Extended warranties.

[duck__dodgers]

rule of thumb: (assuming an insurance company that follows the contract by the letter---when it's both good and bad for you)....

if you can afford any loss out of pocket with little/no impact on your lifestyle, then you probably shouldn't buy the insurance.

(this rule doesn't give you a green light to buy insurance----just when not to buy)

if it was me, and I was worried about my G repair bills, then I probably shouldn't be buying a G----unless I sell it before 80,000 to 95,000 miles.

 

[Exhaustgases]

Some aftermarket warranties, want you to pay up front to have the faultily engine or transmission removed and taken apart to inspect. Then they get to decide if they will pay for it, if they do pay then you get your $ back, if they decide to not pay you are stuck with the tear down bill. Nice isn't it? They pick and choose what they will and will not pay for.

 

[John105]

Is the vehicle out of factory warranty at this point? It would seem so at 50k. Personally, I have bought BMW factory extended and GMPP (the other is VPP or was, and it's even more complicated today as they want to sell a plan to run concurrently with the factory warranty).

In both cases, they won. With the BMW, I had zero claims. Not a typo, nada, bupkis, null.

With the Buick I had multiple claims, but still didn't break even. Actuaries figure this stuff out, so we should not think we're going to beat them, no matter what that guy Doug with a gazillion subscribers says.

At the same time, what's peace of mind worth? Folks here throw away good oil and tires, to name 2 things. For peace of mind. So maybe, it's worth it. But my experience is with factory extended warranties, where there is zero question on whether the dealer will honor. That one with Ice T has gotten some very bad reviews.

 

[HM12460]

Just get a Toyota and don't worry about no stinkin' warranty. (flame suit on!)

 

[John105]

Just get a Toyota and don't worry about no stinkin' warranty. (flame suit on!)

We just may do that next time, the only thing I'm afraid of is I'm getting older. We just bought our 4th new car (first was 1998, 1 of the 4 is still on the road, two junked). That's 2 years shy of a 30 year span, I have only couple more new cars to buy, if that. Would I want to make it a Toyota (they don't build a single exciting vehicle and all of them use a prop rod, on my just say no list)? Probably yes. Our friend(s) told us we can use their employee discount. I've seen the numbers it's not a discount one can obtain by their aggressive mouth, seriously. I wish we could have gotten GM employee pricing. So yes, maybe we will get a Toyota because by then we'll be old and just using the car to get places, doesn't need to be anything fancy or exciting. But on the other hand I still feel I have a Z06 left to buy. Dunno. Other than the price of its parts, the LS430 we have is a really excellent car. There are times I forget it's a Toyota (until it needs an OE part, I'm reminded since it costs 3X that of a BMW). And yes, the reason I often forget is it's so dang reliable, even being bought used and now about to turn 20 (september 2025). I know I'm all over the place, but I'm sincere. I just want to make the most of what time I've got left.

 

[RooflessVW]

Fidelity Platinum was the easiest to work with, even over BMW & VW at times, when I worked there.

Things may be different now.

 

[John105]

Fidelity Platinum was the easiest to work with, even over BMW & VW at times, when I worked there.

Things may be different now.

Is there any savings over factory? Because factory is 100% negotiable and purchasable online. There’s no problem getting covered. The problem is the quality of repairs period, and, if a deductible. On our Buick we went with GMPP. They even covered struts abs not shocks. Anyway, it took 1.5 years and 3 x $100 deductible to get a captains chair fixed. It’s not the warranty cos fault. It’s the sheer incompetence of GMC.

Buddy just drove to Phila to get an oil change and state inspection. $285. Chevy Traverse at dealer where car purchased.

I said I whats the breakdown of that? $119.95 for 6 qt dexos oil change, $127.95 for safety and emissions, and $29.95 for tire rotation? Chevy traverse. Car is under a full warranty. Imagine having an extended or none.

I didn’t even know $125+ was legal for a state inspection. The BMW dealer charged me $43 until
Last year. Went up to $63.

So the warranty is only as good as the dealer network, which imho is not too good.

Ps from forums. Just like UPS no longer gets a signature post Covid even when shipper pays for the service. Car dealers simply say parts backordered and customers’ cars sit for months under full warranties. It’s almost better to have a reliable used car with a trusted indie and DIY combo.

 

[RooflessVW]

Is there any savings over factory? Because factory is 100% negotiable and purchasable online. There’s no problem getting covered. The problem is the quality of repairs period, and, if a deductible. On our Buick we went with GMPP. They even covered struts abs not shocks. Anyway, it took 1.5 years and 3 x $100 deductible to get a captains chair fixed. It’s not the warranty cos fault. It’s the sheer incompetence of GMC.

Buddy just drove to Phila to get an oil change and state inspection. $285. Chevy Traverse at dealer where car purchased.

