Used Vehicle extended service warranties

Skytrooper · Skytrooper's Garage

There are numerous choices out there. Does anyone have experience with these ?

wdfifteen · wdfifteen's Garage

Only experience I have is those damn companies calling me every couple of days trying to sell me warranties on cars I no longer own or never have owned. For the past few months they've warned that this is the last call you will receive and I ask if that's a promise. They just hang up and call again in a few days.

fastfredracing · 09-04-2015, 05:21 PM

Tons of experience with them, some good , some terrible. There used to only be a few companies around, now it seems as if there are a million of them . Some of the no name companies seem to rarely, if ever approve a claim without making me do more in diagnostic work than the whole job is worth.
They once made me tear down a subaru wrx motor with a rod hanging out the bottom of the block to determine the cause of failure. Lubey himself could not have diagnosed the failure mode, as it was all shrapnel by the time I saw it . This was all at the customers expense. I had to charge them almost as much in labor to remove and tear it down, as it would have cost them to just replace the damn motor with a junkyard motor which is all they ever do anyhow.
They are usually pretty easy on routine stuff, such as wheel bearings, calipers, water pumps , alternators etc, but it always seems to get funny on larger repairs

Skytrooper · Skytrooper's Garage

Since it will be for my daughter's new/used truck I would like a company that does right by the customer without much hassle. Do you have some suggestions you could PM me ? She lives in Winchester, Va and I am in western NY.

stomachmonkey · 09-05-2015, 05:40 AM

I've bought them in the past and have gotten my monies worth.

It's important to find out who the warranty company is.

A common thing is for dealers to form a separate company whose warranties they exclusively sell.

They make it a hassle (see Fred's post) to take the car to anyone other than their own shop.

Mark Henry · 09-05-2015, 05:58 AM

The wife bought one on her used Torrent and I was pissed as 95% percent of the time they are just a money grab. Had to eat my words when the heat vent door went for a poop, as it would have been 10 hours book rate labour. It's actually took the tech 14 hours.
Total bill was $1200, which IIRC was the price of the extended warranty.

The warranty company wasn't overly happy as we caught it with only about 40 miles left on the warranty.

Steve Carlton · 09-05-2015, 06:03 AM

What year, make and model is it? Miles?

fastfredracing · 09-05-2015, 06:56 AM

C.A.R.S is the big one ( or at least used to be ) around here. I have done hundreds of claims with them, and they are pretty reliable. They will still make me/customer jump through hoops with larger claims , ie make me remove , teardown, and inspect a bad auto transmission when we both know they are only going to authorize the cost for a used replacement no matter what I find .
I have dealt with Zurich a few times now, and they seemed like a class act, both times were small claims.
Seems to me that the ones that the small used car dealers are pawning off on customers are the worst.
Cannot remember the name of the company that came with my buddies 3 series, but so far , they have denied a claim on the yaw angle sensor, the steering angle sensor, a frozen caliper, a bad radiator, and a power steering hose. They seem to have a clause that denies every simple claim I turn in .
Maybe a good idea, to google the company you are thinking of, and read peoples reviews.

cabmandone · cabmandone's Garage

I got one years ago on a Dodge Intrepid and don't recall who carried the policy. The only reason I got it was my car was listed in CR as not having Trans issues but the year before and the year after did. Turned out so did mine. Only time I ever had one payoff.

Skytrooper · Skytrooper's Garage

2010 Dodge 2500 Heavy Duty SLT 4 door Long bed. 68500 miles. Extremely clean vehicle. I took it to 2 different mechanics to look over, one being a dodge hater. They were both very impressed with the entire truck. So I decided to buy it. Dealer offered a warranty, but after reading about them on BBB, I think it better to find something better. My daughter will have this truck down in Virginia & Florida, so its not like I can help her too much if something goes wrong.

Steve Carlton · 09-05-2015, 08:23 PM

Sent you a PM. That's not one of the trucks that Dodge is going to buy back, is it?

E Sully · E Sully's Garage

I would suggest going to the service department you will most likely use, and ask the service rep which third party service contracts they have the least issues with.
I am currently having a transmission replaced in my car under the dealers used car 60 day 2,000 mile initial purchase warranty. I will most likely buy an extended warranty on it based on advice from the service rep.

Por_sha911 · Por_sha911's Garage

The devil is in the details. Years ago, the exclusion list made the plans not worth the paper is was printed on. I am not sure asking the service writer who they recommend since some of them will suggest the company he has a friendship with or the one that pays them the highest labor rate.
I suggest investing in a top notch PPI more than an aftermarket warranty.