Extended vehicle warranty

Subzilla

Subzilla

Test Driver
Joined
Jun 13, 2011
Location
Triad - Mt. Pleasant, Concord & Georgeville
Just bought a 2018 Tahoe with 100k miles from a Chevy dealer. The finance guy was pushing the extended warranty pretty hard. I stood firm and said no. I generally don’t get these kinds of things. But it has me thinking about all the expensive gadgets that can go bad….electrical, transmission…..stuff that I probably can’t fix in the backyard. Just solicited info from Carshield and Endurance. Thoughts/wisdom on extended warranties and/or these companies?
 
I consider it financing piece of mind. If you can afford large repair, no need for extended warranty. If you're spending everything you have for the vehicle (well, you probably shouldn't be buying it) but if you think there's a chance of expensive repairs then finance it.

A 2018 Tahoe with 100k would be a tough one. Just out of warranty and potential for major issues...
 
The transmissions in those are inherently bad. Mine had been replaced at 115k when we bought it. A friend just had theirs replaced at 95k to the tune of$6000. That would be my main concern if it had the 6 speed.
 
I have been trying to reach you about your extended warranty...


Just wait for them to call you.
 
I swore them off forever years ago. My mom purchased an extended warranty on a suburban she bought.
It was less than useless - many shops including the dealer she bought the car from wouldnt do warranty work for that third sorry warranty dealer.
When you took it an hour away to Charltote to the dealer who would..fluids filters and incidentals weren’t covered and suddenly things like an alternator change required a $200 oil change or “it will void the remainder of the warranty”… but luckily for her she had it when the engine spun a main bearing at 140k miles…only oh you didn’t follow the manufacturers recommended 3k mile oil change interval. Two of you oil changes were at least 3,200 miles between - sorry no coverage.
 
When I bought my 06 Ram I called around about an extended warranty and every company I called wanted all the maintenance done professionally and at intervals way sooner than the manufacturer's recommendation. Requiring professional oil changes every 3k miles on a Cummins just screamed that they would be looking any reason to deny a claim when the time came.

But on the other hand, my wife's Honda came with a lifetime powertrain extended warranty "included" and we have used it several times with no issues. No strict or weird requirements about maintenance or who does the repairs. Since the powertrain warranty was included, we opted to upgrade to bumper to bumper, which is a separate warranty. We've used that one a few times too, again no issues. I can get you the warranty company name if you want.

Duane
 
The only extended warranty I ever bought was the Lifetime Mopar Maxcare (yes, I know eventually Mopar will just pay me off due to cost of a repair or vehicle value) for the WK2. I got it at close to wholesale pricing as I used one of the online sellers against the dealer and told them it was either that one or nothing and I wasn't paying more than the online guy. They wanted to sell the WK2 so they caved in.

That being said, so far, I have broke even on it. Needed a new fob and had them fix replace the capless fuel fill. It needs to go back sometime to get the drivers heated seat fixed. There is way too many modules, computers and an expensive air suspension that I can't service.

On the Gladiator, I have not bought anything yet (selling dealer wanted to play games with a third party plan and I wasn't buying) but if I decide on one, it will be a Mopar plan. Again, I can get it online for close to wholesale and I have another 4K miles to think about it before the cost really goes up.
 
The only one I ever seen pay anything was guardian. That being said, if your considering it know they cost the dealers about 600$ or less. About like my camper warranty that’s probably trash as well. It started at something like 9k and I walked out with it for 1000$. But as stated above you do have to pay for a lot more than the deductible. Did a steering rack under warrant one time. They made the customer pay for the fluids and the alignment afterwards.
 
kaiser715 said:
Read the fine print. Or just avoid. So many exclusions.

Odds are well in their favor
Click to expand...
Chris_M said:
They push the warranty because of its huge profit margin - for them, not you.
Click to expand...
It's insurance. By definition the odds have to be in their favor or they'd lose money on it. You should never ever expect it to be a "good deal" in the sense that you will save more than you spend.
What you're buying is convenience and a safety margin against a potential big expense. Essentially a financed peace of mind.
When I bought my Mazda3 in 2018 I got an extended factory warranty as part of the package, solely bc I wanted a long period of not having to work on cars 7 yrs, 75k. I'm not at 5 years and only 42k so it should last out. Mazda allows it to transfer w/ the car so it also adds some resale value.
As noted they are a money maker for the dealer. You can use this as a bargaining chip if you know you want it (or at least could when supply exceeded demand) and talk about it during the haggle. I got a pretty good deal that way, I'm sure it helped they were desperate to get ride of a sticksheft they couldn't sell.

Its important to note also there's a big difference between the 3rd party warrantees and an extended factory warranty from the mfr. The 3rd party ones are pretty much useless, they are full of exclusions and a lot of places don't honor them. If you think about it.. .that is a company whose sole revenue is from not paying out claims and ensuring the cost is heavily tilted in their favor, and if you buy a 3rd party warranty from a dealer then there are two companies that have to make a profit off of you.
Factory warranty extensions are better, the one I got on my Mazda is literally the same thing as the factory warranty but for a longer period. Work can be done at any dealer just like any factory warranty work. Of course they won'y be thrilled about it bc they get paid at warranty rate instead of normal retail customer rate butt hey like that better than dealing w/ the third party folks.
I've had both and will never do 3rd party again but will still consider factory if the price is right. No idea if its even an option on a used car though. When we bought wife's Mini they said yo ucould come back any time during the factory warranty period and pay to extend it but I'm not sure if that is really true.
 
