Extended car warranty

[Mosby]

Getting my wife a new car. Historically, I never get extended warranties. We try to keep our vehicles for years and put a lot of miles on them. but with the cost of labor, parts etc., simple repair costs are going up at an accelerating rate. Thinking I should at least think about it. Blew the transmission on my wife's car when it had around 75,000 miles outside of Denver, A warranty would have been nice but normally we don't have a lot of issues with our vehicles and she will put on 20,000 miles a year.

Has anyone done any recent research/analysis on extended vehicle warranties and cost/benefit?

 

[Jbxl20]

I was technician at a dealership for 12 years. Ive always been against extend warranties. I work on my friends and families cars, but I talked my in-laws into getting the factory’s extended warranty. Even though I can save them money in labor the parts prices can be outrageous. Might be worth looking into. Especially with everything being electronically controlled.

 

[Backyard]

^^Mostly for this^^
Nowadays the radio could run ya into thousands alone.

 

[Coldtrail]

The past few cars my wife drives I've gotten extended warranties for just to make things easier because we both travel.....so far I have not come close to getting my money out of them & prob stop spending the money.

 

[OldGrayJB]

I would only recommend extended warranties for people who live paycheck to paycheck and can't afford expensive repairs. I would have wasted money if I had bought warranties on every vehicle I've ever owned except one.

 

[Sagebrushhunter]

I wouldn’t recommend warranty. I have 27 years experience working on cars. These extended warranty companies will find a way not to cover most of the repairs. They will want you to prove every maintenance has been done. They send out adjusters to take pictures of vehicle to find things like worn tires to say it’s owners fault. If they can’t find a way not to pay they have limits on what they actually pay. If it needs a new engine and the cost is 6000$ they will come back and say the coverage only allows for 2500$.

 

[Totoro]

I would recommend an extended warranty, but only those that have the factory backing the warranty.

Toyota Care and Ally (formerly General Motors Protection Plan).

Better to have and not need then need and not have, IMO.

YMMV

 

[Sagebrushhunter]

I would recommend an extended warranty, but only those that have the factory backing the warranty.

Toyota Care and Ally (formerly General Motors Protection Plan).

Better to have and not need then need and not have, IMO.

YMMV

Yeah that is true! The ones sold by dealers that are not factory warranties are the ones to avoid

 

[EdP]

If there was not money to be made selling extended warranties, there would be none for sale. It's an insurance policy, and some things are so expensive that you can't take the risk. Health care, homeowner, and auto collision/liability are examples. Perhaps auto repair is becomming that way for some, but not for me.

 

[RS3579]

It would depend on the make of the vehicle. If you have experience with a particular make and are comfortable with the history of mechanical failure or reliability, that could weigh into the decision. I don’t buy extended warranties. Look at used certified, sometimes you can get a longer factory warranty this way.

 

[Totoro]

Sure there is money to be made, if there wasn't it wouldn't exist and everything would be free; labor and parts to boot.

Certified vehicle are another possibility but there are always exclusions; however, same can be said with extended warranty.

That said of the countless extended warranties I have dealt with, Mercury and Fidelity are the only aftermarket ones I would even consider.

Protective Asset Protection is one I would definitely steer clear from.

 

[Jahvette20]

My personal experience is on 14 grand Cherokee that at the time I was able to get a Mopar “lifetime bumper to bumper” for around 2k which has over paid for its self since, and my 15 f150 with a ford 7yr 100k “bumper to bumper” that ran me $1600 that also has paid for its self. Granted the only things that I needed the warranty for were luxury items like heated seats, sunroofs, power running boards, etc, all surprisingly high dollar items, but with only a $100 deductible all above items were REPLACED. Ford did give me a run around on my leaking rear diff that since it wasn’t “dripping” it wasn’t covered. But again, my PERSONAL experience had been positive for the specific warranties at the costs I managed. That said, I literally won’t buy any other offered product warranties and may not on my next vehicle either…

 

[Mosby]

If I am reading the small print correctly, Subaru and/or dealership is partnering with GWC. Wife and I decided not to purchase additional coverage.The basic coverage and maintenance program was going to cost us over $3,000, when you add up the monthly payments. We go on long trips and will put 20,000 miles a year on this vehicle. We would be lucky to get 5 years of coverage for the cost of a 10 year warranty and we'll get close to two years of that through the manufacturer. I might get it, if I drove low miles and could get close to the 10 years but we don't. Of all the cars and trucks we've owned, we only had one car that we had a major expense in the first 100,000 miles and that was the car we just got rid of. Hopefully the car we got wasn't built on a Monday and our luck will continue.

 

[Patriot2]

Dave Ramsey says the pay off averages 12 cents on the dollar.....I would not recommend it, neither does Dave. If you are SO stretcehd for money that a breakdown would cause severe hardship, buy a cheaper vehicle and keep the remainder in reserve in case it breaks down would be my advice.

 

[fngTony]

As long as you’re not buying a Land Rover (priced like a Mercedes, build quality of a Fiat).

 

[BRTreedogs]

In my experience the scum bags find a loop hole to get out of anything and everything they can.
Imo the auto industry is the scummest of the scum.

 

[AZ8]

Wasted money for me.

2017 Hyundai Sonata brand new. Bought the extended warranty because I was worried about all the electronics.

Fast forward to 2021, 74000 miles I get an air bag warning light on the dash. Take it in and dealership says driver side door air bag/sensor has gone bad, need to replace entire air bag since it’s all one piece. He says it’ll be covered. 2 hours later dealership calls and says since I’m over the 60000 mileage threshold, the extended will kick in.

Another call about 15 minutes later and he gives me the bad news. Extended won’t cover air bags!!

Im like WTF?! How can a safety feature that’s REQUIRED by law to be on all vehicles NOT be covered. Says sorry, but the fine print says so. I read the fine print and sure enough not only is the air bag not covered, but pretty much everything else too.

$1100 repair bill later…..

Total waste of money buying the extended.

 

[NB7]

All I know is "they" have been trying to reach me

 

[BachelorJack]

On the factory extended warranties--you can call them if you sell or trade in the car and have them refund the prorated remaining amount left. ie Buy a 5 year, sell at year 3, call and get 2 years back via check.

If they are transferable, even better if selling your car. Either pay me the premium or I will cash it out. You can call them and they will tell you what cashing it out is worth.

I've done this with both Subaru's and Nissan's. All my Toyota's and Lexus's have been used and out of warranty. And not needed it....

I either buy Older used cars with no warranty left or brand new off the lot.

 

[Chaseum]

Factory backed ones are better. These are the only ones I would get. Also consider setting aside a payment to another account that you don't touch as an option in lieu of paying a company that may or may not help you.