I said I whats the breakdown of that? $119.95 for 6 qt dexos oil change, $127.95 for safety and emissions, and $29.95 for tire rotation? Chevy traverse. Car is under a full warranty. Imagine having an extended or none.

I didn’t even know $125+ was legal for a state inspection. The BMW dealer charged me $43 until
Last year. Went up to $63.

So the warranty is only as good as the dealer network, which imho is not too good.

Ps from forums. Just like UPS no longer gets a signature post Covid even when shipper pays for the service. Car dealers simply say parts backordered and customers’ cars sit for months under full warranties. It’s almost better to have a reliable used car with a trusted indie and DIY combo.

Fidelity Platinum covered (I can't remember the exact number) 20+ hours of diag time to figure out why a Touareg hatch glass kept popping whenever ambient temps were over 90°F

Pretty solid warranty.

 

[RBT]

My neighbor is set on buying a 2016 G63 Mercedes G-wagon. It has 50,000 miles. It comes with a 90 day powertrain warranty. He was thinking about an extended warranty, but I've never purchased one myself. I know there is a lot of small print and some people end up dumping money on them just to get a denied claim. Curious if it pays to have one on a vehicle like this, I believe the one the dealer is trying to sell him is about $6000, but not sure what all it covers. It's not just powertrain, but in the state he is buying from, it's not legal to call it "bumper to bumper". For $6000, I think I'd roll the dice on not having a major repair, but I know anything AMG is big money. Thoughts? Not interested in opinions on buying the truck in the first place, let's keep it to just warranty companies, good, bad, or don't even get one.

Is it a Mercedes warranty? If an extended warranty is not from the manufacturer, I tend to say no because these warranties are written to only pick up certain components and so if you have a claim, and that part is not specifically listed in the warranty, you are SOL. Most factory extended warranties start by covering everything and then carving out certain things, although that seems to be changing a bit too.

I think the real issue is this: when you buy a car like this used, if you could afford to buy it and service it as a new car, but you are buying it used because you are a sort of thrifty millionaire, then it is a good deal and I would be inclined to not take the warranty. If you would be stretched financially by a $5k service bill, which can very routine on a vehicle of this nature, then you should not buy the car, warranty or no warranty.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Is there any savings over factory? Because factory is 100% negotiable and purchasable online. There’s no problem getting covered.

If anyone ever wants a cheap OEM Honda warranty, Hyannis Honda in Massachusetts, sell the warranties close to cost. The rep told me they mark them up only $50 and after cross shopping with multiple dealers in the US, including the dealer I bought the car from, they beat the price by a wide margin. You just have to buy the plan with, IIRC, less than 1000 miles on the odo to get the best rate.

If you live in FL, there is apparently some law you have to buy the warranty from an instate dealer only. Don't quote me on that though.

 

[John105]

If anyone ever wants a cheap OEM Honda warranty, Hyannis Honda in Massachusetts, sell the warranties close to cost. The rep told me they mark them up only $50 and after cross shopping with multiple dealers in the US, including the dealer I bought the car from, they beat the price by a wide margin. You just have to buy the plan with, IIRC, less than 1000 miles on the odo to get the best rate.

If you live in FL, there is apparently some law you have to buy the warranty from an instate dealer only. Don't quote me on that though.

I was shocked when my bro said the extended on his Ford Ranger Raptor to 6/100 was $1350. $200 deductible.

I guess because I was in disbelief, he texted the actual contract. Another oddity, he's in CT and dealer in RI, no sales tax. I guess it's a service, not a good? I too didn't have sales tax both on BMW and Buick, but, I had thought it was because BMW was DE and Buick was MI pre Wayfair.

I think in my bro's case he won't reach 100k in 6 years so unless that was the max time, I'd like more time, or less mileage. Then again I'm thinking $3k for all of our products (Tahoe is $3,550 with $0 deductible and I'd have to go back to see the time/mileage--has to be done prior to 24 mos, can't be 35 mos and 35k for this pricing grid).

We do tend to burn ourselves when presented with a grid and humans like to overinsure (insurer loves it as they will never pay it out, but they will accept the premium). I tend to go for max time and max mileage. Mileage is more costly. So if you overestimate how much you will drive, that's wasting money.

Again almost all are not like Doug on YouTube, almost all lose on these contracts. If not true, then they wouldn't exist. BUT, peace of mind is worth something. Easier said than done to save up and if it happens, pay. I'd do $1350, that's low enough to not worry. $3k not worry but be mindful. $5k, yes, worry--pay that and have no claims, that's a serious tail tuck or turtle.

