that old warranty chestnut again

Well OPC didn't contact me to renew the warranty in December and i decided it was fate and i would go it alone - BUT - i had obtained a quote from Warranty Wise and this month they have written to me asking if i would consider taking it with three free additions and an extra months cover free. The cost for the warranty with them is £820 for thirteen months or £1460 for twenty-five, covering all electrical and mechanical parts, failure due to wear and tear with additions of air con system, catalytic converter, and multimedia system. I've questioned would i be covered if the engine blew up and yes i would to the value of the car. Also covered labour rate up to £85 ph. I've had a chat with our local indie and his advice was that there is an inherent problem with the 996 engine and though you may be lucky if you aren't then you could be looking at 10k for a new engine. So once again i'm back thinking should i save the money or look for peace of mind with the warranty? I know its a gamble but for the cost i think i may just be giving Warranty Wise some business after all its almost two years cover for the price of one year OPC cover? What do you reckon chaps, be brave and go it alone, or wimp out and pay the money?

Difficult to know what to say really, as it is such an individual choice. I haven't had a warranty in about 9 years of Porsche ownership, so have "saved" several thousands of pounds. If a failure had occurred, or the prospect had worried me, I would probably think differently. These days there are some much more cost-effective solutions than fitting a new engine. Hartech, for example, have some very innovative repair solutions, and that is the route I would take. Have a word with them about their Lifetime Maintenance Plan before going with Warranty Wise. I know people from much further away than you who have it. Personally, I will continue to self-insure, but I understand the reasons for wanting peace of mind.

Having had bad past experiences of 3rd party insurance based products, and having also had the OPC warranty in the past (when it was £900), I'd second what Richard said. i.e. Take a look at a maintenance plan (such as Hartech's highly recommended one), rather than an insurance based system, or put the "saved" money into a pot for an (oil) rainy day. If you go down the insurance based 3rd party policy, note that £85ph won't get you OPC rates and most insurance companies will try all the tricks in the book to get out of paying out. ("its wear and tear", "it was serviced 3 days late 5 years ago", "seals aren't covered", "its a consumable item", "it may be making an awful noise, but you didn't break down, so we won't fix it", "you drove it when it was making an awful noise, rather than fixing it, so its your fault it failed" etc. etc.) Not worth the paper they're written on in my experience.

Still not sure which way to jump. I suppose I've always had a warranty in the past for peace of mind but i do so little miles in the car it seems a lot of money on the 'offchance' the engine blows up. My last 996 was covered with opc warranty until i sold it and i never had a claim! The £85 covers the indie rates comfortably, and I have to say my hubbys car (subaru) has been covered via warranty wise since the manufacturer one ran out and he has had more than his moneys worth back with no quibble during his 75k miles. I am comfortable i could cover most problems without a warranty - unless the worst happens with the engine and it may be worthwhile investigating Hartech - the distance did put me off that one. I guess part of the worry is the car has had two previous owners and i don't know how it was treated during that time? I'm not usually an indecisive person but you would never believe that from this thread! i really can't make my mind up!

Drop the warranty and spend the money on making your car always beeing in tip-top shape, have it serviced annually regardless of milage, change wear and tear items before they've reached the end of their service life etc. Best insurance in the world. ;-) If you worry about the engine the only thing you can do is to open it up and look inside, if not just treat it well and drive with a smile, that's what I do. [ ]

I don't think there are specific 'inherent problems' with the engine; it is well established and pretty well developed. Bear in mind though that this is a complex high performance engine and there are a number of things that can go wrong if not looked after. As a high performance car, a lot of drivers push them hard, and not a small number do track days which may well skew the apparent reliability stats. Compared to similar cars- Ferrari, Mazerati, even high spec Jaguars, the Porsche is still a very reliable car. Warranties- avoid the insurance based ones. Like all insurance companies they will try and find a way of wriggling out of their liability!

LOL... which planet have you spent the last 5 years on?!!! There _are_ known problems with the watercooled 996/997 and boxster engines (turbo & GT3 blocks excluded)... RMS, Intermediate shaf, cylinder ovalling / cracking and and piston seizing. See http://www.hartech.org/docs/buyers%20guide%20web%20format%20Jan%202008%20part%204.pdf or about every 10th posting on pistonheads... ETA: the occurence of these is still fairly low (best estimates seem to be <5% for 996's to date), but because of these issues, Julie is correct in pondering the best way to minimise the risk. BTW: Good to hear that WW have paid out on your Subaru... its a shame that most forums only publish the horror stories and no one writes to say "I had a problem and the fixed it without hassle"

A warranty definitely provides peace of mind, even though the failure rate is relatively small (given the best estimates) and there may be an element of 'goodwill' on OPC supplied and maintained cars. But, personally, I'd rather pay the extra and have the full official Porsche warranty. IME it's very thorough and quibble free.

True, it is very thorough, but depending on how you intend to maintain your car, the downside is the "extra"could be very large.... with the OPC warranty you or an indi can't do any maintenance on the vehicle, you have to have all porsche approved parts (down to battery etc.) and can't have any 3rd party add-ons, including paintshield, iPod connectors etc. Plus every time the OPC says it needs new discs and pads you have to jump.

HeHe- all high performance cars have some issues, and I'm not denying that the porkers are any different. However, you will always see the reports/complaints from those who have issues, and few from the greater majority who don't. Good maintenance and some 'car sympathy' are the best ways to avoid trouble, with some long pockets if you are unlucky! I'll have to admit my 2004 996 has given a few more problems than my previous 2005 997 Boxster, which I had for 5 years and it never missed a beat.

If you have a 996 - get the warranty - see my posts about my IMS failure.

Had the main dealer warranty for my first 3 years of ownership, it may be pricey but I can't fault the service. They fixed almost everything that went wrong without quibble, the car is past it's ninth birthday now so had to make a big decision. Opted for a third party, haven't needed to use it yet so won't comment but fingers crossed, they did give me discount on the basis that I'd had the Porsche warranty. Main dealer warranty was an easy option for me initially, the car was covered when I bought it and was original. As for discs and pads, when it was needed, I managed to get them to within 10% of an indy for OEM parts which I thought was good going. If I have to 'try' to use the new warranty I will give feedback on how I get on.

Well having spoken to Hartech, agreed it was better to wait until the car was nearer its major service before going down that road with them, They were very helpful though in the conversation. Given that my husband has had such good responses from the warranty company whenever he has had a problem (and believe me there have been a few, including replacing the whole clutch when the bell housing collapsed) i think i have decided to plump for that so that at least there is some cover there -just in case! With the OPC warranty i would have even had to have my tracker replaced as it wasn't an official part to qualify even though it was on the car when i bought it from an OPC, as it is past the renewal date of 25th December. I really couldn't justify going down the OPC route. So i hope i don't have to report back on the service from the third party company but at least i will sleep more soundly! Thanks for all the comments and opinions Julie

The main issues with any warranty are the exclusions. For porsche they wont cover the car unless its subject to a 110 point check and has all porsche stamped parts fitted. Even OEM supplied items are not acceptable it has to have the porsche logo assuring its a porsche supplied part. In the event of engine issues the first thing porsche do is check the over revs in the ECU. Any over revs that are in the last year in higher ranges automatically raise siuspicion of driver misuse and then you are on to a case of argueing with Porsche. For the warranty companies they will often require you make full payment initially and then claim back your expenses, great if you have a high credit limit on your card and can time the repair so you get the payout before the interest is due. Its also worth noting that the warranty companies will often exclude repairs if its considered to be an existing fault or if the part has failed due to old age. With PASM dampers costing over 300 pounds each and 3-4 hours to fit worn suspesnion parts can soon add up. The hartech policy is similar money to other warranties and unfortunately only covers labour , though on the flipside it does include servicing costs so the figures balance out to some extent. If the IMS shaft / bearing failure is your main concern , you can get this replaced in situ for around 1200 pounds with an uprated item less prone to fail. I've had both hte porsche and independant warranties , both let me down on items I thought should have been covered.