Extended auto warranty ?

[afterburn 549]

That is a question, is there such a thing that works?
Or, are they all still a bunch of sideshow Carny acts disguised as a business?

[WPOZZZ]

I dunno, I buy them and they have always paid off for me. I bought one for my Alfa last year and it runs to 2027. Got one for my Audi a couple months ago and that runs until 2027 as well. $100 and $0 ded, respectively.

[A930Rocket]

We’ve been trying to reach you…

[porsche tech]

As stated in a previous thread about this…I bought one (against my better judgement) that after 8 years or 100K miles if i had not made a claim I got my money back less $50 handling fee. Surprisingly after 8 years the insurance company was still in business and gave me my money back!

[asphaltgambler]

Usually carnie's for sure, but 2 sides ( and an edge) to the coin. If it's a high maintenance/ probable breakage vehicle like some BMW's, Mercedes, domestic - it's worth a look. 2nd also depends on company underwriting it and specifically contract verbiage.

[KFC911]

I've never paid for any extended warranties on any product .... ever. With what I've not spent on them .... I could just buy a new car and pay with the cash I kept for myself.

Insurance is a game of odds .... and you are betting against the house .... some will win.

I don't play against those odds... works for me.

[Nickshu]

Fidelity Platinum seems to be popular over on Rennlist with good reviews.

[porsche tech]

The money back policy of which I spoke was “Platinum” from Fidelity Warranty Services, Inc out of Florida.

[RNajarian]

“If you have a vehicle whose warranty has run out, or is about to run out and have less than 250,000 miles on the odometer then we may have a protection plan that can fit your budget.”

. . . cracks me up every time.

However, I usually buy CPO and always get the dealer’s extended warranty. Doesn’t always “pay off” but I like the piece of mind.

[GH85Carrera]

I get regular calls that my car's warranty is about to run out and I need to extend it. I usually ask if it is the warranty on the 1986 El Camino with 380,000 miles or the 85 911 with 190,000 miles and they never answer, the rude bastages just hang up.

[afterburn 549]

For sure this is to be more directed as a used Porsche...

[Steve Carlton]

The safest play is an extended service contract through the manufacturer (or administered on their behalf). There's also some good quality aftermarket companies, like Fidelity and (in my opinion) CNA National Warranty Corp. I know there's some other good ones, and have seen attractive deals offered through GEICO directly to the insured, too. With good companies, it becomes a matter of the price. Paying $4,000 for an extended service contract that costs the seller $1,500 sucks. Get a good deal on one makes it similar to a fair deal on insurance. Some people can afford to self-insure, for some a catastrophic failure would be too painful.

I haven't seen an offer like porsche tech got since I sold Acuras in 1994-1995. It's a compelling offer- we sold a lot of them because of it. Let's say someone bought an extended service contract (warranty is not the correct term, technically) for $3,000. Chances are good it's going to pay for something, so let's say you recover $1,500 in repairs. The net cost was $1,500, but the peace of mind was worth something.

I bought a Fidelity warranty years ago on a Volvo S80 V8 I had with 75,000 miles on it. I got it for cost or $100-200 over, I don't remember at $3,100 or so. A year later I had gotten a little over $12,000 paid out on it on the transmission, adjustable shocks, and a couple other things.

[LWJ]

First, I have absolutely ZERO experience with car warranties. BUT, I do have lots of experience with insurance.

Here is how I see it:

Anything you can't afford to pay for is a candidate for insurance.

IF you can afford to pay for it, do NOT insure it. Why? Because insurance companies always need to make a return on their business. They have actuaries that study the numbers far better than you and I can and are professionally making a bet on this.

A related thought is this: any policy that has a FIXED payout (dental insurance comes to mind) should be avoided as most of them are simply charging you to manage your cash. (And, I have not purchased dental insurance ever as we are able to save and address this cost with our family budget. So, it has paid out for us.) An easy exception is Term Life. I buy Term and advocate for anyone who may have a need to buy term. I have seen many people pass away without adequate funds for their surviving family and that is tragic.

Back to the original question? My instinct is to avoid add on warranties every time. But if I were buying something Italian OR complicated OR first year of production I would be tempted. WPOZZZ and his Alfa seem like a great example of this.

Sidenote: I used to always ask the warranty caller about my 1980 SC. They hung up on me as well.
Sidenote to sidenote: When I had my 930, now there is a car that may very well be worth buying a warranty on! No idea what a toasted engine would cost for that but it would be over $15K I suspect.

[GH85Carrera]

Yea, warranties are just insurance policies. They know the numbers and they bet your fear of a big repair against the cost of paying for it yourself.

Back when I bought my 74 914 2.0 brand new, it of course came with a factory warranty. At 600 miles they wanted me to bring it in and have an oil change, transmission fluid change, and valve adjustment. That was the one "free" service from the dealership. Within a few months of getting the 914 the glue on headliner was letting go. So under warranty they peeled off the old one and then realized the one they ordered was for a 1.7 and was not going to work. So I drove with no headliner for a few weeks for it to come in. They used American glue, and 26 years later it was still perfect.

1974 was the year our federal government decided to be able to start a car, the seat belt had to be buckled. The little complex relay box under the driver's seat failed on me twice. I was upset to have to walk a mile to a pay phone, to call them to come pick it up. After the second replacement I figured it was looking for the oil pressure to be zero and the seat belt to be buckled. I wired past the oil pressure sender, and pulled that little brain box out. It is in my attic somewhere. I always wear my seat belt, even to move my car from one garage bay to another and never leave my driveway. It is just instinct to buckle up.

When when bought my wife's Macan she wanted the extended warranty. The Macan has been flawless and all it has had done is the prescribed maintenance, one new battery, and the factory recalls done.

[jamesnmlaw]

Had a manufacturer's warranty on the 2002 Land Rover. Paid for itself within the first year after factory warranty expired. I used the warranty a lot. I blame myself for Land Rover's financial demise.

[LWJ]

^^^A perfect fit! Nice.

[rcooled]

Originally Posted by RNajarian

“...we may have a protection plan that can fit your budget.”

Originally Posted by KC911

With what I've not spent on them .... I could just buy a new car and pay with the cash I kept for myself.

Yes, the TV ads for these policies are a bit misleading too. They usually feature some happy customer sounding overjoyed 'cause they just saved $1500 on some vehicle repair. What they fail to mention is that the smiling customer might've paid 3X that amount for the coverage, and may never use up the rest of it.

[porsche tech]

Our service advisors spent countless hours on the phone with these company’s reps only to find out, “oh that’s not a covered item”. That is another factor to consider: what is covered and what is not. It can get confusing. Like others have said, it is sometimes worth it for peace of mind in the case of catastrophic engine or transmission failure.

[HobieMarty]

I am my car's extended warranty.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[WPOZZZ]

Ok, let me put it this way. I don't get warranties from those places that advertise on tv. I asked them about warranties and they usually reply $200-$300 per month. I usually get mine from my credit union. Got one for the Audi for $2200 for 4 years, bumper to bumper, $0 ded. As for the Alfa, I got it through a Mopar dealer because along with Mopar, Alfa and Maserati are a part of FCA/Stellantis. $1600 for bumper to bumper 8 year from inservice, $100 ded.