[ds968]

Fair enough, and I do think the points made so far are sensible..on both sides of the fence. The practical aspects of making this work would provide for the biggest obstacles, yet I still believe the concept was worth bringing up for debate. I for one, would never ask for nor expect help from anyone with my misfortunes - I view it as my problem, no one else's .. although empathy does help [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif[/img] but not everyone shares the same finacial situation, or the same views. I also agree that to some extent the point that you should plan for your 14-17 year old car to occasinally "blow up" also has its merits, but given the microcosmos of this 968 ownership and forum we seem to enjoy that position is a bit too apathetic for my taste..though it is pragmatic. Maybe in my old age I'm becoming way too compassionate ( I was going to say " a softie", but someone here may have a field day with that term and I can just imagine the posts to follow [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif[/img] ) Since I throw away $ 20 or $ 50 or more on what seems like totally useless s**t any given day of the week and I'm talking about s**t I can certainly do without, I felt contributing a similar negligible sum along with others may better spent if I / we help one of our own, should the need arise.

Ok, I really have to go back to meetings or the financial catastrophy I'll be facing if I lose my job will be a bit more than any of you cheapskates would be willing to contribute annually [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif[/img] so I'll leave this thread alone for a while and see if anyone else has different ideas or solutions, or if it comes to a conclusion that this falls short even at an ideologic level, much less trying to sort out the logistics of how to manage it..

As to mechanical warranties - if you read the conditions carefully on any of those policies you soon realize
that complying with them is nearly impossible, impractical and more expensive in the long run than the benefit you may get out of one. Also, not sure you can get any warranty if the car is older than 15 years, regardless of mileage. And that's just a new thing from US Fidelis ( no association, just saw their TV commercials ) , 99% of the others limit the car age at 10 years.

Oh BTW : I'm all in favor of the single working mothers fund ( or working their way trough college ) In fact, I think I actually have earned an Advocate level there as well... hey, you get a brass pole lapel pin !

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[Gotter]

<!--quoteo(post=72600:date=May 26 2009, 02:54 PM:name=ds968)-->QUOTE (ds968 @ May 26 2009, 02:54 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Oh BTW : I'm all in favor of the single working mothers fund ( or working their way trough college ) In fact, I think I actually have earned an Advocate level there as well... hey, you get a brass pole lapel pin !<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

x2 [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

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[Gotter]

<!--quoteo(post=72595:date=May 26 2009, 02:44 PM:name=flash)-->QUOTE (flash @ May 26 2009, 02:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->that being said, we are indeed working on a map - this will facilitate people being able to reach out for help when they need it<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Just waiting on feedback....

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[flash]

jc - you have a PM about this

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[ds968]

I'm still struggling with this.. if we would have had twenty or thirty "yeah, I'm all for it" responses I'd think there might have been yet another
twenty or more lurkers out there who would silently contemplate contributing to the relief initiative when ( if ) it happened, making for a meaningful contribution to the affected owner, but with less than a handful of respondents I'm afraid this is not something that has any chance at a successful implementation.

So, on the back burner, in the freezer, back on the shelf...or whatever the metaphor of choice may be but until someone comes up with an idea that a lot more members will embrace, I can't imagine the disaster relief becoming reality .. may it RIP [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mellow.gif[/img]

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[94SilverCab]

Funny that this came back to life. My position on a 968 disaster relief fund hasn't changed, but...

I was asked to display my car at an event in September for Alex's Lemonade Stand and I immediately agreed. If I get some more information I'll post it and maybe we can have a small gathering for a worthy cause...

Jay

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[gryphon]

I would rather that someone find an understanding, profit-seeking, aftermarket warranty company that would write policies on older vehicles, with the understanding that the premium might be a bit high. Theoretically there is a profit/loss point in any business venture.

Tom

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[Kim]

I guess that I have probably had as many problems as anyone. I have put over $15K into my white car alone since September. But that's how she goes. It's 17 years old, its a Porsche, the PO didn't look after it and I am a bit anal about it (my choice) and I can't do much work myself. AND I LIKE IT. So I have to pay for everything. And to be sure, I complain about it bitterly. Sometimes at work I bitch and go on and somebody will tell me to "get real" - they are right. 4 Porsches and I am complaining? Who am I kidding?

But it's all relative. I do have 4 Porsches. They are all I drive - I do not have other kinds. I do not have any 3000 km/year cars and they are not weekend toys. I split 125,000 km per year up amongst them all with my Cayenne getting about half and the white 968 getting a good chunk of the rest. I have a Cayman S and I leave it home through the week because I like my white 968 more (the dealer was a little POed yesterday when I said that!). But they are driven and they break down. To whom should I complain? Nobody really. I could drive something else - surely a Honda would be cheaper.

