Un-warrantied 996s

[windymiller]

Is it right for me to think an un-warrantied car is 'unloved'? The way I'm seeing it, if you care for your 996 and have an ounce of sense, you'll have it in either the OPC or the Hartech programme (or similar).

Should I be right to discount cars that have been run out of warranty? Obviously a month or two's ok though.

This buying lark's harder than I thought!

[wildoliver]

Well put it this way my old mans car hasn't had warranty since he bought it as I do all the work on it for him.

It gets leathered down if it has been caught in a freak shower before being put away, only gets used in nice weather if he can help it, does probably 6000 a year, 2-3000 of which is an annual holiday, gets serviced at 3000 mile point religiously.

So I'd say it depends on the circumstances, I would be more interested in service history/history file than warranty history.

[fidgits]

I wouldnt nessacerily say 'unloved' - the warranty is an inverse gamble, your laying out an investment to cover 'worst case'.

Very few cars I looked at when shopping had OPC extended warranties - though I admit, one having one was peace of mind, and I would've probably spent the grand on the 111 point check and warranty when buying a car without, which is the price differential between the cars in all honesty.

[Henry-F]

The warranty is just an insurance. Different people have varying levels of risk aversion. To some circa £1,000 a year is beter kept in the back pocket. Over 4 or 5 years that builds up to a healthy fighting fund should the worst happen.

The Hartech scheme is fairly unique and so few owners will be able to subscribe to similar schemes as they don`t exist (and Barry`s lot are based near Iceland I think )

Worry more about the actual car. We reject plenty of cars (a 2003 sub 30k mls car destined to be p/x`d at the main dealers only yesterday for example), but have never yet rejected a car because it wasn`t currently on an opc warranty scheme.

In fact there are very few occasions, if any, where we have rejected cars based on "incidental" reasons such as KayC`s number of owners query on an early `90s 964 or this question. It`s the car that you`re buying.

Henry

edited to call Barry by his correct name !

Edited by Henry-F on Thursday 15th March 12:34

[BliarOut]

Ever wonder why Porsche are so profitable? If they weren't making money on the extended warranty they wouldn't be selling them. IMO it's because Porsche owners tend to be less technically inclined and so opt for the warranty. The warranty says more about the owners attitude to financial risk than it does about the actual car.

[n1ckm]

Not necessarily ! I bought my 2001 996 C4 at the end of last year, it had no OPC Warranty but had only covered 15K miles and had a full OPC Service history. It was clear that it had been loved and was completely spotless, so I handed over my money and took my chances....

3 months later, the car sailed through the 111 point check and now has an OPC Warranty.

[kayc]

windymiller said:

Is it right for me to think an un-warrantied car is 'unloved'? The way I'm seeing it, if you care for your 996 and have an ounce of sense, you'll have it in either the OPC or the Hartech programme (or similar).

Should I be right to discount cars that have been run out of warranty? Obviously a month or two's ok though.

This buying lark's harder than I thought!

Of course not..my car is garaged everynight,used at weekends only in good weather,washed everytime it gets dirty,polished once a month and kept to detailers standard..oh and i dont let the wife get near it...i dont have a warranty because they arent needed if you treat your cars properly imo..in fact in a perverse way having a warranty on the car gives the owner the excuse to thrash the shit out of it knowing someone else picks up the bill.Paying for repairs yourself may encourage more sympathetic driving.

[luke1963]

Its all about risk at the end of the day,

I weighed up that risk and do as Henry has said, i keep the £1000 aside knowing that if i need any 'real' work then this will go towards it, and for the last year of ownership nothing has happened. It doesnt mean that I dont value my car as much as anyone else as its been serviced correctly and looked after.

that said, I may have been lucky during this last year of ownership?, that is what risk management is all about really, I should know Im an auditor!!!

[windymiller]

Thanks guys - some pretty sensible advice there! Suppose it;s just from reading all the scare stories (I know, pinch of salt an all that...) that have made me value having a warranty so much.

Oh, and coming from an Alfa background makes me always think the worst's right round the corner

[arwebs]

Henry-F said:

and Brian`s lot are based near Iceland I think

Is that the same Brian who has a brother called Barry?

[fidgits]

windymiller said:

Thanks guys - some pretty sensible advice there! Suppose it;s just from reading all the scare stories (I know, pinch of salt an all that...) that have made me value having a warranty so much.

Oh, and coming from an Alfa background makes me always think the worst's right round the corner

my advice is dont take it too much to heart otherwise you wont end up buying one - and then you'll forever regret it.

Just buy with your head and you'll be fine

[wanta996]

Henry - ""In fact there are very few occasions, if any, where we have rejected cars based on "incidental" reasons such as KayC`s number of owners query on an early `90s 964 or this question. It`s the car that you`re buying""

Interesting thoughts Henry as i would have thought a dealer no matter what condition a car was in would indeed knock back a seller offering you a car with previous 9 owners as i know i wouldnt even contemplate buying it, especially from a dealer?? On the subject of the 2003 car you knocked back - Was there any reason why as i am "only" looking at cars at at least a 2002 with low mileage and it wouldnt happen to be a Speed Yellow model in the classifieds as thats on my short list??

[kayc]

windymiller said:

Thanks guys - some pretty sensible advice there! Suppose it;s just from reading all the scare stories (I know, pinch of salt an all that...) that have made me value having a warranty so much.

