Aftermarket Warranty

[chasineyes]

I just bought an 04 Expedition with 76000 miles. Has anyone ever bought an aftermarket warranty for their vehicle before? ANd if so any advice.

[Scott K]

Check up front what is coverd, dont take the sales persons word, tell them you want see a list. The warranties are a huge mark up, and you can usually talk them down on prices. As for general info on them, it is a gamble of if something goes wrong that is a big repair, then it will favor you, if you dont have any issues, it favors them!

[ilovefishing]

depening the cost and limit on milage i would get it. the last 2 vehichle i've bought used it to put a new transmission in one and other has over $1400 in repairs done at no cost. also look at the contract because some cover towing and car rentals/ hotel room if more than 100 miles from home. that was at least what my contract was set up

[chasineyes]

Thanks for the follow-up...I will be paying $1700 for an additional 100,000 miles for engine, transfer, water pump, timing chain, transmission, towing, and car rental.

[Hafnutz]

Check with the shop that does your repairs to see if they will honor a particular warranty. Many of the aftermarket warranty companies pay way less than the prevailing labor rate. Others even want you to install used parts. If the part is no good they will not pay to replace it. The warranty won't do you any good if nobody will accept it. Shops are not required to take all these and many don't.

[Shack]

Yes, all the good advise has been given. There is a reason they offer these extended warranties to so high of mileage vehicles and "loop holes" are big part of it. Also, the chances of one of these parts failing in this time frame has been researched to full extent. They might offer it for this particular vehicle, but not for another vehicle of the same year and class of another make, because of tracking data reports of needed repairs.

Point blank they want your money and do not want to pay out if they do not legally have to.

Sometimes when out of town and a repair is needed, shops may not except this contract. Most will, because it is money. Most extended warranty companies issues a Visa or Mastercard number over the phone to pay your bill. There are some who mail out a check to the shop and this is when the repair shop will tell you "sorry" and you have to pay out of your pocket in hopes that the company mails you back a check for the correct amount .

Some of the lesser companies can burry a repair in so much red tape, the customer just pays the bill and says they are going to court. Other companies are great. Things like providing maintenance records, field inspectors having to come out to the shop to inspect the repairs, the company shipping reman or used parts to the shop and a final review of the claim by the supervisor (1-2 days) can delay a repair 2-5 times longer than if paying out of pocket or using the factory warranty.

Also check what the rental allowance per day is. Some only offer $10-$15 per day (or none at all) and the shop or local rental company charges $30-$50 per day. Also ask and check into other charges they do not cover. I.E. shop supplies, tax, needed extra parts for the repair, fluids, filters, fasteners. The list can get to be long, but these items will be needed to complete the repair.

It also never hurts to get the deductible explained to you and ask questions about it. I have seen it where a customer has multiple repairs and the extended warranties authorizes the repairs, but assigns a deductible for each repair. If you have a $100 deductible and 5 covered repairs, that is $500 you will be paying out of your pocket.

One last thing I can think of, is do not buy one of those contracts over the phone. I have heard too many horror stories over the years. I would go to a dealer where you can sit down and review, go home and think about it. Never sign right away. If you do buy one over the phone, have them send out all needed info first, check them out on the web for negative feed back (and on FM) and if possible check with Consumer Reports.

Good luck!

[lots of luck]

Two out of the last three vehicles my wife and I have purchased it has paid off big time. In both cases repairs far exceeded the warranty cost. It has also paid for itself with my parents and the last vehicle they purchased. Good Luck in your decision.

[Whoaru99]

Lots of good advice in the thread.

Always remember...they wouldn't be offering the coverage at the price you see if the average payout exceeded the average cost of the policy.

Sure, it's a godsend if you're the one with the trouble, but plain and simple is that most people don't recover the cost of the policy. Companies tend not to say around long by paying out more than they take in.