please teach me about aftermarket warranties

Hi, just picked up a new to me tow vehicle. Its a 97' Chevy 1500 conversion van. Got it rather cheap with only 100k on the clock. I really want a warranty for it, simply because vans are such a PITA to work on. Anyway I keep trying to find good info on the net and am just not getting anywhere. If you could tell me prefered companies that don't give much hassle, prices, ones to stay away from, you know all the god and bad points. I really just want a rather basic engine/tranny/ac one for a few years at most. I tend not to keep vehicles for a very long time. Thanks

THERE ARE NO good aftermarket warranties. They only cover what they want, will half the time use used/inferior parts and you pay a ridiculous deductable. The car would have to be a pile (IMO) to repay the initial fees involved.

The only extended I would consider buying would be the manufacturers. They have a vested interest in their reputation, and usually stand behind the policy. I saw an aftermarket policy at a service department one day. You were required to do all your services and to tow the car to the selling dealer at your expense, from any place in the continental US. The customer asked the service guy, "What exactly does this cover?" His answer "From what I can see, about 8 1/2 by 14 inches on my counter." It was worthless.

(25 years as a service advisor) Those aftermarket warranties blow goats. I have yet to have a successful and timely claim payment. How about a 2.7 Chrysler water pump failure which fried the bearings (emulsified coolant/oil), the warranty would pay ONLY for the failed part and labor for same, i.e the water pump. Meaning my customer was stuck with a $4000 engine repair. Bastards.

i bought an aftermarket warranty for my 95 BMW 325is as it was coming off the manufacturers warranty at 30k miles. I bought it directly from the BMW dealer service desk. It was expensive at ~$2,400 (or was it $1,200 can't remember...). I wracked up $7,000 worth of repairs in the term of that warranty. I wasn't tied to any particular mechanic with that particular warranty policy.

I'd be surprised if anyone would give you a warranty on a 100k mile automobile.

aside from the manufactorer related policies.. second party "warrenties" are snake oil. They make you feel warm and fuzzy.. until you need to use it.

if not from the OEM then ... SCAM

When I bought my E150 I bought the extended ford warranty that covered it to 120000. It paid for it self, but just barely. Most extended warranties exclude a lot of stuff. The one on my van covered engine and tranny, user actuated electrical items (switches) and steering. It covered two steering boxes, but didn't cover the coils. It would cover an A/C compressor, but not the labor to vacuum and charge the system. Even with a warranty, expect to shell out some money to pay for the little things it doesn't cover. Anything not by an OEM is probably a joke or so expensive it would be cheaper to just pay someone to fix it when it fails.

Open a savings account at your bank, and deposit $150 a month into it. Keep doing this for as long as you plan on owning a vehicle. Eventually this account will be very profitable.

Now talk all of your friends and family members into depositing $150 into your account, each month, for each car they own. Offer to pay for some of their repairs. You'll make a lot of money, but you'll lose your friends.

Seriously, start the savings account in lieu of the warranty company.

why couldn't this thread have shown up about seven months ago????? I purchased a '04 WRX on 01/01/09 and have put a total of 4,500 miles on it since then.First time the car went in it took three months to get it back now it has been sitting in my driveway for a month waiting for the dealer to come get it. I'm not a happy camper at all....The dealer did give me a loaner Camry till my car is repaired.Also I have come to the conclusion that this is a very sad world we live in that the Toyota Camry is top selling vehicle.

grinch77 wrote: why couldn't this thread have shown up about seven months ago????? I purchased a '04 WRX on 01/01/09 and have put a total of 4,500 miles on it since then.First time the car went in it took three months to get it back now it has been sitting in my driveway for a month waiting for the dealer to come get it. I'm not a happy camper at all....The dealer did give me a loaner Camry till my car is repaired.Also I have come to the conclusion that this is a very sad world we live in that the Toyota Camry is top selling vehicle.

So...what? What happened to get to this sad state. Was an aftermarket warranty involved somehow? Or was it the Travelocity Gnome's fault?

Jensenman wrote: (25 years as a service advisor) Those aftermarket warranties blow goats.

Well that about sums it up!

Its kind of what I figured, not worth it. I'll keep my cash and get ready for the work. Thanks all

Xceler8x wrote:

grinch77 wrote: why couldn't this thread have shown up about seven months ago????? I purchased a '04 WRX on 01/01/09 and have put a total of 4,500 miles on it since then.First time the car went in it took three months to get it back now it has been sitting in my driveway for a month waiting for the dealer to come get it. I'm not a happy camper at all....The dealer did give me a loaner Camry till my car is repaired.Also I have come to the conclusion that this is a very sad world we live in that the Toyota Camry is top selling vehicle.

So...what? What happened to get to this sad state. Was an aftermarket warranty involved somehow? Or was it the Travelocity Gnome's fault? First go around was a cracked piston on #2 cylinder three months later it spun a bearing on #4.Also when it was in the shop the first time it blew out third gear.

There is no such thing as an aftermarket warranty. They are repair insurance sold under the guise of a warranty.

Just like insurance companies, they are in the business of making money, so on the average you will spend a LOT more than you get out of the policy, and it is in their best interest to deny as much as they possibly can to maximize their profits. I'm a service manager as well (not for nearly as long as Jensenman) and its a pretty good scam. Its the same with health insurance (my wife was a Pharmacy Tech). Their kneejerk reaction is to deny. You'd be surprised how many times someone would come into the pharmacy for their script and my wife told them that their insurance denied coverage, and the customer just assumes, "oh, I guess it isn't covered," and just hand over the cash.

The responsibility for enforcing the contract always lay with YOU, and I promise they have more lawyers

So I shouldn't put my money into the US Fidelus warranty promoted by Rusty Wallace?

US Fidelis is a joke. Three people with those showed up at the Jeep place, all 3 had claims denied. Also they are under investigation in several states for misleading marketing practices.

In reply to neon4891:

The last Rusty Wallace endorsed product worth a crap was beer and sucky beer at that!

US fidelus and all the other aftermarket warranty services are a sham. Do a search with the name of the business and the word "scam" after it - Thousands of returns!