Good idea to buy a warranty? Can I still?

[chatas17]

I am about to buy a 99 996 and I have to admit I have been reading all of the horror stories about the IMS, coolant tank, etc.... I am getting a PPI on Monday. I am buying this from a private seller. If I get a PPI from a porsche dealer, can I buy an extended warranty? Would you recommend it? How much are they? It has 37,000 miles. It also has good service records and it was well cared for....

Thanks!

[tonythetarga]

Certainly the car is out of factory warranty unless it is a CPO car from a dealer. If you can extend that warranty you absolutely should. If you plan to buy an aftermarket warranty you need to be very careful about what they cover. If you buy the car, your best protection is to have a proper PPI done on the car and then have the IMS bearing replaced with the LN bearing. Do the water pump, AOS and replace the coolant tank cap if it does not have the '04 or '05 part number. Factor these costs into your purchase (negotiate down) otherwise kep looking. A good warranty should cost about 2k for a 3 yr coverage. If you plan to do any DE's the warranty may be voided if you have an on-track engine failure.
Just an FYI, the IMS failures are more likely on cars that have fewer miles than cars driven regularly and have had frequent oil changes. Check the LN Engineering website for pricing on the bearing and/or find a local indy shop that knows how to replace them.
Good luck.