Don't buy the warranty.....

Sapcut

WKR
Joined
Jul 28, 2012
Messages
961
Location
Mobile, AL
My dad had ac issues this year. Used company that installed it. Guy said ac was strong and couldnt figure why it wouldnt cool at night…. Same for 2nd time…. 3rd time i spoke to his coworker and that guy told me what a crap unit it was, needs to be replaced. They gave me an estimate of about $8,000.

Called another guy, based off referral, first thing we did was change the batteries in the thermostat. He spent some time looking, said other guy had systematically disconnected all the “extras” and he saw no reason why it shouldnt work. Call me if it doesnt get better. Wouldnt let me pay him.

Been running fine since. A few good ones left.
Send that dude some double fudge brownies
 

Backyard

WKR
Joined
Jan 24, 2014
Messages
770
Location
Minnesnowta
I usually take care of all my repairs be it auto or home myself. But the wife and I started travelling a lot on motorcycle trips the last 7 years or so. Bought a newer bike from a private party that had an extended warranty plan on it. Never thought much about it till we had a problem on a trip out west one year. Long story short the bill that should’ve been about $1,800 came to $50 out of my pocket with a coupon for a stay at a nice hotel across the street. Needless to say, when we bought our new bike a couple years later, I added the ESP plan to it also.
For some things it works.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Axlrod

WKR
Joined
Jan 8, 2017
Messages
1,514
Location
SW Montana
When a salesman sells an extended warranty 50% of the premium is paid to the salesman/dealership as a commission. That tells you how much value is in them, and why they are pushed. In 40 years I have purchased zero extended warranties, and I know I am WAY ahead.
 

Kenn

WKR
Joined
Nov 3, 2019
Messages
328
Location
Oregon
When a salesman sells an extended warranty 50% of the premium is paid to the salesman/dealership as a commission. That tells you how much value is in them, and why they are pushed. In 40 years I have purchased zero extended warranties, and I know I am WAY ahead.
Exactly. All extended warranties pay a sweet commission to the salesman, pay staff to process and occasionally pay claims, and they make a profit after all that. Occasionally someone comes out ahead but not often. If you want to invest in extended warranties buy their stock not their policy.
 

Sapcut

WKR
Joined
Jul 28, 2012
Messages
961
Location
Mobile, AL
Real world example when I was in the biz….I would sell the dealer a comprehensive $1000 service contract. They would upsell it at purchase to the car buyer for whatever they wanted to usually about $2500. The company I worked for would get like $100 on each sale and I would get like $50.

With smaller car lots and smaller service contracts, I would sell a $100 30 day warranty, they would upsell it for $300 and I would get $20 on each h sale. That’s basically how it works.

Then I would get emails constantly on each time a claim was made and how the company denied it or paid it. And it was constantly a hassle with customers not pleased due to being denied.

It’s very similar to organized crime mafia. Toyota has one family that controls and runs their upsell service contracts. No third party warranty companies play in their world… last I heard. It is unreal the profit that they make.

The deceptive conman I worked for very briefly made $30,000+ per MONTH in commissions selling to car dealers.
 
Last edited:

Yoder

WKR
Joined
Jan 12, 2021
Messages
1,721
We had a local dealership where the owner went to jail. I actually bought a vehicle from them. I got a really good deal on an old F150. It came with a 1 year warranty. They refused to sell it without it. I almost walked out but it was a great price so I bought it anyway. Thankfully, I never needed it. Turns out, he was charging people for a warranty that didn't exist. He gave you the paperwork but when you called, there was no record of your vehicle. He just kept the money. It's crazy he thought he could get away with that.
 

AndrewD

FNG
Joined
Aug 25, 2023
Messages
36
Warranties are like insurance and gambling; there wouldn't be an industry if the companies did not make a significant net profit. Meaning the majority of consumers will lose money on the deal. So purchasing a warranty is kind of like playing the slots. Your chances of winning are miniscule, but if you do win, you will be happy.
 
Joined
Sep 10, 2014
Messages
2,865
Location
hawai'i
I thought I got ripped off buying the extended warranty on a used SUV I bought from a dealer (my first experience with a car dealership). A few years later the rear coupler or something was leaking and thankfully I remembered the extended warranty I had bought. Didn’t pay a penny on a $1500 repair. I think this experience is more the exception than the norm but I was pleasantly surprised.
Same thing that happened to my friend he bought a used 2016 Silverado from a dealer about a year ago with a third party warranty and the transmission just blew. I told him don't do it at the time especially 3rd party. Well somehow warranty is covering it
 

Sapcut

WKR
Joined
Jul 28, 2012
Messages
961
Location
Mobile, AL
Owners or previous owners of Freedom Warranty and Integrity Warranty (of all names) are convicted felons in the auto warranty biz.
 
