LVDell

That my friend is what we call a self-fulfilling prophesy. Those companies are in business (and make money) b/c they sell a product that allows those that have a fear of owning a car by way of listening to hysteria to suppress that for a short time. And to hope your motor goes is just an asinine statement...warranty or not.

Janusz

1--Should I understand that my transmission would not break if I (wisely, according to you) did not buy an extended warranty?

2--They did not make money on me... I drive without any fear at all and even..

3--...yes, it would be nice to have 10 or 12 year old 160,000 km engine replaced with a new one, wouldn't you agree?


I do not intend to change anybody's mind or offend. If I've made that impression then I am sorry.
Just thought I would share my experiences so far.

LVDell

Janusz, if you fail to understand my original statement then I can't help you. I'll give you a small hint:

"......extended warranty is a good answer the 996 problems....."

Do you want to explain the "problems" the 996 has that necessitate such an unwise purchase?

And, while getting a brand new motor to plop down on your lap is nice, to wish yours would just grenade is in fact asinine. Statements like that are the ones that get insurance underwriters very suspicious.

Back to enjoying my holiday weekend

Palmbeacher

Unlike Janusz it is not my first extended warranty. I've had about a dozen. Not once have I gotten back less than twice what I paid for them. From a financial standpoint, there is no such thing as a minor repair on a German car. Ten $500 repairs amounts to the same out-of-pocket as one $5000 repair.

Reputable warranty companies (I admit I've never had an EasyCare and would not choose one as my first choice because even their top policy is a "named item" vs an exclusionary) will not source a used engine as a replacement unless new or remanufactured engines are unavailable, for the simple reason that their liability continues through the expiration of the policy and the prognosis for a used engine is more risky.

Yes these companies are in business to make money, but that's true of every kind of insurance company. I don't hear anyone claiming it's stupid to carry collision insurance on their Porsche. It's not as easy as some people make it sound, for an insurance company to wiggle out of paying a claim. The biggest risk with auto warranty insurers, because the policy is pre-paid up-front, is that they will simply go out of business before the policy expires. That's why it's important to do your homework with regard to the solidity of the company, how long they've been in business, etc. To me that is more important than a few unverifiable anecdotes from disgruntled customers posting anonymously on some blog.

I do not say that I will not ever have the LN bearing put in, but that is an entirely different issue than getting a warranty. Even Jake Raby has said that there are multiple failure modes for the M96 engine, and sometimes what's attributed to the IMS bearing is in fact not. Then there are the other components: transmission, electrical, suspension, steering, on and on and on. Little switches and such that cost a few hundred each to replace. It all adds up. That's where I feel the warranty comes into play majorly, not just IMS failure.

LVDell

I just find it comical that every time I hear something about extended warranties it sounds just like everybody coming home from Vegas. For some reason everybody seems to win.

You'd be so much better off placing the money in an investment bearing account and "self warrant".

Eharrison

"We broke even" is better since you know they took it in the shorts.

LVDell

probably more appropriate.

Palmbeacher

Personally I don't give a rat's *** if you or anyone else doesn't buy an extended warranty. That's your legitimate right. What I don't consider a legitimate right is for you or anyone else to insinuate that those of us who do, are bull****ters or morons. You have no idea whom you are talking to on these forums, and I think you might be shocked at the amount of business acumen many of us have.

I don't know about others, but through many years of running a multitude of businesses along with professional practice, I've learned to be **** about record-keeping. So I have folders with service invoices for every car I've owned since 1983, my first German car purchase, and the first of many extended warranties. I'm prepared to back up my statements.


Speaking of which, will you kindly share with us what sort of "investment bearing account" you can recommend where $2500-3500 for 3 years would accrue enough to pay for an $18,000 engine replacement?

