Extended Warranty Requirement

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Just bought a 2006 Cadillac CTS with 3.6L in it on Saturday. Immaculate shape, almost looks brand new. 52,000 miles. Wife went in Monday to pick it up at dealer while I was out of town. She got an extended warranty for some reason, probably because dealer makes megabucks off those things. When I got back home, was not thrilled with the extended warranty thing, but after reading the provisions and requirements, I was thoroughly ticked off and had the thing canceled and money returned.

They demanded 3mo / 3000 mile oil changes including receipts, location, address, etc of who did it for the extended warranty to remain in force. Well, I suppose that would work for some, but I am not changing oil at that low of interval, and I do it myself.
 
Remember that most people s vehicles rarely get serviced. Look at the I bought this car and how to clean the sludged up engine.
 
If it wasn't a GM extended warranty then it was probably not worth the paper it was written on.
 
I was in the same boat as you before we bought the Mercedes back in 2009. Same as you, by the time I found out about the extended warranty, the money was already paid, so I went along with it.

BOY am I glad we did - before the warranty expired earlier this year, they paid for more than $9k worth of repairs. Transfer case, axles, and a bunch of smaller items. We serviced the car every 10k miles at the MB dealer while under warranty.

I'd say for expensive vehicles the extended warranty is worthwhile. You do have to call and plead your case sometimes, but we had a wonderful service writer at the dealership that dealt with the for the most part.

I also think you have to read the terms closely - which is what you did well! I think you did the right thing with that particular company.
 
My Dodge has the Lifetime warranty. Under power train warranty until 2077. It has some crazy requirements. Full synthetic in rear- ends changed every 15,000 miles/ transmission fluid and both filters every 60,000 miles ( which is long, I think). Oil changes, never longer than 6,000 / 6 months. It gets changed about every 4000. It has to go in every 5 years for a check up by a authorized Dodge dealer. I just took it in for its 10 year with its log book. I do 80% of my own service. The dealer said we don't care about the book. Truck looks good, well cared for, fluids clean. See you in 5 years. Guess if there was a problem, they would want to see it.
 
Oil changes every 3000 miles, I would do it to keep the warranty. Cheap insurance. Oil is cheap, filters are cheap and changing oil is fun. The rear end changes cost me about $80. Not cheap, but not paying for a differential, worth it.
 
Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker
They demanded 3mo / 3000 mile oil changes including receipts, location, address, etc of who did it for the extended warranty to remain in force. Well, I suppose that would work for some, but I am not changing oil at that low of interval, and I do it myself.

I'd be ticked, too. The dealer where I got the G37 had a "lifetime warranty" on the engine, provided I were to get all maintenance items, including oil changes, done as per severe service intervals and at their location. Considering they overfilled the heck out of the sump before I even got the thing and were farming oil changes on non-Chrysler stuff to Canadian Tire, I don't think so.
 
Originally Posted By: Panzerman
My Dodge has the Lifetime warranty. Under power train warranty until 2077. It has some crazy requirements.

If there is something catastrophic, I would wager there's a provision for them to buy your vehicle off of you at black book or blue book value or something like that.
 
Got a call just yesterday from who knows who telling me the warranty on my 04 Camry was expiring and I needed to purchase an extended warranty from her company. Send me the coverage and I'll take a look at it. She couldn't do that before I actually purchased the warranty. What a total scam. Probably the same outfit in Florida that has been shut down repeatedly but pops back up under a new name and ownership. Anyone who falls for this scam deserves to get taken.
 
Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
If it wasn't a GM extended warranty then it was probably not worth the paper it was written on.


Agreed. The only warranty we've ever purchased and used was the GMPP warranty. It was pricey, but worth it.

On a side note, I signed up for a no-name warranty on our most recent truck because they lowered our APR by a full % when we did (but had no intention of keeping it). I canceled it the very next day and the full warranty price paid directly to the principal. It took some finagling, but it worked.
 
Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: Panzerman
My Dodge has the Lifetime warranty. Under power train warranty until 2077. It has some crazy requirements.

If there is something catastrophic, I would wager there's a provision for them to buy your vehicle off of you at black book or blue book value or something like that.


I had a friend who had that exact thing happen with an extended warranty on a Volvo back in the '80s. The thing blew head gaskets every 10k, starting around 60k. When it blew one or the other for the 4th time, they told him they were "Totaling" it, sending him a check for $2500 (Which was close to the dealer charges for changing both head gaskets). He wound up in small claims court.
 
Originally Posted By: 4wheeldog
Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: Panzerman
My Dodge has the Lifetime warranty. Under power train warranty until 2077. It has some crazy requirements.

If there is something catastrophic, I would wager there's a provision for them to buy your vehicle off of you at black book or blue book value or something like that.


I had a friend who had that exact thing happen with an extended warranty on a Volvo back in the '80s. The thing blew head gaskets every 10k, starting around 60k. When it blew one or the other for the 4th time, they told him they were "Totaling" it, sending him a check for $2500 (Which was close to the dealer charges for changing both head gaskets). He wound up in small claims court.


The clause is buried somewhere in the fine print. Lets say you buy a lifetime warranty and the car has a book value of $2,000 and needs $2,500 in repairs. They cut you a check for 2 grand, you keep the car, they end the warranty and you decide what you want to do with the car. Bottom line is lifetime warranties aren't really lifetime warranties as some people think they might be.
 
I know someone who got an extended warranty and then cancelled it shortly afterwards. They got a check for the remaining warranty thay was not used.

This was around 1998, see if you can also cancel it.
 
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
I know someone who got an extended warranty and then cancelled it shortly afterwards. They got a check for the remaining warranty thay was not used.

This was around 1998, see if you can also cancel it.


Sounds like he already did that.

Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker
and had the thing canceled and money returned.
 
An extended warranty offered by third party companies are almost always a bad idea.
 
Originally Posted By: spavel6
I was in the same boat as you before we bought the Mercedes back in 2009. Same as you, by the time I found out about the extended warranty, the money was already paid, so I went along with it.

You bought MBUSA extended warranty ?
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR

You bought MBUSA extended warranty ?


No - it was one of the companies that calls your house around dinner time.
 
Originally Posted By: spavel6
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR

You bought MBUSA extended warranty ?


No - it was one of the companies that calls your house around dinner time.


They call here around lunch time, today in fact it comes up as Auto Saving.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
The clause is buried somewhere in the fine print. Lets say you buy a lifetime warranty and the car has a book value of $2,000 and needs $2,500 in repairs. They cut you a check for 2 grand, you keep the car, they end the warranty and you decide what you want to do with the car. Bottom line is lifetime warranties aren't really lifetime warranties as some people think they might be.

Yep. Chrysler was offering a lifetime warranty on Cummins engines for a time up here. When a Dodge truck is 30 years old and has a million miles on it, and the Cummins finally gives up the ghost, I have a feeling that Chrysler will neither be doing a rebuild nor installing a crate engine. The chequebook will come out, instead.
 
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