Extended Warranties on new vehicle via 3rd party companies

So I pulled the trigger on a new 2024 SUV which comes with the manufacturer’s standard 3 year/36,000 miles all-inclusive and 5 year/60,000 miles drivetrain warranty. Of course the dealer went thru the standard spiel trying to sell their extended warranties which I declined for now. I learned though that one option thru the dealer included coverage via a third-party insurance company,which got me thinking about exploring these types of extended warranty insurance companies on my own to get the middle-man dealer out of the loop. I did purchase the extended warranty once on my vehicle, and once on wife’s vehicle thru the dealer at time of purchase, but was able to negotiate the price down to a reasonable price point back then. As we keep our vehicles for well over the standard warranty periods, in both cases, the cost of the insurance was less than the cost of a couple repairs after the standard warranty period expiration. So here’s my question

Has anyone ever bought the extended coverage directly from such an insurance company, and if so, any lessons?
(Not looking for the value aspect of extended warranties; just comments about experiences going direct to the companies)

z-man wrote:

I learned though that one option thru the dealer included coverage via a third-party insurance company,which got me thinking about exploring these types of extended warranty insurance companies on my own to get the middle-man dealer out of the loop. I did purchase the extended warranty once on my vehicle, and once on wife’s vehicle thru the dealer at time of purchase, but was able to negotiate the price down to a reasonable price point back then.

I have not purchased third party, only factory plans, but I have not bought them through the dealer I bought vehicle from. There are authorized “dealerships” that don’t sell cars and just do warranties online at minimum price. That is another option to explore if you want a factory plan instead of a 3rd party.

Have you ever seen the show American greed ? They had a full episode on extended warranty’s and all the crooks that sell them . All I needed to see .

Haven’t bought one but have looked into them and would strongly consider it on my next purchase. Flood ford, Ziegler and Granger all seem to have good reviews on various vehicle or ford forums.

I bought a third party through a dealer. Didn’t really use it but it covered a lost key ($500) and also dent repair which I used a couple times.

I’d really research it but I wouldn’t be afraid to purchase one again.

It’s Murphy’s law…if you buy one you’ll never use it but if you don’t you’ll grenade a transmission the week after your warranty is up.

Before purchasing a third party extended warranty research the company and confirm their financial status. No good buying a warranty if the company isn’t there to stand behind it.

Make sure you read it completely. Many of them have several items they exclude, like diagnostic time, fluids, tax, wear items, etc. Most also have a max labor rate and only pay flat rate time on repairs.
My opinion is spend the money on quality maintenance.

The only reason warranties are sold is because they generate revenue. Yes, there are times you could be very fortunate to have purchased an extended warranty, but the economics say it’s a money grab. Take every dime you’d spend on a warranty and save it for repairs down the road and you will likely be ahead

The thing that would concern me about non dealer extended warranties is verifying which shops will accept warranty payment to perform repairs with that company? Will the dealership accept it? Other shops?

Will be following this thread because I’ll be interested to know what you find.

In my opinion, vehicles are now such piles of crap across the board that the old advice about these warranties being a rip off has to be revisited. Friends of ours just had a 2023 Hyundai blow an engine. Out of factory warranty, of course. Turns out they are number 9,752 in line in the US for a new motor yet Hyundai refuses to acknowledge there is any problem with these engines. They blew the motor back in October and are still waiting for the engine.

After much debate, they HAD purchased the factory extended factory warranty and they were covered. Probably almost as big a deal would be the rental car that is also covered. They could be waiting for many months yet.

buckybadger wrote:

The only reason warranties are sold is because they generate revenue. Yes, there are times you could be very fortunate to have purchased an extended warranty, but the economics say it’s a money grab. Take every dime you’d spend on a warranty and save it for repairs down the road and you will likely be ahead

This is what we do. Throw that money into your high-yield savings and let it make you money every month instead of letting the warranty company reap the benefits.

I some-what begrudgingly bought one through the Honda dealer when the wife got her new Pilot.

Normally I would never have done it, but it was a model redesign that year and a lot of things changed from the proven ones prior.

Didn’t have a lot of time to research, but the coverage sounded(s) excellent for the price.

There’s so many stupid sensors, computers and other electronics these days, figured one day it might-maybe-could pay for itself.

Ram warranty worked out pretty good for me on last truck. That one was about $2500 for lifetime and I had the truck 11 years and 166k miles. Would have been about break even until the last year a power steering repair was $3600 so it in more than paid for itself.

New one longest time period available for factory is 8 years and it gets expensive to go past 100k. I did 8yr/100k for $2410. This one has way more electronics and poop to break and it doesn’t take much to cover $2410 over 8 years.