Again, the same philosophy can be applied to collision insurance. How many of us "self warrant" that...even those of us whose Porsches aren't worth much more than the cost of a new engine?

white99c2

I am a member here, at 6speedonline and at the 996 Series Forum. I have been terrorized by all of the posts about the M96 engine failures. I read the article in Excellence this month and this article in Total 911 magazine http://www.total911.com/news/996-eng...ou-be-worried/
I contacted about 5 aftermarket warranty/extended service contract providers. I'm confused about who to go with. I've checked BBB ratings, read about them, years in business, DO A WHOIS on the net and find out how long they have had their URL.
Every provider has given me an option $X down and $X for 12, 15 or 18 months interest free. I negotiated price and will pull the trigger this week and start a policy, with who is another question.
EXTENDED SERVICE CONTRACT Vs, SELF INSURING, $1550 to $2750 is the range I was quoted for my '99 with 48,300 miles. Some policies cover more than others obviously. The $1550 policy covers my main concern in this car, THE ENGINE.
SELF INSURE AGAIN, I think not. For me and my nervous personality type, I'll pay the down payment, then the monthly payments for the peace of mind. If I sell the car, I get back a pro-rated refund If I CANCEL. Same goes if heaven forbid its stolen or totaled out.
Sorry for the rant -
Rob

LVDell

Palm......wake up on the wrong side of the bed? At no point did I call anybody a bull****ter or a moron. Geez, lighten up or you'll give yourself heart failure. Back to enjoying my Memorial day....... Unsibscribing

BruceP

Extended warranties are objectively a racket. I don't see how that's remotely debatable. The house wins the overwhelming majority of the time, or there would be no business in it.

I don't judge anybody who buys one, mind you. It's just that you have to be honest about why. You're not financially beating the game by buying a warranty; you're paying a financial penalty for predictability. You're deciding that your personal situation is such that a certain, predictable cost is easier to live with than an uncertain, unpredictable one. Whether that is 'value' is a personal call.

But saving money? Absolutely no way, no how.

Palmbeacher

Nobody yet has challenged my comment about collision insurance. It too is predicated on the company paying out less than they take in in premiums. Insurance companies also make money investing the money they take in, so it isn't as if their profits are simply "premiums-payouts=profit" there's more to it than that. Extended warranties are no more a "racket" than any other insurance. The warranty companies have no control over the repairs a car will need any more than Allstate has control over how many cars it insures will be involved in a collision. They can only go by statistics. In the case of the auto warranties, sure, of 10 million Honda owners who buy them maybe 9 million won't ever make a claim. That's certainly not the case with German cars, at least not the multitude of them I've owned over the years. But there are far fewer Porsches than Hondas, so the warranty companies still come out ahead. That's ok with me. I wouldn't call it a "racket" unless they refused to cover cars like Porsches and Mercedes that have a high repair incidence and a high cost of those repairs.

In the past six cars I've owned, my average cost of warranties is $2250/vehicle, and the average payout for covered repairs is $4691/vehicle. So yes indeed, the predictable cost of the warranty was much easier to live with than the uncertain, unpredictable but much more expensive cost of repairs.

In my case, my outlay on warranties is $13,500 and they've reimbursed me $28,146. I don't know where you learned arithmetic or came upon your definition of saving money, but I've got $14,646 in my bank account that's directly attributable to having extended warranties. I call that saving money.

Sneaky Pete

Looks like Palm came up on the good side of the warranty. Its all about the odds.......than again I could walk out of my house and run over by a bus. Doubt it would happen but it could.

I say if it gives you peace to have a warranty than so be it.

Time make the brats....

BruceP

I'll ignore your juvenile 'arithmetic' comment.

It is surely clear to anyone with even the most tenuous grasp of capitalism that insurance companies are profit making enterprises. Therefore, especially in the current investment environment (do you know what a yield curve is?), no insurance company is going to lose money on a risk product in the hope of making it back in the markets. Moreover, a lot of insurance companies are specifically looking for easy premium revenue to offset the miserable returns they're getting on their fixed income investments.

You did well because you were unlucky with your cars, but lucky that you bought warranty coverage. This is, by definition, not going to be remotely close to the common experience. Had I bought extended warranty coverage on my last three used cars - two Land Rovers and a Porsche - I would have lost money, and by definition that is the most probable outcome for anyone.

Your parallel to collision insurance says more about your priorities than it does the products. Collision insurance covers an event most of us will have , and prices it very precisely based on a huge body of risk and repair cost data. The poor soul who buys extended warranty coverage on his new washer dryer combo or purchased flight insurance has almost nothing in common with the person who puts collision insurance on his car (especially if his leasing company compelled him to do so).

As I said earlier, I don't judge anyone who chooses to pay a premium for predictability. But for me personally, if I was that scared of things going wrong with my car that I was willing to write a four digit cheque to be protected from it, I would conclude that maybe this car is over my head.

ivangene

Pete Have a seat my friend...