Extended Warranties on new vehicle via 3rd party companies

JEREMY wrote:

The shocks are ridiculous on them things. 917 buckes a piece now.

Everything is insane now. Burned out taillight $1100! I was quoted $1300 by the Ford stealership to replace the backup cam in Mrs. Grouse’s Lincoln. Freaking insanity.

BTW, the new engine on the 2023 Hyundai I mentioned above is quoted at over listed at over $12.000 installed. I’m not sure if that is the actual price were you forced to pay for it out of pocket, but I cannot see how an installed factory engine would be a penny less than $10k these days. I wonder if you can even do a reman install for less than 10k all in these days?

I’m noticing an interesting trend. With the exception of Full Draw above, the vast, vast majority of guys who actually buy these “ripoff” extended warranties seem to be coming out way ahead on the deal.

And look, I’m not doubting Full Draw’s experience, but IMO good luck buying a 2025 truck (or any other vehicle) and having it go 160k while only replacing a a water pump. IMO the chances of doing 160k on today’s new vehicles without a major out of warranty repair is virtually zero for normal yearly mileage drivers.

I only buy new vehicles and keep them at least ten years. My Explorer is a 2015 and has about 120K miles on it. In my experience it is the electronics that go wrong and they are notoriously expensive to fix. All my vehicles are Fords and I have had great experience with them. But I still buy their extended warranty. I buy from the dealer where I buy my vehicles since I tell myself they will take care of me. I have been doing this since the 1990s and have been satisfied. Good luck.

Bearcat89 wrote:

We used the hell out of our 3rd party extended warranty. That 2016 Tahoe we had was the worst vehicle ever. Before 99k we had the tranny replaced, a few weeks later the motor was having a lifter issue, we had all our air ride replaced, shocks all replaces, even wiggled in new heated seats because they quit working. New stereo because it quit pushing the hidden screen door up, all oil lines replaced, tranny cooler and a few other things. I think we paid 1800 for the warranty and cashed out of it for 17k if I remember right.
Helps having the woman manage a auto repair place. Her business did all the battling with the ext warranty and got everything approved.

The quality discrepancies are absolutely wild, thanks GM. In my garage the 2016 Tahoe has been the most reliable “newer” vehicle we have and the only one that hasn’t seen a flat bed at 130k miles. My 2016 silverado on the other hand… and my 2020 2500hd ate 2 high pressure fuel pumps in 14 days time.

The 2009 malibu is the true goat and just keeps chugging along getting a modest 27 mpg. That car makes me happy.

Bearcat89 wrote:

We used the hell out of our 3rd party extended warranty. That 2016 Tahoe we had was the worst vehicle ever. Before 99k we had the tranny replaced, a few weeks later the motor was having a lifter issue, we had all our air ride replaced, shocks all replaces, even wiggled in new heated seats because they quit working. New stereo because it quit pushing the hidden screen door up, all oil lines replaced, tranny cooler and a few other things. I think we paid 1800 for the warranty and cashed out of it for 17k if I remember right.
Helps having the woman manage a auto repair place. Her business did all the battling with the ext warranty and got everything approved.

I’m right there with you BC. My 2016 Silverado LTZ has had over $9,000 of warranty work done in the last 3 years that I have owned it. The big one being the transmission. This was the first extended warranty I had purchased on a used vehicle and it was by far the best money I have ever spent. I owe the finance guy a case of beer as he more or less insisted that I get the bumper to bumper coverage for the life of the loan due to known issues. My buddy just threw the transmission on his 2017 and was lucky enough to trade it out before it was undrivable. Now they have a class action suite against GM over the 15-19 8 speed automatic in 26 states. Known to go at 100,000 miles. Wouldn’t you know it, mine went at 99,500.

Seems like a waste spending an extra few grand on a brand new vehicle but after factory warranty runs out it dont take much work to get your money back.

One of our company trucks has a CNA National Warranty Corp contract that extended powertrain to 150k. They have been very good with coverage at the dealer. I know a diesel transmission was replaced for $50 and the turbo actuator just went out before the warranty expired and that was also covered for $50. I am sure there were a few other things, but those were the big things. Too bad they didn’t cover when he put DEF in the fuel tank. Talk about $$$$$$$$$

My wife unfortunately “needs” the latest and greatest so she’s rarely in something more than a couple years old and is under a full manufacturer warranty.

My last 2 daily driver pickups I’ve bought with 30-40k on them and some remaining factory warranty. Then as that factory coverage is expiring I assessed how much I trust/like the vehicle and whether or not I should buy another in a similar situation, or ride that one out. The Silverado I had was an easy “ditch it” at ~80k. The F150 I’m in now I have every intention of riding out to 200k and then probably throwing an old flatbed on it and using it as a field/work truck close to home. The 5.0 has been exponentially more reliable and cheaper to run than the Silverado.

