extended warranty for car...is it worth it?

[SnowWhite]

We usually buy Toyota, but the last vehicle we bought is a Chev Trailblazer (we needed the towing capacity). I was VERY nervous about going to a domestic vehicle, AND I had read reviews about the '01-'03 models that were not very good. We bought the extended warranty for that reason BUT, we didn't buy it initially, we bought it nearly a year later, just as the manufacturers warranty was expiring. If you still have 4000 miles to go before the warranty is up, there is NO reason for them to be pressuring you to make a decision by Friday, unless you were adding it in to the financing.

I had no idea that there are private companies that offer extended warranty! I don't know if they are available in Canada.

There are alot of companies that offer extended warranties here in Canada now. There only used to be a handful, but now there is alot of competition which means better pricing now. That is why the dealers really try to pressure you during the sale to buy because they don't want you shopping for the aftermarket warranties because in many cases it is cheaper and covers more. The last aftermarket warranty we had on our 95' Intrepid was a lifesaver or should I say bank account saver. The transmission went and alone would have been $2000.00 to fix. As well as the fuel pump, air conditioning and a few other things. The warranty we bought was the best one they sold and we paid $1000.00 for it. The warranty company was Lubrico. I have a Toyota extended warranty on my car right now that covers me up to 200,000 kms (125,000 mi for those of you that don't know kms). I am at 190,000 kms right now and my car is a 2004. When we bought our montana van this year we bought the extended warranty from the dealer and negotiated $500.00 off the price and it has already come in handy as the air conditioning compressor has gone already on it. Luckily it is covered! (the van was used). Just be very careful and read the fine print in the warranty coverages and charges!!!! Some of the companies are quite sneaky.

Rob (Snowwhite's DH)

 

[Shannon G]

I'm the poster child for why it's a good idea to buy the extended warranty - I bought it on my last vehicle, a 2001 GMC Jimmy. Last summer the transmission blew - didn't cost me a dime to have it fixed. Later in the year, a ball joint (or something like that) needed to be replaced - again, something that would have been very expensive to fix didn't cost me anything. My dad works at a dealership, and I get discounted rates for parts & labor, and I STILL buy the extended warranty!

 

[Lewisc]

Check with AAA.
This is another company that has a good reputation
http://www.warrantydirect.com/

A transferable extended warranty will increase the value of the car if you want to sell it.

 

[FayeW]

There are alot of companies that offer extended warranties here in Canada now. Their only used to be a handful, but now there is alot of competition which means better pricing now. That is why the dealers really try to pressure you during the sale to buy because they don't want you shopping for the aftermarket warranties because in many cases it is cheaper and covers more. The last aftermarket warranty we had on our 95' Intrepid was a lifesaver or should I say bank account saver. The transmission went and alone would have been $2000.00 to fix. As well as the fuel pump, air conditioning and a few other things. The warranty we bought was the best one they sold and we paid $1000.00 for it. The warranty company was Lubrico. I have a Toyota extended warranty on my car right now that covers me up to 200,000 kms (125,000 mi for those of you that don't know kms). I am at 190,000 kms right now and my car is a 2004. When we bought our montana van this year we bought the extended warranty from the dealer and negotiated $500.00 off the price and it has already come in handy as the air conditioning compressor has gone already on it. Luckily it is covered! (the van was used). Just be very careful and read the fine print in the warranty coverages and charges!!!! Some of the companies are quite sneaky.

Rob (Snowwhite's DH)

Thanks Rob! I also have a 2001 Suzuki Esteem. It has 80K on it now. Are there any companies that will give you an extended warranty AFTER the manufacturers warranty has already expired?

 

[SnowWhite]

For sure! Just let your fingers do the typing in Google and you will be amazed by the amount of companies that offer extended warranties for your suzuki.

Rob (Snowwhite's DH)

 

[cxcelica]

Some good points have been posted here. First remember that dealerships make a huge amount of money off of these warranties, so don't feel too pressured or afraid to negotiate.

Secondly make sure that you read the warranty and ask about what exactly is covered. Powertrain is pretty broad and if when something goes wrong there is a way to tell you that it is not covered by the warranty they will. So ask questions.

Someone else mentioned it but make sure you ask about the deductible. If you use the warranty it will save you money, but you don't want to be hit with a $100 or more deductible every time you use the warranty.

Good Luck

 

[uromac]

Hi!

We're looking into buying a used car for our 17 yo ds - I know this might be a silly question - but - can you purchase a warranty for a used auto that you bought from another person and not a dealership? BTW, we're still looking into a car for him as I have mentioned on another thread on this board!

We live in NJ and I know it is difficult to get car insurance companies to issue policies in this state - I was wondering if it's the same with warranties.

Thanks - great thread!

Melissa

 

[HayGan]

Hi!

We're looking into buying a used car for our 17 yo ds - I know this might be a silly question - but - can you purchase a warranty for a used auto that you bought from another person and not a dealership? BTW, we're still looking into a car for him as I have mentioned on another thread on this board!

We live in NJ and I know it is difficult to get car insurance companies to issue policies in this state - I was wondering if it's the same with warranties.

Thanks - great thread!

Melissa

Yes you can. You will most likely need to take it to a mechanic to have it inspected. Check out the companies listed on this thread for different options.

 

[Lisa_M]

I'm in PA and have Century Warranty. Have you tried calling them directly?

No, that was from their website. Can you give me their phone number? Their "contact us" link on the site is broken.

So far I have a quote of $2385 from AAA (member price, but still seems high)
and $1999 from Smart Auto Warranty.com (their exclusions are ridiculous so they are out)

Basically, what I am afraid of is paying all this money and then if and when I need the coverage, the company will just say, you didn't let the car break down before you brought it in (exclusionary clause on the smartautowarranty.com agreement) or some other stupid thing.

