Option to buy a new car WITHOUT WARRANTY (save $$)

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When you buy a new car, you pay an insurance fee--the car's warranty. It's not an option, it's not a separate bill but maybe it *SHOULD* be.

There are folks who are good with cars and would rather fix their own cars than to bring it in for warranty service.

What do you think about this idea?

I would've liked to have had that option.
 
i would do that for a car i planned on getting as a track car, but you can already do that with Ford. you can buy turn key race cars, or else a Body in White mustang with a cage installed already.
 
Interesting idea, but definitely a gamble. It would really suck to do that and then be bitten by a manufacturing defect that causes a part to fail early, especially if it was something in the engine or transmission.
 
ya, if you have warranty work done, go ask the parts dept how much it would have cost if you paid for it. ive had people almost faint when i tell them prices for some parts.
 
I would imagine that if auto makers were off the hook for fixing problems on their cars then they would use cheaper parts and materials that may fail faster.
 
I dont know maybe a 120 day drivetain warranty.Big buck stuff like engine /tranny happened soon.
We used to get stuff back (engines) from dealers that didnt even make it off the truck,in fact most engine returns had less than a hundred miles on them.

Things like con-rod nuts missing,bores honed off center(can you say ring ring)oil passages not drilled thru.......
 
Nope. If you look at the reliability curve of machines it typically looks like a bathtub. The most failures happen at the beginning and end of its life. The warranty is to cover manufacturing defects.
 
No way.

Statistically, most warranty claims occur within the first 12 to 18 months of ownership, according to a Tenneco engineer.
 
Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
I would imagine that if auto makers were off the hook for fixing problems on their cars then they would use cheaper parts and materials that may fail faster.


They wouldn't opt for cheaper parts during assembly because many people would still purchase the warranty. Besides, reputation is important to them. Hondas only come with 3/36 warranties, do you think Hondas are made to fail quickly?

I like the idea of paid warranties. It's like when you buy a used car, you have an option of purchasing something beyond their 3-month coverage. There's no reason they couldn't do the same for new cars
 
Originally Posted By: The Critic
No way.

Statistically, most warranty claims occur within the first 12 to 18 months of ownership, according to a Tenneco engineer.


That's essentially what I just said (typed?).
 
Originally Posted By: tom slick
Nope. If you look at the reliability curve of machines it typically looks like a bathtub. The most failures happen at the beginning and end of its life. The warranty is to cover manufacturing defects.


Absolutely and especially true with electrical components. It would be an absolutely stellar tool to be able to see the FIT curves for a car make/model before you bought it! All we have to work with as consumers is word of mouth praise/complaints and various consumer reporting tools. Myself, I would roll the dice with a limited warranty if I had some data in hand.
 
The op asked if you would exercise "the option" of warranty.Should of asked also
-what would you pay - for a warranty,kind of open ended.
Give me a 90 -120 day drivetrain warranty, expensive repairs / factory defects show up within 50 miles.After that you know what you got, give the POS back or buy a warranty like the extended warranties they push now.

Gamble? depends on how much for how long.But the manufacturers hold the cards only they know the whole picture,have all the numbers ,know what to charge to make profit ,difficult to make a decision without the info.
 
So who buys the extended warranty on cars or the service plan on anything? Priced right, I would take a 90 day warranty. I never feel a car is mine to do as I want with until the warranty expires. It would remove constraints on those wanting to go with synthetic and longer OCI's early.
 
A short, non existent or optional warranty? No thanks.

I wouldn't do business with a manufacturer that didn't have enough confidence in their product to offer at least 3 years of troublefree operation. Recent cars have only had a few minor warranty issues, but even those would have added up quick without a warranty.

Our Subaru had a very minor coolant leak that was fixed under warranty, but it took a lot of detective work to find it. It showed up about a year after we purchased the car new. It easily would have been a $500 repair without the warranty.
 
FWIW, this is an interesting topic for discussion, but there are other things going on here too. There's also that pesky 500 lb gorilla, a/k/a the federal government lurking out there. Candidly, I haven't looked at the MMWA (Magnuson-Moss Wty Act) with this question in mind, but off the cuff (meaning this is NOT intended as legal advice) I don't think a car maker could sell a new car unwarranted even if both the mfr and the buyer wanted to do that. I doubt we'll see a change in federal law that would permit such sales, at least not any time soon. Extra tasty food for thought. . .
 
I've been in the auto business in sales, service, and parts for a little over thirty years.

I've worked for Honda, GM, Ford, Toyota, and Chrysler dealers.

I wouldn't buy a new car without warranty for less than 50% of sticker for any of them.
 
I'm not sure this would work. It reminds me of insurance - you have to spread the problems around. If enough people opted out of the factory warranty, would it not make the warranty outrageously expensive for those that did want it?
 
A new car warranty, I would hope it would come with it. In fact it should be warrantied through the finance time. Why not? When you insure a new car you are FORCED to put full coverage on it even when the warranty runs out.

On a used car, I never opt for the extended warranty, its usually an extra 3k for a decent one and even then most are pay first, re-imburse later type of affairs.

Back when I was younger a 2-3 year Finance was the MAX offered on cars. To increase their revenue they then offered a 5 and now a 72 month fiance(6 years). Warranties need to match that period accross the board. Warranties protect us the buyer from huge money pit issues that may arise, typically on the first year of a new model introduction/revision.
 
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