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How many of you have bought and used an "Extended Warranty" on anything you have purchased?
I am 62 years old and have never bought an Extended Warranty on any product I have ever purchased. And have not had any major repairs needed on any of these items.
I have been married for 42 years and the wife and I have bought at least 15 new automobiles or trucks,(not counting used ones we have bought) Have bought four new boats and motors, (did have trouble with one outboard motor, but it was covered under regular Warranty) and six used boats. Have I been Extremely "LUCKY" or is this the norm? My Mercury motor on my Wellcraft is out of regular warranty now, but Wellcraft still under regular warranty. My SeaHunt and Yamaha are still under regular warranty. Hope this post does not come back and " Bite me on the butt" You know what happens when you tell someone how great you boat is, it will fall apart.
Oh! almost forgot, I just bought my wife a 2005 Chrysler Mini Van last week for her Birthday also (No Extended Warranty on it) Hope my luck holds out.
:grin:
__________________
BOO
Don't mess with me today. I have my CAPS LOCK and I know how to use it.
In my opinion EXTENDING the original warranty from the original manaufacturer is the only kind to consider. In other words, Mercury has a 3 year warranty - you can extend that 2 years. I would do that.
But to buy some warranty from "Amalgmated Consolidated Warranty, Inc" is crap...different coverage and you never know if they are going to be around to back it up...
Depends on your use. I bought a 2000 Carolina Classic with the 7.4 volvo system before the 2003 season her in Michigan. It had an extended warranty to 2006 on it and i transferred the warranty for $50. The boat had 715 hours on it after 3 seasons. I put an additional 350 hours on it the first year. This season after about another 100 hours the low pressure fuel pump went out. I took it in and the whole system including high and low pressure pumps, lines, filter and filter housing and anything else fuel related was replaced for nothing. Well worth the 50 bucks. As for trucks, I primarily use my trucks for work. I own a roofing business and a snow plow business here in Michigan. Snow plowing kills your truck eventually so the extended warranty has to read that it includes wear and tear also. On my chevy trucks it costs an additional $2200 for a major guard no deductible, but when the tranny and rear end go out, no $ for me. If I didnt plow I wouldnt buy the extra, but in my business I cant afford not to.
__________________ Captain Paul
Salmonhead Charters LLC
25' Carolina Classic
Great Lakes
Depends on your use. I bought a 2000 Carolina Classic with the 7.4 volvo system before the 2003 season her in Michigan. It had an extended warranty to 2006 on it and i transferred the warranty for $50. The boat had 715 hours on it after 3 seasons. I put an additional 350 hours on it the first year. This season after about another 100 hours the low pressure fuel pump went out. I took it in and the whole system including high and low pressure pumps, lines, filter and filter housing and anything else fuel related was replaced for nothing. Well worth the 50 bucks. As for trucks, I primarily use my trucks for work. I own a roofing business and a snow plow business here in Michigan. Snow plowing kills your truck eventually so the extended warranty has to read that it includes wear and tear also. On my chevy trucks it costs an additional $2200 for a major guard no deductible, but when the tranny and rear end go out, no $ for me. If I didnt plow I wouldnt buy the extra, but in my business I cant afford not to.
I can understand your buying an extended warranty on you equipment, Lots of use. But for myself I feel that over all the years that I have not bought extra warranties has paid off. Just think how much money I have saved by not buying them over a period of 42 years. I know that one major repair could set me back some bucks, but I don't think it would make up for all the money I have saved over all these years not buying them. I don't use any of my euipment for commercial work, just your average use. And I also don't keep my autos for more than three or four years. I think it's just a gamble that you take. I'm betting that I won't need them, and the dealer's are betting that I won't need them either. If they thought the odds of people using them were great, they would not be selling them. I read where the profit margin on extended warraties are some times more that on the product itself. I don't think that anyone that buys them are wrong in doing so. (I'm sure it gives a little piece of mind to know that if something happens you are covered) I just don't buy them. That why I asked the question, I was just wondering if they were others out there that felt the same as I do about extended warranties.
__________________
BOO
Don't mess with me today. I have my CAPS LOCK and I know how to use it.
