Warrantys?????

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skychair

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Not sure where to ask, anyone have advice on after market warranty purchases?
List of companies, etc.
Ron
 

PlayingWithTBI

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An old wise man once said "you insure what you can't afford to replace". How much will you pay in a year compared to what will, let's say, a trans cost to repair/replace (including deductible)? Can you afford to gamble 2 years worth of payments? After a year you should have a pretty good idea what's wrong with your ride.

Although I'm still paying on my stupid life insurance at almost 66 years old (in August), I'm worth more to her dead than alive, lol! That's my opinion - I could be wrong.
 

df2x4

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I bought an extended "warranty" with a used car back when I was 18 and didn't know any better. About three months later the transmission went out and the "warranty" providers basically told me to go kick rocks. There was a metric ton of fine print in the contract that gave them a way to weasel out of whatever they felt like. Biggest waste of money ever.

I'd just set aside a bit of money for unexpected issues.
 

Gramps

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I sold used cars for a reputable dealership for a few years. No. *******. Way. I’d. Ever. Pay. For. Additional. Warranty.

You pay 2g, for a wty that still has a deductible, and 99% of the time doesn’t cover the **** that actually fails.

Tell you what....you send me a check for 5g, I’ll cover whatever breaks in the next 2 years +50% of anything over $999.90
 

JackE

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I paid $2800 for my 99 year, 999,999 mile bumper to bumper warranty backed by FCA on my Charger. It's definitely not a 3rd party warranty. Already covered the cost of the warranty when they had to replace all my door panels to the tune of $7,400! But that doesn't really help you any. Every 3rd party warranty I have ever seen is a waste of money. Save a few dollars every month and you will have the cash to fix things as needed.
 

Schurkey

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Not sure where to ask, anyone have advice on after market warranty purchases?
List of companies, etc.
Ron

I bought an extended "warranty" with a used car back when I was 18 and didn't know any better. About three months later the transmission went out and the "warranty" providers basically told me to go kick rocks. There was a metric ton of fine print in the contract that gave them a way to weasel out of whatever they felt like. Biggest waste of money ever.

I'd just set aside a bit of money for unexpected issues.
How much are you willing to gamble?

The warranty company is gambling that you'll pay more for the "warranty" than they'll pay out in claims. They have experts assessing the likely dollar value of claims, they have lawyers writing the contract so they have loopholes, and you have whatever research you're willing to do...part time, using half-assed research sources. And if there's a problem, or a claim, how long do you want to sit on "hold" waiting for someone to talk to. Remember, "Your call is very important to us. Not so important that we'll staff the telephone service office, But important in some sort of nebulous, non-describable way."

So, sure, if you feel like throwing the dice 'cause you know more than the "experts" and Lawyers, jump all over an "extended warranty".

The proper attitude as far as I'm concerned is: If the car-lot is selling a shitbox vehicle that I need to pay extra for a "warranty" to feel secure, I'm not buying anything from them--it's all junk.






TRUE STORIES from my experience as a dealership service advisor who had to deal with the damned extended warranties sold by the crooks in the Sales department: Note that this goes back about thirty years.

1. Warranty does not pay for fluids or filters, even if you'd be nuts to not change the fluid or filter when, for example, a transmission throws metal after destroying a batch of thrust bearings and the planetary gearset.

2. Warranty will fix the burnt valve in the one cylinder that now has no compression. The valves in the other seven cylinders are YOUR PROBLEM. Now find a machinist that is willing to **** on his own reputation by doing a one-cylinder valve job. My guys were instructed to only remove the cylinder head that had the bad valve--the other head STAYED ON THE VEHICLE because the warranty wouldn't pay for gaskets to remove it, or the labor cost. Doing a proper service cost the warranty customer 2/3 of the full cost of the job--warranty paid for one head gasket, one valve cover gasket, half of an intake manifold gasket set, grind the one bad valve and one bad valve seat, and labor to R&R one cylinder head. Taking care of the rest of the valves was "Customer Responsibility" along with the oil change.

3. Claims and service authorization are handled by telephone. I'd spend 20 or 30 minutes at a time on "Hold" because waiting on hold cost me money, (I couldn't help other customers while I'm stuck on the 'phone) and saved them money when folks just hung up and didn't follow through with the claim. They had every reason to under-staff the claims and authorization department.

4. The extended warranty was often as profitable as the used-car sale itself. The salesmen that sold the most warranties got bonuses for fukking the service department.
 
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JackE

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That is exactly why I wouldn't go for a 3rd party warranty. The dealership didn't try to sell me on the warranty. I had to ask about it, the salesman didn't even know FCA had such a warranty. When I was in the paperwork stage of the sale, it took the guy a good 10 minutes to figure out how to activate my warranty. That's how infrequently they actually sold the MaxCare warranty. My mom had the same experience with the same warranty on her Jeep. She recently had some trans work done that would have normally been a huge fight and over $4,000. Simple drop off, it even pays for a rental car while they work on it. Didn't cost her a single penny. I was quite sad when I heard they discontinued that warranty December 1 last year because I was planning to buy a second Charger this summer with the same warranty.
 

Knuckle Dragger

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Factory extended warranties are generally pretty decent, aftermarket warranties are pure crap. Be prepared to fight on everything and have to threaten to file complaints with your state. Post 3 says it all. It's always a gamble, I've never "lost" on a warranty but I haven't felt the need to buy them on every car.
 
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