What's a CPO really worth to you?

I'm looking to buy an 02-03 996 C4s or TT with between 15 and 30K miles. For argument's sake, let's say if I shop around I can get a car for $65K from a dealer CPO'd, or a similar car without warranty from a private seller for maybe $3-5K less. In my mind a CPO is probably worth that difference. However, in my state a buyer must pay sales tax on a used car from a dealer, but not from a private party sale. So that adds another $5K in tax (I'm not trading in a vehicle, so I have to pay on the full amount) if I buy from a dealer. This means that to buy a CPO'd car, I'm looking at paying somewhere between $8-10K extra for this warranty. Is a CPO worth this much in your opinion, or should I forget about dealer cars and just put my trust in a good PPI? Also, would your answer be different depending upon whether I go with a C4s or a TT? What's a CPO really worth?

In either scenario, wouldn't care for a CPOed car as I would look for a reputable aftermarket warranty company that'll be around $3-4K as you've stated that'll have longer coverage at least time interval wise. Who the heck drives 100K miles in 2 years? In your scenario since you guys don't pay tax on a private, there's no way in heck I'd be spending more time at dealer lots than looking for a private party transaction. I hated paying $5K sales tax on my ride as that would've covered most of my 19" wheel/tire purchase, but a part of life oh well. Get a PPI done regardless as the CPOed cars are nothing special - you still need to cover your bases Get some sort of warranty coverage (peace of mind I can tell is what you want) I'd get a warranty on either the C4S or TT - both feature pricey parts/labor Bottom-line, CPO is worth $3-4K and nothing to me. I wouldn't require the car to be CPO (null value), but I would require that I have warranty coverage as insurance ($3-4K).

I might consider an aftermarket warranty, but I have heard nothing good about them from friends who have bought them in the past. If you can find a company that doesn't go bankrupt or change names in two years, they often just refuse to pay if you need a major repair. They figure (rightly so) that it won't be worth your time and legal fees to fight them with no certainty of resolution. They usually just end up refunding your warranty payment if you threaten them enough, and you're stuck paying the rest of the repair bill. To me, the real reason for a warranty is insurance against major problems (i.e. engine fries and you have $30K repair bill), as the smaller stuff probably wouldn't cost much more than the warranty if you can find a good independent shop. I suspect that any major claim is going to be contested by an aftermarket insurance company, because no one wants to pay out a major claim. I'd welcome any personal experience to the contrary from members here. I've also heard it's very difficult to get an aftermarket warranty on a TT, but don't know from experience. Considering the fact that a TT engine costs over double to replace than a regular 996, I can understand why.

and don't forget a CPO is transferrable in a private seller to private seller transaction - so don't think you can only get this from a dealer.

I've heard as many positives as negatives about aftermarket warranties... do your research just like anything else.

+1... Look for private sale that has previously been CPO'd.

It was worth sleep at night after hearing the stories on this board about a car brand I've never owned before.

I am about to hit the end of a CPO warranty - I definitely paid a premium to buy CPO from a dealer. I would not do CPO from the dealer again. I've had zero warranty claims and the car still feels amazing (knock on wood). If I knew then what I know now, I would have either bought a private party CPO or a privately owned, low mileage car where I could personally meet the previous owner. I would NOT buy a non warranty car from any dealer.

Roger that. So here's a related question. I have heard of doing "pass throughs" to get a car CPO'd at a dealership, but that doesn't solve my tax bill issue as I would have to "buy" the car from the dealer right? However, if I buy a car that is still under the initial factory warranty, can I extend the warranty through Porsche NA before it expires? What if I am buying from someone other than the original owner of the car?

CPO is insurance, and like any insurance it trades a fixed amount of 'now' money for a variable amount of 'could happen later' money. So, as with any insurance, you have to ask yourself this: If something goes wrong later, can I afford it? If the answer is no, then CPO is worth every penny. If the answer is yes, it's a complete waste of money.

