Do you think ‘extended warranties’ on vehicles are worth it?

Keesha

Keesha

🐟
Location
Canada 🇨🇦
With all the new technology that new vehicles come with including GPS system, back up cameras, Siri’s voice command, etc., do you think it’s worth it to get the extended warranty?

With these warranties regular car maintenance HAS to be done at the manufacturer’s garages.

If the warranty isn’t used at all 2/3rds of the price is offered back.

The extended warranty we are looking at is a bit over $3200 Canadian.
 

While there may be exceptions, extended warranties are not a good investment. The insurance company in making money, even after paying all the claims it receives. The customer, on average, is paying more for the insurance than he would have paid for the repairs.
 

raybar said:
While there may be exceptions, extended warranties are not a good investment. The insurance company in making money, even after paying all the claims it receives. The customer, on average, is paying more for the insurance than he would have paid for the repairs.
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Makes perfect sense to me, seeing how offers are never geared around benefitting the consumer.

Just like the car-care packages dealers offer, where they spray and wipe down the leather seating with a product found at any big box store in the automotive department (for cheap), then they apply a wax to the vehicles paint finish, buff it, and then tell you that the car-care package is worth $600.

I get the impression these days that a simple car sale isn't good enough anymore, dealerships now want more. Take, take, take, take, take.
 
I drive a 2009 Hyundai. I get 2 or 3 calls a day telling me about the fantastic deals with some fly by night extended warrantee company. They will save me thousands, maybe there might be a teensy, itsy, bitsy, small, infinitesimal "copay", but we'll talk about that later. Almost every reputable consumer group has riled against these warrantee companies as lousy wastes of money, and more likely scams. If you're that concerned with auto bills, start saving your own money, in stead of forking over money to hucksters.
 
raybar said:
While there may be exceptions, extended warranties are not a good investment. The insurance company in making money, even after paying all the claims it receives. The customer, on average, is paying more for the insurance than he would have paid for the repairs.
Click to expand...
I agree. While the initial warranty from the manufacturer is worth it, those "extended warranties" are not. In this day and age where people are simply not driving as much, they are definitely not worth it. When you read the small print and try to figure out exactly who is trying to sell it, things can get pretty fuzzy.
 
Several year back I bought a "off lease" vehicle from local
Enterprise dealer...also purchased their offer of extended
warranty...well several months maybe a year later, the engine
started getting water into it from a seal problem, so the warranty replaced the whole motor at no cost to me....So
have to say I have enjoyed having the ext ended warranty....
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I drive a 2009 Hyundai. I get 2 or 3 calls a day telling me about the fantastic deals with some fly by night extended warrantee company. They will save me thousands, maybe there might be a teensy, itsy, bitsy, small, infinitesimal "copay", but we'll talk about that later. Almost every reputable consumer group has riled against these warrantee companies as lousy wastes of money, and more likely scams. If you're that concerned with auto bills, start saving your own money, in stead of forking over money to hucksters.
Click to expand...
Most of those calls are scams anyhow. My phone provider lets me know if they are scam alerts or not and I don't answer the phone if they are.
 
In the old says I would say don't get it.
Now it comes down to how long do you expect to keep the vehicle?
Also if you can get the extended warranty from the manufacture, not a third party.
Another thing to consider is if you financed it and for how long.
My last vehicle they offered zero % financing. Now I was going to pay for it but what the heck?
zero % financing. Why not?
Let's say your mfg warranty is the standard 3yr/36000 mi but you have a 5 year note on it.
It makes sense to have an extra amount of warranty for those extra years and miles.
With all the tech these vehicles have, one sensor going bad could set you back $700 right there. My last two vehicles I got an extended warranty with the idea that I will get rid of it when the warranty ends,.
Also I always decline the warranty during that little sit down with the finance dude at least three times.
They end up begging me to take it.
It's amazing that I get the warranty I wanted for 1/2 of what they started asking for it.
 
Auto dealerships make the bulk of their profits from their service departments, and "add on" services such as extended warranties. If a person has minimal skills in vehicle maintenance, etc., an extended warranty Might be of benefit. However, If a person takes good care of their vehicle, the odds of needing such a warranty are fairly low. There are certainly instances of something major breaking down just days/weeks after the normal warranty expires, but for the most part these extended warranties just add to the insurance company profits.
 
Modern cars are so well-built by robots, that an extended
warranty is a waste of money, unless you really like peace
of mind.

Depending on the cover, read the small print, then choose,
but what kind of repair would cost $3,200 Keesha, though
I have no idea of the charges in Canada, most I believe would
be a lot lower than that.

