Extended vehicle warranties

[JcMack]

In Nov. '07 I bought a '08 Chevy PU. I currently have 9800 miles on it. It came with the factory 3-36K bumper to bumper and 5-50K warranty. In Nov. this year warranty is done. I was just gonna wing it, but my next door neighbors '06 Chevy HHR threw a rod at 56K two months ago and engine replacement was costly. Does GM offer a warranty after original runs out, or is some other warranty a better option?

Thanks, Jim

 

[YogiBear]

Aloha,

In June of 06, I special ordered a Chevy TrailBlazer SS

Since it has a Corvette LS2 motor, I also got the LONGEST

extended warranty GM offered.

Sorry, I forgot how much I paid for it.

So Far, I have not had any Major problems with the SS. I have Less

than 34,000 miles on it. It has always been dealer maintained.

After the original warranty is up, I pay the first $100 of any warranty

repairs. I have only used it once for air conditioning.

May have to use it muffler replacement. Will find out when I take it in

later this month.

I feel better to have and not need than to Need and not have. Especially

considering the performance nature of the SS.

 

[Stevens]

I never buy extended warranties on anything, I figure if something goes wrong it is usually during the original warranty, or way out when things start to wear out. The sales clerks must get a special commision on these they really push them. I have seen my FIL buy a $3 warrantyon a $15 item that had a 3 month factory warranty anyway.
Many of the credit card Cos. already warranty items bought with their cards.
During H Katrina in New Orleans my son's insurance didn't cover his furniture. We had given him a dresser bought with on our credit card just before that, the credit card co. paid for replacement. I doubt a store bought warraty would have paid.
Steve W
Steve W.

 

[geoff40]

If you do, shop ONLY for a GM service contract. Why? Well the problem with 3rd party service contracts is finding a repair center that will honor them. GM dealerships are usually under contract to work only with GM contracts. Ford with Ford, Dodge with Chrysler, etc. I worked at a dealership for a while, in the service department, and please just trust me, this is not one time it pays to shop around!! Every week we turned away good people who purchased these 3rd party service contracts because of the terms the dealership was under with the manufacturer. We could not honor them, and it is entirely up to the customer to try to find someone who will.

There is nothing wrong with a good service contract/extended warranty, and sometimes just in 1 repair they will more than pay for themselves, like if the transmission needs replacing for example. Be sure you include towing, and also a loaner vehicle if you might need one.

Back to the 3rd party contract: the transmission blows, and eventually you find a garage that will take the coverage for you. Its 125 miles away. You have to get your truck there, and no, towing isn't included. They replace the transmission, but because authorized service at a dealership did not do the work, there is a very limited warranty given to you on the replacement transmission. Parts only, 6 months or 6K, 12/12 if you are lucky. They install a rebuilt transmission from a 3rd party supplier rather than a new one, because the fine print says they can. The fine print also says that once they install the transmission, their obligation is fulfilled, regardless of the milage on your vehicle. In other words if transmission problems start 15K later, you're on your own buddy.
This is a pretty typical account of how it goes with those 3rd party contacts.

 

[Rule3]

Wing it. Extended warranties are not generally worth it.
It's a law of nature and all things, that stuff breaks after any warranty expires.

Not, JMO.

 

[joespapa]

After 33 years in the auto business I cam second what geoff40 says!
Absolutely get an extended warranty and ONLY the factory one ie: GM etc.

 

[doc540]

Having been in the auto-related business for a long time, ESA's (extended service contract) have been a very good investment many times.

But, like banks and insurance companies, any of them can fail or go bankrupt and many have.

A GM ESA can be a good investment, and you can negotiate the price just like the price of a vehicle. It's a profit center to the dealer like parts, service, and financing.

At one time or another, ESA's have personally saved me thousands of out-of-pocket dollars.

 

[David LaPell]

When I bought my 01 Jeep Cherokee I got the extended warranty from Chrysler, it was well worth it especially when I had to replace a cracked cylinder head. I paid the $100 deductible on what would have been a $2600 repair. There have been a few other things too, all alot more money that the $100 deductible was to someone with no warranty. I will say one thing though, after being a lifelong Chrysler owner I won't be going back in the future after the last couple, can't say anything about Obama Motors, Ford has been good and bad, I really like the Toyota Tacoma for a future vehicle but I will have to see.

 

[Goldstar225]

I generally do not purchase an extended warranty. The only exception was for my wife's jeep wrangler. In 70,000 miles we used it twice.

My view on extended warranties is that those offering them have more knowledge about the probabilities of repairs and their costs than we do. They are able to sell the warranties and still make a profit because, on average, the claims will be less than what they take in.

I tend to buy items that I don't believe will break. My most recent purchases being a Toyota Camry for the wife and a Toyota Tacoma for myself.

 

[NYlakesider]

Never been a proponent of X warranties for anything. With that said I did buy one for my 07 Z06 Corvette. I bought it from a big western GM dealer that specializes in that. His prices are super cheap (many hundred dollars cheaper) compared to what the selling dealer asks for, and yes it’s the same GM warranty. I bought just before the original factory warranty died.

I bought it as the Z06 is just loaded with computers and all sorts of other electronic junk and that stuff can be quite expensive to fix. Also the engine alone is more than $20.000 and as it’s a high HP out put it is working if you push it right at its limits.

 

[Stevie]

Hmm..I wasn't a believer in extended warranties until recently.

A couple friends experiences and one of my own:

First friend's wife bought a Chrysler crossfire..was used..she bought extended warranty too..friend thought she was nuts..the dash display crapped out..warranty paid for it..was like $1500.

