42empress

I bought a 2002 C2...RMS done at purchase (14000 miles) car was certified at this purchase(october 2004). Had rms at approx 35000, 60,000 when i paid for new clutch but almost no labor because of the seal. Now at 70,000, getting a new transmission ($6000) from Porsche. Get to drive a cayenne for a few weeks. Also, thought the rms was leaking again, but just told it was actually Intermediate shaft seal. So even with a PPI, or buying from a reputable person, if you can not afford to pay for some major repairs, i would definitely get a CPO car. That being said, my car will now be out of warranty at 100K which for me is probably about a year from now. I am trying to decide now if I should plan on keeping it out of warranty. I probably will at this point assuming that no major engine issue come up. I use mine daily and was not in a position to risk crazy maintenance bills. However, mine car has been driveable always and would have not left me stranded, and i could have probably gotten another 30K miles out of the tranny. Again, the seals are not catastrophic, and can be fixed at convienent times as well. Clutches are expected, and you could probably wait on a leaking RMS until you need a clutch.

Good Luck

discoganya

No warranty here too ...

UCrazyKid

I just bought an '02. I got a warranty through Warranty Direct. I don't like surprise expenses and I didn't want my first Porsche experience to be tained by recurring repair costs. I bought private party and with the warranty on top I paid about what I would have at the dealer, but I have the added comfort that I was able to meet and size up the original owner, I know the car was well cared for.

Who knows, maybe you are better off taking 10 grand and putting it into a money market account for repairs.

It's just a decision you have to make on your own and be comfortable with it. I'll tell you though the smile you will get from driving the Carrera will soften your worries.

One more thing. After the first of the year, warranty direct will no longer offer bumper to bumper coverage on '02 911s. They will just offer the catistrophic coverage (ie, engine and transmission).

Andy

joey c

thanks for everything guys..i may wait a bit..i love my 87 911 and want to keep it.i might wait till i have more money to do an 02 or newer..thanks,j

MechanicalEng

FYU warranty direct "major care" package (drivetrain only) only covers internal lubricated engine parts and transmission, that means, for example that the cooling system of the engine is not covered!, if your engine fails due to coolant mixing with with engine oil they will NOT cover the damage!!
The "secure care plus" plan (the one I got) cover the whole car exept the clutch, brake pads, and navigation system. I would highly recomend getting the secure care, I just got it last week and now I am covered until Dec 2010. They only cover cars up to 4 years old.. that means that the car has to be at least an '03 to get fully covered.
greg

BruceP

Exactly what I did, and these guys have great Porsche credentials. I ended up spending the money on actually getting into the car and finding and fixing everything that needed it rather than on a warranty that wouldn't kick in until something actually broke. I'll admit that I'm not financially afraid of anything going wrong, and I'm lucky for that. But as far as sleeping well goes, I like the sleep I get knowing that someone who knows what he's doing has had his hands inside my engine. I prefer the feeling that I can count on the car over the feeling of knowing someone else will pay when it lets me down. Just another POV.

joey c

thankks greg..i thought that was the case..j

missmy993

I did not buy a warranty when I bought higher mileage '99 C4 a few years back, here is why:
Say you and a bunch of your smart friends were going to open a car warranty business. 1st you would study the repair history and cost for the cars you were going to warranty and figure a price for the warranty, then you might pad that a bit, then you would add in commissions for the dealers that sell your warranty, then you add in some to cover your expenses and payroll, then you would add some for profit. Rather than pay a warranty all the "then's" I would rather take the cost of the warranty, bank it, figure my expense (at least the stuff covered) will be less but have the reserve. If the worst most catastrophic thing happens (engine blows up) I probably will not be that far away from having the money myself to repair the car as compared to paying for a warranty.

jakermc

Missmy993 hit it on the head. Statistically speaking, buying a warranty is a losing bet. The warranty company is a for-profit venture so they are always priced for them to win (on average).

Think of a warranty as insurance, its main purpose is to avoid catastrophic loss, i.e. a MAJOR repair bill. If you can afford to 'self-insure' and are in a position that a big repair bill will not leave you in place where you are unable to fix the car (or need to liquidate college or retirement funds) go without it. Otherwise get the warranty and sleep better at night.

washington dc porsche

Nope, maybe a Nissan or Toyota product but Porsche never.

Ray S

I agree. I'd have no problem buying a 996 (w/o warranty) after a thorough PPI.

exlondoner

Full PPI and talked to the mechanics themselves, went ahead without any warranty.

hwk72

I bought my '00 C2 Cab in '05 with 27k miles and no warranty for a nice price. Knew the 1st owner who papered the car and was naive as I had 5 BMWs before with no issues at all. However a 911 is another car. The engines are so hard to reach and obviously very sensitive, so every even small repair cost so much time and therefore money. Put already pretty much money into repairs and mods (oil pipes, coolant, RMS together with clutch just to be safe, waterpump, ...) that I could have bought an '02 with warranty.

10 GT3

Personally I would not buy one without some amount of initial warranty. When I made my decision, I decided I was definitely getting a 3.6l. I was targeting 02' and 03' cars last year. If I went with an 03', most still had 1.5 years on the warranty. With an 02', I wanted on Certified. My 02' was one of the last from that year and sold in August of 02' so it is certified through 8/08. It is just that little extra safety.

I also have a 79' 911 I bought used that has been a great car. I woudl not be as concerned with having a warranty on a 96-98' 993, a later 964 or any older 911 as I would be with an early 996 just because of some of the issues those cars may have.

VGM911

I bought a '99 996 earlier this year from a Porsche dealer. They were able to certify it under Porsche's certified, pre-owned program. The car had 44K miles on it.

Here's my experience with the warranty/repairs since I bought it (it now has 54K miles on it): cracked plastic coolant tank (not covered) and a problem with the cam chain tensioner (a $2,500 job that will be covered by the warranty when it goes in to the shop next week).

It's always a crapshoot...you either take your chances without a warranty (and pay less for the car, one hopes) or you pay somewhat more for the car and are insulated from cataclysmic costs relating to the drivetrain.