Extended Warranty... is it worth it?
04-21-2005, 01:41 PM
#21
Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 8
I bought the extended warranty on my old Chevy 1500 truck, and almost everything (which was almost nothing) that needed repairing wasn't covered by the extended warranty. I think I got one U-bolt replaced at 75,000 miles for free. Definitely not worth the 1250 warranty. The most expensive thing I had done to it was a couple hundred bucks when a metal hose rusted through from the radiator to the engine (not covered under warranty)
My 97 ford escort that I traded in on my tC had 145000 miles on it and was still fine, no transmission or any other major problems. Most expensive thing I had to do it was replace a belt. My 97 ford explorer also has no extended warranty and has had no serious problems, with the most serious being spark plug wire replacement. My old 86 ford mustang started having transmission problems around 135000 miles, to which I'm sure I contributed to heavily at ages 16-18.
In short, I don't know that US car companies are as bad as people say. Admittedly, the users on this (and other similar) site seem to have lots of problems with their cars, but I would guess that it has at least something to do with driver age and behavior. I don't think the extended warranty is worth it, especially if you plan to trade your car in in 3-5 years, you'll be paying a lot for years 4 and/or 5, imo.
Also the maintenance is not _that_ bad of a price, if you can't/won't do any of this work yourself. Discount tire and most other places that you buy your tires will do rotations for free, and oil changes are pretty simple. But if you like one point of service, go for it. I just hate the idea of paying in advance for what I might need over the next four years, and (usually) financing it so it affects the debt/value ratio on the car loan and adds interest.
But this is coming from someone who didn't buy a single option from the dealer - even floormats.
My 97 ford escort that I traded in on my tC had 145000 miles on it and was still fine, no transmission or any other major problems. Most expensive thing I had to do it was replace a belt. My 97 ford explorer also has no extended warranty and has had no serious problems, with the most serious being spark plug wire replacement. My old 86 ford mustang started having transmission problems around 135000 miles, to which I'm sure I contributed to heavily at ages 16-18.
In short, I don't know that US car companies are as bad as people say. Admittedly, the users on this (and other similar) site seem to have lots of problems with their cars, but I would guess that it has at least something to do with driver age and behavior. I don't think the extended warranty is worth it, especially if you plan to trade your car in in 3-5 years, you'll be paying a lot for years 4 and/or 5, imo.
Also the maintenance is not _that_ bad of a price, if you can't/won't do any of this work yourself. Discount tire and most other places that you buy your tires will do rotations for free, and oil changes are pretty simple. But if you like one point of service, go for it. I just hate the idea of paying in advance for what I might need over the next four years, and (usually) financing it so it affects the debt/value ratio on the car loan and adds interest.
But this is coming from someone who didn't buy a single option from the dealer - even floormats.
04-21-2005, 02:11 PM
#22
Member
SL Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: El Segundo, CA
Posts: 67
Not only did I get the warranty, but the knuckleheads at Manhattan Beach gave me free car washes AND limo service to and from the airport for the life of my extended warranty. Thats six years of free car washes folks, silly aint it?
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