 for (but is covered under the warranty so is FOC), so you are quids in on your warranty. The OPC meanwhile are happy because the work actually only cost them £500.
Both parties are happy.

It is impossible to know statistically if a warranty is worth the money, because no one can have full information as to problems and the probability of those problems occuring (even if you are Porsche's in house statistician, because many people won't take their cars to Porsche to have fixed, so they won't know about the true severity of any problems)

The more forums you read, the more frightened you get, so I'd wager forum members have the highest % take up of Porsche warranty than any other group. []

 

[Michael Downing]

I thought that the OPC charged their work to the insurance company? In which case the cost to us or to them would be the same?

 

[Bull996]

Well I am getting mine inspected tomorrow. Agreed no inspection fee as long as the car is serviced with them in the future which it will be as there is no-one else nearby...
Hope the rectification list isnt too long!!

 

[DavidO]

ORIGINAL: Rodney Naghar

All insurance products such as warranties are priced so that the provider makes a profit. If they didn't expect to, the product would not be on sale. So, in the long term you can make that profit for yourself by not buying any and self-insuring instead.

That is flawed logic.

Example: An OPC charges you £725 for the warranty. The last day of your warranty you have an issue which the OPC would have charged you £800 for (but is covered under the warranty so is FOC), so you are quids in on your warranty. The OPC meanwhile are happy because the work actually only cost them £500.

Not quite so flawed, I think.

The provider referred to in the original quote would not be Porsche, but would be the outsource insurance company (All PEW's are outsourced)
Whilst I have no idea exactly what information and statistics are available to the insurance company, I can assure you that their actuaries/underwriters would have spent some time playing with whatever info they did have, in order to assess that a profit would ultimately be made.

For what it's worth I have a PEW and it has proven to be beneficial to me already (although perhaps not to the insurance company [])

 

[Guest]

The extended warranty used to be outsourced, i.e. an external insurance policy, but I was told it is now managed in house (I can't remember who by), presumably since they can make money out it.

 

[DavidO]

ORIGINAL: Stuart Martin

The extended warranty used to be outsourced, i.e. an external insurance policy, but I was told it is now managed in house (I can't remember who by), presumably since they can make money out it.

Hmmmm. I can only go by what I was told by OPC, when I renewed mine a couple of weeks ago. They definitely said it was outsourced now, and implied that it was previously managed in house