I know there are exceptions as noted by many…but more often than not the extended warranties do not pay for themselves if you elected to save that $ instead.

I posted about this here a few years ago, but I added an extended warranty through CNA when I bought my truck used in 2018. Paid about $2500 on it, but the total it has saved me was around $12k. It has since expired, but I will definitely be getting another through them when I get my next truck. The service advisors I worked with all said CNA is the best and easiest warranty company they work with. Never declined anything and the mechanics even added a few things like alternator that was starting to squeak and they covered it.

So here’s what I’ve found out in my shopping for a good value with a reputable company. Haven’t pulled the trigger yet.
First the list I checked with:
My local Chevy dealer who uses Ethos; the Chevy dealer I bought the vehicle from who uses Strategic; Direct quote from Endurance; direct quote from AAA who uses CNA. Refunds of premium are a common feature of all these, albeit by different formulas. Also, the CNA option (and I think Zurich too) is only available thru some dealers and organizations like AAA.
Prices are all over the board for the same month/miles and for bumper-to-bumper exclusionary coverage. Most just offered a few options in their template offerings.
But AAA/CNA offered literally dozens of options for each level of deductible; $100, $200, and $500. The agent was very responsive and a pleasure to deal with. They were significantly lower in premium when comparing apples-to-apples on the term and mileage, but here’s the kicker. There is a $500 discount for AAA members, which I am, AND they drop the deductible if you take the warrantied repair to one of their authorized shops. I looked at their list of shops near my zip code, and while they do not have any GM dealers on that list within 25 miles of my zip,there are other dealers on there, as well as some shops that have a good reputation in my area.
I still have a bit more homework to do to make sure I’m not missing anything, but if all is as it seems, I’ll be going with AAA/CNA, with either a 96 month/80,000 to 90,000 mile plan, or 102 month/80,000 to 90,000 miles plan.

Nice info zman! Good luck with whatever you choose but seems like a no brainer just decide duration.

Earlier I said my truck was in for timing chain issue. Long story short it needs a new motor. My Zurich extended warranty is covering it but they will only do a reman motor with warranty until my plan expires this October instead of the ford motor with warranty that my mechanic wanted so I will be looking into another extended warranty for this truck if I keep it. Route 66 has been mentioned here and my credit union sells it and my mechanic recommends them as well so I will be looking into that. So far in 2 1/2yrs and 20k mikes of owning this truck I have had about 14k worth of warranty repairs. I have come out way ahead and will probably be buying some sort of extended warranty from now on with used vehicle purchases.

Stanley, if you get a reman and if Ford does it like GM it would be one that is done by the OEM no? We got a GM Reman for my wife’s Denali. 3 year warranty.
We had Route 66 through the credit union.
FYI, I am not sure if they are ALL this way, but read the fine print on the coverage as in the max they will cover. Hopefully it doesnt come to this, but you can max out what they will pay. I cannot remember if I mentioned this previously, but we ran into it.
First my wife’s engine went out to the tune of 10,000 or something like that. Then the tranny went out at 7,000 or so. Since they already paid for the motor in FULL, they would only cover the remaining amount upto the book value. Example. The book value they had was 12k (which is ridiculous), subtract the 10k for the motor, so there was only 2k left.

Stanley wrote:

So far in 2 1/2yrs and 20k mikes of owning this truck I have had about 14k worth of warranty repairs.

Holy smokes. What are you driving if you don’t mind me asking?

The ford motor would have been $7500 for the motor with a 3yr 100k warranty the one warranty is paying for is $4500 and warranty until our coverage expires is how is was worded to me. Those are just motor prices not job totals. I could pay the extra for the ford motor and have the warranty but I decide to just pay my $100 deductible and look into another extended warranty to cover more than just the motor for hopefully the same or less cost. I wasn’t told anything about a cap on coverage but at the rate this truck is going I may find out soon.

Stanley we werent told about the cap either. The devil is in the details I guess. Maybe they dont all do it, but the plan we had with Route 66 did. I have no other complaints about them because they were great and never questioned anything. I had worked done at a small shop and at the dealer and both were covered without question.

Gitchi Gummi wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Stanley wrote:</div>
So far in 2 1/2yrs and 20k mikes of owning this truck I have had about 14k worth of warranty repairs.

Holy smokes. What are you driving if you don’t mind me asking?

