Extended car warranties?

[Cybrludite]

After nearly getting boned on some repairs to my truck (Hub went out on the driver's side front wheel, dealership covered it as a warranty repair because it was clearly a defective part which had been slowly going bad), I'm looking to get a warranty policy as "repair insurance" so I'm not left going "Holy carp! The part alone costs HOW much?" the next time something like this comes up. Does the brain trust here have any companies they recommend, or that should be avoided?

[Netpackrat]

I concur with Chris. While I have normally done most of my own maintenance, when we bought my wife's vehicle I decided that I really didn't want to mess with it, due to the degree of complexity when compared to our other rigs, so we bought the extended factory warranty from the dealer. Fast forward a few years, and it developed a slight pulse to the brake pedal, even though there was plenty of pad left on the brakes. The dealer refused to warranty the brakes, citing the fact that they are a normal wear item. Sorry, but warped rotors are NOT normal wear. And of course, the cost of taking any legal action to enforce the warranty is going to cost more than the repairs, so that's that.

A complete waste of money which I will not be repeating.

[308Mike]

Since I've bought only ONE new car in my life, and this one was using relatively new technologies, I decided to go for it and get the extended warranty. I figure the extra money I paid for the extended warranty would have paid for the extended warranty repairs I had done - but I loathe to think of how much I would have had to pay if something major had gone wrong with my Honda Civic Hybrid and it was out of warranty.

I figure since it was fairly new technologies, including the CV tranny and the hybrid electric assist, I'd much rather be safe than sorry - and perhaps spend a few extra bucks upfront than to have to spend a LOT of money sometime later.

Now, a regular car with a regular transmission (either auto or manual), I wouldn't have bought the extended factory warranty.

Just like insurance, it's a gamble. You're betting something bad WILL happen and you're spending money to guard against the additional expense, and they're betting it WON'T happen and all your extra premiums & fees go right into their pockets.

[Cybrludite]

seriously, they're so bad congress is considering banning the industry entirely.

Ironic choice of words for around here! I look at expensive breakdowns as a question of "When", not "If", and a more likely occurrence than a serious illness on my own part. Likewise, if my toaster breaks down unexpectedly, I'm not bicycling in to work in the dark until I get it fixed. (The buses here stop running four hours before my shift starts.) If the extended warranty biz is as crooked as all that, what I think I'll do instead is start myself up a savings account to be tapped only in case of car repairs. Doing it as a checking account would make it too tempting to dip into for other stuff.

[cu74]

.........what I think I'll do instead is start myself up a savings account to be tapped only in case of car repairs. Doing it as a checking account would make it too tempting to dip into for other stuff.

Been doing that for years - it's the old "save for a rainy day" philosophy - and it has worked well for me. I suggest not limiting the account to just car repairs but building it up so you can tap it for other "events" as well - priced a new set of tires lately ?

Once you get used to "paying yourself first" and putting a bit in the account every month/pay period, it becomes easy to build the account and then unexpected events can be relatively painless.

[Termite]

.........what I think I'll do instead is start myself up a savings account to be tapped only in case of car repairs. Doing it as a checking account would make it too tempting to dip into for other stuff.

Been doing that for years - it's the old "save for a rainy day" philosophy - and it has worked well for me. I suggest not limiting the account to just car repairs but building it up so you can tap it for other "events" as well - priced a new set of tires lately ?

Once you get used to "paying yourself first" and putting a bit in the account every month/pay period, it becomes easy to build the account and then unexpected events can be relatively painless.

CU74, you should be teaching Dave Ramsey's course.

Cybrludite, go to Books a Million and buy Ramsey's book "Financial Peace". It's the best $20 worth of personal financial advice out there. In the meantime, here's his seven Baby Steps.

[Ben Rumson]

I've had good experiences with FACTORY extended warranties sold by the dealer at time of the vehicle purchase.

Any third party offering a warranty is not good. I believe you would still need to pay the bill at time of repair and then submit a claim to the third party and good luck with that. I doubt you would get any type of backup from the repair shop when you need to argue with the warranty company.

I would stay away from a third party.

[308Mike]

I've had good experiences with FACTORY extended warranties sold by the dealer at time of the vehicle purchase.

Any third party offering a warranty is not good. I believe you would still need to pay the bill at time of repair and then submit a claim to the third party and good luck with that. I doubt you would get any type of backup from the repair shop when you need to argue with the warranty company.

I would stay away from a third party.

I've also had problems with warranty repairs from EXTENDED DEALER WARRANTIES - case in point: My Ex and I were on a trip in Arizona when her VW Westie started having a hard time shifting. Considering how long it was going to take and the miles involved in getting her van/bus home, we decided to try and drive it home and then call for a tow to the dealership.

Turns out that we bent the shifting fork getting it home (cost of less than $100 to replace), but the warranty folks denied the claim for the repairs 'cause we didn't call a tow truck and have to dragged home over 300 miles to get it repaired, therefore causing the shifting fork to become bent during the drive home.

So, to save the warranty company the several-hundred dollar towing charge (doing the "reasonable thing" and trying to save them money), we got dinged for the repair of the bent fork PLUS a couple other items and the warranty picked up a few tranny bands or something silly, plus some of the labor. If we'd had the car towed for that distance, they would have been looking at a $400+ tow bill, PLUS repairs, instead of the $265 bill we were asking them to pay.

Those shits wouldn't budge even though we SAVED them over $1000 in repair bills by driving it home instead of towing it.

For now on, I ALWAYS get approval for ANY actions taken on a warranty-covered item, get the name and position of the person I'm talking to, besides the date and time - along with the number I called to reach them.

You can't trust those turds. You can get approval and then have them turn around and deny your claim saying the person making the decision no longer works there and what they did was improper and not authorized or approved - even though you have both, and authorization number AND an approval number.

You best approach is to make sure you document EVERYTHING regarding these types of scenarios - even if they are approved and everything SEEMS to be going okay. You wouldn't believe how many repairs are approved by disgruntled workers getting ready to leave their jobs and putting their employer on the hook for the bills even though they may or may NOT be legitimate claims.

The BEST thing you can do is ALWAYS cover your rear. Record the date & time of the call, who you talked to and if possible, their supervisor, along with the number you called and any other extensions you may or may not be transferred to (ask in case you get disconnected).

The other thing that's good to learn is HOW TO COMPLAIN rather than just bitch at someone to get something done. NO ONE is going to want to help a customer who's frothing at the mouth and spitting all over them mad while trying to listen to something that this might be the FIRST TIME they've even heard is a problem. DO NOT kill the supervisor when he has no clue regarding what's wrong and what he might do to fix it - GIVE THE GUY A CHANCE TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT. That way, your complaint will have more validity when it reaches the next level (if the first-level supervisor couldn't make things right).

Also - DO NOT BE A JERK. No one will want to help you and if they lose YOUR business, they'll just say - "Good Riddance! PLEASE go somewhere else"

If you complain right, you'll be surprised at just how well you'll do with getting MORE than you want, and they'll be HAPPY to do it too!

Don't shoot yourself in the foot just 'cause you couldn't handle your immediate anger - STOP and think about the REAL issues then form a plan of attack.

We couldn't get what we wanted from the dealer, but I've learned a LOT since then. I bet I could NOW.

[Combat Controller]

On the flip-side when I got my Tuareg I bought the extended 3 year 30k warranty. It has since paid for $6k of the $9k in repairs it needed and it only cost me $2400. I still have 1.5 years left on it even.