I picked up a 2008 STi and they talked me into a 4/48k bumper to bumper on it. It was $2300. This is a morries warranty but can be used at any ASE certified mechanic as well as the dealer. Seems like good coverage for an ok price. I would like to get a stage 1 tune just for long term reliability and drive ability which would give the dealer a potential out on repairs. I know these engines have potential ringland issues and oil pickup problems. Which was the main reason I decided to get the warranty. Part of me thinks I should cash it in and put it in the bank. In 4 years if nothing happens I have money. If something does happen I have most of the money for new pistons. I am can handle the little stuff and I hate worrying that when something does happen they will try to find a reason to not honor the warranty. What do you guys think?
I would ask if tuning the engine will void your warranty. Then get that answer in writing. Secondly ask yourself. Do you plan to mod your car in 4 years? Will that void the warranty? I would also ask that and get it in writing. Finally, do you plan to just DD this car? Or do you want to take it to the track, drag strip, rallyX? Any track time usually voids the warranty.
I got the warranty on my '04...voided it in 2 years with some simple mod and a ton of track time. The times i tried to use it, the part/problem was not covered. just purchased a '13...didn't get the extended warranty, it came in around $3,000 over the purchase price of the car, financed over 4 years. the way i looked at it was that gives me a $3000 budget for a major mechanical failure after the factory warranty runs out. Ill take my chances... Good luck.
A 4/48 bumper-to-bumper (rather than just a powertrain) warranty for that price seems reasonable to me...especially since you don't know the history of the car. And I am assuming it is 4 years from the time of purchase and 48,000 miles over and above what the odo read when you bought it. Usually race cars have no warranty.
It's an 08 sti, ringland failure is "inevitable" (ok approximately a 25% chance...search iwsti) that ringland failure will happen...stock, not stock, cared for or beaten on. Modding and driving it hard will just accelerate the inevitable. $2300 will buy you a brand new shortblock, but that won't cover labor. You could maybe buy you new pistons and pay labor for a very simple rebuild for $2300, but that would be tough. So if you're going to keep it bone stock and not void the warranty (which imho stock sti's still do well...but a tune helps), I'd keep the warranty. If you plan on modding it and driving it aggressively, I would say that increases your chances of ringland failure and to put your warranty money in the bank and starting saving more for a proper rebuild. Personally, I bought my 08 STI with the expectation that I was going to crack a ringland...which I did, 2 months ago. When it happened, yea I was upset, but I was prepared and budgeted for it. Just got the car back yesterday after a proper rebuild (ie not cheap) and am happy thus far....ask me again in a few thousand miles, and if it's still running strong, I'm sure I'll be happy as ever.
If there is no deductible on the warranty and it is 4 yrs/48K from date of purchase than that sounds like a pretty reasonable deal. Like the others said if you have any intentions of modding then it might be better to just save your money. I'm not sure what they would say with just a tune, better check with them.
Cash it in you will mod anyway I said the same thing when I bought mine and wasted money on the warranty.
I'm not a fan of those warranties. They typically require you to either service your car at the dealer, or provide a ridiculous amount of paperwork to prove what was done. And you are right to worry about them honoring the warranty, because as you said, they will look for any little reason to deny it. Being an 08 model I can understand your concern about certain issues, but IMO you would be better off rolling the dice and putting that 2300 bucks toward a built shortblock if it blows.
Going to do spark plugs next weekend and picked myself up a compression tester. If it comes out good, I think I will drop the warranty.
Spark plugs done. I hate spark plugs, they suck, especially that little bastard in the back on the drivers side. Stupid air pump. Anyway 3 hours later all the plugs look good. Compression came out good for a cold engine (127, 122, 125, 122). 127 was the one by the turbo. This is with a cheap $25 gauge.
Good to hear results were solid! Not to play devils Advocate, but my compression test was within 3 psi when I bought it. About 8k miles later I was down to 70 psi on cyl 4. I was on E85 for about 1500 miles before it blew and I don't blame E85, but I would imagine it accelerated the process. Not trying to scare you, but start with a good tune and start your budget
