Zeus993

Just an update... Purchased a 3 year EasyCare $200 deductable warrenty in Oct 2010 for $2978.00 . Flywheel cracked last week. Today picked up car with new flywheel, new seals, and an optional new clutch, release bearing, seals, etc... My share for clutch and seals: $1471.89. EasyCare for labour, flywheel etc...: $2817.33 So I am still in the red for $160.67 with 31 months go. I'm good with this I love this car but have come to understand that it can, does have and may experience mechanical failures. Would I trade it? Not in a million years.

Palmbeacher

I've never not at least got my money back from an extended warranty, and in many cases doubled it, so I have to let my personal experience trump the economic theories of those who pontificate against buying these warranties. I don't really see how being able to afford a $46,000 car (what mine cost 2 yrs ago) should imply willingness to casually accept paying $25,000 for a new engine, but to each his own.

My CPO covered cumulative "minor" repairs totalling at least to $2000, about what the warranty added to the cost of purchase. But my car was only 4 yrs old when I got it, with 20K miles. Now it's 6 yrs old, and has over 30K. I just got a "bumper to bumper" warranty for 6 more years for $4500. In the first month it paid me back $900 on the replacement of just a starter cable. Repairs on these Porsches are irrationally expensive. If I was a DIY guy I might take a different attitude, but I'm not.

As an aside, I recently put a new clutch in it (pedal was very stiff, original owner evidently was very hard on it) and at the same time put in the LN IMS bearing retrofit. Even so, from past experience I fully expect that in years 6-12 I will get back well more than I paid for the warranty...and I'll be free advertising for the warranty company who will make tons of money selling warranties to Honda Accord owners who won't ever need to use them

Jlangmd

All extended warranties are provided for one reason and one reason only. The provider makes money. The total take for extended warranties exceeds the outlay for repairs by a significant margin, so that the majority of people who buy them lose money. They are betting you that your car is more reliable than you think it is. For every $25,000 engine repair covered by the warrantee, there are dozens of "no claims". I never buy extended warranties. But in the end, peace of mind is the main factor. But it don't come cheap with Porsche.

Palmbeacher

I absolutely agree, you are spot-on. I know many people who got talked into buying an extended warranty while they were buying a new car, so the cost could be garnered into their loan, and then traded the car before the extended warranty ever took effect. I also know many people who never used their extended warranties because those warranties were in effect when the cars were 3-5 years old with 25-40K miles, and typically things don't start going bad and falling apart that soon. I also know people who bought extended warranties on their Hondas and Lexuses and drove them to 8-9 yrs and 90-100K miles and never had enough claims to total what their warranties cost.

My personal experience of myself and family has been over the last 25 years with 6 BMWs, 3 Mercedes, and 5 Volvos. Not one of the extended warranties paid out less than the warranty cost, and only two of them (on the 2 oldest Mercedes, an '85 300D coupe and an '87 300SD sedan) paid out less than double what the warranties cost. My '99 BMW 740iL was the champion, racking up almost five times the cost of the warranty. And none of these cars needed an engine or a transmission! All the claims were for various and sundry so-called "minor" repairs: relays, switches, electrical motors, A/C compressors, various CPU control units, etc. At 68K miles the 740iL blew some vacuum plate thing that I never heard of, and it was $1200 for the part and $800 labor. The most extensive repair I ever had was on a '97 328i, at 96,000 miles the head gasket blew and the timing belt pulley came off at almost the same moment, to the tune of $4500. The warranty had cost me $1850, and at that point it had already paid me back just over $2000 on minor stuff. Our older Volvos, both 850/S60 models from the mid-90s, went through 4 A/C compressors @ $1000 a pop, and one of them needed the in-dash control unit which was $800 plus $130 labor. So far, in the first month of my 6-year warranty on the 997 it has already paid me $900 back of the $4500 cost.

So again, I don't dispute that in the aggregate warranty companies make money the majority of the time. But if nobody got their money's worth out of extended warranties, nobody would buy them, and the companies would be out of business. I can only assume that's why they continue to sell them for cars like BMW and Porsche. Cars that sell in relatively small numbers (compared to Hondas and Nissans for example), so their total dollar payouts are minimal even though for each vehicle the payout is well above the cost of the warranty, and with owners typically in positions of influence who can spread the word that buying the warranty is a good idea.

I would have to agree with you and others that in general, buying an extended warranty is not wise...Unless you happen to own a European luxury/sports car

Vancouver-BC

Targa Tim,

I'm in Vancouver and just picked up a 2007 911 with 5 months of factory warranty and am considering going with an extended warranty. Which dealer did you go through to get your Easycare warranty.

Thanks, Michael

Vancouver-BC

Targa Tim,

I'm in Vancouver and just picked up a 2007 911 with 5 months of factory warranty and am considering going with an extended warranty. Which dealer did you go through to get your Easycare warranty.

Thanks, Michael

Zeus993

Hey Michael - I'll pipe in here too. I'm in Vancouver and extended the warrenty on my C2S 2006 through MCL 5 months ago. I went for the $200 deductible x 3 years EasyCare but looking back wish I'd gone for 5. So far, 5 months into the warranty, I've used it once for a cracked flywheel. Not super major but not minor either. Required a tow, and dropping the transmission etc... I have come to appreciate that these are not perfect cars, despite their best efforts in Germany. You do have to take it to a recongized shop like MCL in Vancouer and they do most of the paperwork for you - all except the rental car.
Joel

Targa Tim

Yes, at MCL.