age old question: warranty or not a warranty
Discussion
As a new "virgin" owner I am after some common sense tips and responses from experienced owners regarding warranties.
I have just bought a 1998 996 C4 with 43K on the clock. It has 4 OPC (Lancasters) service stamps and 2 specialist (Charles Ivey, London). Do I/Can I obtain an OPC warranty, is it worth it, how comprehensive is the cover, what are the limitations etc etc.
This is probably a recurring topic but if you dont ask, you just dont know! Everyone has their own opinions but a straw pole will help me.
I have just bought a 1998 996 C4 with 43K on the clock. It has 4 OPC (Lancasters) service stamps and 2 specialist (Charles Ivey, London). Do I/Can I obtain an OPC warranty, is it worth it, how comprehensive is the cover, what are the limitations etc etc.
This is probably a recurring topic but if you dont ask, you just dont know! Everyone has their own opinions but a straw pole will help me.
Pop down the OPC and you can get a policy booklet that tells you everything that is covered. And just as importantly everything that isn't.
I've just bought a 1997R 36K mile 911 C4S (993). For peace of mind I had the 111pt inspection at a local Porsche centre. Needed absolutely nothing fixing to instate a purchased warranty. Cost was £725 and runs for 12 months. They didn't charge me for the inspection as I then rolled the car straight into a service as I knew I'd be going for it as it got the all-clear. This is my first Porsche and while I'm mechanically minded it allowed me to have a little peace of mind about worst-case scenarios of pistons exiting blocks etc...I'll see how I get on with the local OPCs but thus far they've been good to deal with.
It's actually fairly cheap comparatively - a purchased warranty from Audi for instance is £1138.
Yes you can purchase a warranty - the independent services don't affect this. You can renew until your car is nine years old (annoyingly recently changed from fifteen) and renew up to eight weeks from the end of the present warranty cover.
Against the cost of the car, it was a no-brainer for me especially as I got the price down enough to cover it and the full service.
I say if it's going to help you sleep a little, why not...;-)
>> Edited by sundiver on Monday 3rd October 20:33
I've just bought a 1997R 36K mile 911 C4S (993). For peace of mind I had the 111pt inspection at a local Porsche centre. Needed absolutely nothing fixing to instate a purchased warranty. Cost was £725 and runs for 12 months. They didn't charge me for the inspection as I then rolled the car straight into a service as I knew I'd be going for it as it got the all-clear. This is my first Porsche and while I'm mechanically minded it allowed me to have a little peace of mind about worst-case scenarios of pistons exiting blocks etc...I'll see how I get on with the local OPCs but thus far they've been good to deal with.
It's actually fairly cheap comparatively - a purchased warranty from Audi for instance is £1138.
Yes you can purchase a warranty - the independent services don't affect this. You can renew until your car is nine years old (annoyingly recently changed from fifteen) and renew up to eight weeks from the end of the present warranty cover.
Against the cost of the car, it was a no-brainer for me especially as I got the price down enough to cover it and the full service.
I say if it's going to help you sleep a little, why not...;-)
>> Edited by sundiver on Monday 3rd October 20:33
BTW, one thing I did notice. The Porsche warranty booklet opens with the line "Over 70% of Porsches are still on the road". Given that they've just reduced the maximum age restriction from fifteen down to nine years I'd like to know what proportion of Porsches are over nine years old? Perhaps a reworking on the opening line should read "Over 70% of Porsches are still on the road but only X% of Porsches are eligible for Porsche warranty cover"...;-)
Sure it's all about risk and liability and I'm sure they're worked out what's cost-effective but that line's sentiment is at odds with their reluctance to offer cover for those very same cars.
Forgot to say that the other restriction on obtaining a warranty is that mileage must be less than 125000 - not an issue in your case.
Sure it's all about risk and liability and I'm sure they're worked out what's cost-effective but that line's sentiment is at odds with their reluctance to offer cover for those very same cars.
Forgot to say that the other restriction on obtaining a warranty is that mileage must be less than 125000 - not an issue in your case.
See my profile.
BUY. A. PORSCHE. WARRANTY.
This is a £65k car, and a new engine is £7k + VAT + fitting.
£15 a week is PEANUTS for peace of mind. I have had three minor problems with my 996. All sorted free of charge without a COUGH from Porsche East London.
Anyone who runs one of these cars without a Porsche warranty has bigger balls than I will ever have.