Thanks for everyone's help. You guys always know everything!!!! (I didn't know you could shop around for extended warranties either...

Anyone negotiate warranty price w/ a 3rd party provider?

 

[msklcassidy]

Extended warranties are just not worth it! We purchased one for our first "used" car...a 1998 Villager. Every time something went wrong (not all that often, thank goodness) it wasn't covered or had a higher deductible (that fine print is very tedious to look through) that interestingly enough was just about $100 under the total repair bill!

We generally purchase used cars....a 1998 Chevy Venture with 52K on it was purchased in 2001, a 2001 Expedition with 90K on it a year ago, and a 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser (my car with 48K on it a year ago). What's gone wrong... with the Expedition, ball joints for $450...PT Cruiser, NOTHING!....and the Venture, brakes, a clip that holds the cup holder broke, a cracked windshield (rock) and the power window motor for the drivers side totalling about $1,000. Mind you, I'm not counting general maintenance like oil changes, tires, transmission fluid & filter change), etc. Would the extended warranties have covered the things that went wrong, sure...but we would have spent about $4,500 in "warranty" costs, not counting the deductibles!

Here's our rule of thumb...Just like gambling...extended warranties are always set up in the favor of the house. If you (or your significant other) are at all handy, go buy a Haynes and you can do the repairs yourself...I learned how to do my own brakes and got lifetime brake pads and my husband did the replacement of the driver's side power window unit himself!

JMHO!

 

[msklcassidy]

By the way, read the reliability indicators on the car. They will generally tell you the most common things to go wrong and give you an average repair cost. Use that as your guide (like we've learned to do) to determine if the warranty is worth it... BTW, if it is "worth it" then generally you aren't buying a very well made car. And yes, before anyone asks, my hubby and I are the ones who "drive our cars until they die." My last new car was a 1994 GMC Jimmy 4 door that I got rid of when it had 240,000 miles on it with the original engine in it about 6 months ago. I sold it to a kid who needed a cheap "college" car that still looked cool....and I only sold it because we bought a larger camper and needed a big SUV to pull it (the Expedition).

 

[Lisa_M]

Well I checked the reliability ratings and all signs point to minimal problems (the best category!).

I found a good warranty through Continental Warranty, but it's only good if it covers what they say it does. It covers everything but brake pads, rotors, battery and wiper blades for the low low price of $1848 3 yr 36k $100/visit deductible and it's not a breakdown warranty, so I can get maintenance done as needed. I can take it to any licensed mechanic, too.

I need to talk to DH about this when he gets home from work, but I think we'll probably have to pass on this for now...too expensive for us. Now that I know we're in the minimal category I have a little piece of mind.

It kinda sucks how these car dealer ppl are....one sells you on the car and tells you how great it is and then the finance guy tells you how you better get the warranty cause it could be a piece of crap. I am excited to get the car, but I absolutely hate buying a car.

In regards to negotiating the price of the warranty, we sucked at car negotiations. We're a bit too timid. The guy gave us a price of like 30 less than KBB, so we thought ok fine we know they have to make a living. We didn't get a bad deal, but we didn't get a great deal.

 

[rainy~daze]

I'm sorry to hijack but on the topic of extended warranties, we bought a new truck in 04 which has been nothing but trouble. (ford sucks!) but it is a commercial size truck, so lemon law doesn't cover us. can we get an extended warranty now that ours will be expiring in 5k miles or just SOL.?

 

[Lisa_M]

I'm sorry to hijack but on the topic of extended warranties, we bought a new truck in 04 which has been nothing but trouble. (ford sucks!) but it is a commercial size truck, so lemon law doesn't cover us. can we get an extended warranty now that ours will be expiring in 5k miles or just SOL.?

From what I gathered in my searches yes....don't tell the warranty company it has been nothing but trouble...

 

[Lisa_M]

So I called aaa to find out about extended warranty and the guy says do you want to apply for our auto loan, so I figure why not our interest rate through the dealership is 9.5%, what can it hurt? So we get approved for our loan through aaa for 6.64%!!!!! I don't think I've ever been so happy (except my wedding day, of course). Also, he gave us 200 off on the full extended warranty. Our payments are lower w/ aaa loan and best warranty than crap warranty and high rate through the dealer!!!


You guys have been sooo helpful with ideas and knowledge. I truly appreciate it!

 

[Schachteles]

Definitely check around...we bought a Chevy Trailblazer with 28k miles on it and we got the extended warranty for up to 100k miles bumper to bumper for like $1300...you figure that is doesn't take much to get to that dollar amount to make it pay for itself...and at least through the dealership that we got ours at...if we don't ever use it we get our $$ back.

 

[deelam]

Definitely check around...we bought a Chevy Trailblazer with 28k miles on it and we got the extended warranty for up to 100k miles bumper to bumper for like $1300...you figure that is doesn't take much to get to that dollar amount to make it pay for itself...and at least through the dealership that we got ours at...if we don't ever use it we get our $$ back.

I bought an extended warranty with my Toyota Camry a 4 years ago. I never used the warranty and was told I could get $1000 back if it never got used. When do you apply to get back your Money? Is it when the car is paid off? How hard is it to get money back?

 

[HayGan]

I bought an extended warranty with my Toyota Camry a 4 years ago. I never used the warranty and was told I could get $1000 back if it never got used. When do you apply to get back your Money? Is it when the car is paid off? How hard is it to get money back?

I would assume that you would get your money back at the end of the policy terms so if it was a 36 month warranty, it would be at the 37 month. You may only have a limited amount of time to request the refund so I would check the terms of your policy.