So I guess I feel for people who get the big bills unexpectedly. But they drive a Porsche. And nothing is really unexpected in a 14-17 year old car. Even engine failure.

I would have no problem, however, in simply paying a "membership fee" for use of this site - it is my only resource and it has saved me money (plus I like to just read about sadness, misery and despair of others) - and if that accumulated amount was used as a "distribution" towards a big repair so be it. From my perspective, I would be getting MY money's worth. It's like my PCA membership - it saves me 10% on parts and labour at the dealer. My savings there pay for my membership almost every week but I really don't care what they do with the money. I would only suggest that some means to ensure "fairness" would need to be implemented, and no repairs should be paid 100%. I like the one-third idea - that is a help, not a bailout.

Over and out.

I also think that ds968 had put a fair bit of thought into this. And that's a good thing because putting some study into something encourages some sensible discussion and I like that. Thanks Buddy.

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[ds968]

You know, one could always just chose to put their PayPal account in their member profile if and when they suffer a catastrophic loss and if any of us feel like helping out it can be done with no fuss, no publicity.. just not sure if funds can be sent to an account anonymously. And those who shudder at the thought of receiving any nice surprises like that, well simply do not put any relevant info in your profile which can be used for this purpose..

And yeah I do get the " hey, if you drive an old Porsche you should expect to have huge bills every so often " thinking , it's just that I have no qualms coming to the aid of a friend or even a friend-in-making if I feel a certain bond to that individual. I'd make the same proposal if we were all
on a Ferrari Dino forum. But I do see the dilemma - all of us have or will have life challenges thrown at us, many of which are or will be financial so we can't just expect to be "saved" by friends and colleagues when these things occur. It wasn't about saving anyone though, it was about easing the pain of a member, on rare occasions, with an insignificant amount to us but a material one collectively..

Like I said, I first introduced the idea four or five years ago on .net when one of our colleagues had a major repair bill facing him, and was almost forced to sell the car because of the circumstances at the time ( had been recently laid off IIRC ). I just thought, that sucks, if we could only do something to prevent that.. and from there it expanded to feeling like helping out when by reason of a lousy 968 engineering design or crappy part which should not fail regardless of age causes someone a heartache of this magnitude ( pinion bearing, head or block rebuild, etc.. ) trough no fault of their own.

Too much to hope for I guess. Oh well, whatever.. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif[/img]

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[Johannvb]

I have not added my 2 cent's worth to this post yet. I am all for it, if my 100 €/$ helps another guy out I'll do it in a heartbeat.

I think the reason we have so few takers on this idea, and I might have the wrong ipression, is that the many of people on this forum seems to have above average amounts of money to spend on their cars. And maybe we all think in the back of our minds..."You should have known the risks when buying a Porsche"

Like I said, I might be completely wrong on this, it's just a theory [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/unsure.gif[/img]

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[Mark]

<!--quoteo(post=73899:date=Jun 14 2009, 03:56 AM:name=Johannvb)-->QUOTE (Johannvb @ Jun 14 2009, 03:56 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->many of people on this forum seems to have above average amounts of money to spend on their cars. And maybe we all think in the back of our minds..."You should have known the risks when buying a Porsche"

Like I said, I might be completely wrong on this, it's just a theory [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/unsure.gif[/img]<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Yes, currently I am fortunate to be able to cover unexpected auto expenses and the ones I create on my own. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img] As has been stated earlier in this thread if you own a 14-18 year old car of any type, let alone a particular Porsche where parts are not cheap and plentiful, you really should plan on those things happening. I would not have bought a 968 (let alone two) and now an S4 with close to 100k on it unless I was in that position. For a long time I was not in that position so I sold my 911 and I drove around cheap beater cars, not as fun but certainly common sense won out. I can empathize with someone having a major failure on their car but there are a lot of worthwhile charities out there competing for attention and dollars I consider a lot more worthy than paying towards someone's Porsche repair.

Makes me sound heartless and mean maybe but so be it.

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[ds968]

<!--quoteo(post=73901:date=Jun 14 2009, 04:53 AM:name=Mark)-->QUOTE (Mark @ Jun 14 2009, 04:53 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->....but there are a lot of worthwhile charities out there competing for attention and dollars I consider a lot more worthy than paying towards someone's Porsche repair.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I completely agree, and I contribute to several charities as well, but we can't help everyone in need all the time, or solve what ails so many in this world with yes, far, far bigger problems than a friggin' Porsche repair bill. This was simply an attempt at a small initiative contained to a small, unique group which clearly share a passion for one model car, via small contributions on occasion which might make a big difference to one of our own..

