Extended warranties on cars

[zoebartlett]

Have you ever gotten one? I paid off my car a while ago and I''ve been getting many extended warranty offers in the mail. I have a ''05 Corrolla (purchased and began driving it in ''04 though), and I''ve always taken very good care of it. It has about 65K miles on it, and I know Toyotas seem to last forever. I have no idea if buying an extended warranty is a good idea or not. On one hand, I love not paying anything every month for my car. On the other hand, I ight be willing to pay a warranty if it will help in the long run.

What''s your opinion?

FWIW, I know that extended warranties in general don''t tend to be worth the extra expense, but with something as expensive as a car, I''m not sure.

 

[HVVS]

I've had them on some vehicles and not on others. Honestly, I don't think that I ever got my money's worth. If you've owned the car since new, then it's unlikely that you'de find a warranty anything but a waste of money. I don't bother with ext warranties anymore.

Some of them are worthless, anyway. They control who you take the car to, they balk at paying anything, they write so many weasel words in there that they can always weasel out. And if the insurance company that backs the policy is financially shaky, the warranty might wind up worthless anyway. Car clubs that I belong to discussed warranties a few years back. Most people in the car industry thought that warranties were cash cows for the people selling them.

 

[kenny]

Instead of buying an extended warranty I buy a Honda.

 

[radiantquest]

I personally think that it depends on the car. I do not think that a powetrain warranty is necessary because if you are the only owner and you take care of your cars a malfunction will happen during the period that is already covered, however, I am considering purchasing a bumper to bumper before it runs out. Or something that covers the power windows and locks, radio, moon roof and all that other stuff.

 

[movie zombie]

Date: 4/9/2010 12:16:02 PM
Author: kenny
Instead of buying an extended warranty I buy a Honda.

ditto.

i''ve bought new and i actually bought one used with 145k miles on it 4 years ago because of their reliablity.

mz

 

[movie zombie]

Date: 4/9/2010 12:16:02 PM
Author: kenny
Instead of buying an extended warranty I buy a Honda.

ditto.

i''ve bought new and i actually bought one used with 145k miles on it 4 years ago because of their reliablity.

mz

ps everything i''ve read says extended warranties aren''t worth it.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Up until my most recent car I've always bought used cars and also purchased warranties. Yes, I realize that dealerships make huge money off of them; however, they've also saved me huge money. Regardless of how well you take care of your car and maintain it, stuff happens and things wear out over time. A warranty will protect you from this (though not from problems relating to poor maintenance) and it will protect you from the random things, like an electrical sensor malfunctioning, etc. I had an '01 Saab 9-5 and when the turbo went the cost to fix it was more than the car was worth, but the warranty covered the fix and I got another two years of ownership out of it before trading it in. Last winter we discovered that there was something wrong with my husband's Jeep Liberty. We took it in and had it looked at and discovered that it needed a fix that would essentially mean replacing the entire front and rear drive trains. The total cost of repairs? Almost $10k ($9 and change). The cost to us? $200 ($100 for the front which didn't fix the problem and $100 for the rear which did fix it.)

In terms of a new car that I've owned up until the mfg warranty runs out, I'd still probably buy an extended warranty through private channels because, again, things wear out or happen unexpectedly.

Think of it as mechanical insurance and get a plan that covers a wide variety of problems. It might cost you $1500-$2500 to get a good plan, but in my experience I've always gotten my money's worth.

ETA: I've owned a variety of makes of cars (Geo, Honda, Saab, my husband's Jeep) and they've had warranties and all required repairs under said warranties. I like to drive my cars to over $150k miles as a rule and I keep up with all scheduled maintenance.

 

[zoebartlett]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

HH -- that''s why I''m thinking of getting one -- for the reasons you mentioned. Stuff happens. It sounds like getting an extending warranty was the right way for you to go. That''s a huge savings!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

With my first real car, I bought it when it was 6 months old and still under warranty. A few months later, it blew a head gasket and ended up costing about $1,500 to fix. Luckily the warranty covered it.

My current car, which is an '01, ended up needed a new transmission a few years back and that was maybe $1800 or so. . .(I'd have to look for the paperwork to be sure). Then later it had a head gasket problem and AGAIN required major work - I think that was about $1,000 and we had to pay for both out-of-pocket.

Would you be paying about that same amount for the extended warranty or a lot less?

 

[Dancing Fire]

i wouldn''t purchase extended warranty for anything. IMO...they''re a big rip off.

 

[kenny]

Date: 4/9/2010 6:58:34 PM
Author: Dancing Fire
i wouldn't purchase extended warranty for anything. IMO...they're a big rip off.

I agree.

It's like going to Veags only without the free booze.

You are gambling you'll need it.
They are gambling you don't.
The odds (and therefor the price) are in THEIR favor.
They charge enough to pay all the claims AND make a tidy profit.

Sure, it's possible you could have a claim that exceeds the premium but odds are you won't.
If this was not true they'd go broke selling them and stop shoving them down our throats on everything we buy.

I never buy them on anything.
In fact every insurance I have to buy, car and home, is stripped down as far as legally possible.
I used all that money to buy the Octavia, which is NOT insured.

Insurance and extended warranties plays off your fears.

 

[Rachel9]

Depending on the car. Not all warranties are created equal they even vary between models, on high end cars pistons & valves are quite expensive to fix.

 

[PumpkinPie]

Date: 4/9/2010 12:16:02 PM
Author: kenny
Instead of buying an extended warranty I buy a Honda.

I don''t own a car yet but when I buy one (probably within 2 years) this will be my strategy!