Extended Warranty $$

[joubster]

Hello All,

My 2005 XLT 4X4 Explorer has 35,500 miles on it and the 3yr/36K mile warranty is about to expire. I've been offered a JM&A 3rd party Platinum 6 yr/100K mile warranty for $1,789.00. The warranty is close to bumper-to-bumper and has a $100.00 per repair deductable.

I put 25k miles on it per year so the warranty will only cover me for about 2.5 years. My last 2003 XLT 4X4 Explorer was a maintenance nightmare and cost me a lot more than the warranty would have. I usually never buy extended warranties, but because of my 03 experience I'm considering it.

Money is really tight right now, so I'm pretty tempted to roll the dice and pray that any (non-standard) maintenance will be less than the warranty/deductable cost.

Any thoughts from my fellow Explorer owners???

Thanks for your help!!!

Joubster:navajo: :navajo:

 

[Curtis]

I think you'll get mixed responses here

the 02's and 03's are known to have certain problems like the transmission and rear end that would cost more than your warranty.. but since its an 05 I believe those problems have been taken care of so it is a gamble.

I have an 04, and purchased a extended warranty for $1900, 4 yr 48,000 miles. Bought it back in May of this year, and the warranty has paid for itself already with a transmission seal, and a blend door problem with the AC.

I like the feeling of having the warranty... and have had one on my last 2 vehicles too. a 96 explorer and a 02 Taurus, both of which had more work done than what I paid for the warranty. I got the latest explorer at auction and figure I saved about $5k off retail, so it wasn't that hard of a decision to buy the $1900 warranty.

 

[joubster]

Thanks Curtis,

You're right, my 03 problems were:
1.) Needed a new transmission
2.) Rear axle seals (many times)
3.) Wheel bearings (3 of them!)
4.) Speed sensors
5.) Tie bar bushings
6.) Transfer case problems..

Hopefully these kind of issues have been worked out!

If I had a better cash position I would probably buy it....

Glenn

 

[jimbo74]

i would skip it, if that 3rd party company goes belly up, and your tranny dies a week later, you just got screwed... twice...

depending on who you know, you can get pretty much anything fixed for less than that policy anyways... and the fine print on those policys suck! all work must be documented with dealer parts and a dealer, in a specified timeframe of the vehicle, its sooooo much red tape that it isnt worth it.... "oh wait, it's lifted, your drivetrain coverage is now voided" haha, because we can do that....

 

[joubster]

Thanks Jimbo.

I feel the same way. I mean I bought a new truck so I wouldn't have to spend a ton of cash to keep fixing up older ones. I know what you mean by the red tape bs...if you don't follow all the the recommended maintenance schedules they can void the coverage.

Anyone else care to weigh in on this?

Joubster