extended warranty ?

[Roop-Dogg]

just wondering what anybody thinks about the extended warranty that a car dearlership offers on a used car. was looking at vehicles today with and for my son. we put money down today and will complete the transaction on monday. (we had to wait until then to get his insurance in order.)

he purchased an 03 4x4 for $11,000 w/60,000 miles on it. the dealer includes a 30 day/1000 mile warranty. they HIGH pressure an extended warranty (supposed to cover everything) for another $1800. thats roughly 16% of the purchase price.

i'm just wondering what you think about these warranties??? seems like a lot of money but on the other hand if something would go wrong its supposed to be taken care of.

i personally never have purchased an extended warranty because i always believed that if the company was offering to sell me a warranty, they were pretty confident that i would not need it. however, where my kids are concerned i'm waffling somewhat.---i know they cannot afford the major repair bills but i also know they cannot afford another $1800 for the warranty.

what should we do???

[John Mickish]

My opinion is this, if you feel that the car will break and you will need the warranty on that particular car why by the car? Sure, "things happen" but for the most part these extended warranty's are just another money maker for the bank and/or dealer.

Put the extra $20 per month or whatever into a savings account.

[Valv]

Ask what it does cover and go through very well with salesman, put it down in writing and have them sign it. Most of these warranty cover not much. Ask them if you overheat engine if they cover it. Ask them if transmission fails while towing a boat if they cover it, be specific on questions. My daughter bought a car once with such a warranty and the "Engine Coverage" was if you dropped a rod or motor instantly blew for some reason, they didn't even cover lack of lubrication due to oil pump failure.

I've always known extended warranties are not worth the money.

[fishing tech]

How many years and miles do you get under warrentee? Does it cover Power windows/locks, electric shift motor for 4x4, fuel pump? I work at a dealership and I buy it on my own vehicles but we get a pretty good price.

Basic care: covers very little

Powertrain: covers engine , trany, driveline, and diffs.

Premium care: Covers all of the above including eletrical,suspenion, towing, and rental.

I would reccommend a 2 year/24000mile premium care. Try and ask for a lower price. The mark up is about triple and the person selling it ussaully make the same whether they sell it to an employee or someone off the street.

[theoilman]

All these are good recommendations, but one not mentioned yet - Where do you have to take it for the warranty coverage to pay? Just the selling dealer, or can it go to any shop. If you can go to any shop, go talk to your favorite and ask them about warranties from this company. This will give you great clues as to what kind of hassle you might get.

[Whoaru99]

Any type of purchased warranty is a crap shoot for both parties, although the "house odds" go to the seller.

The fact is most people won't recover what they paid for the purchased coverage. There are always exceptions. YMMV.

Get the full, unabridged copy of the warranty coverage terms and exclusions BEFORE you buy it. Read it very carefully and ask questions about what you don't understand.

[bucketmouth64]

I've had good luck with the extended warranty. Read over the policy and make sure it is what you want. When I bought my used awd explorer I bought a policy thru my credit union. It was bumper to bumper. I did get my money out of it. The key is to make sure you keep up with the factory recommended scheduled services...especially the fluids. I missed a transfer case fluid change and I had to have it fixed. Policy didn't cover the repair because I missed the scheduled fluid maintenance. Most garages accept payments from the insurance company, but some treat the payments differently. You need to get authorization to get the repairs done and let them know where you are going with it. Repair facility then calls the company to tell them what repairs need to be done. One garage accepted payment which was less than the bill. They still wanted the difference. Insurance determines the repair cost based on the area market and sends the payment to the garage. A dealership accepted whatever the payment is with no extra cost to me. With 4x4 you have lots of moving parts and repairs are more expensive. This is one of the reasons I bought one. Any noise I heard or if something didn't seem right in the operation of the vehicle I had it in and repaired. Even as little as my rear wiper arm. Just do your homework before buying.

[Roop-Dogg]

in this case, i thought the cost of the extended warranty seemed disproportionate to the cost of the vehicle. ($1800 for $11,000)

is the cost of the extended warranty a flat rate or is it a sliding rate based on cost of vehicle, type of vehicle etc.

[fishing tech]

I would also make sure it is a Ford, Chev, Dodge ect.. warrantee not a dealer or some other warrantee. I know when you buy a new Ford and you buy the Ford extended coverage if you do not use it you get the money back. I am not sure if it is the whole purchase price or 90% back. I have dealt with companies that a part is listed as being covered but it is not loose enough or it is a wear item. They send out inspectors, take some picture and measurements and say its not covered. Kind of a joke.

[Whoaru99]

Yeah, no doubt for a small percentage of people it's a great deal. However, for most, it's not.

Companies are not selling extended warranties to pay out more than they are taking in (both pay in and pay out on average, of course).

[Capt. Don*]

You are absolutely right, do not even give a warranty consideration unless it is offered only from the manufacturer. No aftermarket warranties at all, they are not worth buying. The dealers make more money selling the aftermarket ones than the manufacturers, so some will try to push it, there is no such thing as bumper to bumper in the extended world, it stops at 3yr-36month, don't listen to the pitch. If you want an extended warranty, go only with manufacturers offering!

[slipperybob]

I used to sell extended warranties, not on cars though.

All I can say is that, it's not the warranty that'll cover you. It's the customer service. It's basically buying the vehicle with their certified checks, but once you drive it off the lot and after their certified period of x amount of days or months, it's not worth chewed bubblegum.

IMO - any extended warranty greater than $1000.00 is too pricey used or new. Most of the expenses comes from maintenaince. Warranties don't do diddly for that. I'd rather buy an oil-change package for X-years from the dealership, or road-side assistance w/no limit to distance towed. That's customer service.