3rd Part Extended Warranties Experiences

[kgroschi]

Hi guys,

any of you have any good/bad experiences with 3rd party warranties? I am looking for a car that has 1 more year of OEM Warranty, but for me that's not enough. I am more looking for an additional 2 years/50k miles because you never know and I think it will also help the resale value and trust.

What do you guys think?

Thanks!

[David70]

I am not a fan, they pay all of their vast numbers of expenses, make a good profit and do whatever possible to make it difficult to come out ahead (to help their profit). Over your lifetime the chances of coming out ahead on purchased warranties is close to zero.

If you are interested in them find out what they cost (initial plus deductibles), what they cover, what the process is for getting something covered and then look at the reviews on them. I would also wait until closer to the end of the factory warranty than a year to buy one. No point in buying something you can't use and there is always a chance you decide or have to get rid of the car before you end up needing it.

[kgroschi]

Originally Posted by David70

I am not a fan, they pay all of their vast numbers of expenses, make a good profit and do whatever possible to make it difficult to come out ahead (to help their profit). Over your lifetime the chances of coming out ahead on purchased warranties is close to zero.

If you are interested in them find out what they cost (initial plus deductibles), what they cover, what the process is for getting something covered and then look at the reviews on them. I would also wait until closer to the end of the factory warranty than a year to buy one. No point in buying something you can't use and there is always a chance you decide or have to get rid of the car before you end up needing it.

Okay fair points. I thought getting it earlier might make it cheaper since the car is in a better shape and has less miles etc. But of course I'd be paying for 1 year without getting anything, which would be stupid.

I had MaxCare before and while it cost me $3k to buy it, they covered over $5k in repairs. So it was definitely worth it on that particular case, hence I am a bit less hesitant when thinking of a 3rd party extended warranty.