Oh, and coming from an Alfa background makes me always think the worst's right round the corner

If its any comfort to you i have had 4 911's from 993c2s to a 996tt without one single problem...all bought privately and all serviced by opcs and looked after properly.

[DucatiGary]

wanta996 said:

Henry - ""In fact there are very few occasions, if any, where we have rejected cars based on "incidental" reasons such as KayC`s number of owners query on an early `90s 964 or this question. It`s the car that you`re buying""

Interesting thoughts Henry as i would have thought a dealer no matter what condition a car was in would indeed knock back a seller offering you a car with previous 9 owners as i know i wouldnt even contemplate buying it, especially from a dealer?? On the subject of the 2003 car you knocked back - Was there any reason why as i am "only" looking at cars at at least a 2002 with low mileage and it wouldnt happen to be a Speed Yellow model in the classifieds as thats on my short list??

hes just bigging himself up dude, its a round about sort of way of saying "we only sell good cars"

dont fall for his pitter patter, Mr F is all about the self promotion

as for the warranty, I was told I was unlucky with mine, very unlucky, I had claims on the warranty for over 6 grand in the first year, and had to spend 4 grand on other work, most of it to get it to OPC warranty std's before they would slap a warranty on it.

its not the be all and end all, most people dont have any claims but if your unlucky, like me, it helps.

[fidgits]

DucatiGary said:

as for the warranty, I was told I was unlucky with mine, very unlucky, I had claims on the warranty for over 6 grand in the first year, and had to spend 4 grand on other work, most of it to get it to OPC warranty std's before they would slap a warranty on it.

its not the be all and end all, most people dont have any claims but if your unlucky, like me, it helps.

Gary's the best advert for not buying a car based on a small number on the dash and shiney paintwork you can have...

[DucatiGary]

fidgits said:

DucatiGary said:

as for the warranty, I was told I was unlucky with mine, very unlucky, I had claims on the warranty for over 6 grand in the first year, and had to spend 4 grand on other work, most of it to get it to OPC warranty std's before they would slap a warranty on it.

its not the be all and end all, most people dont have any claims but if your unlucky, like me, it helps.

Gary's the best advert for not buying a car based on a small number on the dash and shiney paintwork you can have...

yes, the problems with mine where mainly due to it being cleaned and cuddled everyday rather than driven, it had covered a total of 1400 miles in the previous 18 months, and most of that was for a service at JZM which was a 300 mile round trip for the previous owner.

I have to admit, once it got over the initial shock of actually being used everyday it was fine, and I even took it on a 4000 mile trip around europe/the ring without it missing a single heartbeat whilst keeping nervs GT3 and sleep envys 993RS in sight.

[Henry-F]

wanta996 said:

HenryF said:

In fact there are very few occasions, if any, where we have rejected cars based on "incidental" reasons such as KayC`s number of owners query on an early `90s 964 or this question. It`s the car that you`re buying"

Interesting thoughts Henry as i would have thought a dealer no matter what condition a car was in would indeed knock back a seller offering you a car with previous 9 owners as i know i wouldnt even contemplate buying it, especially from a dealer?? On the subject of the 2003 car you knocked back - Was there any reason why as i am "only" looking at cars at at least a 2002 with low mileage and it wouldnt happen to be a Speed Yellow model in the classifieds as thats on my short list??

On a 964 it wouldn`t bother me one jot how many owners the car was showing, it`s 15 years old & there are all manner of reasons why numbers could be high. I think someone walking away from the car purely on the basis of recorded owners on the V5 might be passing on a potentially excellent car.

On a much younger car it is possible that someone might be put off by more recorded keepers (say a 2 year old 997 with 4/5 owners). Again it wouldn`t proclude us from buying the car, we`d look at the car as a whole. It does make me laugh when people come to look at a 10 year old car, moan at 4 or 5 owners then go on to say they only want the car for 6 months to a year!

Henry

Edited by Henry-F on Thursday 15th March 18:29

[bumcrack]

I'd quite happly run a newer 996 without any warranty, it's not a TVR after all.

Sorry TVR boys

[Henry-F]

DucatiGary said:

wanta996 said:

Henry - ""In fact there are very few occasions, if any, where we have rejected cars based on "incidental" reasons such as KayC`s number of owners query on an early `90s 964 or this question. It`s the car that you`re buying""

Interesting thoughts Henry as i would have thought a dealer no matter what condition a car was in would indeed knock back a seller offering you a car with previous 9 owners as i know i wouldnt even contemplate buying it, especially from a dealer?? On the subject of the 2003 car you knocked back - Was there any reason why as i am "only" looking at cars at at least a 2002 with low mileage and it wouldnt happen to be a Speed Yellow model in the classifieds as thats on my short list??

hes just bigging himself up dude, its a round about sort of way of saying "we only sell good cars"

dont fall for his pitter patter, Mr F is all about the self promotion

I really do worry about you Gary. I`d love to know what sort of a world you live in that makes you look up our accounts & be so aggresive towards my posting which is 100% on topic and relevant to the original post.

I`m really not sure you`re doing yourself any favours in behaving this way.

No the 2003 996 wasn`t a yellow car & I mentioned it as an example of when we might reject a car for mechanical reasons rather than number of owners / on speedo etc.

Henry

Edited by Henry-F on Thursday 15th March 13:25

[johnfm]

You could look at it the other way. Those WITHOUT warranties need to look after the car more so that things don't go wrong due to poor maintenance.