hwk72

I didn't know the color of your car; this was just a little hint on the missing pics. However, dark green is great, maybe "Forest Green Metallic" - code: L2B4? My 996 has a light green color; Wimbledon Green looks like this \/. Green is cool - did you know that Ferry Porsche's favorite color was green and that he had almost only green cars?

Porsche_Smile

hey where are the pics???? i think it's newbie bashing time........

DFC

Congrats on the new cab and welcome to the club!

lowside67

Aha, you are learning!

kurtp

All your comments have been great. Thanks.

I am sorry to not have placed pictures of this car on the forum. Tomorrow will be the day to take and upload pictures into the forum. The pictures I have are from the purchase but all are with the top up and I don't believe in that with convertibles, particularly in souther California. I am fortunate that there are only a few days each year that convertible tops are required if they are out of the garage, but that is the reason I have another car.

Bra comments have been great. My main concern would be while driving on the highway and small debris deflects off the front of the car, but I plan on avoiding driving behind trucks and such. I just put the bra back on my Acura TL and that hasn't caused any problems at all, but I do take it off if there is any moisture in the air.

I am still undecided on which extended warranty company to use, although I am heavily leaning toward WarrantyDirect. The Porsche dealer will work with this car eventhough it is several months out of warranty. Maybe it is because of my friendly demeanor, but likely because of the low mileage and third-party inspection. There are some other extended warranty companies that will work with me in California, but require me to purchase the plan in another state. I am not comfortable with this at all, so will likely go with the plan at my credit union, WarrantyDirect, Porsche or skip it altogether. I just purchased the entire service manual for this car.

If pics don't go up tomorrow, please give me grief about it, as I would deserve it.

Irksome

Most pcar owners will avoid bras like the plague, they inevitably scratch the paint. Consensus seems to be accept chips and fix/repaint sometimes, or put on a clear bra. When applied well by a reputable company, clear bras (basically a layer of plastic stuck on top of the paint) are hard to see and provide near perfect protection from rock chips and other road debris. Personally, I got a clear bra put on.

Bad news. Warranty Direct cannot sell to you in California, unless you are dodging that by claiming to live elsewhere. You can see some of my process here:
https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...0&page=1&pp=15

Search this forum for warranty and you'll be reading all night. In CA, you can buy from Porsche dealers. I worked with both Hoehn (right up your way) and Pioneer (Miramar), and ultimately chose Pioneer's (well, the one they sell). For my 2003 C2 with under 10k miles, cost me just under $4k for 60,000 miles and $0 deductible.

Congrats on your purchase, and good luck!

kurtp

Thanks Irksome. All great comments.

I have looked into extended warranties very thoroughly and agree that my comments weren't complete. No one other than insurance companies and dealers can offer such policies in CA, but WD and other EW companies complete a meeting this week that will determine if they are allowed in CA this year. WD expects to know by tomorrow and will return calls soon after. I plan on calling them early next week. My EW considerations would have to be done legitimately, and I would not attempt to falsify my residence. Your EW thread was great and I wish I had found it two weeks ago, however I have learned much in the pursuit.

Another rennlist subscriber and neighbor that introduced me to this site told me that Pioneer Porsche has a great reputation for 996's. I plan on talking to them but haven't yet.

I have to look at the clear bra again. The idea didn't seem appealing to me initially, but may now.

Arr0gant, I see that you are using WarrantyDirect's extended warranty. Great. They will be my most likely candidate once they get back into CA. If this doesn't happen in a week, I will reconsider other options. I will speak with the local Porsche dealers again as well.

arr0gant

I just traded in my C4S for a TT. The C4S was covored through WarrantyDirect and my new TT is CPO.

The warranty from Warrantydirect did not carry over to the dealer, it WOULD have carried over PP. I only used about 9 months and about 5k miles out of 4 years and up to 60k miles. I got my car with 17k

I paid around $1700 for the warranty, they are sending me almost $1400 cash back for unused prorated portion.

