Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Please be aware that not all OEM/manufacturer service contracts are administered by the OEM. And also be aware that some "aftermarket" Service Contracts are administered by a manufacturer. This may be useless info though lol.
I have worked for two different service contract companies and I would not buy one. But I am also trained as a tech and have no plans of buying newer cars in a while. If I was to buy one though, I'd do my homework on the terms. Read read read what you are buying.
For a Toyota owner, I'd suggest investing the money you'd spend on a service contract on a good savings account/cd instead.
But yes that is one thing to keep in mind. Maintenance can be done at any shop. Claim denials due to lack of maintenance are rare though. Just keep up with the fluid changes.
Who do you think comes out ahead in the long run? The people who sell extended insurance, or the people who buy it?
I'm not sure how it works, but it is my assumption that extended insurance pays only if you have the work done at a dealership, or maybe a few other garages, especially if you buy it through the dealership. You can have most repair work done for about half the price if you get to choose your own repair shop, and in the long run probably pay a lot less than the premiums on the insurance.
Rule of thumb: If the salesman tries to pitch it to you, it is a better deal for him than for you.
This - exactly.
There is a reason that extended warranties are being pushed so hard! The overwhelming majority of people who purchase these extremely over-priced warranties never recoup one penny from them. Sometimes it's because their vehicle never breaks down, but more often it's because of the fine-print in the warranty.
People are free to do whatever they want, but I recommend not buying them. For the price of the extended warranty, you can put a down payment on a new car.
Paying $1500 for a Ford Premium 100k warranty seems like a pretty good deal in my book. Especially when you consider the costs of how much basic things can cost on these new diesel engines. I bought the truck brand new so I don't mind having all the service work done at the Ford dealership. Keeps me in check not pushing it anyways. I plan to keep this truck a solid 10 years so preventative maintenance will be my best bet to keep it running right. I'm not the most mechanically inclined in regards to vehicles, plus I value my free time, so I don't mind paying a professional to do it.
Has anyone had experience with Fidelity Group extended warranties? A local dealer (Lexus) threw one (platinum) in on a deal for me to buy a used vehicle (Lincoln MKS EcoBoost) off their lot.
I did some quick online research before I accepted (at first I assumed it would have been a Toyota Extended Warranty plan and researched those) and they seem to check out pretty well, although of course there were some horror stories. The deductible is only $100.00 at any service center I choose in the 48 states.
It covers everything including rental and towing. the main caveat that I could decipher is that all fluids must be properly maintained and not doing so can not be the cause of the covered malfunction.
any info about experiences with them (Fidelity) would be greatly appreciated...
Yes they do a good job making it seem like a good deal, but it is not. What they are doing is taking your risk for a price. You can pay to have pretty much any risk covered by someone else. In some instances it is worth it and in some instances, it is a bad deal. It is widely demonstrated extended warranties fall into the bad deal category. Yes, for some people it will be a disaster to not have the warranty. but the likelihood of it being you is very small. When you buy or sell risk, you are gambling. In this case the odd are overwhelmingly in favor of the sellers.
To give you an example:
For $20,000 I will insure that your truck will not be stolen by a left handed professional poker player from Poughkeepisie New York. You would not buy that insurance because it is clearly a bad deal for you unless your truck actually gets stolen by a left handed professional poker player from Poukghkeepsie New York. However the odds of that happening are so remote, it is not worth it. The car warranties are the same. This is an exaggerated example to demonstrate the concept, but the concept with extended warranties is the same, just to a lesser degree.
Paying $1500 for a Ford Premium 100k warranty seems like a pretty good deal in my book. Especially when you consider the costs of how much basic things can cost on these new diesel engines. I bought the truck brand new so I don't mind having all the service work done at the Ford dealership. Keeps me in check not pushing it anyways. I plan to keep this truck a solid 10 years so preventative maintenance will be my best bet to keep it running right. I'm not the most mechanically inclined in regards to vehicles, plus I value my free time, so I don't mind paying a professional to do it.
You make a good point. However, a diesel engine that makes it past the manufacturer's warranty period, is probably going to fun for another 300k-400k miles.
Also, look VERY carefully at the fine print. Keep in mind that they don't sell you those warranties for YOUR benefit.
It covers everything including rental and towing. the main caveat that I could decipher is that all fluids must be properly maintained and not doing so can not be the cause of the covered malfunction.
any info about experiences with them (Fidelity) would be greatly appreciated...
If you improperly maintain it to the degree that it fails, then that's pretty bad. If you follow your maintenance schedule, you won't have a problem.
If they can't prove lack of maintenance caused the failure, you're good.
I just don't understand why this would be an issue though. You should always maintain your vehicle if you want it to be reliable, whether you have a service contract or not.
I'd say, no, if you have hands growing out of shoulders, (not buttocks) and can tell nut from bolt and are DIY inclined. If all you know is where to put the gas dispenser, then yes.
In long, still NO but with the justification that most problems likely to happen will not be covered anyways. If they are, the hoops and extra payment makes the warranty not worth it.
Just think about it, who wins at the end - consumers or insurance companies?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
