Auto Extended Warranty

[gerntz]

We just bought a 2017 CR-V for DW (Sweet vehicle in both our opinions). Not getting Honda's EW, but looking at outside market due to all the electronics in autos today. Anyone have any experience with these? Thanks.

Note: Honda's was $1550 for 7 years/75K or really for years 4-7 b/c Honda's warranty is 3 years.

 

[Koolau]

No experience with EW or electronics. I would check very carefully to see what is covered. For a Honda (in general) I don't think I'd pay for EW. But for anyone's electronics, it might be worth it. I've heard horror stories (here and elsewhere) about $2400 to fix the main "panel" or whatever it's called. With out that, lots of stuff can't even be used if I understand correctly. I'll avoid all such trappings a long as possible. When I finally put a bullet between the headlights of my '99 CRV, I'll be looking for a new one - maybe an 07 or 08 - anyone know if they have all the "glass panel" electronics? YMMV

 

[aja8888]

Most of the electronics these days can suffer from "infant mortality". In other words, if they make it for 60 days, they will last ten years with a very low probability of failure. I don't buy repair insurance policies (EW's).

 

[meierlde]

I have a 2016 Malibu where the forward camera went out after 2 months, it turns out that a plug was not put together properly, The car was in the shop for a week, but the dealer did provide a loaner. So that is infant mortality.
Note that I have read that by 2022 all cars will have forward collision mitigation and auto braking making read end collisions less likley. Most new cars now have backup cameras, since by law they become standard next year.
I figure the newer saftey features help a bit in terms of reaction time as I get older. (I like the blind spot alerts a lot)

 

[braumeister]

I would never buy an extended warranty, period.

But one potential gotcha that happened to a friend would be something to watch out for. He bought the extended warranty because he thought it was a good deal, but it was offered by that dealer. When he ran into problems on a trip far from home, he brought it in to the nearest dealer who said "We have nothing to do with your home dealer's warranty. Take it back there or pay us the normal cost."

 

[gerntz]

I have a 2016 Malibu where the forward camera went out after 2 months, it turns out that a plug was not put together properly, The car was in the shop for a week, but the dealer did provide a loaner. So that is infant mortality.
Note that I have read that by 2022 all cars will have forward collision mitigation and auto braking making read end collisions less likley. Most new cars now have backup cameras, since by law they become standard next year.
I figure the newer saftey features help a bit in terms of reaction time as I get older. (I like the blind spot alerts a lot)

Thanks. We have top of line version & have those things.

 

[pb4uski]

I only bought an extended warranty once... for our first 4WD vehicle... never used it. Subsequently I had a client who wrote extended warranties and learned how profitable they are to the client... so no interest here.

 

[gerntz]

I would never buy an extended warranty, period.

But one potential gotcha that happened to a friend would be something to watch out for. He bought the extended warranty because he thought it was a good deal, but it was offered by that dealer. When he ran into problems on a trip far from home, he brought it in to the nearest dealer who said "We have nothing to do with your home dealer's warranty. Take it back there or pay us the normal cost."

1. We didn't buy Honda or dealer's warranty, so that's not applicable. I mean it is a profit center for them. But, off-dealer might be a different story. 2. Don't normally buy any extend warranties on anything either. Just asking experiences on off-dealer car warranties.

 

[gerntz]

I only bought an extended warranty once... for our first 4WD vehicle... never used it. Subsequently I had a client who wrote extended warranties and learned how profitable they are to the client... so no interest here.

Thanks. But not my question.

 

[euro]

I would never buy an extended warranty, period.

+1

 

[RunningBum]

I bought one once, for a new 97 which also happened to be a CRV. It was through my credit union that I used for the car buying service and also financed it, though maybe I paid cash. I had reason to use it after the regular warranty ran out and took it to a place that specialized in Hondas. The service rep groaned, and said, yeah, we accept this, but we have to use after market parts, which aren't going to be as good. The repair cost didn't cover the original cost, but that's more or less a matter of chance. It also occurred to me that some places just might not accept it.


