Extended warranties....I am just gonna cry!

[disneymom3]

Ugh. Ugh, ugh, ugh. We bought a used Chrysler T&C in late Dec. The price was good, it had low mileage and was in very nice condition. We bit the bullet and paid for the extended warranty and had our first need for it this week. The A/C is not working. Well, the condenser and the compressor are out and the guy tells me that the condenser has a small whole in it and it looks like a rock hit it and the warranty company will not cover that.

Well, WHAT is the point then?? It's not like we looked for a rock to run over or something? We sure don't remember hitting something big enough to have caused concern. Bleach. So, the compressor is covered and we have a $200 deductible and then the condenser is going to be $550 parts and labor. Yuck.

I am just depressed about this $750. We have the money, but I don't want to pay it.

So, I guess I am just venting, but can someone tell me what is up with a car that one little rock can take out the whole darn A/C system??

 

[Pop Daddy]

I bought one of them once, what a mistake. I was covered 100 % bumper to bumper for any "break down". And everyhting that happen they said it "wore out' it didnt "break down"

 

[DisneyDotty]

What a pain for you. Why can't companies/salespeople be honest when presenting these so called "Bumper-to-bumper" extended warranties?
Unfortunately, I imagine you didn't try out the A/C back in December when you bought the van. I bet it wasn't working then. Although, doesn't the dealer/seller have to disclose all known defects when selling?
Can't really offer any advice--I'll just be with you!

 

[disneymom3]

Well, we drove to FL in Feb and the first day we were there it worked and then on the morning of the second day it went "clunk" and stopped blowing cold air. My suspicion is that this small leak was already there and it ran out of fluid. Don't know for sure, but I do know that we did NOT hit something that big on the way down.

DH is totally set now on Honda or Toyota from now on. Yeah, it could happen but since our 10 yo Odyssey has never once had anything break on it, he is fed up with Chrysler. (We have had a Chrysler and a Dodge so it is not just this issue he is basing it on.)

 

[cardaway]

IMO nobody should ever buy them. Basically you to think of them as another product, and if there wasn't any profit in it, they wouldn't offer them.

Just buy the products that offer the best standard warranty.

And for your issue, sadly there are kinds of things that can be damaged by rocks and other pieces of road debris. Try driving over a fallen trailer hitch. You should seen what the damage it caused and it could have been a lot worse.

 

[Disney Ella]

Parting with a nice chunk of money isn't fun, is it? We got the extended warranty a few times in the past and I think there was only one time anything was ever covered.

I told DH not to ever fall for the extended warranty sales talk again. We can take the money we would have spent on the warranty, put it in a savings account, and if something goes wrong, no matter what, we can pay for it. If nothing goes wrong, then it's still our money.

 

[GeorgeG]

My father always had a comeback for such things. As soon as the salesperson started trying to sell the extended warranty he would "re-consider" the item (car/appliance) he was purchasing. He would ask why he should by a product last wasn't going to last. If the product doesn't come with a good warranty, it's probably not worth the purchase price.

 

[AllyandJack]

I got an extended warranty from a private company - not the dealer or the manufacturer - and it was awesome. It was reasonably priced and covered everything except glass, tires, electronics that I didn't have in my car, and items that would be covered by car insurance. I never had them deny anything - including $3,000 worth of work on DH's car when he hit a pothole.

There are some really good warranties out there, but I don't think the dealer is the place to get it.

 

[disneymom3]

Well, part of the reason we got the warranty is that it lowered the interest rate on our loan by 2% so in overall costs it did help out. (We are still recovering credit wise from a bad stretch a couple of years ago when DH was out of work for a long time so the credit score is not stellar.)

Thanks for the sympathy. It's nice to not feel so alone in this whole yucky mess.

 

[Towncrier]

I have had varying luck with extended automobile warranties. I would never have considered purchasing one, but my good buddy is a mechanic at the local Dodge dealership and he told me that having the extended warranty made it easier for him to get Dodge to cover more repairs than they would otherwise do without the warranty. It doesn't always work out, but I think that I have at least broken even on these "insurance" policies so far.

Sorry that you had a bad experience.

 

[HayGan]

I have an extended warranty on my Explorer and it has paid for itself. It has replaced my steering fluid pump (twice!), front ball joint, engine thermostat, rear window wiper motor and a couple of other things. It is thru Century Warranty (Capital One) and overall I have been pleased. They have declined to pay for a few things (wear and tear items like ball joints after 50K miles) and a brake cable that was rusted but overall it was worth it!