Lucky, I'm like you. Usually never buy the "extended warranty" on anything. I did buy it on my 1998 Econline van. One minor repair was coverd, but not near the cost of the "bumper to bumper" plan. Of course, a few months after it did expire, I had $1,000 repair and a few months after that another $200 repair. Sigh
Here is my "present" opinion. If it is new technology (Yahama HPDI, Optimax, Verado) go for it. I consider E-Tec as refined version of the Ficht with many "durability" upgrades (plus it has a longer warranty to start with).
For cars/trucks if the manufacturer does not give at least a 50K "powertrain" warranty, I would buy that. I had a friend blow a transmission the day after the warranty expired on a Focus. (Ford covered it after he bought the extended powertrain warranty for $300. I guess they just pre-dated it )
P.S. read the fine print (i.e. what is not covered) You might be surprised
If you are talking about getting a new DFI 2 stroke engine then I think they are definatly worth it. At least for a few more years. Powerhead failure is the #1 major thing that can go wrong on a DFI 2 stroker and one of those will pay for your warranty a couple times over.
If they fixed all your problems it would be a no-brainer as they would be worth it. The problem is that often enough the warranty company when presented with a problem says that it is excluded from the contract and they ain't paying. When that happens you can bitc#, bellyache, moan, groan and threaten to hold your breath until you turn blue but if they do not want to fix it, tough luck getting them to do it. Short of hiring a lawyer (which will cost a few thousand) not much can be done.
Of course you may get lucky and they will fix it no questions asked.
Lucky: Obviously, it's a crap shoot, and the die is loaded in the house's favor. Over the long run, they aren't worth it, or they'd cost more. If you have an idea that what you're getting isn't reliable, then you should do it, but then why would you buy the product in the first place? My father gave me good advice on this; he said never insure yourself against a loss you can afford. So if when the thing breaks you'll be financially ruined, then you should buy the insurance; otherwise, I wouldn't (and haven't).
FYI - If it's something you can afford to pay*for right away, and you have a premium credit card then use the plastic to buy it. Many premium cards will double the seller's/maker's warranty. Check with your card company and save your receipt.*If you have good credit and want to extend the payments, your plastic interest might even be better than financing and you dont have the extra paper work.
__________________ I'm not a boat expert, I just read THT!
The only extended warranty that I have ever taken on an outboard was a number of years ago on an Evinrude 150. One month after the extended warranty period ended, it scattered. Evinrude replaced the powerhead free of charge anyway and did some updates. It saved me a bundle. If you're buying cutting edge technology, buy the extra warranty. Just my opinion.
Mine was, it was free promo from suzuki for a total of 6 years. The 3 year extended even picked up the declining part of the 1 st year of factory warrenty.
Purchasing an extended warranty is a personal decision. My wife and I have always purchased the maximum extended warranty on both new and used vehicles. Once the warranty was over we traded the vehicle. During that time we always broke even with the cost of the warranty, or we were ahead of the warranty game. At the present time, we have two Honda vehicles, (2003 Accord and a 2004 Civic). A 7 year / 100,000 mile zero deductable warranty on the entire vehicle was as follows: Accord, $875.00, ----Civic $975.00. The Accord already has 38,000 miles on the clock. Somewhere between the 5th and 6th year the vehicle will have reached 100,000 miles. While we service our vehicles VERY well, it is very possible that we will need transmission work during that time simply due to mileage and wear. A transmission ranges from $3,000 to $6,000 on the Accord. We would rather spend $875.00 and cover the entire vehicle while we operate it for 6 years, than spend a larger sum of money should something go wrong at higer mileage. A simple alternator or a starter repair will almost cost the price of an extended warranty. Question: ----- Would you want to dump $3,000.00 dollars into a vehicle with 100,000 miles on the clock? With and extended warranty, my wife and I are able to drive throughout the United States, and not worry about a major repair bill. We have a Honda warranty, and we can take the vehicle to any Honda dealer. The same is true for the boat that we own.
In spite of better judgement I will add my two cents from experience on both Boats and Cars.