I haven't bought one since. I felt like that experience was a hassle and not optimal, and I agree that a lot of those electronic problems will either happen very early, or probably not at all. I also am fine with self-insuring repair costs. I try to buy more reliable cars, more for the reason that I don't want to be broken down at an inconvenient or dangerous time, with cost being a secondary concern.

 

[Texas Proud]

You also need to be careful of the 'gotcha'.... some are only for drivetrain and electronics are not covered...


I had one on my 87 Firebird... it was paid for by the original owner... was not for that long and most of my problems occurred after it was gone... but the one time I did use it I found out that I had a $100 deductible.... and since it was way back when I think the repair was about $150.... not so great...


I have never had a car where I would have made money on it... well, except maybe for my 85 Cougar but I do not remember if it was offered back then...


SOOO, lets go since 1995.... 5 new cars at at least $1000 per car... and none of them has needed anything that was not covered by the original warranty but normal maintenance or body work due to an accident... well, I lie... my 95 did have a problem with the alternator but that was maybe $300....


So, potential cost of EW of over $5,000 and potential benefit of $300.... I am WAY ahead IMO...

 

[Red Badger]

Agree with many opinions here. Don't buy EW. May be better to put aside $100 per month (or some other amount) as your own "insurance fund."

If you go the other direction, at least wait until your warranty is near the end, then check with your auto insurance company and see if they have a product to suit you.

EW's are one of the most profitable products for car dealers and pushed aggressively by sales, finance, service, etc.

 

[pb4uski]

We just bought a 2017 CR-V for DW (Sweet vehicle in both our opinions). Not getting Honda's EW, but looking at outside market due to all the electronics in autos today. Anyone have any experience with these? Thanks.

Note: Honda's was $1550 for 7 years/75K or really for years 4-7 b/c Honda's warranty is 3 years.

I only bought an extended warranty once... for our first 4WD vehicle... never used it. Subsequently I had a client who wrote extended warranties and learned how profitable they are to the client... so no interest here.

Thanks. But not my question.

Actually, I did answer your question... you asked if anyone had experience buying an extended warranty that was not the manufacturer's extended warranty... I bought an extended warranty that was not the mnufacturer's extended warranty and we never used/needed it.

Like may others here, I don't think they are a good value so I would not buy one.

 

[jimnjana]

I get an extended warranty when buying a middle aged used car from a local dealer. He won't sell certain car models with out them.

 

[Fedup]

I never buy these auto warranty policies and never had a lemon. Not yet.

 

[FrankiesGirl]

I have what is called Mechanical Breakdown coverage through my insurance company. It is only offered on new vehicles (under so many miles). I pay over the course of 10 years a total of $750 (it's ~$75 a year), and in the event that anything breaks/stops working - electrical, mechanical, A/C, transmission, engine, whatever (as long as it's not general wear and tear) they cover it completely after a $250 deductible. I choose where it gets repaired; no having to go to an approved place or dealership unless I want to, I even get a rental car thrown in with the coverage while vehicle is being repaired. The coverage is for 10 years/100K miles, no gotchas or small print.

I can cancel it at any time, but once I cancel, I can't put it back.

I have a vehicle with a CVT transmission, so I'm keeping the coverage the full 10 years since it would be around $4,500 to replace if it goes bad, but for the money, the warranty is a decent gamble for me. If I had a regular transmission tho, I likely would not have gotten this (or any) extended warranty. If you have a generally reliable vehicle, I don't see the point of extended warranties myself, but I did take a chance with the current one, so I'm paying extra for the risk.

 

[REWahoo]

I have purchased extended warranties on cars by virtue of how we bought them. The last two autos we purchased were CPO vehicles which came with additional warranties.

