Extended warranties

[tbhd2]

Our truck is at the dealer now and has been for two weeks. We have the Ford ESP and need new injectors and pump along with several other items that are defective. If there is a speck of rust in the pump then it is not covered by the warranty. Ford has scrutinized every item requiring the dealer to send pictures several times and documentation that maintenance was done. They have tried everything to get out of paying. We were lucky that there was no rust. But we're still waiting for truck to be done. This is a cab off repair and estimated price will be close to ten thousand dollars. So just having a warranty does not insure it will be covered.

[mazboy]

rule of thumb has been never buy an extended warranty but many do. don't assume that everything is covered just because you have a warranty.

[Artemus Gordon]

This debate goes on over and over again! Lol. I say this, if you always have lots of ready cash, perhaps you don't buy extended warranty's? But if you don't have cash, and might have to pay for items on credit cards, buy the warranty ! Good SAMs covers many items and I highly recommend their product!

[richfaa]

The ones for the Rv are NOT extended warranties they are service contracts and if the contract is read will clearly state what is and is not covered.

We also have the ESP for the Ford which is a warranty same as the original Ford warranty. True it will not cover everything but it does cover some very high dollars failures.

Dennis. I hope they finally get that truck.......running right.

[Tom S.]

quote:Originally posted by Artemus Gordon

This debate goes on over and over again! Lol. I say this, if you always have lots of ready cash, perhaps you don't buy extended warranty's? But if you don't have cash, and might have to pay for items on credit cards, buy the warranty ! Good SAMs covers many items and I highly recommend their product!

Maybe the reason "they" don't have cash is "they" buy too many extended warranties.

[Tom S.]

quote:Originally posted by tbhd2

Our truck is at the dealer now and has been for two weeks. We have the Ford ESP and need new injectors and pump along with several other items that are defective. If there is a speck of rust in the pump then it is not covered by the warranty. Ford has scrutinized every item requiring the dealer to send pictures several times and documentation that maintenance was done. They have tried everything to get out of paying. We were lucky that there was no rust. But we're still waiting for truck to be done. This is a cab off repair and estimated price will be close to ten thousand dollars. So just having a warranty does not insure it will be covered.

That is so true! Hope everything works out for you!

[tweber502]

No warranty on the truck but we have the GS extended coverage on our Monty. We chose the plan that best fits our needs as I am able to work on many items in the camper. There are however many items that I can't/choose not to work on and those items are included in the plan that we chose. Like , say, the 12gal water heater takes a dump, cost to replace is aprox. $1000-$1200, with the GS coverage I pay $100 or if I go to Camping World I pay $50. Many other items also included. Not that I don't have the money to shell out on repairs, I just choose to not have to. If I'm out on the road on a trip and some catastrophic failure of one of the appliances occurs it's nice to only have to pay $100 at the most to have it repaired. JMHO Tim

[richfaa]

Well we have the GS whatever on the 2013 Big sky and it will be paying for two failed holding tanks which will be more than we paid for the warranty (925.24) and this thing is not done failing yet.

[tbhd2]

Well, we have the truck back and it is running good but not excellent like I was hoping. Basically they had to replace the whole fuel system, injectors, injector pump, fuel rails, water separator and probably more that I can't think of now. Also replaced a defective turbo and the DPF that was plugged up. Total bill was $12,000. The other problem is that we can't get the dealers by where we live to work on it. I have to come to Florida every year to get our truck fixed. Two years ago they replaced the bearings in our differential that my dealer told me was "normal noise". So the warranty paid off big time.

[MDL]

quote:Originally posted by tbhd2

Well, we have the truck back and it is running good but not excellent like I was hoping. Basically they had to replace the whole fuel system, injectors, injector pump, fuel rails, water separator and probably more that I can't think of now. Also replaced a defective turbo and the DPF that was plugged up. Total bill was $12,000. The other problem is that we can't get the dealers by where we live to work on it. I have to come to Florida every year to get our truck fixed. Two years ago they replaced the bearings in our differential that my dealer told me was "normal noise". So the warranty paid off big time.

All I can say is...WOW!

[washley1]

The extended warranty on our Big Sky paid for itself years ago, and more will be covered next month. We also bought the ESP for our F350, and while it has not hit break even, it has paid for a lot. The ultimate goal is the peace of mind in case something major goes bust. We have 2 years left on both.

