Experience with http://www.endurancewarranty.com/? Or any 3rd party warranty?

[wheresmybacon]

I just bought a 2003 M3, and while I love the car, it's no secret these things cost an arm and a leg to fix when they break.

My wife found this company, http://www.endurancewarranty.com/ suggested by a guy in a thread on one of the M3 forums. I'm finding several complaints now on them online, although in all honesty it sounds like the people posting the complaints didn't understand what they were buying. Leaks aren't mechanical breakdowns, for example.

In any case, we have a couple weeks to cancel our policy without penalty. Does anyone have any experience with this company? If not, if you have positive or negative experiences with other 3rd-party warranty companies, post em here.

Thanks

Update 5/23
We cancelled the policy and got a full refund. My wife was the one who called and I guess the guy on the other end was pulling out all the stops on how to avoid her cancelling. She's a persistent one though so of course she stuck to her guns and we got our initial ~ $300 back.

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. After spending most of my time in Off Topic I had to make sure I was still in the AT forums. So many helpful people here! Thanks.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

I have, although not with them.

It was on a Nissan with a timing chain, the chain started rattling

Took it in, they came out and basically said it's not loud enough to cover.

I wait 2 weeks and it's starting to get pretty bad.. Not quite going away after 20 seconds or so like it was before..

So the guy comes back out and claims he's not convinced it's the guides, that the rattle is normal and etc etc.. He wants to wait until it's totally failed (WTF and risk them bailing on paying for a new motor??)

I ended up paying Nissan to replace them. The entire thing felt very scammish even though it was supposedly a somewhat reputable company.






Keep us posted on what you find out, I have an S54 that is still under the factory warranty but will probably go with the factory extended warranty

 

[punjabiplaya]

I was under the impression that these 3rd party warranties are all scams

 

[wheresmybacon]

I was under the impression that these 3rd party warranties are all scams

They very well may be, that was kind of the point of the thread. We were quick to pull the trigger on starting this one up, and while we may cancel before we're locked in in a few weeks, I wanted to get everyone's experience.

I haven't had a car worthy of full coverage let alone a warranty for many years, and I wanted to see if we're just better offer doing our own "insurance" by way of putting aside a little bit extra each month.

After the research I've done so far, I'm definitely leaning toward cancelling this plan.

 

[JulesMaximus]

What did the warranty cost you? Do you think this car will cost you more than that in unplanned repairs over the next 3 years?

 

[satyajitmenon]

I wouldn't bother. Haven't heard of a single case of 3rd party warranty coming good. Only bad stuff.

The best thing you can do for your M3 is

a) get it checked out ASAP by an Indy (if you haven't already)
b) start saving up for potential preventive maintenance & repairs
c) enjoy the car
d) profit ??

 

[wheresmybacon]

What did the warranty cost you? Do you think this car will cost you more than that in unplanned repairs over the next 3 years?

We pay $3k over the course 18 months, then the remaining 18 are "free".

Judging by the receipts the previous owner has kept, I think it'd not only be possible to spend more than 3k, it'd be likely. There's a reason the M3 forums call the BMW Dealer service shops, the "Stealer"...

 

[wheresmybacon]

I wouldn't bother. Haven't heard of a single case of 3rd party warranty coming good. Only bad stuff.

The best thing you can do for your M3 is

a) get it checked out ASAP by an Indy (if you haven't already)
b) start saving up for potential preventive maintenance & repairs
c) enjoy the car
d) profit ??

Yeah I agree. There is no free lunch, and in the case of a lot of these folks trying to process claims through this company, there isn't a lunch at all. Looks very sketchy to me.

Time to cancel!

 

[satyajitmenon]

If you haven't already had it inspected, find an Indy near you and get it done. At least that way, you have some idea of what to look forward to - in terms of repairs/maintenance.

http://www.bimmershops.com/

 

[wheresmybacon]

If you haven't already had it inspected, find an Indy near you and get it done. At least that way, you have some idea of what to look forward to - in terms of repairs/maintenance.

http://www.bimmershops.com/

Excellent advice. Will do!

 

[nismotigerwvu]

I have, although not with them.

It was on a Nissan with a timing chain, the chain started rattling

Took it in, they came out and basically said it's not loud enough to cover.

I wait 2 weeks and it's starting to get pretty bad.. Not quite going away after 20 seconds or so like it was before..

So the guy comes back out and claims he's not convinced it's the guides, that the rattle is normal and etc etc.. He wants to wait until it's totally failed (WTF and risk them bailing on paying for a new motor??)

I ended up paying Nissan to replace them. The entire thing felt very scammish even though it was supposedly a somewhat reputable company.






Keep us posted on what you find out, I have an S54 that is still under the factory warranty but will probably go with the factory extended warranty

Was that nissan running a KA24DE? The "marble in a soup can" sound happens to basically all of them, but in most cases, is something most anyone with basic tools can fix. Sorry to derail the thread btw.

 

[Zenmervolt]

If they didn't expect to pay out far less than the $3,000 (!) that you're paying them, they wouldn't sell you the insurance. And yes, I know they call it a warranty, but it's really insurance, not a warranty.

On average, you will lose money on an "extended warranty". The companies that offer this sort of insurance operate on profit and they will always charge you more than they expect to pay out. Overall, you'd be better off taking the $3,000 and putting it into a high-yield CD or similar device and simply withdrawing money from that account if you needed repairs. You're much more likely to come out ahead that way.

ZV

 

[Raduque]

My parents bought one several years back on their GMC Safari - it wouldn't cover anything when the idler pulley bearing locked up, sheared the idler arm off the engine block and nearly stranded us in South Carolina.

 

[Zap]

Extended warranties are like gambling.

You are putting a $3000 bet that your car will break down (with over $3000 worth of repairs) within X number of years. The warranty company is betting that your car won't break down with over $3000 worth of repairs (that they can't deny with fine print).

As with gambling, the house always wins. Oh, sometimes individuals will win big, but in the long run the house always wins and most gamblers lose. On average you will be money ahead by putting it away in a sock under your bed.

 

[wheresmybacon]

Update:

We cancelled the policy and got a full refund. My wife was the one who called and I guess the guy on the other end was pulling out all the stops on how to avoid her cancelling. She's a persistent one though so of course she stuck to her guns and we got our initial ~ $300 back.

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. After spending most of my time in Off Topic I had to make sure I was still in the AT forums. So many helpful people here! Thanks.

 

[Doppel]

I keep hearing one on the radio now, how you'll never pay a penny for a *covered* repair. Yeah...

I don't know about OP's one but I wouldn't trust these companies, many are fly by night I think and as mentioned on average they make money from you, not the other way around.

 

[Vette73]

Yep 99% of 3rd party deals like this are bad. Either get a factory one or like Zen said take the money and just save it.

But also make sure to take GREAT car of the car. Change the fluids (that includes diff and trans), check the oil don;t wait for a dummy light or change time, if a noise comes up look into ASAP don;t wait for it to get worse, etc...