Extended Warranty, worth it?

[flatlandtacoma]

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Along these lines, the mantra is - "If you can't afford the loss, get insurance... otherwise don't bother with it". I insure the liability and loss of my car and home, and my health. Everything else I self-insure. This has kept a lot of money in my pocket over the years.

JavaMan put good thought behind his decision... "I can't afford the loss".

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Maybe some people can't afford the loss because they keep blowing their money on extended warrantys?

Seriously though, I believe it goes with a personality type. If you lose sleep worrying about maybe having to shell out $$ to repair your car if it breaks down, then an extended warranty is probably worth it.

 

[JTK]

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An important part for all to recognize, extended warranties don't need to be purchased as you take new car delivery. Many policies allow for purchase as long as the original manufacturer's "bumper to bumper" warranty is in effect.

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That's true, but the price goes up supstantially the longer you wait. Case in point: My FIL purchased a 2006 tundra 4x4 new. He contimplated lumping the extended warranty in with the purchase. The sales person told him not to worry about it, you can get it anytime within the OEM B/B, so he skipped it. Some months later he called to get the extended warranty and the price went from something like $1600 to $2500. He skipped it.

Joel

 

[Norm Olt]

"It's kind of an odd concept that the dealer would sell you a car, then say you need an extended warranty because the car probably sucks."

Actually, it WAS the 1st year for the car, the 1st year for the 230hp 3.3 liter, forged crankshaft flat 6, the most expensive Subaru ever sold at that time, and a very complex 140+ mph car: came with 4-channel ABS, limited slip rear diff, climate control, AWD, variable speed power steering, etc.

That 14 year-old car you say "probably sucks" has delivered about 135K mostly trouble-free miles, still gets 28+ mpg on the longer high(er)speed trips and is probably going to be good for another decade (I sincerely hope).

Since the additional protection cost me only the opportunity cost for the $1,100 for the 7 years, I kinda' thought it a good suggestion on the part of the dealer and a good way to go.

Your results may vary.

Cheers! (anyway)

 

[XS650]

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Some months later he called to get the extended warranty and the price went from something like $1600 to $2500. He skipped it.

Joel

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It's usually a mistake to get initial pricing information from a dealer. A Google search will find out of your area dealers that sell manufacturers extended warranties online for a small markup over their actual cost. Some of them have pricing charts online so you can compare the cost of buying an extended service contract at different times.

 

[WOOCHOW]

I had the GM extended warantee on my 2000 Corvette and it was worth it. I got it cheap on-line and my Vette had two failed upper oil pan gaskets. The parts was cheap but the labor to get at the gasket was high. For the Vette, it was the right thing, for the Honda I'm not so sure. It depends on how much you will drive the car. $800 for 8 years seems reasonable for piece of mind, although not alot seems to fail on the Honda in 120,000 miles except the transmission. For that reason alone, the warantee might make sense. Myself, I drive my 06 Civic about 25,000 miles a year (highway)and didn't think it was worthwhile. If you get a good deal on the car, the warantee may seem more affordable.

 

[The Critic]

B7 Honda 5-speed Automatic units are running near $3000 (or more depending on region, and amount of hard part damage) to rebuild at an independent shop.

I certainly agree, with the exception of the failure of a major component, that it is less expensive to purchase the parts and do the repairs yourself. For one, I think with this next car, I may not have time nor the facilities to diagnose/repair it, but that isn't primary concern. If I get a Civic, the transmission is my fear, as a failure would easily allow for the warranty to pay off. Same goes for the Jetta. The new AW 6-speed Automatics have been having valve body problems, and the last that I checked, it isn't an inexpensive job.