Mahoney

Hello friends,

I'm new to this forum, just got my 996TT in January. 2003 Seal Grey 6 speed, completely stock, maintained since new at Beverly Hills Porsche, until I got m hands on her and moved her to Seattle area! A beautiful car, near perfect condition with 52K miles.

I bought from dealer in San Jose - Roadsport, very good group, highly recommend - and they contacted me with a warranty group that for $3K will give 36 months / 36K miles of coverage for anything that matters. Would you do it?

Already I'm seeing PSM/ABS errors and every once in a while in 2nd gear 5K RPM+ the car cuts out - don't know if this is a common problem with easy fix or a potential big issue.

Any thoughts and guidance appreciated, already loving the 996 Turbo!!!

mffarrell

It would depend on what is covered and who is the 3rd party insurer. What is the deductible?

I dealt with Roadsport many years ago...class act dealer.

"02996ttx50

personally i wouldn't trust the value of any $3k "warranty"on a 15 year old car that claimed to cover most anything. i would really investigate their rep before paying that. but then, nor would i trust the mechanical integrity of a car that had been exclusively serviced at bh porsche. though they are capable of doing the factory recommended maintenance. but no one would go out of their way to bring a car to them lol.

just have the coils and plugs replaced. i'll bet your 5k "breakup" issue clears up. congrats on the purchase!

manimal

I'd recommend to do some more searching on the PSM/ABS issue. From the (relatively small) amount of research I did into it, there are quite a few potential causes for it, and most of them aren't too scary or costly. In my case, a new MAF cleared it up.

I just consider maintenance costs part of the gamble on my 15 year-old ultra-high performance car, but that's not to say a warranty couldn't be a good idea.

Berra

I had one for my car, a two year warranty when I bought it 2014!

Not having one now isn't something I lose sleep over.

Mahoney

Thank you for the reply. Agree, Roadsport is a class act.

The deductible is $100 and the insurer is Red Shield. Never heard of them. Coverage is comprehensive of all major mechanical, electrical, computer, etc. Basically excludes wear and tear and pre-existing problems.

My instinct tells me it's a lot and for the 15 or 20K miles I'd likely do as max over next three years.

Mahoney

Thanks! Love the car so far, and appreciate tip on the breakup issue. Was worried it might be a computer issue. Had to replace the brain on my 928 about 10 years ago and the part was super pricey.

Not that I'm big on dealers for maintenance and upkeep, or that I know anything about BH Porsche, but surprised to hear that feedback. I'd think they'd be able to maintain and repair a completely stock car.

Mahoney

With you on that - never even considered a service contract when shopping for the car, but Roadsport offered, so thought about it.

Saw some of the PSM/ABS stuff researching the forum and yes all seem relatively minor.

Great forum, thanks all!

"02996ttx50

nah, not to worry, as neil sedaka once said, breaking up is hard to do.. but is *usually* cleared up by replacing plugs and coils. ( for a stock car that is..) and to your point, i did say that bh porsche could indeed service and/or maintain a car to factory spec, but i just wouldn't trust them to do anything at all outside of "book" maintenance nor to suggest to me the car was perfectly issue free.. but none of this is really relevant, as you bought a "used car" and from a private seller. but let's just say that i have a dim view of LA area porschedealerships based upon experience with several of them over a few decades, and this accounts for my skepticism of their "diagnostic" skill(s).

by way of example, i bought a very low mileage 996 turbo that had the factory CPO warranty coverage that one would expect would ( and does ) "certify" that the car is in impeccable mechanical condition, and yet.

the car had second gear popout which i quickly discovered! leading to a brief yet initially contentious back and forth with the selling dealership and ( quickly ) included the W/C PCNA rep.

i emerged successfully from this imbroglio in spite of their initial assertion that I had "caused" the damage to the transmission. this was all before the actual causes of "2nd gear popout" were as widely known and had been "shared" online and anecdotally by owners ( victims? lol ) and enthusiasts alike.

i'm not sure they ( this LA dealership & pcna ) would have adopted their initial stance of an *attempted* denial of a legitimate warranty claim, knowing what we all know today about the issue.

my long winded point is and was.. that porsche dealerships can and do "certify" cars that are NOT within "factory spec" or perfect shape and they would be the last people that i would "trust" if purchasing a used car. all this said? i would be confident that they did the regular services properly. hell, i have them done properly as well, in my yard. it's just oil/filters/plugs and stuff. not complicated if even a bit labor intensive.

but if it were me? i would still have it independently inspected pre purchase. ( or perhaps you have? if i missed that? )

but again, good luck! great cars. add: and the warranty thing? i'd be surprised if you could even get one given the age of the car? and unless it were "fidelity" or a similarly "known' provider? i'd put the 3 grand in a "rainy day maintenance jar" instead.

911mhawk

Welcome to town!
I can't believe you can still get a warranty on these, I'd very closely scrutinize the fine print before handing over any $. If it does cover transmission and motor, I'd get it and track the snot out of it. Otherwise, your $3k will do water pump, PS reservoir, slave/accumulator and maybe another item that typically goes.

06Turbo

Popped Coolant pipes come to mind. Before I purchased my 02' I researched about what the little quirks these cars have/get. I pondered about seeing if I could find some sort of warranty. (Didn't look very hard) and just stuck some money away. I knew the coolant pipes would eventually fail, it was always on my mind when I took the car out for spirited drives. It eventually happened! Figure it's about a $2000-$3500 job. Depending on where you take it to get fixed along with a few "other things" while the engine is out.

Turbodan

check to see if they pro-rate the parts for the warranty. meaning; if clutch goes and they figure clutch should last 50k and you have 40k on it they will only cover 20%. Also some warranty companies will only cover work they have authorized and they take a few days to authorize. These are some of the ways they get you.

lconn

I have a 4yr/75k mile extended and transferrable warranty that the previous owner bought when he bought the car with 35k miles (2004 996tt cab). It has a $150 deductible. So far it has paid for an ignition switch, rear main seal, fuel pump, and a tow. Money well spent in this case and I can sleep at night (till it expires).

FRUNKenstein

Agreed

lconn

Since the warranty was purchased (prior owner) the car has had the engine dropped to replace the main seal, a fuel pump replaced, an ignition switch, and now the spoiler hydraulics just started to fail. Way ahead on the warranty now.