[steelpony5555]

I take exception to the statement that it is rule of thumb to not buy a warranty. There is no rule of thumb on this subject. As has been said, if you got lots of cash in your pocket, then no you may not want a warranty. And as Rich said if you read your warranty you know exactly what is covered. If you are assuming stuff is covered then you are leaving yourself open to be ripped off because there are many many fly by night warranty companies. They will give you literature listing what is covered and also what is not covered. If you search and go with a national, reputable company that most garages recognize it is no different then the original warranties on the vehicle. On my Dodge the warranty is thru Chrysler, for my Cadillac it is thru GM, my trailer is thru one of the biggest companies that so far is accepted everywhere. Another key is do not buy them at the selling dealer unless you know how much they really are. They will really jack up the price to make a buck. But you can use it as leverage and get it at their cost to close the sale. Driving a diesel almost every repair bill is expensive. Maybe not as expensive as Dennis's, but if I had a $12k repair bill, I know my truck would be sitting in the driveway for a very long time. It would be Redneck time up on blocks in the yard. It may also depend on the distance you travel each year. If you stay in one place 90% of the year, then maybe you don't need a warranty. But if you travel a good bit of the year, then you may need one, since that's when most things go wrong. But there is no right or wrong answer. It is insurance, it is money you pay hoping to avoid paying even more money, so it is a crap shoot. It is no different then life insurance or car insurance. So I will be more then happy to pay a little today and hope I never need it then to pay a big bill down the road. Some day when I hit the lottery I too will laugh when they ask me if I want the extended warranty.............

[richfaa]

My feelings exactly Steelpony. The Rv policy is called a "exclusive contract" they state what is not covered and if not stated it is covered. The reputable companies will send you a copy of the service contract before you buy to read and review. We had a attorney friend of ours go over it with us so we were knowledgeable with the contract.

The trucks are most likely not to incur a huge bill like Dennis but if they do it is a show stopper for us. The 5th wheel on the other hand particularly if you are a high end user has a very high probability of failure.

the more you use them and live in them the higher the failure rate. We never had EW'on our previous 4 Rv's as we were weekenders and low end users and they were not as complex as these 5th wheels.

[mlh]

I think there are two types of people. One likes to gamble. They invest in the stock market. The other one don't like to take chances. They buy CDs. One is not going to change the others mind. I'm in the first group. I love to take chances.
Just be careful if you won't an ESP know what it covers and more important what is not covered. You don't won't to find out something you thought was covered wasn't especially if it is a high dollar repair.
Lynwood

[tbhd2]

MLH, basically you are right. We read the contract to be sure what we are buying is what we think it is. What happens at the dealer is another book that specifies any exclusions for them not to cover the repairs. That information is not in the contract. There are pictures and specific instructions for them to follow. If you fail to meet their requirements they void your warranty also. I think legal action could yield good results if you have the time and endurance. If water got into the pump then their water separator failed as I see it. This is Fords ESP warranty. I have no idea what other manufacturers do.

[Tom S.]

If I had bought an extended warranty on every vehicle I have bought new, I would have spent enough to buy a new vehicle and pay cash for it. And during that time, it would have saved me less than $2,000. I would bet for every person who states an extended warranty saved their bacon, there are a hundred who got little or no return out it.

Those who say it's a form of insurance are exactly right. Only unlike life insurance or medical insurance, it's optional, and IMHO, unneeded in the vast majority of situations. I do however recognize that a lot of people are unable to save enough money for emergency situations.

[bigred715]

$8,000 or $12,000 is not easily saved if your engine or transmission goes kaput, or your transfer case, rear-end or front drive-train goes. Maybe you have better luck than most, but I can't afford too take those chances when most of my driving involves towing my Montana.

[richfaa]

You are right Tom and I am one of those folks who does not have several grand lying around. I can afford to pay out a small premium each year to cover a large loss.

[JandC]

We have probably purchased over 20 new vehicles during our married life and only 1 extended warranty. We often traded after 3 or 4 years anyway. But now with the Monte I am looking at it differently. We are traveling and living in a unit full time that is designed for recreational use only (according to Keystone's literature). In a manner of speaking we will be pushing the Monte to the limit and putting a lot of miles on it, so maybe an extended warranty will turn out to be an extremely good investment. I know if I was going to use my Monte part time during the summer and store it the rest of the time I probably would not consider the extended warranty. At any rate, I probably will not be purchasing the extended warranty within the first 11 or 12 months anyway.

[richfaa]

Remember these are recreational vehicles and many of us use them in a manner they were not designed for. If you are full timing or long timing you are not recreating. We ran our 06 3400 somewhere around 70K miles in 7 years and lived in it in excess of 1500 days. Those who are full timers live in them 24/7/365 and travel many thousands of miles each year. This is not recreational vehicle use.

The probability of failure with this kind of use is high. If a weekender or occasional user the probability of failure is low.