I am in the market for a used Cayenne (04-06ish), and have determined it is a still a good car to get, as long as you get the coolant pipes replaced and get an extended warranty. But the question is, which warranty? And how much will it cost?

So far, the pricing seems pretty good compared to experiences I have had with CPOs on BMWs in the past.

The dealer I am working with is offering the following warranties from a company called "Preferred" for a 2004 Cayenne S with 69k miles:

Brochure: http://www.warrantys.com/Downloads/B...h_AllPlans.pdf

Plus
60mo/75kmi $3395
48mo/60kmi $3195
36mo/45kmi $2870

Base
60mo/75kmi $2870
48mo/60kmi $2695
36mo/45kmi $2290

Powertrain
60mo/75kmi $2595
48mo/60kmi $2450
36mo/Unlimi $2315


Does this seem like a good deal for the issues Cayenne's typically have? Is there a sticky or spreadsheet of info on warranties somewhere on this site? Is there one that is most popular, or generally preferred by Porsche owners?

I am also new to Cayennes and those prices actually look pretty good compared to what I was expecting. It looks like the Plus plan, and maybe even the Base plan, would cover the driveshaft issue Cayennes have. I can't tell which one, if any, would cover the coolant pipe repair though.

The dealership says the coolant pipes aren't covered because the warranty companies consider them to be hoses, which are normal wear and tear items, like tires, which aren't covered under the warranty. So the pipes or the damage caused by them are not covered by any extended warranty.

I agree - I think the 3 year base or plus for 2870 is probably what I would go with. At 69k miles, I can't see keeping it over 100k miles. I will be ready to trade in for a Turbo. Hopefully it's worth a trade in value with the pipes replaced...

Better make sure the warranty company is good. Most of these aftermarket warranty company will promise the world but when claims are filed they will come up with any excuse to deny you. Such as detail maintenance log requiring work done by Porsche dealer only, since the car is new, before approving a claim. In my opinion only Porsche CPO is useful.

i agree - with those model years i would go Porsche CPO.

So why are you bothering with a warranty that costs $3,000? The driveshaft can be done by a good independent mechanic for about an hours labor, and a rebuilt driveshaft from Vertex for $400. Total - maybe $500?

The coolant pipes and the damage they can cause are the big money item that fails on the early Cayennes - if you preemptively replace them, having an independent do it - and you buy the parts - cost will be from $1,000-1,800. Since the failure won't be covered by the warranty, you're going to spend this money anyway.. and if you wait for them to actually fail, you're looking at lots more money that won't be covered by the warranty when the starter and transmission seal fail.

If you could get a Porsche CPO car - then it's worth some money. But even then - do you want to hope the pipes fail during the CPO period somewhere that's convenient to get them replaced or are you going to avoid the hassle and get it done before they fail?

Aftermarket warranty companies are making a bet with you. YOU are betting the car is a POS and it will cost more then the cost of the warranty to fix it while it's still under warranty. The insurance company is betting that they can get through the contract period without paying you more money for repairs then would exceed what they actually make off the warranty.

Since more then half the money you pay for a warranty is profit to the dealer (100% markup is common for this sort of thing) plus the insurance company is paying for employees, administration, claims adjusters, etc. - very little money is actually earmarked for repairs.

A company that bets wrong too many times goes out of business. The successful ones often won't write Cayennes because they KNOW the service problems that arise - they keep databases of this sort of stuff.

To me - it's a bad bet for the consumer usually. It's a case of the house knowing what all the cards are, and using fear to sell you a product.

If you bank the money and allocate some amount of it for repairs, chances are good that you'll get through what would have been the extended warranty period without emptying the bank.

That said - a CPO warranty is a somewhat different story. It's not just insurance - it's a marketing tool for the used car department at Porsche.

CPO makes buying one from a Porsche dealer more attractive then from Joe's Used Cars - even if you pay more for the car. Dealers typically ask $3-4,000 more for a CPO car then Joe is going to ask for an unwarrantied car on his streetcorner lot, and justify it with the CPO warranty.

Porsche probably does lose money directly on the CPO warranty, but they make it up in bumping residual values (which means leases are cheaper and they move more product out the door, which keeps demand high and new car prices high and inventory low - all make them money) plus it keeps the dealers happy.

When looking at warranty plans - look very carefully. Most are inclusionary - they only warranty exactly what they say they warranty (an example was one I had on a BMW - it covered "power window regulators" - but it wouldn't cover a power window motor if the motor was bolted to the regulator. It only covered it if it was riveted to the regulator..) That's how they get out of the cooling pipes. Other warranties are exclusionary - they supposedly cover everything except what they say they won't, but as was pointed out - the coolant pipes are "hoses" to them, so - no coverage in either case.

I do have an extended warranty on my 2 wheeled BMW. It was cheap since the bike is notably reliable. I bought it knowing all the above and that I was probably going to lose on it - with the hope I'd never have to collect from it. So far I haven't.. It was cheap enough to be a good-luck talisman for me. $3,000 warranties are a bit rich for good luck IMHO.

YMMV..

Right, I agree -- it is a good argument that the extended warranty is probably not cost effective on these cars if the main repair is not going to be covered.

In the case of this car, it is especially true because the water pump and drive shaft have already been replaced, so the other most common repairs have already been addressed. It will just cost me $1800 to have the pipes replaced.