Example: In late 2015 I purchased a 2015 model Buick with 10K on the odometer. It still had 36 mo/40K (whichever comes first) remaining of the new car bumper-to-bumper warranty. Because it was certified, I got an additional 12mo/12K, giving me a 48 mo/52K warranty plus a 6 year/100K power train warranty.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

A number of years ago, I purchased an F-150. Long story short, the purchase was sweetened with an EW through Ford. I would have never bought it other wise, but it was used as leverage to purchase. Anyway...at 65,000 miles I total transmission failure and the replacement was covered under the warranty. Without it, I would have coughed up about 5k. My latest ride is an Infiniti that just turned over 100k miles. Had I purchased an EW, Infiniti would have made a 100% profit since I had no unscheduled maintenance on the car.

I agree with the sentiment that it is more of an insurance policy. If you afford to part with 3-5k bucks for a repair, then it's probably not a terrible idea.

 

[Blueskies123]

You do not need one on the more reliable Japanese cars. On American or German yes. I have a friend with a $90,000 Escalde and it threw a piston. A family member has Denali. The transmission had to be replaced at 60K and the AC has failed twice.

 

[Sojourner]

I recently bought a new car and decided to get the EW from the dealer at the time of purchase. It's a 10 year warranty that covers any repair the car might need (other than due to an accident, etc.) and I was able to get it for $1,700 after negotiating it down from $2,300. I normally never buy extended warranties, but I think $170/year is pretty reasonable. Even if the car only needs 3 or 4 mechanical or electrical repairs over the next 10 years, I think I'll come out ahead or at least pretty close to break-even.

 

[braumeister]

The coverage is for 10 years/100K miles, no gotchas or small print.

For me, 100K miles would be about 4 years.
Big gotcha right there. This is what makes such a thing a non-starter for me.

Last time I bought a new car, I agreed to the "all routine maintenance for 3 years" offer because it seemed like a slightly better deal than what I expected to pay for routine maintenance. Didn't notice until much later that the fine print said 3 years/36K miles, so it expired after just a year and a half. Never again.

 

[ulvazell]

I recently bought a new car and decided to get the EW from the dealer at the time of purchase. It's a 10 year warranty that covers any repair the car might need (other than due to an accident, etc.) and I was able to get it for $1,700 after negotiating it down from $2,300. I normally never buy extended warranties, but I think $170/year is pretty reasonable. Even if the car only needs 3 or 4 mechanical or electrical repairs over the next 10 years, I think I'll come out ahead or at least pretty close to break-even.

My thinking follows the same track. The way I've got it figured is, other than the usual fluid and filter changes, I have to a great extent capped my maintenance cost. That of course depends upon the quality of the warranty and the company that stands behind it...

 

[DrRoy]

EW's exist because they are profitable for the seller, and thus overall a net loser on average to the buyer. I never get them.

 

[Jerry1]

We just bought a 2017 CR-V for DW (Sweet vehicle in both our opinions). Not getting Honda's EW, but looking at outside market due to all the electronics in autos today. Anyone have any experience with these? Thanks.

Note: Honda's was $1550 for 7 years/75K or really for years 4-7 b/c Honda's warranty is 3 years.

As you noted, you're buying protection for after the original warranty. Not sure of Honda's warranty but I assume 3yrs/36K. So $1550 for 4 more years and 39K miles. I know it's a crap shoot, but I like the idea of knowing that for 7/75k, I will have little to no out of pocket. I've had them before but haven't bought one in awhile because I've been leasing and staying within the standard warranty. In the past, I did well on the extended warranty. Some may say that's because I buy GM's, but that's a different thread. I did just buy a new car and I'm considering an extended warranty.

My current quote is for 6/75K for $1233 w/ $100 deductible or 7/100K for $1708 w/ $100 deductible. I'm thinking of going with the 7/100K. I have a belief that I'll do okay in 100,000 miles. If not, it cost me $244 per year more. Again, statistics say it's not a good deal, but I'm buying the piece of mind.

As for the electronics, I agree with your concern. Cars are so complex today that if they do go wrong, they can take several visits to get it working correctly and incur considerable cost.