Extended Warranty advice...

[SteveMSU2k2EB]

I had the Ford Premium Care warranty for the first 75K miles, which I just passed. Does anybody have any advice whether a powertrain-only warranty would be worth it for up to 150K or so?

 

[rizzjc]

Chances are that the warranty you had wasn't worth it in the first place. They said *if* you are going to get an extended warranty, then get the one directly from the manufacturer, and not a 3rd party, but that's if you absolutely want to waste your money on one. I definitely would not spend my money on an extended warranty.

 

[IAmTodd]

It depends on how long you're planning on keeping your truck. I bought one from a third party when I got my truck for 5 years/up to 100k. Its already getting close to paying for itself.

 

[rizzjc]

You make a good point that certainly SOME people get their moneys worth out of an extended warranty, but any financial person will tell you to NEVER EVER EVER get an extended warranty. If you have the $500-$1500 (or whatever they will charge you), then put it in the bank. The stuff that is most likely to go bad, won't be covered.

OK, that's my public service announcement. I've said my piece. I'm done.

 

[bobbyg123]

You also have to remember that part of what you're paying for is piece of mind. Any type of insurance "could" be considered a waste of money. Is earthquake insurance worth it? How about term life insurance? Or maybe the biggest statistical waste of money, a home security system. 98% of Americans will never have their homes broken into, and the figure increases for those of us who live in suburban dwellings and lock our doors at night. Still, people feel better about a monthly fee to have their homes protected. Is that a waste of money? Depends on how you look at it.

I'm 38 years old and have been in business since I graduated from college. I'm also frugal with my financial decisions. Extended warranty's are an area where I don't think you can apply conventional busiess logic. Ford's have a mediocre at best reliability history. Call up 10 independant mechanics in your yellow pages and ask them to rate the reliability of Ford Explorers. I'm not bashing Ford, as I think they're a good value overall, but facts are facts. If an extended warranty makes you sleep better at night, go for it.

 

[SteveMSU2k2EB]

I bought the Explorer off a one year lease so I got it with about 15K on it. I bought it about a mile from Ford's world headquarters. That tells me 1) it was driven hard in downtown Detroit, and 2) it was driven by someone who had no reason to take care of it since it was a lease. To me it was well worth it for the peace of mind, especially with a 4x4 vehicle that has a number of additional parts that are quite pricey to replace. Finally, I got it through Ford which meant every time I had an issue with my vehicle I was given a free rental car while it was in the shop and there were no issues with me applying for reimbursement or anything. I never tallied up what the total cost was for all the repairs I had done, but I assume it came pretty close, and well worth it. The only other things I will buy warranties for are HDTV's and Laptops. Both are ridiculously expensive to have repaired and not things I want to spend money on to be replaced.

 

[mattyk6]

I got the extended warranty when I bought my last rig, a 98 Durango. The ext warr well paid for itself just by covering the ball joints.

Like Steve, the only thing I buy extended warranties on are cars and laptops (don't own any HDTVs, yet).

 

[ffdemoss]

I get it for any vehicle with an auotmatic. Especially with the issues in the 2022-2004 transmission. My 2005 has the extended warranty for 5/100,000. The most important thing is to KEEP YOUR RECEIPTS. No receipts for oil changes and lets say the engine fails...you are out of luck.

 

[Mbrooks420]

I purchased a C.A.R.S. extended warrany for $650 that covers my truck for 3 years/unlimited miles. I haven't used it yet. My last warranty saved me well over 5 grand. Very worth it. Especially with an Explorer or high maintenance 4wd. I will buy a warranty on every vehicle that I purchase over 5k.

 

[JasonF]

I was leery of extended warranties, but on my used 04 they had one through API that basically works like this: If you don't use it, at the end of the warranty term you get the full cost of the warranty back. If you use it at all, even for a $50 repair, you get nothing back. But once you start using it you can keep using it for all future applicable repairs. So if I was faced with a $1000 repair it would be tough to decide whether to use it or not, since the warranty itself cost more than that. Basically I got it in case of major tranny or engine faliure and probably won't end up using it. They get to sit on my money for 5 years but it's piece of mind with a used vehicle.

Jason