It’s a 2016 f-150 3.5L eco boost. We bought it with 88k now at 108k. We have had a turbo coolant pipe leak, drive shaft replaced, timing chain cover and valve cover gaskets done, front axle seals and now the new motor. If the warranty wouldn’t have covered the timing chain and valve cover gaskets I wouldn’t have done those since they weren’t leaking that bad but I bought the warranty so I was going to use it. The other repairs were needed regardless.

Stanley wrote:

I wasn’t told anything about a cap on coverage but at the rate this truck is going I may find out soon.

Not sure how many do or don’t but I have had customers get told there only paying out x amount of dollars and the contract is done because of hitting the cap.

I have Endurance and just read the small print and they as well have a used NADA value as a cap for repair total.

Like CaptainMusky stated it’s “ridiculous” !

….and now for the end of the story. I pulled the trigger with my local dealer and went with the Platinum Chevrolet Protection Plan,8 year/80,000 miles, after they knocked off over $1k to meet the AAA/CNA premium quote. If dealer had not done that, I would have gone with CNA. The local preferred service shops on CNA’s list did not include any near-by Chevy dealer, so the disappearing deductible would not apply if I had to take it to a dealer. Generally not an issue, except for proprietary repairs, such as software issues, and whatever others might arise. Anyone want to buy a 2024 Suburban in early 2033?

Congrats !

What is your deductible with the Chevy plan ? 100 ?

Thanks

It’s a $100 disappearing deductible.

Compared to gambling the insurance company is the house.
The house always wins, as they say.
Only insure what would wreck you if you loose it.
-your house, life.
For the insurance companies they have full time people dedicated to figuring out the numbers on EVERYTHING to their advantage, this is not your full time thing, so again just have insurance for what helps you sleep at night, if you cannot sleep because you worry about your truck you have other issues.

I used to think that way too. Never got the extended warranties on my or my wife’s vehicles over the years, until we were able to negotiate the premiums down to what I viewed as a reasonable gamble on the 2011 Toyota RAV4, and my just-sold 2016 Suburban. Came out well-ahead on both,so kept shopping/negotiating on the extended warranty for the recent purchase of the new 2024 burb, which may be my last, and yes, paid for some peace of mind.

tim hurley wrote:

Compared to gambling the insurance company is the house.
The house always wins, as they say.
Only insure what would wreck you if you loose it.
-your house, life.
For the insurance companies they have full time people dedicated to figuring out the numbers on EVERYTHING to their advantage, this is not your full time thing, so again just have insurance for what helps you sleep at night, if you cannot sleep because you worry about your truck you have other issues.

For around 2k, I completely think the gamble is worth it. Hell, my Tahoe proves that 20x over. Just look over the details and understand what your buying.
It does sound like there is alot of scammy companies so definitely do your home work. My 16 ram definitely had more then 2500 in work done from my brand new purchase to the 100k warranty was up. I never did the math but I bet it had 5k in work done in those miles. Maybe not but I bet it was close.

z-man wrote:

I used to think that way too. Never got the extended warranties on my or my wife’s vehicles over the years, until we were able to negotiate the premiums down to what I viewed as a reasonable gamble on the 2011 Toyota RAV4, and my just-sold 2016 Suburban. Came out well-ahead on both,so kept shopping/negotiating on the extended warranty for the recent purchase of the new 2024 burb, which may be my last, and yes, paid for some peace of mind.

I bet that suburban is awesome. I loved our Tahoe, could imagine a new burb

It is a nice vehicle. Didn’t really plan to replace my 2016 because the last time I checked with my dealer a few months back, they were still selling new Burbs at MSRP. I’ve never paid MSRP for any vehicle in the past. But when I caught wind in January of the cash allowances on 2024 models for GM loyalty rewards, veteran discount, and kickers to GM Rewards points, plus saw $5k to $6k discounts below MSRP in on-line dealer ads, decided to go shopping on-line and with phone calls, to find a WI dealer who had 2024 models and who’d work with me. Got it for $13k below MSRP. Sold my 2016 outright, rather than trade-in. Ended well.

z-man wrote:

It is a nice vehicle. Didn’t really plan to replace my 2016 because the last time I checked with my dealer a few months back, they were still selling new Burbs at MSRP. I’ve never paid MSRP for any vehicle in the past. But when I caught wind in January of the cash allowances on 2024 models for GM loyalty rewards, veteran discount, and kickers to GM Rewards points, plus saw $5k to $6k discounts below MSRP in on-line dealer ads, decided to go shopping on-line and with phone calls, to find a WI dealer who had 2024 models and who’d work with me. Got it for $13k below MSRP. Sold my 2016 outright, rather than trade-in. Ended well.

And that’s the way vehicle purchasing is supposed to go. Hopefully you get many many miles of enjoyment with that ride.