Warranty And Oil Service

[TomYates]

I bought my 2005 987 2.7 tip last August. The car has now covered 37k miles, 4k covered by myself. The car is in absolutely perfect condition, has clearly been well looked after and we haven't had a single problem (touch wood) since we bought it. It's only really used at weekends and for the rest of the time remains in the garage.

I took out an AA Gold warranty last year from the garage I bought the car from for £370 and I was just wondering is it really worth renewing it for £350 for another year, or just to risk it and not bother.

Also, as it isn't due for a service for another year, is it worth having an oil service at my local indie? Does only covering about 4k miles a year mean the oil and filters will be ok still or the opposite of that?

Thanks,
Tom

 

[berty987]

Regarding warrant it comes down to your perception of risk. All M96 engines are potential candidates for IMS failure. The IMS is an intermediate shaft that sits between crank and camshaft and provides drive to the camshafts via a chain system. The isue comes when the bearing on this shaft wears or fails resulting in significant engine damage. The problem is well publicised but thankfully not an everyday occurrence and its not entitrely conclusive if the failures are in the normal range of failures expected in any large population (over 200,000 boxster alone built with hte M96 engine). The warranty may also cover items such as air conditioning or suspension which can be costly to repair if they break or fail. Porsches are by no means exempt from engine or mechanical failure , but can and usually are very expensive to fix when they go wrong. There are plenty of warranty providers such as warranty wise , warranty direct , as well as some from indepenent garages such as Hartech. Decide if you can live with the risk and potential costs of repair , read the small print in the warranty policy if you take this optiion before putting your money on the table.

As an aside , Hartech offer a warranty which includes free servicing covering the costs of parts and labour for service, however the warranty itself is for labour only , unlike other policies which are both parts and labour. Read the terms and decide which suits you best , there is no right answer.

 

[spyderman]

My 986 has a two year service interval but I have an extra oil change every year.

 

[Mark_Bennett]

4K miles a year means you'll be wasting good oil. Unless you are doing 4K miles on track that is!

 

[berty987]

There is another school of though that suggests an engine left stading for long periods without driving or only driven short journies also requires frequent oil changes as water ingress and carbon fouling from running the car over short journies can degrade the oil.