This makes me happy and I'm spending close to $2k on my Nav system. Very easy to rationalize with that phat refund!!

kurtp

That is great news about WD and might be what pushes them to my top choice. I just need to wait for them to cover CA now. Prices haven't been released yet, but I expect them to be higher than what you listed. I would want to go with their exclusionary policy. What type of warranty did you get from WD? Was it an excusionary policy? Price points like this will help me not be over charged.

Thanks for your helpful comments and have a nice weekend.

Benjamin Choi

I'd buy the warranty at the local Porsche dealership like Irksome did. I'd stay away from Warranty Direct as the diff is not just in the Xyears covered / Ymiles covered, but also whether they approve repair orders straight away or take their royal time paying up so you're stuck with no 911 until the money transfers. If your local dealership says yea WarrantyDirect's been great, then fine. Also consider what they replace that affected part with - OEM whenever possible or aftermarket or remanufacturered even if new is available, etc.

I spent $3,500 which includes Seattle's ~9% sales tax for full coverage with $100 deductible 4 years/48K on my '02 C4S from a warranty company that backs VW/Audi and a few other manufactureres.

Porsche_Smile

man.... it sucks to get warr in california.......

ride67

Kurt,
Congrats on the new cab. I bought an extended warranty through WD in Dec. 2006 when they were still authorized to sell in CA. I have an 02 C4 Cab and I bought the "SecureCare MBI" exclusionary policy with $0 deductible. It cost me $4595. It's the 4 year/75k mile policy (expires 4 years from purchase or when the odometer hits 75,000 miles). Steep, but I paid for the peace of mind. To each, their own. The other policy they quoted me was for their MajorCare MBI policy which is not an exclusionary policy. As a result, the pricing for the 4 year/75k mile $0 deductible policy was only $2400. In my opinion, don't get an EW unless it's exclusionary, but you seem to be of that opinion yourself already.

I haven't had to use the EW on the Porsche yet, but I had a Warranty Direct policy on an earlier vehicle I had, and had no problem getting claims paid. Granted, it was a Ford Ranger 4x4, but WD paid for a new transmission, no questions asked, as well as some other minor stuff.

Not many companies offer warranties direct to consumers in CA because the regulatory approval process is time consuming and costly, and the rates are approved by the state and can't be changed. On the plus side, if a company gets approved to offer the warranty in CA, chances are they are sufficiently capitalized and will be around to pay a claim if/when you need it. From all the research I did, Warranty Direct seems like a safe option, and may be one of the few options you have in CA. Also, the WD warranty is transferable (for a small fee) to a new owner if you sell the car.

Hope this helps and enjoy the ride.

arr0gant

I've heard they are as good about paying as PCNA. I got the Majorcare, covers everything CPO covers. I like the fact that you can opt for 4 years and 60k miles, instead of 2 years 100k. I wish PCNA did that.. That worked better for me.

smackboy1

Just thought I'd throw in my $0.02:

Clear bra - If your paint is in good shape and you are willing to pay $$$ to protect it, get 3M clear bra, full hood, , gas flap, mirrors, maybe even full fenders. I got partial and of course I have all kinds of chips where the bra ends. Or just figure on repainting once in a while. Sometimes you don't have a choice and get stuck behind a gravel truck - like I did

Warranty Direct - They are pretty easy to deal with and pay quickly. I got back part of the cost when my RMS and some other seals leaked. I got the "bumper to bumper" type of coverage. It's transferable and I figure it will be an attractive feature if I sell my car anytime soon.

Irksome

Yeah, it does. But, you gotta admit, it's kind of nice to know that your warranty company isn't going to fold up and disappear after taking your money!

That, of course, was the motivation of the state, consumer protection. By limiting extended warranty offerings to major insurance companies, they can be reasonably assured that the shadiest of companies will not prey on California residents. Of course, an unwise consumer (who doesn't do his/her homework) can still pay too much, or can pick a company that is bad at paying claims... =)