Thoughts on extended warranty for used car purchase?

[KaBudokan]

After a very unsatisfying experience with my 2004 Mazda 6s, I'm finally getting rid of it. I had the car 1 1/2 years and had 11 warranty repairs in that time, including a brand new engine at the ripe old age of 38,000 miles.

The one good thing about the experience is that almost everything I had done with the car was covered under the certified-pre-owned warranty. As a replacement, I'm planning to get a 2005 Pontiac Vibe. The car's basically a Toyota Corolla underneath, and I've had great experiences with both the Hondas and Toyota's I've had in the past.

I'm satisfied with the price I reached with the dealer on the car (and my trade), but I would like to have a bit of comfort in terms of a more extensive warranty coverage. The car is GM Certified. Basically the warranty is 3mo/3000 miles bumper-to-bumper, and then the powertrain will be covered for just over 2 years (5yr/100k).

Does anyone have experience/recommendations on extended warranty plans? I know I can buy one from the dealer or buy a 3rd party one. I walked out without purchasing the car last night because I wanted to sleep on it and also do research on the warranty issue.

They have a program that is bumper-to-bumper for 5yr/75000 miles with a $0 deductible for around $2500, which is definitely more than I wanted to spend. The same coverage can be had for $1200 with a $200 deductible. I'm basically looking at the coverage as "insurance" against a BIG issue (engine dies, etc.).

I came up with a long list of questions to ask about the warranty they offer. Anyone have any other advice or suggestions or recommendations on reputable plans?

TIA

 

[cardiac]

I would steer clear of the 3rd party "warranties". They can be a pain in the a$$ to get them to pay claims.

Some people feel a lot more comfortable about spending $$ on a vehicle if it is warrantied. The $1200 - $200 deductible doesn't sound too bad. Remember, even the dealer extended warranties are negotiable in price. Call a few other dealers and check their prices.

Good luck in your purchase. I always look at the Vibes when one drives by. I think they are pretty good looking, as they are different in their styling.

 

[KaBudokan]

I have been a bit leary of 3rd party warranties in the past. My fiancee has purchased a warranty in the past with 2 previous purchases, and she had a good experience with at least one of them. (I don't think she used the other one.)

The warranties at the dealer were a bit unclear. I hate dealing with car salesmen, as the whole "leave the room to check numbers" thing is always shady... lol They weren't able to give me a whole lot of info, and if we asked about various options with the length of terms, deductible, etc. it was another big process to check the price.

They also didn't give me any info about the terms of the warranty. They have a GM-Factory extended warranty that was something like $3500. The $2500 one seemed to be a 3rd-party warranty, but it was a "GM Product"; basically it seemed to be backed by GM financial.

Like I said - I have a long list of questions to ask about the warranty now... lol

 

[MiataNC]

1. ALL EXTENDED WARRANTIES ARE NEGOTIABLE!!! If you decide you want it, offer them half of what they are asking, and haggle it like the car purchase. If they won't budge, get one from another source.

2. ALL EXTENDED WARRANTIES ONLY COVER SPECIFIC THINGS!!! Read the fine print....Let me say that again.....READ THE FINE PRINT. Many will not cover a repair if it can be linked to a "wear item", or something not covered. I saw a case where a bad heater core caused the engine to overheat and blow. They denied the claim, because the heater core was not covered by the warranty.

 

[amdhunter]

Originally posted by: cardiac
I would steer clear of the 3rd party "warranties". They can be a pain in the a$$ to get them to pay claims.

Some people feel a lot more comfortable about spending $$ on a vehicle if it is warrantied. The $1200 - $200 deductible doesn't sound too bad. Remember, even the dealer extended warranties are negotiable in price. Call a few other dealers and check their prices.

Good luck in your purchase. I always look at the Vibes when one drives by. I think they are pretty good looking, as they are different in their styling.

I have a 3rd party warranty through Geico. I think it only costs me $7 a month vs $1000 from VW.

 

[T2urtle]

Originally posted by: amdhunter

I have a 3rd party warranty through Geico. I think it only costs me $7 a month vs $1000 from VW.

[/quote]

sad thing is your geico and your VW one isn't covering your problem with only 3k miles on a brand new car...

just things that the OP might want to look into.


The best warranty is the original make warranty that 3k/45 miles or w/e it is covers everything. after that power train and extended warranty's are a base to base situation with deductibles and denying claims

 

[cardiac]

Originally posted by: amdhunter

Originally posted by: cardiac
I would steer clear of the 3rd party "warranties". They can be a pain in the a$$ to get them to pay claims.