Another friend's wife has an older Lexus..the blower motor conked out..had it repaired and paid for out of pocket...blower motor smokes again a month later..ends up buying a new blower motor and a new control unit..cost like $1200 they're out of pocket!

My experience..I bought a used 2008 Dodge Ram 1500 truck and gave my kid my old F250..not knowing much about later model Dodges..and knowing their bad rep..I bought a 4 year 50,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty with the money I wheedeled the dealership down in price(about $1100)..anyhow..the truck has been running great..except a few months back the rear axel starts whining! I take the truck in..and a side bearing is bad in the axel...the dealership rebuilt the rear axel with all new bearings..and it cost me my $100 deductable is all..actual cost of the repair was like $1400 parts and labor...my warranty paid for itself!

I bought the truck and the extended warranty at a Ford dealership..and a local Chrysler dealership honored the aftermarket warrenty(and got paid by the company) no sweat. I just took my info card in and let the service writer start the repair order beforehand..and brought the dealership the truck a couple days later when the best tech was caught up and could do the rear axel rebuild...no muss no fuss.

 

[DeadAye]

One of my grandfather's favorite sayings:
*You can have money or you can have a car - You can't have both*

Seems to be true about houses, guns, and wives too

 

[McBear]

I have [or have had] extended warranties on my GMC Sierra and my Mercedes E500. The GMC had a failure of a $15 part that isolates the radiator coolant from the transmission coolant at 97,000 miles. The mixture of the two fluids killed both the $800 radiator and the $4000 transmission. I paid $100 deductible and fluids. The warranty had cost $950.

On the Benzo the anti lock braking/traction control system lost its mind after I spun the car driving through what turned out to be a tornado on I 40/75 in April 2011 in Knoxville. System helped me stay between the lines but lost its mind afterwards. - - - $3500.

 

[19max99]

I never buy the extended warranty and I find that the pressure that the dealer puts on you to buy it is relentless and annoying. I figure if it's such a moneymaker for them the odds are I won't need it. Auto technology is pretty good these days so I feel I will get at least 150k miles from a new car. Extended warranties on refigerators and washers are really a joke. Those appliances have become like disposable lighters. Use it and throw it away. Doesn't pay to fix. I guess we've become a throw away society.

 

[rayb]

A purchased"warranty" = theft by the seller of the warranty

rayb

 

[Stevie]

You are purchasing a warranty on virtually every product with a warranty...it's just included in the price.

 

[COL Jagdog]

In Louisiana, we have such a good consumer protection law (the law of
redhibition) contained in our Civil Code (which was written in 1804) that I have never purchased an extended warranty -- I have researched them and they are simply a moneymaker for the dealership (particularly as the people buying the warranties do not usually read the fine print, which have all kinds of exceptions/exclusions). In Louisiana, it is "seller beware" -- i.e. if you manufacture goods and place them in the stream of commerce, you warrant that they are good and reasonably designed/manufactured products -- it is a common sense rule. I once owned a Porsche that threw a rod at 16,000 miles thru the oil pan. To Porsche's credit, (and they did this without me asking them to); they had a brand new engine shipped in from germany and replaced the entire engine. Clearly, it was under warranty --but as it developed, they had some problems with those rods -- thus, if it had happened when I was just out of warranty, I would have had a very good chance of convincing them to repair it, regardless of warranty. Check your state's warranty statutes/manufacturer's responsibilities and then decide if you need to spend that money.

I do think that the warranties currently offered on most cars/trucks are pretty good -- while we have had very few occasins to take a vehicle in for a warranty issue, you will rarely have problems if you buy from a reputable dealership -- IMHO>

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Agree with you Col, but redhibition is only a year from purchase in most cases. and would be covered by the standard warranty in any event as far as a new car purchase. The problem is the used car market where you may not gget a problem until well over the one year period. That being said, I am NOT a proponent of buying an extended warranty on a new car purchase in any event. Main reason is that I put so many miles on my vehiles that that 3 year 36 k warranty usually lasts me about 18 months and an extended 100k will only get me to about 4 4.5 years. I did buy one on the used Ykon XL I bought however just because I got a great deal on it. The dealership did a fast one and before I knew it I had bought the max 4 year unlimited mileage warranty for a cost of around 2k. I was ****ed but said to myself that I let them get over on me-deal with it. Well, ....let's just say, it's paid for itself in only two years. I've had just about every sensor changed, the AC changed, front struts, lets just say that I've gotten my money's worth out if it. They cringe when they see me pull up. You see, I kept all the stuff they gave me when I bought it and read that sucker carefully. Found a couple of disjunctives they tried to tell me were conjunctives and a little sloppyness on the inclusionary language

Made a believer out of me- I will absolutely buy one if I am buying a used car from a dealership from now on. For my purposes that 4 year unlimited mileage one was a goof buy.

 

[yaktamer]

After 33 years in the auto business I cam second what geoff40 says!
Absolutely get an extended warranty and ONLY the factory one ie: GM etc.

This. On most things, I forego extended warranties. Different story on cars. Took my wife's van in for routine service less than 200 miles before the extended warranty ran out. Diagnositc showed "internal transmission failure" code, even though no apparent symptoms. For $100 out of pocket, dealer replaced the tranny -- billed the manufacturer-sponsered warranty outfit $5K.

 

[m1gunner]

The reason there are extended warranties for sale is because some folks will buy them and there is money to be made selling them. Kinda like Vegas, the House NEVER loses, but there are some small winners all along.

I have never bought one and never will. I haven't carried auto collision insurance in over 35 years either.

To each his own.