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School me on aftermarket warranties??


Diamonds

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they are a waste of money and don't cover much.

 

Not always true. I have had extended warranties on my last 3 cars. My 07 envoy had $3,800 in covered claims in just under two years. The warranty itself was $1,900 and I got $1,300 back to me when I cancelled it when I traded the car in.

 

 

It really depends on the car that you're trying to cover and the coverage you buy. Anything less than the top coverage available is junk and usually is close to the same cost as the top coverage. Don't buy anything that isn't considered exclusionary coverage.

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Not always true. I have had extended warranties on my last 3 cars. My 07 envoy had $3,800 in covered claims in just under two years. The warranty itself was $1,900 and I got $1,300 back to me when I cancelled it when I traded the car in.

 

 

It really depends on the car that you're trying to cover and the coverage you buy. Anything less than the top coverage available is junk and usually is close to the same cost as the top coverage. Don't buy anything that isn't considered exclusionary coverage.

 

Had the warranty on my Element, used it without issue. It cost me the $50 to cover $2k in repairs.

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had one on my cobra. free rental cars, etc. saved me about $3500 from labor/parts on the car, and at least $1000 in rental car fees. i considered putting one on my V as well. Some things arent covered such as clutch, throwout bearing, pulleys, belts, brakes, etc. well, mine didnt cover those parts, im sure some companies are different though. i'd get one again for sure.
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I think certain companies work better with certain makes so it depends on what you're buying.

 

We had Easy Care on the E55, to be completely up front I didn't pay for it, It was sold to the previous owner via the mercedes dealership when the factory warranty ran out on the car, I only had to pay a $50 transfer fee to get it put in my name when we purchased the car.

 

We had a couple little things like a heater control valve go bad that I didn't even consider using the warranty. Cost me $50-100 in parts to fix it and a little bit of my own time but it wasn't even worth the hassle of taking it to the dealer.

 

When we did have an $1100 air shock fail on the car the warranty was nice, though with a $200 deductible and the $200 difference in labor on what the warranty would cover vs. what the dealer wanted I still could have purchased a re-mann'd unit and just done the work myself for the same money in the end. I used the warranty because we had it though and had no real complications.

 

Had something catostrophic gone wrong it would have been nice to have. I didn't re-up when it expired though.

 

Andy

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Cost really depends on the vehicle. Every aftermarket service contract will classify vehicles into different categories based on "potential risk" factors. Generally, this works like any type of insurance. Considerations include: age, miles, make, model, diesel/gas and so forth.

 

If you are purchasing a relatively dependable make 2-4 years old with miles in the 20-40k range, I would expect to pay somwhere bt 1500 and 1900 bucks for a pretty inclusive coverage.

 

Make sure you know your deductible.

 

National Auto Care or NAC for short is a company with a good reputation locally.

 

Good luck with your sale!

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Its been a little while so things have changes but back in my dealership days (4 years ago) we sold Easy Care warranties and for the most part they were great about covering items and ended up buying alot of expensive repairs as long as it was not due to a lack of maintenance on your part or the previous owner.
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Cost really depends on the vehicle. Every aftermarket service contract will classify vehicles into different categories based on "potential risk" factors. Generally, this works like any type of insurance. Considerations include: age, miles, make, model, diesel/gas and so forth.

 

If you are purchasing a relatively dependable make 2-4 years old with miles in the 20-40k range, I would expect to pay somwhere bt 1500 and 1900 bucks for a pretty inclusive coverage.

 

Make sure you know your deductible.

 

National Auto Care or NAC for short is a company with a good reputation locally.

 

Good luck with your sale!

 

We sell NAC stuff here and they are a pretty solid company. Never had any complaints from any of our customers.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Not sure if they finance the warranty, but most are not that much from my experience. I had one on my WS6 which was around $2500 but I bought it from the dealer so it was financed into the deal. I had my fuel pump replaced with it which was around $1200 since they had to drop the tank and I had it done at a Pontiac dealer. I have one on my scion now and it was $2400 but if I don't use it I get the full purchase price back (that was what sold me on it).

 

If you have to finance a few grand you shouldn't be buying it. How much are the ones you're looking at that you'd think you'd need to finance it?

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I look at it like this:

Warranty companies exist for one reason only.... To make profit.

That being said, depending on your situation, they could be a great idea.

 

Example:

Family A lives pay check to paycheck. The car they are buying (and financing) will be used for transportation to and from work for the next 3-4 years. They couldn't afford a brand new car with full factory warranty. They also couldn't afford to throw 3k at a repair should something happen. They can swing the extra $40 a month the warranty adds to their payment.

 

In this situation, it's a no brainer. They NEED the warranty as a measure of risk mitigation. Without it, a serious mechanical failure could be financially devastating to them.

 

 

I doubt this is the case for you. So in your case, if you spend 4k on a warranty, you are essentially betting on the car being a huge liability. If you think it may have problems, but are getting a great deal on the car, that would make sense. Otherwise, I might pass.

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I had a friend that bought a warranty when he picked up a Ford Escape with over 100,000 on it. Less than a month after buying it the motor locked up. He bought the car and warranty in Baltimore and everything was fixed in Dallas without issue.

 

My boss right now has a Toyota truck and she needed something done and when she went back to the dealership she bought the truck and warranty from she was informed that the warranty company had closed down and was being sued. She spent 1700 on the warranty and got beat.

 

Your choice.

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Picked up an AMW from a Dealership for $1700 when I bought my Eldorado: paid for itself within a matter of months, even got coverage at a dealership in St.Louis while on vacation. Within 2 days of the expiration date I managed to get the headgaskets replaced and block time serted - I think the dealership wanted close to $4000 for the job. Needless to say I made out like a bandit.

 

The old man got sold on the whole deal after my experience, he however was not so lucky. He bought a warranty from a 3rd party and had no dealership influence. Warranty company gave him no end of shit for every claim and ended up canceling his policy when he "broke even" and literally told him "sue us". Pretty sure the company went bankrupt shortly thereafter.

 

If your going to get an AMW get one from a dealership when you buy the car then let the service writer handle all of the bullshit.

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