Buy the warranty. Drive it like you love it, and RELAX when you hit the loud pedal.
As I always say, peace of mind is PRICELESS.
>> Edited by Vesuvius996 on Monday 3rd October 22:25
>> Edited by Vesuvius996 on Monday 3rd October 22:26
BUY. A. PORSCHE. WARRANTY.
This is a £65k car, and a new engine is £7k + VAT + fitting.
£15 a week is PEANUTS for peace of mind. I have had three minor problems with my 996. All sorted free of charge without a COUGH from Porsche East London.
Anyone who runs one of these cars without a Porsche warranty has bigger balls than I will ever have.
Buy the warranty. Drive it like you love it, and RELAX when you hit the loud pedal.
As I always say, peace of mind is PRICELESS.
>> Edited by Vesuvius996 on Monday 3rd October 22:25
>> Edited by Vesuvius996 on Monday 3rd October 22:26
Sundiver, which OPC did you use, out of interest?
I'm getting towards needing the 48k service on my 996, but was also thinking of taking Vesuvius's advice and covering with an official warranty. If I can combine a 48k service with one of their check-overs, and then add the warranty, I may be able to save some dosh...
Cheers
S
I'm getting towards needing the 48k service on my 996, but was also thinking of taking Vesuvius's advice and covering with an official warranty. If I can combine a 48k service with one of their check-overs, and then add the warranty, I may be able to save some dosh...
Cheers
S
Thank you all for your comments - a warranty it is then - my balls arent big enough (nor my bank account) not to worry.
Sorry for boring you all, but can i just take a warranty out by coughing up £700 or do they need to undertake an inspection first. Next service isn't due until Jan 06 and i wont reach the mileage beforehand - as I said the last service was by an independant (Charles Ivey).
Sorry for boring you all, but can i just take a warranty out by coughing up £700 or do they need to undertake an inspection first. Next service isn't due until Jan 06 and i wont reach the mileage beforehand - as I said the last service was by an independant (Charles Ivey).
*dons flame proof trousers*
They do an inspection which costs about £200 IIRC - they also insist on sorting any issues they find - sort of like a dentist before they will give you dental insurance. This is essentially the process they go through before selling a car as an Approved Used Porsche, and I guess it's fair enough.
Once the inspection is passed and any remedial work done, the warranty is £725 per year, and you can renew up to 9 years old or 125,000 miles so long as the car is service in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. And despite what people will tell you, OPC servicing is NOT that much of a rip off and only has a small uplift on specialist prices, and like it or not, a full set of stamps and bills from OPCs will mean you make the money back at resale. Just get to know your service manager and be polite to them (many poeple go in there an behave like t0ssers!!) and they will look after you - I even have a beer with mine sometimes!!
This is a big investment, of course, and one of the reasons why I paid probably £2.5k over the odds for my car from OPC rather than an equivalent (but IMHO a much higher risk car) from a specialist.
BUT the three (minor!) problems I have had, all sorted under warranty (with NO ARGUMENT!) in the last nine months (including the new revised and effective fix for the RMS seal at 39k miles at 10 hours labour at £120 per hour.......!)would have come to more than £3k to sort, then you will see why I am more than happy I bought my car from OPC and spent the money up front - I can now rely on the warranty until 2010
for £15 a week, which let's face it is a quarter of a tank of fuel or a half decent curry. Come resale time, I can also sell a six or seven or even eight year old 996 with an OPC Porsche warranty - that's got to be worth a BIG uplift on an ordinary private sale when a new engine is £7k and new gearbox is £8k.
Seems to me that good 996s with a full set of stamps and bills and a Porsche warranty (RARE!!!!) are going to hold their value amazingly well, and ones which have dropped out of the OPC network with no warranty are going to become a fecking financial liability. I know which sort of car I want, and I have to accept that some upfront investment is required to put myself in that position.
At the end of the day, you pays your money and you takees your choice, but I would NO WAY run my 996 without the peace of mind of an OPC Warranty. I am fairly confident I will get most of the extra money back, and peace of mind is worth a million bucks.
Just my 2p.