If my goal wasn’t to keep the vehicles for about 10 years then I’d think differently and that’s it more of a gamble if you’re going to have a big enough repair in 5 or 6 years.

dirtywater wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>buckybadger wrote:</div>
The only reason warranties are sold is because they generate revenue. Yes, there are times you could be very fortunate to have purchased an extended warranty, but the economics say it’s a money grab. Take every dime you’d spend on a warranty and save it for repairs down the road and you will likely be ahead

This is what we do. Throw that money into your high-yield savings and let it make you money every month instead of letting the warranty company reap the benefits.

Dirtywater you remind me of this joke

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I’ve bought 3rd party extended warranties from my Credit Union which only offers a warranty that mirrors the manufacturer’s original from Route 66 an have been happy. Once the original runs out I go to an independent garage for the warranty work which is not often but considering they replaced an engine at 82,000 miles on my 2016 GMC Sierra due to lifters going bad for about 7k with no issues.

I think it depends on who you buy it from.

Bman— that’s a good joke. And also a pretty bad comparison to warranties.

Most aftermarket insurance companies give you your money back if you don’t use it so that excuse about wasting money is out the window if you find a reputable company. We have had route 66 through our credit union on my wife’s last 2 vehicles and I will tell you they really saved our bacon on this last one and that is underselling it by a long shot.
Not sure how a warranty company would cover dents? That’s a new one…

CaptainMusky wrote:

Most aftermarket insurance companies give you your money back if you don’t use it so that excuse about wasting money is out the window if you find a reputable company. We have had route 66 through our credit union on my wife’s last 2 vehicles and I will tell you they really saved our bacon on this last one and that is underselling it by a long shot.
Not sure how a warranty company would cover dents? That’s a new one…

I’d be interested in which companies give you your money back if warranty is not used. The premise of that business/insurance model doesn’t add up. Paying out and losing money on customers that file claims, then reimbursing customers who don’t use their policy?

I already said which company in my post. Not sure if it was because of them or since it was through our credit union but they would pay it back if not used. Fortunately for them we needed to use it.

Route 66 does not reimburse you the money you paid if you do not file a claim.

If Mopar Max Care expires by time and you never made a claim you can get a refund. That’s what I have for the 8yr on my truck. It won’t make it

I think there is some provision for totalled vehicles also.

I bought a Zurich extended warranty through the dealer when I bought my current truck. It was about $2600 and is a 3yr/36k with a $100 deductible. This is the first time I have bought an extended warranty due to thinking they were all scams but the cost of the warranty was cheaper than some of the major problems it covered. So far it has covered a drive shaft($1k) front axle seals, valve cover gaskets, timing chain gasket($2,400) and now the truck is back in for a timing chain. I haven’t heard back on if it’s done but the mechanic said the warranty will cover it. He also said Zurich has been very good and easy to deal with. If I didn’t have a claim I could get some money back if I got rid of the truck before the warranty expired(pro rated) for me the warranty has paid for itself but I have heard many horror stories as well. I would say not all are bad but you need to do your research.

Those are prorated refunds. Not a total reimbursement if warranty is not used.

wirivereyes wrote:

Those are prorated refunds. Not a total reimbursement if warranty is not used.

Nope.

A refund of your Maximum Care plan purchase price (up to a maximum of the plan Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price) will be
made if the eligible plan has expired by date and/or mileage as defined above, NO mechanical claims have been paid, and all other
requirements as outlined below under “Conditions for Money-Back Guarantee” have been met.

https://www.chryslerfactoryplans.com/library/documents/357-15-177_2015-02%20MVP%20MONEY-BACK%20FORM.pdf

That’s a good deal Reef.

I have had one purchased extended warranty. The only thing that went out and was covered was the water pump. I would have been a lot of money ahead to just pay for the water pump and not gotten the extended warranty.
I have put 160,000 miles on my truck I have now. Never had it in a shop other than brakes, tires and oil changes. No extended warranty bought.

Lots of good stuff here…thanks all.
The out-of-town dealer I bought the vehicle from uses Strategic. The salesman/buddy at my local Chevy dealership, who I also checked with after my purchase, said they use Ethos. He personally bought the extended warranty on one of his vehicles and told me about getting some premium back when he sold the vehicle before the expiration of the policy term. I’d never heard of return premium before either, but that agrees with what a couple posters stated. Sounds like what I need to do is pick two or three reputable companies and start negotiating for the best value.

wirivereyes wrote:

Route 66 does not reimburse you the money you paid if you do not file a claim.

The paperwork I had said otherwise but it doesn’t matter to me because we had to use it. It said full reimbursement. This was a few years ago the vehicles we got it on were obviously not new. Oldest one was 10 years maybe and most recent 5 or so.