I get the spam mail for our cars all the time and ignore them.

Our credit union has a premium warranty that covers everything for $1,700. I'd have to read it to see what all is covered.

It might be a cheaper route to appease Ms Rocket.

I'll share one "success" with an aftermarket warranty... Best $50.00 I have spent.

I bought an '05 Jaguar S Type R used from a private party in 2012. Car had an ok PPI at the dealer. Couple minor issues.

The seller had purchased a premium 3rd party warranty through the dealer when he bought the car. I think he paid around $4k at the time.

I payed $50.00 to transfer it to my name. It had about 6 months remaining and 20,000 miles.

Within 2 months of buying the car the touch screen IP started going crazy in low ambient temperatures. Couldn't use climate, radio, nav etc.
(Flame suit on for Jag. electrical jokes. No smoke escaped at least)

Took the car in to dealer and had them diagnose and fix IP plus replace a broken HID headlight unit, a slightly leaking trans pan and sensor, and replace worn front control arms.

Grand total $11,000.00 in warranty! IP and control module were $7k!
The warranty Co. cried uncle and said no more or we will "total" the car and cut you a check for $10k.

Typically I fall solidly into the "save the money and skip the warranty" camp. This was an eye opener though with a "newer" car with electrical bs. Yikes.

Cooper

Cooper's moral of the story is really to not buy a Jag.

And I can't fathom buying a warranty just to make my wife happy. :)

G

Depends on the vehicle. When I purchased my BMW X5, the dealer offered me an extended warranty for $1600. I took it. To date, the warranty company has paid out over $13k in repairs (and that's the negotiated cost). Best $1600 I've ever spent.

While I generally don't think that extended warranties are a good deal for the purchaser, if you feel that you must have one, make sure that it's an EXCLUSIONARY warranty. That is, one that spells out very clearly which components are not covered...like a factory warranty does. NAMED COMPONENT or INCLUSIONARY warranties list only the items that are covered. With this type, it's much easier for the warranty company to deny payment by claiming that the component needing repair/replacement is part of a sub-system that's not on the list.

More info here: Types of Extended Auto Warranties