Some people feel a lot more comfortable about spending $$ on a vehicle if it is warrantied. The $1200 - $200 deductible doesn't sound too bad. Remember, even the dealer extended warranties are negotiable in price. Call a few other dealers and check their prices.

Good luck in your purchase. I always look at the Vibes when one drives by. I think they are pretty good looking, as they are different in their styling.

I have a 3rd party warranty through Geico. I think it only costs me $7 a month vs $1000 from VW.

In your transmission troubles thread, didn't you mention that Geico refused to cover anything? I would look into that, and make sure you are covered on major things......

 

[mcturkey]

After my experiences, I will never buy a 3rd party warranty again. If it's not backed by the factory, forget it. I had a 36k mile aftermarket warranty on my Buick. 20k miles into it, the transmission failed. They refused to cover it because I couldn't produce receipts from oil changes. First, I do my own oil changes. Second, that has NOTHING to do with the transmission. They claimed that if I couldn't prove I'd done oil changes regularly, then I wasn't maintaining the car, so it was my fault the transmission failed. They absolutely refused to listen to reason, and so I wound up paying out $2500 for a rebuilt transmission.

 

[amdhunter]

Originally posted by: cardiac

Originally posted by: amdhunter

Originally posted by: cardiac
I would steer clear of the 3rd party "warranties". They can be a pain in the a$$ to get them to pay claims.

Some people feel a lot more comfortable about spending $$ on a vehicle if it is warrantied. The $1200 - $200 deductible doesn't sound too bad. Remember, even the dealer extended warranties are negotiable in price. Call a few other dealers and check their prices.

Good luck in your purchase. I always look at the Vibes when one drives by. I think they are pretty good looking, as they are different in their styling.

I have a 3rd party warranty through Geico. I think it only costs me $7 a month vs $1000 from VW.

In your transmission troubles thread, didn't you mention that Geico refused to cover anything? I would look into that, and make sure you are covered on major things......

Even Geico could refuse damage to a car because of "abuse." I had planned to let Geico fix the car if it came to that.

 

[cardiac]

Originally posted by: amdhunter

Originally posted by: cardiac

Originally posted by: amdhunter

Originally posted by: cardiac
I would steer clear of the 3rd party "warranties". They can be a pain in the a$$ to get them to pay claims.

Some people feel a lot more comfortable about spending $$ on a vehicle if it is warrantied. The $1200 - $200 deductible doesn't sound too bad. Remember, even the dealer extended warranties are negotiable in price. Call a few other dealers and check their prices.

Good luck in your purchase. I always look at the Vibes when one drives by. I think they are pretty good looking, as they are different in their styling.

I have a 3rd party warranty through Geico. I think it only costs me $7 a month vs $1000 from VW.

In your transmission troubles thread, didn't you mention that Geico refused to cover anything? I would look into that, and make sure you are covered on major things......

Even Geico could refuse damage to a car because of "abuse." I had planned to let Geico fix the car if it came to that.

My mistake. I thought you had said that Geico DID refuse to honor the warranty. I'm sorry....

Bob

 

[crosshairs]

Originally posted by: mcturkey
After my experiences, I will never buy a 3rd party warranty again. If it's not backed by the factory, forget it. I had a 36k mile aftermarket warranty on my Buick. 20k miles into it, the transmission failed. They refused to cover it because I couldn't produce receipts from oil changes. First, I do my own oil changes. Second, that has NOTHING to do with the transmission. They claimed that if I couldn't prove I'd done oil changes regularly, then I wasn't maintaining the car, so it was my fault the transmission failed. They absolutely refused to listen to reason, and so I wound up paying out $2500 for a rebuilt transmission.

This man speaks the truth.
I work in a dealership as a technician.

I have seen more denied claims from 3rd party companies than I care to share.
they will come up with any excuse they can to deny the claim.

Also, I have never seen one that paid for diagnosis, so that leave the consumer to cover any diag charges plus the deductible.

most, if not all aftermarket company's will want the repair done their way, which might mean replacing less parts than recommended, or installing used parts.

plus, most times you have the added bonus of waiting 3or 4 days for their adjuster to come down and approve the repair, if they decide to cover it.

manufacturers warranty's cost more, but in my experience.( 15 years at this dealer) they will cover just about anything.


Also, the dealer has the authority to complete the repair right away ,They don't need the authority of anyone else, they are the final word.

 

[jagec]

I generally think of extended warranties as a waste of money. Might as well buy lottery tickets...the chances of any car worth buying having expensive problems that are both covered by the warranty and not denied by the underwriter is really, really low.