halik

My car had an engine replaced with aftermarket warranty, $12K, back in 2006.

Latch

Which company did you buy this aftermarket warranty from, out of curiosity?

Gonzo911

Your kidding right? If that were the case there would be NO insurance companies of any kind. Have you seen a catastrophic hospital bill lately?

And...if the number of 996's "blew up" just a fraction of what is implied in these forums, our cars would be uninsurable and/or have certain parts of the car excluded.

I have a warranty that has almost paid for itself with 20 months and 17k miles to go. If the engine blows up...and the cause is a covered part, then they will either replace the engine, or write me a check. If not, well, that's what lawyers are for.

mikemdd

I don't understand your point. No, I am not kidding... Insurance companies are like casinos...the house aways wins. Otherwise, there is no business. Do the math: for every $20K engine replaced, there needs to be 5 people who got nothing for their $5K policy (as example). We hear on these forums about engines getting replaced all the time (do a search!). While the number of ACTUAL engines as a % may be low, the % claimed on these posts are high. The people who bought the policy and had no claims generally do not post. They paid to protect themselves and are probably satisified...that is called "insurance". I do not imply any of this is wrong. My only point is that buying insurance is a personal decision. If you pay $5K for a policy and get a $20K engine, that's great. However, many others got nothing. That is my simple point. It is amazing how we all try to convince each other what is "right" when it is really a personal decision...there is no right or wrong answer.

Latch

On the same token, the people whose engines fail and are covered by an extended warranty post less often, while those whose claims are denied post more often.

My experience with Mercury for extended warranties has been good -- they paid for a new transmission on my SUV which totaled more than the price I paid for the policy, and I've already claimed 50% of the cost of the policy on my Cayman S (water pump) and I'm in my first of four years of coverage. However, statistically (if money is the only object), most people will not draw what they pay for a policy.

I liken extended warranties to collision insurance: odds are you won't need it, but at least you won't have to worry about a disastrous failure of some kind.

EDIT: Unfortunately, as of last month, Mercury doesn't offer coverage for Porsches through my broker. Boo.

mikemdd

Thanks. Your experience supports what I was saying. You are an example of a "winner", twice apparently. Second, your point is well made that it is a personal decision based on risk tolerance. It's like me asking you if I should buy a red or white car. And finally, there is a reason Mercury does not warranty Porsches anymore through your broker...they probably did not meet their ROI targets. Thank goodness we all still have options to buy or not buy policies. That is a good thing.

Latch

Very welcome! I think Gonzo911 sounded incredulous in his reply to you because it seemed you and Flat6 were insinuating that no extended warranty company would ever cover a $20k claim, which isn't true. I mostly weighed in because (while Flat6's products look impressive and seem to have a good rep) it makes me a little uncomfortable that his company is in direct competition with extended warranty companies: they both sell peace of mind. Flat6 sells a preventative measure, while warranty companies let you bet against your good luck.

sparks259

very pleased with the warranty I bought thru AAA.
So far, two claims totaling >2k, paid with out a wimper.

Imo000

Were the Flat 6 engines that were involved in a claim to be rebuilt to facotry spec or to Flat 6 spec?

Flat6 Innovations

We only produce engines to our own spec. That said, the engine was proposed to be built at a factory spec and then the customer was to pay the difference afterward and on a separate invoice.

But that was in 2009, I haven't even considered or proposed a warranty based job since then.

Rob996

There are many factors insurance companies not yet mentioned in this tread. There is a high number of people who buy warranties that pay up front for the policy and will most likely sell the car well before the coverage expires, or in some cases crash the car. This amounts to an important revenue source for the insurance company. The other revenue source not yet mentioned comes from investment revenue on the premiums paid in advance.

Regarding payment of new expensive 996 engines, I am a statistic having my 01 996 engine blow up due to intermix, then bought a crate factory engine $14k several years ago.. And no I didn't have any warranty of coverage.. If I had the choice to purchase a warranty that didn't guarantee engine replacement.. I would self insure before buying a dodgy policy.

Enjoy

Gonzo911

We may be making the same point in a different way. I agree that whether or not to buy an extended warranty is a personal decision. As a matter of fact, I was floored that someone with KK's mechanical abilities would even consider one

The fact that many extended warranty companies will cover our cars, even with the "20+ known catastrophic failures" actually makes me feel better about their reliability. As you said, if the number of failures where high enough, the "casinos" would know that based on their data and exclude our cars (or failures attributed to certain parts).

Otherwise, they would certainly lose money.

But they don't.

mikemdd

Well said.

KrazyK

I did in fact consider buying a warranty but ended up taking JR's great advice.

leftlane

Wow - I guess I'm amazed that people would be willing to pay $14-$20k for the repairs necessary. I suppose if someone blows their engine and has a warranty, they go elsewhere then. Do all of your customers come to you sans warranty?