lungboy

Looking at a CPO Boxster.. based on my research the price is a bit high, and in negotiating with the dealership he stated that CPO is "worth about $3k" -- which roughly accounts for the discrepancy.

Any thoughts on the monetary value of the CPO designation?

How much more would one expect to pay vs a non-CPO car in similar condition?

manifold danger

This is an interesting thread, I'm curious to see what others weigh in with.

That said, I think that's a fair valuation for CPO, and consistent with other things I've seen on this forum. Having personally bought a CPO Boxster about 18 months ago, the best way for me to describe it is that $3k buys peace of mind. It's virtually an extension of the factory warranty, so for a used car you end up with basically the same reassurance you'd get with a brand new car, while accounting for someone else to take the depreciation hit of far more than $3k.

But to put in perspective of hard data? I had a weird issue crop up where the blower motor stayed on all the time. Turned out to be a ~$250 repair (that I obviously didn't have to pay for). Other than that, I've had no issues with this car at all in 18 months and ~15k miles.

So if you're wondering if it will ever "pay for itself"? Maybe, but honestly probably not. But if you feel like you'd rather just drop it off at a Porsche dealer with a loaner and worry-free that you'd get hit with a surprise bill in the 4- or 5-digits in the rare event something did happen, then by all means it's worth it.

Edit- another thing to consider is the efforts Porsche dealers take to make sure a car is "worthy" of certification. Basically, if any repair was performed at a non-Porsche dealer, or any non-OEM part was ever used, the car can't be certified. Also you'll hear a lot of chatter on these boards about a DME test- basically a semi-effective measurement of how the car was driven throughout its lifetime derived from metrics stored in the car's computer. If there's any deviation there, they won't certify it. Also you'll be buying it with fresh brakes and tires, services done, etc. Buying a non-CPO used car from some random non-Porsche dealer you have to do all that due diligence yourself.

Also worth noting, just because a car is at a Porsche dealer doesn't necessarily guarantee everything is copacetic... even if it's certified! I actually almost got burned there- the car I bought was actually certified several years ago when it had less than 5000 miles on it. The dealers have a lot more leniency with what parts they can use, and in some cases, what they have to disclose if they aren't the ones actually performing the certification. For me, I was fortunate in that all it "cost" me was to have to deal with the not-great Kumho tires they put on it (albeit they were brand new) and reusing old brake hardware (with new OEM pads and rotors), but I still feel like I kind of dodged a bullet. Others have recited horror stories of undisclosed damage they may weigh in with. Buyer beware.

lungboy

One concern with the CPO and an older mileage car (50k+) is the lack of coverage for the clutch. CPO evaluation seems to be binary (either it works or it doesn't) and life expectancy isn't / can't be determined.


For reference: https://www.porsche.com/usa/approved...ures/warranty/

gartzspeed

When I bought my Spyder from a non-Porsche dealer, the first thing I did was get the 'Major" Service done at the dealership, just over $1600 Canadian, plus the incidentals I wanted addressed, Frunk latch didn't work, removed aftermarket head unit XM radio receiver and a new battery.

Just over $3600 Canadian.

When I bought my 2008 BS CPO car from Halifax Porsche, I flew in, they picked me up, signed the papers, had them remove the dealership sticker (Was Silver and Blue on a Ruby Red car) I drove away. The only failure on the CPO car was the retractable top guide lines (twice) and the plastic ball broke, none of that was covered under the CPO warranty.

Hope I helped with your decision

manifold danger

Yeah I'm pretty sure the clutch wouldn't be covered unless you could tie it to a "manufacturer's defect"... which would be pretty hard to prove at 50k+ miles unless something like a slave cylinder or cable actually breaks. Clutch, like brakes, is considered a wear item in nearly all cases. FWIW though my car has 62k miles on it and no signs of needing a clutch any time soon.

Oddly enough, the topic of clutch replacement hardly ever comes up in Porsche discussions. I actually just did a quick google search and there's no clear indication of life expectancy. There are many examples of clutches lasting the lifetime of the car- even in excess of 200k miles. My guess is the only ones that need replacing are the ones whose drivers wore them out prematurely.

I'm sure it's not an insignificant cost if it does happen to need replacement, but I don't know how much I'd factor it in my decision-making process.

TMc993

When I purchased my CPO 2014 Cayman, the CPO "premium" was about $3000. I've had a couple of front strut bracket problems that were remedied under the CPO warranty and I'm guessing that if those costs had come out of pocket, they'd be close to the "cost" of the CPO.

As stated above, warranties generally do not cover "wear and tear" items like batteries, tires, belts, hoses, wipers, clutches. and brake pads/rotors unless their failure can be directly tied to a factory recognized manufacturing defect in the car.

nr981

$3K seems like a likely price point. My dealer offered to drop the price by $2,200 without CPO. I declined.

jago

i bought my car 500 miles away on a fly and drive.
having the cpo made the decision easier.
Also, perhaps trivial, I did receive a nice package from Porsche. It made me feel like a new car owner and member of the "family".
I have bought other high-end cpo cars with hardly any acknowledgment of the purchase.

hf1

Sounds about right. How much is a 2yr of Porsche factory warranty worth to you?

Sometimes a dealer would offer a car with or without CPO, and the price diff is about $2.5k-3k. Whether to pay for a CPO or not is a personal decision that also depends on whether or not you already have a trusty and reliable indy Porsche mechanic (in which case CPO may not be worth getting).

manifold danger

I forgot about that! Mine came with a really nice hardcover book, a pen, and a meaningless card that I used to keep in my wallet anyway.

But this is a valid point- it seems that Porsche truly cares about the value (and experience) of the CPO designation, and that's more than can be said of most other manufacturer's CPO programs.

Audioi

Just my 2 cents but I would pay the $3k for CPO on any Porsche.

lungboy

is declining the CPO an option? I figured once a dealer put $ into fixing/certification they'd want to recoup the costs

lungboy

is declining the CPO an option? I figured once a dealer put $ into fixing/certification they'd want to recoup the costs

pfbz

$3K is right on for the spread between a cpo and non-cpo car. I think the dealer pays PCNA a bit over $2K for the "warranty", then they typically have to do some services on the car to bring it to CPO spec.

Declining CPO on a car that already has been through the cert. process. is typically NOT an option at most dealerships, unless they wholesale the car out. I think it's a PCNA policy, though some dealerships might do it anyway, or advertise it as a CPO car but haven't processed it yet.

The Porsche CPO program is excellent. Far better IMHO than most other extended warranties. If the car is the right spec, right condition, and the right price accounting for the $3K CPO value, go for it.