RatLabGuy said:
It's insurance. By definition the odds have to be in their favor or they'd lose money on it. You should never ever expect it to be a "good deal" in the sense that you will save more than you spend.
Click to expand...
This 100%, from car insurance to AAA to health insurance or anything else.
 
Historically, I never purchased the extended factory warranty, but with my Navigator, I did. Too much stuff I don't know how to work on to go bad. I bought it early during the Covid run up, dealer wanted like $4k, called up Ziegler Ford (always been an at cost warranty dealer), and they did the Lincoln Premium Care (or whatever they call their top warranty) for $995. It covers drivetrain and main electrical components. I bought it with 35k-ish miles, I'm now sitting on 60k-ish miles. In that time, needed cam phasers replaced/updated...was about a $5k bill (at the dealer). Needed trans module replaced...was about an $3000 bill (at the dealer). Needed a rear main harness replaced...was about a $2500 bill (at the dealer). Also needed some emissions parts replaced...was about an $1800 bill (at the dealer). So I'm glad I elected for mine. Randy Marion Lincoln is where I get my warranty work done, and they never had it for longer than a week, which I was thrilled about, and always came with a loaner. For me, these vehicles are just beyond my level of expertise at this point, so I'll probably never own anything newer than 2010 without a warranty.
 
RatLabGuy said:
Essentially a financed peace of mind.
Click to expand...

RatLabGuy said:
I got an extended factory warranty as part of the package, solely bc I wanted a long period of not having to work on cars 7 yrs, 75k.
Click to expand...

Same.

I got 120k mile 7 year factory warranty on my 2015 Sierra. I was coming off of months of dealing with issues with my DD and it was making me physically ill. Traded in 2 vehicles with issues towards that truck and never regretted it.
 
mbalbritton said:
If the Sales Guy is pushing it that hard, I'd have to ask him; Are you telling me that you are selling me a piece of junk? Are you telling me that you are knowingly selling me a vehicle that that isn't going to be reliable?
Click to expand...
Haha 😂 my exact conversation with the place I bought my camper
 
Subzilla said:
Just bought a 2018 Tahoe with 100k miles from a Chevy dealer. The finance guy was pushing the extended warranty pretty hard. I stood firm and said no. I generally don’t get these kinds of things. But it has me thinking about all the expensive gadgets that can go bad….electrical, transmission…..stuff that I probably can’t fix in the backyard. Just solicited info from Carshield and Endurance. Thoughts/wisdom on extended warranties and/or these companies?
Click to expand...


If only a company would call you to let you know about your vehicles extended warranty......
 
UTfball68 said:
Historically, I never purchased the extended factory warranty, but with my Navigator, I did. Too much stuff I don't know how to work on to go bad. I bought it early during the Covid run up, dealer wanted like $4k, called up Ziegler Ford (always been an at cost warranty dealer), and they did the Lincoln Premium Care (or whatever they call their top warranty) for $995. It covers drivetrain and main electrical components. I bought it with 35k-ish miles, I'm now sitting on 60k-ish miles. In that time, needed cam phasers replaced/updated...was about a $5k bill (at the dealer). Needed trans module replaced...was about an $3000 bill (at the dealer). Needed a rear main harness replaced...was about a $2500 bill (at the dealer). Also needed some emissions parts replaced...was about an $1800 bill (at the dealer). So I'm glad I elected for mine. Randy Marion Lincoln is where I get my warranty work done, and they never had it for longer than a week, which I was thrilled about, and always came with a loaner. For me, these vehicles are just beyond my level of expertise at this point, so I'll probably never own anything newer than 2010 without a warranty.
Click to expand...
Geez, maybe try a chevrolet next time! 😜
 
benmack1 said:
Geez, maybe try a chevrolet next time! 😜
Click to expand...

Truf…got in to new vehicles so I wouldn’t have ‘issues’ to worry about…have half a mind to go back to stuff that can be fixed with a screwdriver and and duct tape.
 
The phone calls & Letters have finally stopped, for me. O no, now I've done it!
I do get Service "deals" & reminders, every 6 weeks from 2-3 Chevy dealers. Few months back I noticed something new! They noticed my 5 year warranty, has expired on my 2016 Silverado. {Really?} They now offer an extended warranty that I'm eligible for! I went to Victory Chevrolet to check it out. It's Not Factory, it's Endurance. As already said here, the sales rep, started out at a 12 month 12,000 mile warranty. As soon as I said that wasn't nothing, he "O, we can make it Longer"! And the longer you go, the less per year, the cost. I could go 5 years & 50K, I think it was. I came home to study the options. And I checked Goggle reviews, along with some fine print, & saw how Too many were getting denied [screwed]. And asked 2 opinion of my 30 year Dealer friend, who said "they will mostly find a way out". No thanks!
 
The only extended warranty I have ever had that was worth a shit is my Kawasaki 3 year extended warranty. The really stand behind their stuff!
at 100k miles I consider that barely broke in, but I dont drive GM vehicles either :D
 
Back
Top