Dandridge, Even though we've had an at-length discussion privately, I'm gonna throw my thoughts up here, as well - and I encourage more feedback from others.. If you are buying a $30k 911 from 1999, your initial investment/risk is way lower, besides, you probably can't get a warranty...so..oh well. BUT, if you decide on a $65 to $75k 911Turbo, you NEEEEEED to get some sort of warranty, CPO/aftermarket or otherwise. There is just tooo much that can fail with these cars, especially for the 1st year, when you don't know the car at all, these expenses COULD end up costing you in the $10's of thousands. Now, once you've owned the car for 2 years+, you know the car, and have cared for, and continue to care for it, it is way less likely that you will have to worry about major expenses, quite as much. I would love to see others advice, on this matter.... Good luck my friend, Gant

The CPO certainly provides plenty of peace of mind. You know you can go to any Porsche dealer and not face a hassle in getting repairs done. Just show up, make sure what is wrong is coverered and it is taken care of. I was told the cost to a dealer to certify a car is only about a $1000. So depending on how greedy the dealer is you might be able to negotiate. I am close to finishing out my CPO warranty soon and figure it has only saved me about a $1000 over the last two years. What it has done is provide convenience. The few times it has gone in for service there is no problem getting a loaner from the dealership. Since I live far away from the nearest dealer that is a big convenience. What state are you in that you only pay from a dealer, not private party? Here in NJ, they won't give you your registration until you pay the tax.

I will be registering the car in Georgia, no tax here on private party sales. My other cars are registered in Virginia, where tax does apply.

So to beat a dead horse.... Is there a way to extend the factory warranty through Porsche NA if you are a second or third owner of the vehicle, so long as the original warranty has not yet expired?

Nope

That figures. I'd bet the only reason it's not possible is so that the dealers can continue to maintain their hefty premiums on CPO'd cars at resale. Why else would an owner under warranty not be allowed to take the car to a dealer, have it inspected to ensure its condition, and then pay for an extended (like a CPO) warranty?

same goes for BMW. except their CPO coverage is much longer which then to me makes the CPO status much more complelling than the weak 2 yrs u get with the 911.

I will add my .02 worth. I just bought a 2003 Carrera 4S with 14,000 miles. The original Porsche warranty is set to run out in July. I contacted Warranty Direct & secured a "bumper to bumper warranty with 4 year/60,000 miles. They also carry a "major item" warranty that covers most big ticket items. The cost was $3300 & $1700 respectively. I definitely will purchase one since these are complex pieces of machinery. In addition, I contacted the local Porsche dealership (Vin Devers) & was told by the sales manager that to CPO a car runs approximately $2200 dealer cost plus I'm sure they are marking this up. He also said a car can only be CPO'd if it was sold by that dealership which contradicts what I have heard elsewhere. Good luck.

I paid $2500 extra to get my car CPO'd by the dealer, and it's a stone bargain compared to the cost of, say, an engine replacement. And as others have noted, many aftermarket warranty companies are scams and/or mismanaged into bankruptcy. Now whether it's worth (in the original poster's example) $8-10K, only he can answer...but I wouldn't be without it.

I purchased a 2003 C2 two weeks ago from a dealer without an extended warranty. Sorry BlackCab996. The reason I did this is because I was suspicious of the warranty company they used. However, I planned on getting a third-party extendedwarranty. This hasn't happened yet, as I live in California and it is more difficult here (few legitimate companies to choose from). The extended warranty business seems very slippery, in that ethics seem a distant thought to some of them. However, there are some good companies out there that pay claims and have positive track-records. Look elsewhere on this site and you will see that several have made great comments aboiut WarrantyDirect. I haven't gone to them yet, as they are still working on some CA requirements. I was considering two other EW brokerages that worked with companies that offered exclusionary contracts (the best way to go in my mind), but they didn't work with CA addresses. They offered a work-around by saying I lived in another state and then moved to CA, but I was too suspicious of this and declined. Also, most good EW plans are completely transferable. The idea of going through a EW brokerage was to have a larger company that would fight for me in the event a claim was contested. Also, the financial backing of the EW company is critical. The two I was considering were backed by Mercury Insurance and another large insurance company, meaning that the likelyhood of a known and large insurance company going out of business was very slim. CA is great that there are tougher regulations and licensing reuired, but because of that there are very few companies willing to jump through the proper hoops to be able to sell their products here. My credit union has a plan also that would be good, but I want comparitive options, as there is huge markup and using one to lower the price of the other is always good. The companies I was considering but don't work in CA yet are: http://www.warranties4wheels.com/ http://www.autowarrantybroker.com/ http://www.warrantydirect.com/ If anyone has other recommendations in CA, please let me know. Sorry for the rambling, disjointed posting, but thought some might find this information helpful