Extended Warranty advice needed (non VX)

[Anita]

OK, I purchased a new vehicle which is a GM product :o The factory warranty is below:


5-year/100,000-mile Transferable Powertrain Limited Warranty with no deductible
5-year/100,000-mile 24/7 Roadside Assistance
5-year/100,000-mile Courtesy Transportation

Covered for 4 years/50,000 miles - GM backs your new vehicle with its no-deductible, Bumper-to-Bumper Limited Warranty. The entire vehicle is warranted for repairs, including parts and labor, to correct problems in materials or workmanship, for 4 years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first (except normal maintenance). There is no deductible for warranty repairs during the warranty period. The warranty transfers automatically with vehicle ownership during the warranty period.

Now, at the signing of the papers to purchase, the money man tells me I should buy the GM extended warranty "Major Guard". Quotes me 72 months/100K miles for a little over $2800 and $100 deduct. per visit.

Now, I thought you purchased an extended warranty before your factory warranty has expired. Why in the world would I buy one when I purchase the car? Something just doesnt seem right about this or the guy isnt telling me all I need to know. Am I purchasing an extended warranty that begins when the factory warranty ends? Or are they trying to sell me a concurrent policy? What questions do I need to ask?

[Ldub]

Clark is a pretty smart ol' boy when it comes to money, & he's "iffy", even with regard to extended auto manufacturer warranties...FWIW...:smilewink

Use the search function within his site for more...:yesgray:

http://clarkhoward.com/liveweb/shownotes/2009/07/30/16326/

[VX KAT]

OMG, went thru this scenario with my BMW...you're correct, you do NOT need to buy it now, just must buy it before the factory warranty expires. Money guy just gets a huge commission on the sale NOW, so he/she is a "closer" and wants to get that extended warranty inked NOW, before you walk out the door and may never return to buy from THEM.

I don't think any of them are concurrent, I believe even the bad ones don't start until the day after factory expires.

BTW- you do NOT have to buy these policies thru your selling dealer, you can buy them from any authorized seller and online.

I ended up buying a "full coverage" policy from a used car dealership before my warranty expired, but then when I had a claim 2 months later, they sent me back my full premium and said the contract was "invalid" :_wtf: WTF? INVALID?? and should never have been written in the first place....they weren't denying my "claim", they just cancelled the entire policy unilaterally!
BUT NOW I was PAST factory warranty expiration...which means my extended warranty just went up significantly in price, and I could only get a 48 month policy, whereas, I could have gotten a longer term/mileage, had I done so before the expiration of the factory warranty! ARGHHH! :mado:

After some choice language and meetings :argue:with the car selling place who misrepresented what was covered, we got them to give us $200 and the full refund of premium paid. The $200 was compensation for the extra premium we were now going to have to pay due to expired factory warranty. It didn't cover the true increased amount, but it was all we could get out of the ba$turds. ;wtf;

I then spent hours researching companies, learning every frickin' term in the contracts, finding out which ones were weasel words, researching the companies on the Better Business Bureau, etc etc.....boy was that eye opening, as you've just found out Anita, about US Fidelis.
Turns out the only one I found that was reputable and legit was Warranty Direct. Their top of the line policy offered very comprehensive coverage. Since it was a BMW I knew things were bound to go wrong and I wanted the most comprehensive policy as I "planned" to keep it for many years...(yeah right!). The price for the worthless contact was $2,400, the Warranty Direct one was $3,600....you get what you pay for. Warranty Direct had less expensive choices, and they covered less items on the vehicle, but it was clearly understood.

There are several major components that weren't covered by the first policy but you had to be an attorney to read the contract and figure out which ones were not covered. Yeah, they have an excluded list, but it still itsn't clear on some components.

And, if one component fails and causes another component to fail, the 2nd item isn't covered, ....tricks like that are used throughout the contracts with these cheezy operations.....

They don't run concurrently, the start the day after factory expires...and there in is one of the easily misunderstood areas....it's not 72 months or 100k starting on day one of the extended...it's based on your TOTAL months or miles. So if you have 60,000 miles on it on the day factory expires, you can buy a 100k policy, but it's only covering you for the next 40,000 miles, not 60k + 100k.

I can't recall the name of the 1st company right now, and I can't recall the many "weasel words" and terms the contracts used that actually result in no coverage on certain components...I have a folder on it I can pull to refresh my memory.

Can ya tell this kind of ticked me off a wee bit? !!

You don't have to do anything urgently Anita so don't jump in until you're clear what it covers. PM me if you want some more info! :thumbup:

[vt_maverick]

To pile on to what KAT said, my dad is a service writer at a garage and has dealt extensively with these aftermarket warranty companies. His advice after filing tons of claims? They're all a scam. The one scenario that he sees over and over again is where the warranty company denies a major claim because the owner missed one mandated oil change by just a few miles, or couldn't prove that they were putting in all the required additives at each oil change or fill-up.

You'd be much better off to take the $2800 and invest it (see Clark's site above) in a mutual fund or CD for 5 years than to give it to these wolves.

[Scott Harness]

I bought one a few years back, over the phone:rollo2:
Canceled it as soon as I got the paperwork.The fine print is CRAZY!
You have to follow all sorts of guidelines
All original
Stock size tires
Can't be lifted
Can't be off-roaded:mady:
Document everything on time
Designed to make it invalid!

[VX KAT]

One other tidbit...make sure the contract is "pro rated" if you decide to cancel. That way you'll get some of the price back based on how long it was in effect.
I ended up selling my black bimmer about 3 months after we moved to podunk USA, (black & dirt roads don't mix, nor did super high perf tires go well with dirt road and rocky terrain - didn't expect to be moving, but sometimes life has surprises in store for you....) cancelled the warranty, got exactly the number of months remaining back as refund.

[RickOKC]

I've never bought an extended warranty, but the finance guys have always tried to talk me in to it. My favorite conversation went something like this:

Finance Guy (FG): Are you interested in an extended warranty.
ME: Not really.
FG: It would only add $3,000 to the total purchase.
ME: $3,000?!? Yikes, no thanks.
FG: Well, how about $900?

That just came off so shady that red flags were dropping from the ceiling.

[deermagnet]

So Anita, you went with a Cadillac SRX Crossover? Nice! The first thing I'd do is take that baby on a two day cruise up the PCH.

Forget about the warranty, give us more pics and info. That must have more bells and whistles than you'll ever need. Don't be shy, tell us all about it.

Mark

[Anita]

So Anita, you went with a Cadillac SRX Crossover? Nice! The first thing I'd do is take that baby on a two day cruise up the PCH.

Forget about the warranty, give us more pics and info. That must have more bells and whistles than you'll ever need. Don't be shy, tell us all about it.

Mark

Mark,

Yes, we purchased a SRX (Ebony exterior and interior). I immediately fell in love with the looks inside and out. Oh yea.. more bells and whistles than I could ever imagine. After having two trucks in the family we decided on something cushy. Second day of ownership, it took us up to Santa Barbara and back. Such a gentle, quiet ride. Here is a pic of the babies and cool instrument panel. And I've never been shy....:p

[deermagnet]

That's great, Anita. What's up with the km/h? I see your fuel door is on the pass side again. Do the mirrors automatically fold in when parked? Moonroof?

Mark

[phines]

Hey tom4bren, don't look at the instrument panel. hehehe

Great choice Anita!
________
Cat Wheels (http://www.catwheelcompany.com/)

[tom4bren]

Hey tom4bren, don't look at the instrument panel. hehehe

Too late. I was already thinkin it before I got to your post.:)

[Mile High VX]

At least you know which side the gas cap is on...