I too am very fortunate to currently be in a position to hardly feel the pain of my repair job ( though as I mentioned earlier, not at all happy about spending that sum on this particular headache, would have much rather spent it on a trip to the Monaco Grand Prix next year.. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cool.gif[/img] ). Ha, as if I haven't learned from this, I'm still looking for another 968 just to keep as a garage queen... so at some point after I've replaced nearly everything in my current 968 and then it still dies of old age, I can have a new one to spend more money on . No wonder why my mechanic smiles every time I show up .. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif[/img]

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[Mark]

No problem with someone establishing, managing or contributing to such a fund, I was just confirming Johann's theory about some people's feelings on the subject. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

I gathered from other posts you were able to pay for your own repairs and were not soliciting funds for your own issue.

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[flash]

i come at this from the perspective of "what the heck did you expect?"

after so many years of having classic cars and race cars, i have come to expect to spend $5-$10k a year on anything like that, and more the more i modify it

to follow behind others who think they sound "heartless", i have a philosophy about pretty much everything "if you can't afford to lose it, you shouldn't have it" - i think the last few years have given way too many people a false sense of security about way too many things - now, when situations change, and something goes "wrong" they look dumbfounded like a deer caught in the headlights

toughen up folks - life is rough - times are hard - i had to put my plans for a ferrari on hold too - lol

just my take on it

seriously though - at this point everybody should be planning for a big failure of their car, and park a few grand for just that event - it's a 15 year old car after all (or more), and generally not likely to have been pampered or cared for nearly as much as it should have been

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[ds968]

Sheesh, what a bunch of cynics.. NO SOUP FOR YOU !! [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif[/img]

Definitely wasn't soliciting funds for my issue, and would not have accepted anything even if someone had suggested I'd be the guinea pig test case for this concept [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif[/img] ( a few folks here will attest to the fact that I introduced this idea on .net forum many moons ago... so unless by reason of my forefather Nostradamus' genetic predisposition I had predicted my timing belt snapping last month, it was not at all a self-serving initiative.. ) Now that said, had this system been in place for all these years and working for everyone, hell yeah I would have been perfectly fine with my share of the disater relief, knowing that I as well as any others would have also been the first to contribute to someone else who was similarly affected.
But that's another story alltogether.. moot point here. The problem simply pinged my memory of what I had proposed in the past and caused me to revisit the matter, because I know another one of us will be next. Well, maybe not timing belts I have a feeling everyone will change those things at half the prescribed intervals from now on [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

But my point was lost in translation I suppose..what I was trying to impress on others is exemplified by this: I just spent $ 200 at a sushi bar lunch on Thursday, picking up the tab for me and a colleague ( not even really a "friend" in the true sense of the word ) I would have much rather given that money toward one of your guys' pinion bearing repair ( a couple of recent ones popped up on the forum ), but would only do that if I had a reasonable expectation that many others would do the same, otherwise it would be ridiculous in both principle and practice for the owner to get anything from a single individual, or two, or three .. no more than a handful. This would have only worked with at least a hundred folks contributing $ 20 or so to the relief. But maybe I was a bit naive to think that is a probability.

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[flash]

i wouldn't get too despondent over it - it's just the reality is that this is going to happen to more people than we would like - the other reality is that anybody donating to something that is also potentially going to happen to them is a far reach, when it is most likely that somebody else will reap the rewards before they do - as this kind of things happens way too often, the funds would likely be depleted quickly and then where would they be when it was their turn?

the only reason insurance companies work is that there are more funds accumulated than benefits paid - there is a reasonable expectation of actually receiving a benefit when applied for

that just isn't quite so likely here

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[ds968]

yeah, no kidding . and those extended warranty companies offer no alternatives for cars as old as ours ( no one said they're dumb..)

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[gryphon]

<!--quoteo(post=73921:date=Jun 14 2009, 12:25 PM:name=ds968)-->QUOTE (ds968 @ Jun 14 2009, 12:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->yeah, no kidding . and those extended warranty companies offer no alternatives for cars as old as ours ( no one said they're dumb..)<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

A few years back Sam's Club was affiliated with a company that offered extended warranties on rather old vehicles. It was not cheap but perhaps fair. I farted around a bit too long and didn't sign up my 94 BMW 740iL, and later ended up paying $2950 for an AT rebuild. The extended warranty program went away from Sam's web site but I always felt that, had the company turned out to be flaky, that Sam's would have stood behind it.

Tom

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[Cloud9...68]

<!--quoteo(post=73917:date=Jun 14 2009, 01:57 PM:name=flash)-->QUOTE (flash @ Jun 14 2009, 01:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->the only reason insurance companies work is that there are more funds accumulated than benefits paid - there is a reasonable expectation of actually receiving a benefit when applied for

that just isn't quite so likely here<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I think this sums it up very accurately. The sentiment is great, and DS is to be commended for putting the mental horsepower into flushing it out, but I just think there are too many practical as well as philosophical issues in the way of making it fly.

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[tamathumper]

Should this still be pinned? It seems to be put to bed,...

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