Mike.
 
Thank you for your thoughtful replies. It has given us some food for thought. The last car I purchased, was a 2012 model. The last car my husband purchased was a 2013 and he rented it so had to take it in to the place he purchased it from to get anything done to it including changing the oil , which he had to pay for.

Nothing ever went wrong with my car. The oil was changed by my husband and it’s only just now that the brakes need replacing. With my husbands car , the only thing covered under his warranty was a wheel bearing in 8 years of having it.

Having said that neither of these cars had any of the modern technology that we have today except for Bluetooth capabilities. The new car we just purchased is a 2019 vehicle with all the bells & whistles, some of which is mind blowing to us.

The reason I chose it , is mainly due to his impaired vision. This vehicle offers what’s called ‘heads up’ technology ( an active driving display ) which means you can see the speed you are going, whether you are centred in the middle of the road, how close you are to the other cars etc., in the windshield. You can adjust how close you’d like to follow the car in front and if it slows down, your car slows down also. Of course it’s got a back up camera as well as other really cool things which neither one of us have ever used before. We were both pleasantly shocked at this new technology.

Most of its technology we didn’t even know existed and due to this , the only reason I actually even considered getting the extended warranty but it still has 9 months of its original warranty left.

Luckily we didn’t need to finance the car. We sold our other two vehicles after deciding we’d rather just have one , since my husband is retiring in a matter of weeks.

$3200 is a lot of money and you people are right; it’s the dealerships who get the best deal from all of this or they wouldn’t be doing it.

My husband today reminded me of a time when we had financed a vehicle with an extended warranty and the back up lights had stopped working. When we took it in , the dealership said it wasn’t covered under the warranty since it wasn’t part of the transmission but a ‘switch’ attached to the transmission . You people are right; it’s all in the fine print. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Another thing you are right about; we aren’t putting in near the amount of miles we were while my husband was working. He put in almost 300,000 kilometres on his vehicle going back and forth to work whereas I put in about 10,000 kilometres a year but most of that was going back and forth to help my parents.

Now retired together , we plan on spending more time doing things we both enjoy besides driving but when we do drive, we both agree we will feel much safer. One thing we will get is road side assistance.

Thanks again for your help with this decision. We will put that $3200 away so it collects interest in case we need it.
 
Keesha said:
Thank you for your thoughtful replies. It has given us some food for thought. The last car I purchased, was a 2012 model. The last car my husband purchased was a 2013 and he rented it so had to take it in to the place he purchased it from to get anything done to it including changing the oil , which he had to pay for.

Nothing ever went wrong with my car. The oil was changed by my husband and it’s only just now that the brakes need replacing. With my husbands car , the only thing covered under his warranty was a wheel bearing in 8 years of having it.

Having said that neither of these cars had any of the modern technology that we have today except for Bluetooth capabilities. The new car we just purchased is a 2019 vehicle with all the bells & whistles, some of which is mind blowing to us.

The reason I chose it , is mainly due to his impaired vision. This vehicle offers what’s called ‘heads up’ technology ( an active driving display ) which means you can see the speed you are going, whether you are centred in the middle of the road, how close you are to the other cars etc., in the windshield. You can adjust how close you’d like to follow the car in front and if it slows down, your car slows down also. Of course it’s got a back up camera as well as other really cool things which neither one of us have ever used before. We were both pleasantly shocked at this new technology.

Most of its technology we didn’t even know existed and due to this , the only reason I actually even considered getting the extended warranty but it still has 9 months of its original warranty left.

Luckily we didn’t need to finance the car. We sold our other two vehicles after deciding we’d rather just have one , since my husband is retiring in a matter of weeks.

$3200 is a lot of money and you people are right; it’s the dealerships who get the best deal from all of this or they wouldn’t be doing it.

My husband today reminded me of a time when we had financed a vehicle with an extended warranty and the back up lights had stopped working. When we took it in , the dealership said it wasn’t covered under the warranty since it wasn’t part of the transmission but a ‘switch’ attached to the transmission . You people are right; it’s all in the fine print. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Another thing you are right about; we aren’t putting in near the amount of miles we were while my husband was working. He put in almost 300,000 kilometres on his vehicle going back and forth to work whereas I put in about 10,000 kilometres a year but most of that was going back and forth to help my parents.

Now retired together , we plan on spending more time doing things we both enjoy besides driving but when we do drive, we both agree we will feel much safer. One thing we will get is road side assistance.

Thanks again for your help with this decision. We will put that $3200 away so it collects interest in case we need it.
Click to expand...
Before purchasing a roadside assistance plan check your automobile insurance policy.

