There may be some truth to that.

I've been told in some cases when a Boxster comes in with a very sick engine that in some cases (more on this 'some' business below) the owner will be asked to agree to an engine teardown that can approach $2K (maybe more) in cost. There is no guarantee of any goodwill of any kind.

I do not know if the cost of the teardown is applied to the cost to repair/fix the engine if there is no goodwill and if the owner decides to have the car fixed at the dealer.

Now I have talked to several service managers and they have told me there doesn't seem to be any pattern to which cars are goodwilled.

Another problem is obviously not many owners elect to well gamble $2K (or maybe more) just to be told the engine is toast and there is no goodwill and if you want the car running again cough up another $8K or more for a new engine and the labor to install it.

'secret warranties' are nothing new. Many automakers have them. The coverage applies to a very specific problem. The circumstances under which the coverage applies are carefully specified by the automaker.

Other conditions have to be met as well, and we can guess what they are: evidence of proper servicing; absence of mods; maybe no track time; etc.

The problem is one has to have a car that experiences the problem which is bad enough, then this person has to even be offered the chance his car will be covered by a secret warranty and with no guarantee his car will be covered in whole or even in part.

Just my WAG but I would have to believe the more times a car changes hands the less likely it will be covered by a secret warranty.

I remember in one case the owner was given some goodwill after his car's engine failed, but he was the only owner, the car had not covered that many miles (less than 50K I recall) but its new car warranty had expired on time. Furthermore I believe the car had received regular servicing at least on the schedule set forth in the owners manual.

Afterwards the owner was very untalkative about his experience. As best I remember he reported back that the car was repaired and he received some goodwill after agreeing to pay the cost of the teardown. He did not give out any more info, to the best of my knowledge, which makes some sense.

It is not too hard to believe that some sort of non-disclosure agreement is part of the secret warranty program. This is not just Porsche being mean or sinister. All automakers I'm sure would require this and do require it.

I would not let this rumor of a secret warranty (and in spite of what I posted above, it can only be a rumor unless Porsche makes the secret warranty public) drive my purchase of a used Boxster.

For one thing the odds of anything going wrong are low. Not zero unfortunately, but low. Now many post the failure rate is very high but if it were that high, as high as some think it is, we'd know it by more than the occasional (but still too frequent) post here or elsewhere.

Another thing is if something did go wrong one is faced with perhaps not even being offered the chance for a 'secret warranty'. And if it he is offered the chance he is faced with the big decision to possibly throw another couple of thousand dolllars after a car that is likely facing a multi-thousand dollar repair regardless.

Then there is the decision to goodwill or not goodwill. AFIAK no info is supplied by Porsche and the dealer other than the goodwill has been granted or has not been granted. If the goodwill is granted it may not be 100%. The factory may elect to only cover a portion of the cost.

If you are in the market for a Boxster, seek out a good car, one that is in good condition and has received good service throughout its life. Avoid cars that have been mod'd, tracked, or in some way abused or neglected, treated to cut rate servicing.

When you find a good car that you have every reason to believe is a good car and believe you can buy it at a good price, have the car subjected to a thorough PPI by someone that really knows these cars and these engines.

Even if the car comes back with a clean bill of health, though, this is no guarantee something will not happen in the future. Unfortunately as I mentioned above the risk is low, but not zero.

Sincerely,

Macster.

 

Guys, I too replied and asked which area dealer did the work here is the reply I got back
"The work was just done last week by local porsche mechanic I use in Ottawa. The total bill with parts came to $2200 or thereabouts which included a new clutch and some other stuff. My brother has the details. He can be reached at (phone number was given just did not want to post this guys number on a web site). Regards, Mark"

I'm going to ask to have a copy of the work order scaned and sent to me, I will let you know if I get anything back.

This guy lives 5 hours away, my 99 996 still has the original IMS, I'II do the drive and keep the recall a secret, if they'll replace mine!

 

interesting stuff...seems BS and not a full secret "recall" since it wasn't at the dealer and no paperwork was found....

Sorry to post this and cause a scene!!!! :-)

 

I'm in Ottawa - if anyone is seriously interested, I'm more than happy to check it out for you.

 

Have you checked it out? I'm interested. I'd make the drive from Montreal if it's true. 1999 C2 Cab here.

 

No. Btw if it was done under a so called secret warranty in OttAwa, then It was done at Mark Motors, the only dealership in town

 

Simple solution...
BUY a Porsche not a boxer