Your thoughts on extended car warranties....

[Astro14]

Originally Posted by ZZman
1. Are they worth it?
2. Have or would you consider one?
3. Has one ever saved you expensive repairs?


1. No
2. Maybe
3. No

Look, somebody is making money on these, right? They're not selling you a warranty with the intent of giving away money. The insurance company is making a bet on the odds of the failure, the cost of repair, and then at least doubling, if not tripling that to calculate your premium. They have to cover the overhead of sales, administration and claims processing.

So, unless you can't afford the repair yourself, skip it, the insurance is far more expensive than the repairs are likely to be.

 

[bullwinkle]

Warranties seem to be another one of the things that a stealership rips off customers with! I've never had one, but most of the cars I've owned have been used & at least a couple years old, the new ones I've bought have been Toyota based and I thought I would never need one (been good so far).

 

[nickaluch]

I never bought one and don't plan on. My friend bought one for his Jeep came in handy.

 

[Starman2112]

Originally Posted by ZZman
1. Are they worth it?
2. Have or would you consider one?
3. Has one ever saved you expensive repairs?


1. No
2. No
3. No

 

[meep]

Originally Posted by Astro14


Look, somebody is making money on these, right? They're not selling you a warranty with the intent of giving away money. The insurance company is making a bet on the odds of the failure, the cost of repair, and then at least doubling, if not tripling that to calculate your premium. They have to cover the overhead of sales, administration and claims processing..


^^^nice


When you buy the warranty, you are betting your car will fail.
The dealer is betting on it being reliable.

The cost is determined by the odds.

 

[John_K]

I have a friend who always gets them,. No matter what happens, it's not covered.

 

[loub]

I'm sincerely embarrassed to admit how stupid I am! I bought a 2013 Camry in 2015 and after reading "Toyotanation" opinions about owners having problems with their transmissions I purchased an extended warranty from the dealer before the factory warranty expired. My wife thought that would be a waste of money and she was 100% correct

 

[Ram02]

Originally Posted by loub
I'm sincerely embarrassed to admit how stupid I am! I bought a 2013 Camry in 2015 and after reading "Toyotanation" opinions about owners having problems with their transmissions I purchased an extended warranty from the dealer before the factory warranty expired. My wife thought that would be a waste of money and she was 100% correct



But the piece of you had knowing you was covered .

 

[walterjay]

I have bought two car extended warranties in the past. I never once used them. I wish I had the money I paid for them. Never again

 

[Sam_Julier]

Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by ZZman
3. Has one ever saved you expensive repairs?

Yup. Wife had a 2008 MB C300 4matic. The ext. warranty has paid for itself many times over.



I bought my first extended warranty contract on a 2000 MB C240 for $1,400. First year of the model. Bumper to bumper coverage to 100,000 miles.

I sold the car about 2 days after the contract expired. The dealer and MB had spent over $10,000 in repairs in less than four years.

The car was a joy to drive. As long as someone else was paying for the repairs.

 

[PowerSurge]

Transmission died on a family member's 2003 GMC Sierra at 53K miles and only had to pay the 100 dollar deductible to have it repaired instead of 3000 bucks. Best advice is if you buy one to not buy a third party warranty. Buy only from the manufacturer of the vehicle and buy the warranty online instead of at the stealership.

 

[eljefino]

You're signing up for a situation where you pay money ahead of time and hope everyone will be around to spend it on you when you need it, but with parts and mechanics of their choosing on a time table acceptable to them.

Conversely, if you're paying cash, you have control.

 

[nwjones18]

Personally I'm not going to buy a car that I feel like I need to bet against.. That's all an extended warranty is imo.

 

[Nick1994]

I haven't bought one, wondering if I should have with the Genesis.

My aunt bought one for her 13' VW Beetle TDI new. After multiple trips to the dealer for A/C issues including replacing some control valve, the dials, the compressor, a temperature sensor, an alternator pulley, sway bar bushings, the small instrument cluster on the dash, and the center console, the extended warranty definitely paid for itself. VW bought it back at 54k miles for the emissions scandal. I wonder how far the repairs would have gone.

 

[etoil]

Dealerships look for anyway to profit off of buyers.
Personally have a small dealership happy with regular profits for delivery and maintenance work. Will steer customers clear of these tactics.

 

[JaySquared]

I would open a bank account and deposit the money that you were going to spend on the extended warranty in it. And every time you are offered one for a refrigerator or cell phone or whatever, throw that cashbib as well. Stop the deposits when it hits $5,000 (or whatever you are comfortable with) and use it as your own warranty and rainy day fund.

Self insuring like this will save you so much money over the years and provide for emergencies.

 

[Railrust]

There's a reason why these companies are in business...and it's not because their product is worth it, it's because you won't need it.

Hey look, if you're going for "piece of mind" have at it. If it makes you feel safe and secure? Go for it. But the warranty company wins, they win a lot more than you do. That's why they are in business.

I've never bought an extended warranty in my life. I've never needed one. And I take my vehicles to 200,000 miles and beyond. Good maintenance and good driving habits. And try to do a little research on the vehicle you are buying BEFORE you buy it, not the warranty you're being offered as you're signing paper work and they stuff this under your nose.

 

[RhondaHonda]

I've never bought one but if I keep my Raptor I'll consider one from Flood Ford as they are reputable and the cheapest around. With all the electronics the $1200-1800 for the extended warranty out to 125-150k miles and 8 years is a price I'm willing to pay.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

One last tidbit about buying an EW issued by the automaker. There is a lot of profit for dealers and it's sometimes possible (depends on the automaker) to shop the cost of the warranty. For example, compared to my local dealers I was able to purchase a warranty for just a smidgen over cost from a dealer in SoCal (Just had to mail my keys to the sales rep so he could record the mileage). I saved about $1k right off the bat. Unfortunately the dealers complained and the automaker put a stop to it.

 

[ffhdriver]

Got one on my Avalon Hybrid from a Toyota dealer in Louisiana at a much cheaper price than my Alabama dealer. Used it one time for a check up on my high voltage battery. When I sold the car five years later I got about 70% of the cost back when I turned the warranty back into Toyota.