My GEICO policy covers pretty much what a plan from AAA could cover at no additional cost to me.
 
Keesha said:
Thank you for your thoughtful replies. It has given us some food for thought. The last car I purchased, was a 2012 model. The last car my husband purchased was a 2013 and he rented it so had to take it in to the place he purchased it from to get anything done to it including changing the oil , which he had to pay for.

Nothing ever went wrong with my car. The oil was changed by my husband and it’s only just now that the brakes need replacing. With my husbands car , the only thing covered under his warranty was a wheel bearing in 8 years of having it.

Having said that neither of these cars had any of the modern technology that we have today except for Bluetooth capabilities. The new car we just purchased is a 2019 vehicle with all the bells & whistles, some of which is mind blowing to us.

The reason I chose it , is mainly due to his impaired vision. This vehicle offers what’s called ‘heads up’ technology ( an active driving display ) which means you can see the speed you are going, whether you are centred in the middle of the road, how close you are to the other cars etc., in the windshield. You can adjust how close you’d like to follow the car in front and if it slows down, your car slows down also. Of course it’s got a back up camera as well as other really cool things which neither one of us have ever used before. We were both pleasantly shocked at this new technology.

Most of its technology we didn’t even know existed and due to this , the only reason I actually even considered getting the extended warranty but it still has 9 months of its original warranty left.

Luckily we didn’t need to finance the car. We sold our other two vehicles after deciding we’d rather just have one , since my husband is retiring in a matter of weeks.

$3200 is a lot of money and you people are right; it’s the dealerships who get the best deal from all of this or they wouldn’t be doing it.

My husband today reminded me of a time when we had financed a vehicle with an extended warranty and the back up lights had stopped working. When we took it in , the dealership said it wasn’t covered under the warranty since it wasn’t part of the transmission but a ‘switch’ attached to the transmission . You people are right; it’s all in the fine print. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Another thing you are right about; we aren’t putting in near the amount of miles we were while my husband was working. He put in almost 300,000 kilometres on his vehicle going back and forth to work whereas I put in about 10,000 kilometres a year but most of that was going back and forth to help my parents.

Now retired together , we plan on spending more time doing things we both enjoy besides driving but when we do drive, we both agree we will feel much safer. One thing we will get is road side assistance.

Thanks again for your help with this decision. We will put that $3200 away so it collects interest in case we need it.
Click to expand...
So it looks like you are looking at extended warranties after you have had the car for a while.

I think you are doing the right thing by not buying one.

The only way I buy an extended warranty is at the dealer when the are trying to close the sale on my vehicle.

I beat them up so bad I am happy when I walk away.

I just bought a new pickup truck this year. LOADED. it does more stuff and has more features I'll never use.

I bought a 7 year, 80,000 mile warranty on it. I figure this is the last truck I'll buy so I want it under warranty for 7 years.

When the warranty is up new vehicle time! Any dealer in north America will honor this warranty.

When buying an after market warranty, you have no leverage. Keep your money.
 
fmdog44 said:
Today's vehicles are a far cry from the junk Detroit put out decades ago. Now there is quality and durability in all cars and trucks. Avoid extended warranties. Maintain your vehicle and you will be fine.
Click to expand...
So I have lane departure, auto braking, lane sensors, self driving, power everything, six different drive modes, navigation, hands free, voice commands, heated steering wheel and seats, crash avoidance, cameras, traffic sensors, tire pressure monitors, etc.
How the heck does my maintaining my vehicle apply to all that?. If I change my fluids regularly all my electronics will work for 8 years? I raced cars for 30 years. No way does "maintaining a car" apply to the new computer crap.
How do you "maintain" my power roof?
 
Aunt Bea said:
Before purchasing a roadside assistance plan check your automobile insurance policy.

My GEICO policy covers pretty much what a plan from AAA could cover at no additional cost to me.
Click to expand...
Interesting. Our insurance doesn’t have a road side assistance plan but CAA will pull you out of a ditch, tow you or help in other ways without it affecting your car insurance for only $150 a year.
Perhaps things are a bit different here in Canada in those regards but I will check it out thanks.
 
J.B Books said:
So it looks like you are looking at extended warranties after you have had the car for a while.

I think you are doing the right thing by not buying one.

The only way I buy an extended warranty is at the dealer when the are trying to close the sale on my vehicle.

I beat them up so bad I am happy when I walk away.

I just bought a new pickup truck this year. LOADED. it does more stuff and has more features I'll never use.