 

[50yr Street Mech]

Waste of money, unless it's a Bently

 

[fdcg27]

Given how aggressively these third party service plans are marketed, there must be substantial profit involved, with limited payouts to the purchasers of these plans. You'll see frequent TV ads. The marketing push alone costs these companies, so the net to them must be pretty good.
Buy anything new and you'll get a barrage of junk mail solicitations and texts as well warning you that your warranty is about to run out and you could be on the hook for thousands in repair bills.
If we were sincerly worried, we'd have bought the extended service contracts offered by the makers.
Since we're not, we didn't.
I can laugh off a few grand in unplanned repairs, while the cost paid for a third party service contract never goes away.

 

[Rygrego]

My neighbor is set on buying a 2016 G63 Mercedes G-wagon. It has 50,000 miles. It comes with a 90 day powertrain warranty. He was thinking about an extended warranty, but I've never purchased one myself. I know there is a lot of small print and some people end up dumping money on them just to get a denied claim. Curious if it pays to have one on a vehicle like this, I believe the one the dealer is trying to sell him is about $6000, but not sure what all it covers. It's not just powertrain, but in the state he is buying from, it's not legal to call it "bumper to bumper". For $6000, I think I'd roll the dice on not having a major repair, but I know anything AMG is big money. Thoughts? Not interested in opinions on buying the truck in the first place, let's keep it to just warranty companies, good, bad, or don't even get one.

The only consideration for one of these warranties (really just insurance) is a manufacturer policy. Not just a policy from the dealer, but the manufacturer only. The rest are crap.

 

[ammolab]

So the guy is buying a 5 year/100,000 mile warranty but drives only 5000 miles a year, or less?

That’s a 25,000 mile warranty and no way I would pay $6000 for it. A very bad bet!

 

[John105]

Let me just throw out a ridiculous scenario I saw. A guy with a vehicle said GM sent them an update, it failed. Now his center screen has an exclamation point and doesn't work. Dealer said $2,500 you're out of warranty. The sensible person doesn't buy such a vehicle, they keep driving their 2006 car that doesn't have over the air updates. But let's just say a person does in fact buy a car 2021 or newer. In the above, he'd be less concerned if he had the extended warranty, which may have cost him $2800-$3500. I was hard-nosed too about waste of money. But I've since softened to proceed to investigate with caution. Very good chance on burning oneself by choosing too much coverage on mileage that one can't drive. Be realistic. Time is cheaper than mileage. Try to get max time and realistic mileage for expiration.

 

[John105]

The only consideration for one of these warranties (really just insurance) is a manufacturer policy. Not just a policy from the dealer, but the manufacturer only. The rest are crap.

I asked above and no answer. Is the aftermarket cheaper, otherwise, why not go mfg? I've had 2 in my life, BMW, and GMPP, both are factory authorized. And I'll say it again. I got ZERO claims with the BMW. $2800 2011 dollars down the drain.

The car is a dang N54 and was reliable. Go figure. It was daily driven until 2 weeks ago when we got our new vehicle. So back to the garage it goes. It was a champ. The Enclave had many claims at $100 deductible a pop and no I didn't break even. But I was not worried when things broke that should not have. Water pump went out of extended warranty forcing me to DIY. I was annoyed, but with the $100 deductible it would have costed $106. I spent about $141 DIY and my entire Labor Day 2019. I said it's ok, it's life. Oh, BMW ABS pump failed out of extended warranty, that's $4,200 in 2016. Forcing me to DIY for about $550. So that's gonna happen too and the actuaries know it.

On the 2025 Chevy Tahoe I am planning to get one. Right now I'm seeing $3,500 to cover it with an unrealistic mileage and $0. I want $0 deductible this time, to match our healthcare. What that means is if I rein in the mileage it may be like $2900. But I have about 2 years to think about it, and shop wisely and get to know the truck.

 

[John105]

Just thought of a scenario that may help to express how I feel about extended warranties in 2025. When you go to rent a moving truck, there is a hard sell on the full coverage insurance. They say yes your auto policy "may" cover you, but it "may not." Maybe there is existing damage that you and I don't see on the walkaround, wouldn't you just feel better knowing there is 0% chance of you being charged for something you did not do. One way, you end up paying more, and you have 0% of getting messed with. Another way, you may have to fight for what's right. Paying makes worry go away. Human beings are in fact risk averse. Just the sheer complexity of everything today, knowing how much rides on modules and software, it just may be worth getting an extended warranty to not worry if something goes wrong. I can't tell you how much I worried about the exhaust and emissions on the Enclave knowing this is gonna be $5k+, and how utterly frustrating that GM had extended warranties on our car but they all expired due to time, not mileage. How much is it worth it to pay to make it go away? Again $3k I can do. $5k is getting a little iffy. $1350 like my bro on a Ranger Raptor, I'm all for it. That thing is twin turbo over 400 HP.