Extended Vehicle Warranty

[Bigprairie1]

Re: Extended Vehicle Warranty

Geez, where were these warranties in the 70's and 80's when the 'crap' factor on consumer goods, particularly cars and trucks, was sky high? (how did we ever survive?)
Seriously, I saw a show on the issue of extended warranties and the profit centre it has become for companies thanks to the successful marketing of 'what if something goes wrong' campaigns? On the automotive front now, vehicles have never been better built or more reliable...similar to electronics stuff (ie: TV's, stereos, camera's, laptops, etc, etc) so they make their money back in spades on excellent odds....well in their favour.
On the 'high percentage return' front....lawn tractors were at the top of the list for warranty issues, etc.
Myself, I never buy them. The last 'marketing' angle was on a digital camera which already came with a warranty (1 year I think), as most stuff does. I said to the guy...by the time the existing (free) warranty is up this thing will be near worthless with the way 'next years' technology goes anyways and I could buy another working used one for the cost of the extended warranty purchase today...same for computers, laptops, etc. I doubt I would replace it with the same year's model.
Regardless, everyone has their own comfort zone these days I guess.
My two bits.
BP

 

[jlinder]

Re: Extended Vehicle Warranty

Have a brother in law that bought the extended warranty from one of the big electronics places. TV went out. They came out, said oops - need to order board. Board came in, oops need to order another board. 3 months with a great big piece of dead glass in the room and him watching a little portable piece of junk.

Turns out warranty does not say how fast they need to fix it. I would have tossed it in disgust.

Not worth it.

 

[sasto]

Re: Extended Vehicle Warranty

I bought a watch one time, for $5, with a lifetime warranty. I thought "what the heck, will make a good work watch" The thing lasted almost 6 months. They wanted $15 for S+H. :facepalm:

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Extended Vehicle Warranty

Selling fear

It boils down to the type of vehicle you buy, you?re driving and care (maintenance) habits. Most new cars come with 100K warranties on all major drive train parts. And 3rd party extended warranties are mostly junk, read the fine print before you throw your hard earned $$ away. The way I see it, if they push these cash cow extra?s, it speaks to the quality of the vehicle and manufacture. If the vehicle doesn?t come with a good warranty to begin with, it may well be a crappy built car/truck. I never buy em, and haven?t been burned for a major repair yet. It is insurance, it?s a gamble, and the odds are in their favor or they wouldn?t sell them for profit. Some of them are downright junk, and should never be considered.
I love to mess with the salesman, and say, why do I need any extended warranty, is it because these things are thing junk or what?

 

[aspeck]

Re: Extended Vehicle Warranty

Coming from a history in the car business, I would never purchase an extended warranty unless it was from a manufacturer, and even then, probably not.

As already mentioned, they are in business to make money, not to do you favors, so the deck is stacked for them to spend less on your vehicle than you paid for the coverage (and there is high mark-up on the plans, so what you are paying goes to the selling dealer, not the insurance company).

If you are limited to where you have to take the vehicle (especially for aftermarkets plans) that is not of help when on vacation or out of your normal area. Also, many of the insurance companies are not fast to pay the repair facility, and will give them hassles about the work that needs done. Many customers we told that we would do the work, but they would have to pay us before picking up the vehicle and they could fight for the re-imbursement simply because we had a good idea the end result and we didn't want to be blamed and be the bad guy because the insurance company would not stand behind their problem ... it was considered a maintenance item, neglect, not covered, etc. (Had a customer with a blown head gasket and because it was a gasket and not the head, they would not cover it.)

Have had too many horror stories with the insurance companies, especially the after-market ones, so I will stay away from them. Oh, and don't plan on getting an extended warranty and doing the maintenance yourself. You may be required to produce reciepts of service by a certified technician (had to do that also for a customer).

 

[DJ]

Re: Extended Vehicle Warranty

I've always bought them. Factory ones, not independent.

Regardless of the vehicle type, the extended service plan made selling the cars/trucks a breeze. I've never had more than one looker at any car/truck I've sold with an extended service plan. Plus, got my asking prices.