I bought a 7 year, 80,000 mile warranty on it. I figure this is the last truck I'll buy so I want it under warranty for 7 years.

When the warranty is up new vehicle time! Any dealer in north America will honor this warranty.

When buying an after market warranty, you have no leverage. Keep your money.
Click to expand...

No. It’s a 2019 used car which we put a deposit on and filled out the paperwork. This week we will get our insurance on it and pay for it. I traded in my car since they offered me a reasonable price and we are selling my husbands car privately since we found a buyer offering a decent price. We won’t be putting that many miles on it but will be traveling 1/2 way across the country soon.

Thank you for your help
 
fmdog44 said:
Today's vehicles are a far cry from the junk Detroit put out decades ago. Now there is quality and durability in all cars and trucks. Avoid extended warranties. Maintain your vehicle and you will be fine.
Click to expand...

Thanks Fmdog. I trust your opinion on this and agree with you. Keep the car well maintained and save our money. Feeling better about this choice. 😊
 
J.B Books said:
So I have lane departure, auto braking, lane sensors, self driving, power everything, six different drive modes, navigation, hands free, voice commands, heated steering wheel and seats, crash avoidance, cameras, traffic sensors, tire pressure monitors, etc.
How the heck does my maintaining my vehicle apply to all that?. If I change my fluids regularly all my electronics will work for 8 years? I raced cars for 30 years. No way does "maintaining a car" apply to the new computer crap.
How do you "maintain" my power roof?
Click to expand...

Hahaha. Yep. We have all that too. Heated seats front and back so our dogs bums will keep warm in the winter and cool, ventilated seats for summer. Heated steering wheel .... 😂... love it. We have navigation, voice commands, 6 speed transmission, 250 horsepower. Traffic sensors, tire pressure monitors. We are going to trust that these will keep working as long as we own the vehicle which we hope will be 10 years.

My husband needs extra safety features and I need extra comfort features which is why we chose this vehicle. We both just need to remember that these people are sales people who don’t always tell the trust or at least twist it for their own advantage.

Did you get the extended warranty on your vehicle?
 
The more I see of these new vehicles, the less interested I am in buying one. It seems that the emphasis is on all these "gee whiz" electronics and entertainment features more than vehicle performance and reliability. We could afford a new car and truck, but I've had good luck keeping our current vehicles running good with routine maintenance, new tires, brakes, etc. I had to spend $400 this past year to get a new water pump on the truck, but so far that has been my biggest "unscheduled" expense. If I averaged out my vehicle maintenance costs, it would probably be no more than $200/yr. So long as they stay in good condition, and look good....no dents, rust, etc., I would rather keep those 10's of thousands of dollars in the bank and use some of that money for enjoying other things.
 
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My dad "GOD rest his soul" taught me that wherever you bought a particular brand of vehicle sell it back to the automakers dealership. No private sales, trades or selling to other brand dealerships or Carfax. Get the best extended bumper to bumper warranty including roadside service and towing on the original day of purchase. Get the AAA Platinum Plan with the condition that your vehicle will only get service if the license plate you register is on the vehicle and you are there or release your pin to the AAA service operator. OnStar Deluxe with vehicle tracking for law enforcement agencies. Also get the best auto insurance you can afford with their towing package and reward points for safe driving. Never can have too much insurance especially when you need it most and don't have enough coverage. Geico is my auto insurer of choice.
 
There certainly are more features on this vehicle than we need but the main features of comfort and safety I specifically wanted. My husband is visually impaired so the electronic safety features are something that will help him greatly. Due to that I’ll feel safer. Do we really ‘need’ heated heats? No but they sure are a comfortable feature especially with back issues.

Nice stereo system isn’t a necessity but it came with the package and we both liked it and the built in gps system on the dash board I personally appreciate greatly . Looking down to try and follow directions on a phone gps system I personally find , not only distracting, but dangerous. All the other stuff I don’t even understand but my husband loves the vehicle and deserves it after retiring from a job of almost 30 years where he drove 2 hours a day or more to get to work and back. The price tag was exceptionally good and we’ve never had an suv before so this is new and exciting to us.

Most people aren’t as visionally impaired so wouldn’t need all of these safety features but my man happens to be missing an eye and if this helps him drive safer then it gives us ‘both’ peace of mind. Of course our dogs don’t need heated back seats but we don’t have to turn them on. I was more or less joking about that part. From what I’ve been reading , a lot of SUV’s and other types of vehicles have these same features.

Note: CAA is the equivalent of AAA which we are getting and we most likely will be switching insurance companies soon so perhaps we can get Gieco.
 

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