>> Edited by Vesuvius996 on Tuesday 4th October 20:26
>> Edited by Vesuvius996 on Tuesday 4th October 20:30
I'm planning to do my 111 point check thingy next week (wot a birthday treat that will be), and am just trying to work through the maths myself to try and get the best possible deal.
so, I'm getting the warranty, as 'Soovy says, that is indeed a no brainer, BUT I'm thinking might it be worth my while getting my local Indy to do a 111 point check first and rectify any work? if i can do that, is there a transcript of the 111 points they check somewhere? my concern is that Porsche find some niggling things wrong and then i have to have them rectified at Porsche part prices and dealership rates. I'm confident in the car, but i cant quite figure out which of these routes is the best plan financially. either way, including if they find nothing wrong, i assume I'm going to have to pay the 180 +vat for the check? (the check was only carried out in march of this year and all problems were rectified then, so again I'm confident)
whaddya think gang?
so, I'm getting the warranty, as 'Soovy says, that is indeed a no brainer, BUT I'm thinking might it be worth my while getting my local Indy to do a 111 point check first and rectify any work? if i can do that, is there a transcript of the 111 points they check somewhere? my concern is that Porsche find some niggling things wrong and then i have to have them rectified at Porsche part prices and dealership rates. I'm confident in the car, but i cant quite figure out which of these routes is the best plan financially. either way, including if they find nothing wrong, i assume I'm going to have to pay the 180 +vat for the check? (the check was only carried out in march of this year and all problems were rectified then, so again I'm confident)
whaddya think gang?
Hmmmm.....
You're gambling on the cost of the 111 point plan... How do we know what's wrong with your car????
When I asked for a warranty they said "Certainly sir, let's just check over the car, pop back later"
Popped back and "Sir has a lvely example - nowt wrong at all - Thats a shade over a grand please"
Gasp!!! I was expecting a bill for over £700 but didn't realise I would be charged £250 quid for the pleasure.... Bit of an easy earner that one IMO.
Also they insisted that under the terms of the warranty they were willing to offer all servicing (repairs not mentioned) must be carried out by an OPC. I specifically questioned this aspect and they said in the past they would not mind servicing 'by others' but now took the view that unless they had control over the standards of servicing then they were no longer willing to offer a warranty. The guy said he had no problems with the reputation of some of the quality indies but as the quality varied then it had to be one rule for all....
You're gambling on the cost of the 111 point plan... How do we know what's wrong with your car????
When I asked for a warranty they said "Certainly sir, let's just check over the car, pop back later"
Popped back and "Sir has a lvely example - nowt wrong at all - Thats a shade over a grand please"
Gasp!!! I was expecting a bill for over £700 but didn't realise I would be charged £250 quid for the pleasure.... Bit of an easy earner that one IMO.
Also they insisted that under the terms of the warranty they were willing to offer all servicing (repairs not mentioned) must be carried out by an OPC. I specifically questioned this aspect and they said in the past they would not mind servicing 'by others' but now took the view that unless they had control over the standards of servicing then they were no longer willing to offer a warranty. The guy said he had no problems with the reputation of some of the quality indies but as the quality varied then it had to be one rule for all....
Vesuvius996 said:
BUT the three (minor!) problems I have had, all sorted under warranty (with NO ARGUMENT!) in the last nine months (including the new revised and effective fix for the RMS seal at 39k miles at 10 hours labour at £120 per hour.......!)would have come to more than £3k to sort
Each to their own on whether to self insure or not. But I would be furious with OPC for selling me a car at a premium price which has subsequently had three failures costing an average of £1000 each in first 9 months of ownership!
gfreeman said:
Hmmmm.....
You're gambling on the cost of the 111 point plan... How do we know what's wrong with your car????
nope im not gambling at all, im just thinking that if i can get it inspected first and any remedial repairs done at better labour rates id be better off than having porsche say 'ooo we found a couple of dirty patches on the floor mats, youll have to have a new set before well warranty you. and a new chasis just in case the floor mats get dirty again'. you see my point im sure
A quick question...if you did not buy the warranty and the rms went for instance. If porsche fixed this for whatever it costs....how long is it then warranteed for? Surely if it goes again 9 months later then it was a defective part etc?
Is it a year or 2 years for a repair such as the rms?
Is it a year or 2 years for a repair such as the rms?
You are going to be paying for a second check (carried out beforehand) at a cost of what...£150?
How many hours work does the £150 equate to, when you deduct the Indie's labour rate from the OPC labour rate?
If you are confident, I wouldn't bother. Its got to be about 4-5 hours work before you break even.
How many hours work does the £150 equate to, when you deduct the Indie's labour rate from the OPC labour rate?
If you are confident, I wouldn't bother. Its got to be about 4-5 hours work before you break even.
Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff