Vehicle protection plan advice needed

I recently purchased an extended warranty plan through Carchex/American Auto Shield on my 2007 Cayman S . My technician, who knows the M97 motor as well as anyone (personally knows and has worked on development projects with LN Engineering and Flat Six Innovations), highly recommends R&R on 3 components of my Cayman : ignition coil/spark plugs, water pump/thermostat, and coolant console. He says the water pump will eventually fail and cause catastrophic engine failure. It specifically states in my warranty plan...not covered by contract "any part that has not broken or failed, but for which a repair facility recommends or requires repair or replacement". I'm going to call them tomorrow and verify but it doesn't look promising. The total estimate came to $3300. The cost of the warranty plan was $4000. I'm able to cancel the contract within 30 days, which may be the best option. If, in fact, these recommended repairs are not covered, I see the following options: Cancel warranty and pay out of pocket for these and all repairs going forward. It may sound bad but the preventative maintenance steps outlined by my tech guru may be most cost effective way of minimizing big repair bills in the future. A second option would be to wait for the failure of these parts, with probable catastrophic results, and have the insurance company cover it. Any input is appreciated.

Most likely the water pump will eventually fail. But so will the replacement. Without knowing if it is original, it might last another 40K miles, or die next week. My orginal WP started failing with 5,500 miles on the odometer. That was just a squeal at idle. Nothing catastrophic. I've now got over 60K miles on my 3rd WP (to be fair, #2 was fine when the engine went belly-up). So I bought a new one to have if necessary. None of the 3 items you listed are particularly hard to service. I think that $3300 is way too much for < $1000 in parts and maybe 6-8 hrs labor. BTW, I don't know what a "coolant console" is. Maybe the expansion tank in the engine compartment? Never heard of one being pre-preemptively replaced, and you'd get a low coolant warning before it got too bad.

I do not see any point in doing plugs and coils unless its been 4 years or 40k miles. Then Id only do coils if they show signs of failing. Only takes about 2 hours . Water pump failure should not be a catastrophic event. You have to be aware of what the car is doing. Stop driving right away if you smell coolant or see a drip. I am not against replacing water pumps as a maintenance item. Mine failed at around 80k miles. That was only a couple hours to replace. Three counting a lunch break, I think.

I realize I never addressed your main question about protection plans. I'd just get my $4K back and use it for needed repairs. Full disclosure - I never buy "protection plans". They aren't in business to loose money. Over my lifetime I've probably saved enough to buy my next Porsche.

I would be thinking of getting the money back on your warranty unless it makes you feel more secure, if you do not feel comfortable doing your own maintenance look for a good independent guy, a oil change at the dealer $350 and indy about $125, my car is 19 years old 40,000 with same water pump, about 2 years ago did coil packs, plugs PDK service, drive belt, oil, I think is was less than 1/2 of your estimate and that was with PDK pan replacment.

plain and simple. the 3rd party warranty will only cover failed components. if you're lucky, they'll cover non-failed components in relation to a failed component if there is a service bulletin that supports it. so if your tech is like "hey bruh, these motors are known to chew through water pumps, you ought to replace it". you can't come to your warranty company with that crap. On the other hand, if your water pump actually failed, and your competent tech can prove it, then your warranty company should have no problem covering it. now. another story is whether or not the company will pay what the tech or shop charges. so if carmax or whatever is willing to pay $50/hr and your tech charges $200, then your tech is no obliged to lower his rate to meet your warranty company. but that's between the three of y'all. i've been dealing with 3rd party warranties for a long time, lol. my 2 cents, 3rd party warranties are good to have. they really are. you just need to know what's up. not a lot of people can get them. if your engine blows up and it costs 10k, the company might cover it. and you'll be happy you paid the money for it. but it's insurance. you don't pay geico or whatever every month thinking about what you got out of them. you just pay it, knowing that if **** goes down, you are covered.

On the warranty thing, I bought my Cayman 5 years ago. Warranty was offered at $63/month for 5 years. I took the risk of passing on that. 5 years later the only failure that would have been covered was the water pump. I think I came out $3000 ahead on that. You have to decide on how much loss you can absorb if it all goes south. I gambled and won. The question is :

I would ditch the warranty and open a savings account and put a monthly fee into that instead. There is an excellent chance you'll never need to cash in on the warranty and it ends up being money wasted, especially when you discover that they don't cover that "particular component" no matter what the "agreement" says. I think they are bad news and way too expensive. You'll pay off your car a lot faster without one. If you decide to sock money away for that "future repair" and that future never arrives, then you are that much richer and wiser. Also I think your guru is predicting a lot ... water pumps are made to fail eventually and not take the entire engine with them. I'd look at perhaps a real indie shop that specializes in Porsches. If / when you decide to get a refund on that extended warranty be prepared for a long hassled wait as well. There's a good chance they will pro-rate what you have coming back in your refund. My opinion, good luck!

This has been discuss a number times. Why is it members can't do a search and research a subject for an answer. Oh I know that takes time; easy to just post a question and let everyone tell you the answer.

I see no problem with a new guy asking an old question. Maybe he will get some new answers. Its not like this forum is booming with new posts on any given day. Pretty much dead around here these days.

Guess I'm old and tried of answering the same stuff over and over. Still think just lazy.

Never purchased a car warranty plan over my 35 years of car ownership and looking back I have definitely saved money by not doing so despite paying out of pocket for an engine replacement and trans replacement (Honda Ody) plus the other common stuff on variety of vehicles (mostly European). Cars are generally pretty reliable these days. I also saw a stat about 6-9 months ago that reaffirms they are not good for the consumers by indicating that the profit margins on vehicle warranties are 85-90% (ie, your value is only 10-15% of your investment). It is a shame that you see these warranties being peddled the way they are. Just my $0.02.

Consumers Report always said not to buy warranties on anything. Sometimes hard to resist when it's an expensive car like a Porsche but I've found it best to buy one from a dealer if you are going to get one. This way you have someplace else to fall back on. The first new Porsche a bought; a 2000 BS, I fell there was no way I could own this car without an extended warranty so I purchased one online from highly rated firm. Well they went bankrupt before the new car warranty even expired. Only thing I could do was write it off as a bad debt on my taxes to reclaim some of the lost. $2000 for nothing.

I really appreciate all of the responses! Your honest, first-hand feedback is invaluable to me. I think I've decided to cancel the warranty plan, based mostly on your recommendations and partly on the knowledge and capabilities of my technician. He assured me that if I adhere to his maintenance schedule and rectify any problematic symptoms that the car is currently experiencing, I would enjoy the Cayman for years to come. That's my goal, guys...stress-free enjoyment of perhaps the best smile-per-mile, for-your-dollar car available.