I was told by Mercedes , BMW, and GMC sales and service writers: That from the year 2000 on they would not own or buy a care especially the ones mentioned, probably will apply to others, with out a warranty on them. A GMC service writer, good acquaintence, said that to go to 100k miles mark the extened warrant most likly will pay for it's self. I have personel experience with my GMC after the warranty peroid was over, many problems I had to pay for.
This, in my opinion will apply to boat engines especially the newer DFI motors tha rely on computers to run them.
I'm lucky, have had no problems with the Opti, except some nit picky problems that drive me crazy, but no major repairs. I still wish I had the extended warranty. I should add that on repower on another boat, I bought the motor exetended warranty and it paid for it's self.
I can see used car prices fall rapidly when poeple start to realize what it takes to repair an older car or truck.
Window motor around $300
ECM for anti lock brakes $800
ECM for throttle $700 + or -
Transmission. 2-3 K
Not to derail the tread but has anyone tried the after market warranties?
I would not use an aftermarket warranty. I would only use a manufacturers extended warranty. This is especially true for used vehicles. Years back, my wife and I would purchase used GM vehicles, (less than 3 years old, and under 36,000 miles). These vehicles were coming off a lease, and the selling dealer had all the maintenance records. We would purchase them from a GM dealer, with a GM extended used vehicle warranty for the maximum number of years and mileage. Most of the time it was for 3 years. We always broke even with the cost of the warranty, and sometimes we were ahead of the game!
I have a 2004 Honda 130 hp with a three-year factory warranty.* Being a relatively new boat owner (only my second boat), I am very interested in an extended warranty.* But, like someone posted, I really want a Honda extended warranty, not one from Joe's Warranty Service and Recycling Center.
Problem is, Honda doesn't offer an extended warranty.* Anybody have any ideas?
__________________ Charlie
"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement." Colin Powell (while serving as VII Corps Commander)
I can't believe that Honda does not offer an extended warranty! Check with a couple of dealers, or contact Honda directly. If this is the case, ask your selling / servicing dealer, which aftermarket warranty company he / she will accept, then do some investigating with regards to that company, (Better Business Bureau, --etc). -----Just a suggestion. ----Greg.
I agree!* The selling dealer did have an extended warranty company, but I was hoping to get some information from others with a similar situation.
It could be that Honda doesn't offer an extended warranty because they believe the product is so good it doesn't need one.
Problem is, during the test ride, the motor started injecting water in the oil.* Should have seen it - the oil looked kind of gray and foamy.
Honda did the right thing and replaced the entire motor in a week (which wasn't easy because it's along shaft and I bought the boat in September 2003 - yes, it's a 2004 motor).
Anyway, I've always been a very big fan of Honda products, but that incident is still in the back of my mind.* Just looking for a little 'insurance'.
Thanks!
__________________ Charlie
"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement." Colin Powell (while serving as VII Corps Commander)
FOR ABOUT A GRAND I JUST GOT ANOTHER 3 YEARS ON MY YAMAHA. IN MY OPION THAT PEACE OF MIND IS WORTH THE $1000 NOT HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT BLOWING THE MOTOR IN THE NEXT 3 YEARS.
I have a 2002 F225 Yamaha with 260 hours and have not had any issues with the motor. I have until March to get a 3 year extended warrantee for $1900. I still can't decide. All the outboards I have owned I have never had any major probelms, but this is the largest engine I have owned. What would you do??
In 1993, I spent $1300 on 4 years of add'l warranty from Chrysler Marine Credit on a 200HP Merc Oddshore. In 5 years, the powewrhead blew 3 x, regulators1x, the lift pump 1 x and the lower unit 1x. Mercury paid to replace the first powerhead since it blew in the first week. The rest of the repairs cost Chrysler 8k. The only repair not cover was the last powerhead blown after 4.5 years. Chrysler said they already spent more on repairs than I did to buy the engine in the first place. My option was to take them to court, which I declined to due. I will never buy another Mercury again. Chrysler is out of the warranty business. I purchased an extended warranty on a Honda 225 4 stroke but traded it in after 1 year due to hating the boat, but the Honda is sweet. Finest engine I have ever owned and I've had 10 Merc's in the last 25 years. Maybe that's what made the Honda look so good. Anyhow, I'll keep with extended warranties on outbaords for the future.
Are Extended Warranties Worth It? 
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