Joined
May 17, 2015
Messages
897
All extended warranties are a scam, I bought one on a used vehicle(xterra), 2 weeks later the transmission blew. Warranty wouldn’t cover the tranny because it was due to the tranny cooler failure, which was built into the radiator, which was not covered. My mechanic read through the warranty, told me it essentially wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on. Said with the language they used if your engine blew there was 0 chance they were covering it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

TuckTruck

WKR
Joined
Dec 22, 2020
Messages
366
Location
Montana
I’m a mechanic at a shop that specializes in diesel pickups, every time a customer comes in with and aftermarket warranty, we pretty much know that they are going to get hosed. Generally, for these trucks, the warranty will cover only internal mechanical components, and that component only. For example, if you lose a head gasket, they will pay for the labor for that one gasket and pay for only that gasket. No fluids, no other miscellaneous parts or gaskets required to do that job or anything, which on an engine like a duramax could be close to another $1000 in gaskets alone. Another thing they’ll do, if you lose an engine, they won’t pay for a new engine, they will find and pay for a “like condition” engine. If the truck has 200k miles, they will try and find a used engine with 200k miles and buy that one for the shop to install. What a lot of our customers end up doing, is pro rate out their warranty and use that money to pay for the repair. Ie, if you pay $3000 for a 3 year warranty and you are 1 year in, you might be able to get $2000 back if you sell it back to them. Always a good option.
 
Joined
May 7, 2023
Messages
626
I do agree that sometimes they don't work out, but sometimes they do.

I had a Ford 2008 F250, it had to have two radiators before I traded it and they replaced both under the factory warranty.

Ford 2017 F150, it had a steering wheel control module go out and the silly plastic single use oil pan they use now had a leak and they replaced it. Both of those were covered by an extended warranty.

My wife's 2019 VW Atlas had a valve cover seal start leaking and it was 1500 miles out of warranty and the OKC VW dealership still did it under warranty. They also programmed a new battery for the car at no charge.

Maybe I'm just lucky or these Oklahoma dealerships are a little easier to deal with 🤷‍♂️
 
Joined
May 6, 2018
Messages
9,807
Location
Shenandoah Valley
I do agree that sometimes they don't work out, but sometimes they do.

I had a Ford 2008 F250, it had to have two radiators before I traded it and they replaced both under the factory warranty.

Ford 2017 F150, it had a steering wheel control module go out and the silly plastic single use oil pan they use now had a leak and they replaced it. Both of those were covered by an extended warranty.

My wife's 2019 VW Atlas had a valve cover seal start leaking and it was 1500 miles out of warranty and the OKC VW dealership still did it under warranty. They also programmed a new battery for the car at no charge.

Maybe I'm just lucky or these Oklahoma dealerships are a little easier to deal with 🤷‍♂️

Factory warranty be it original or extended is way different from a third party warranty.


Still don't think it's worth purchasing any kind of warranty, but have used an extended factory warranty before.
 
Joined
May 7, 2023
Messages
626
Factory warranty be it original or extended is way different from a third party warranty.


Still don't think it's worth purchasing any kind of warranty, but have used an extended factory warranty before.
Yes you're right. I was referencing instances where both had worked out.
 

wyosteve

WKR
Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
2,243
I bought the factory extended warranty on my last Ram diesel. I actually made money on it so to speak. Cost $2200 for 8 years/85k miles. Had to have radio replaced (touchscreen that controls everything). That bill would have been $1000. Had an oil leak on the timing cover. That would have been $1500. Just traded that truck and got a pro-rated rebate of $600. So, in effect, I paid $1600 to cover $2500 worth of expense. Bought the same Maxcare manufacturer warranty on my new 2023! We'll see if it pays off, but it's peace of mind when traveling that any Dodge/Ram dealer will work on the truck.
 

Backyard

WKR
Joined
Jan 24, 2014
Messages
770
Location
Minnesnowta
Just got my Buick back from the dealer. It’s got 110k on it and started running like crap. After diagnostic, found that a coil was was bad. $341 covered under the ESP warranty. Plus a loaner for the wkd. Didn’t pay a penny.
Don’t buy the warranty tho.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:

30338

WKR
Joined
Jun 2, 2013
Messages
1,994
Same goes for road hazard insurance on tires. I've run through a crap ton of tires over the years and only had one sidewall tear that couldn't be fixed. If you added up all the road hazard insurance I'd have paid for, I could buy 2-3 sets of tires.
 
Joined
Apr 14, 2019
Messages
1,254
Location
Fort Myers , FL
I worked in the automotive and service business and dealt with many extended warranties. The only extended warranty I would buy is a bumper to bumper extended warranty from the manufacturer. Otherwise you are really buying an insurance policy with a lot of fine print. As with anything , know what your buying. Many vehicle dealerships offer different warranties. Because you buy it at your new car dealership with hour new vehicle doesn't mean its a manufactures extended warranty.
 

Stalker69

WKR
Joined
Apr 12, 2019
Messages
1,801
We bought the bumper to bumper warranty on a brand new Toyota. About two weeks of owning it, the little storage area ( formally probably would have been where ass tray would be). The lid broke off the first time we opened it. Believe it was broke before. And they refused to warranty a lid, does that lid not lay somewhere between those bumpers ? We had issues with the catalytic converter also , still do. Error is always on, we have to disconnect the battery and reset everything to clear the code, so it will pass emissions. And NOPE NOT COVERED. It’s Their bull shit, ways to get deeper in your pockets.
 

Crghss

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jun 1, 2018
Messages
286
Location
Jupiter, Florida
I bought an extended warranty from dealer for my RAV4. We saved a little on the deal. Paid around $1500. We had three repairs probably around 2k, maybe $3k.
 
Last edited:
Top