Extended warranties & Insurance

[texman]

I am purchasing a new montana and am interested in any suggestions from anyone as to your experience with the extended warranties and/or insurance companies. Presently have 2007 montana which we are trading in on a new 2010...I am looking at Good Sam's extended warranty vs the dealers extended warranty. Would appreciate any help from anyone..

[exav8tr]

hang on texman and some very knowledgeable folks will be along to offer their advice. I have a plan with a $200 deductible. I will only use it for high cost items if and when I need to.

[stiles watson]

The only way to compare is to compare. I mean read the coverages and the exclusions of both service policies and evaluate what you are getting. An example is that when I lost a belt on my dryer, belts are excluded in the policy I have. So the labor to get the dryer belt replaced is also not covered. If the heating element goes out, then the same labor would be covered along with the element. Read the policy(s).

[Bill and Ann]

I got the extended warranty and am glad I did. If you are planning on hanging on to your unit for a number of years, it is worth the extra cost. Our unit is an 04 and the warranty is until 2011. I have $0 deductable and have had to use it to replace the black and grey tanks and also the stereo system.

[Waynem]

You want an "exclusionary" warranty. All the exclusions will be stated so read it closely and see if it fits what you want. I have GS now but I have not had to use them - yet.

[richfaa]

We have RV shield a "exclusionary" contract. Have used it 3 times with no problems. Look to see who the "contract administrator"and the financial obligaters" are. Get a copy of the contract. Read and understand it. We would not be without a Service contract.

[hookman]

What are some of the insurance companies offer extended warranty polices.

[ols1932]

This is another one of those "not worth the money" items that some people feel they don't need. For us, we purchased extended warranties on our '95 Ford and our 2000 Montana. The warranties were purchased through our Ford dealer and our Montana dealer respectively. Both warranties paid for themselves twice over and I will never be without the extended warranty on any vehicle that I buy new. Having said that, I purchased Good Sam's CSP on the RV in March of this year and it has already paid for itself by covering all the payments we have made since March.

My wife purchased extended warranties on her laptop and IPod amplifier that she purchased from Best Buy. On one of her laptops, the entire screen was replaced and on another the full keyboard was replaced. So you can see that for some people the warranties are good.

It's kind of like life insurance -- you don't ever want to use it but if you need to, you have it.

Orv

[richard66]

Just be sure to READ the exclusions. Then compare some of the plans mentioned in other posts. It is very important to read and understand what you do if you need to use the coverage. There are differences so do your homework and go after the one that suits you and the one you can afford.

[Tom S.]

quote:Originally posted by ols1932

This is another one of those "not worth the money" items that some people feel they don't need. For us, we purchased extended warranties on our '95 Ford and our 2000 Montana. The warranties were purchased through our Ford dealer and our Montana dealer respectively. Both warranties paid for themselves twice over and I will never be without the extended warranty on any vehicle that I buy new. Having said that, I purchased Good Sam's CSP on the RV in March of this year and it has already paid for itself by covering all the payments we have made since March.

My wife purchased extended warranties on her laptop and IPod amplifier that she purchased from Best Buy. On one of her laptops, the entire screen was replaced and on another the full keyboard was replaced. So you can see that for some people the warranties are good.

It's kind of like life insurance -- you don't ever want to use it but if you need to, you have it.

Orv

Orv, Sounds like you and your wife suffer from the reverse of the Midas Touch! That's where everything you touch turns to crap! Glad the extra money you paid worked out to your benefit.

[timandsusan]

When we bought our Monty in 06, my wife wanted the exptended warranty--about $2500. It has paid us back and I am really glad that SHE made the correct call! I would figure in an extended warranty on my next 5er as part of the cost.

[ols1932]

quote:Originally posted by Tom S.

Orv, Sounds like you and your wife suffer from the reverse of the Midas Touch! That's where everything you touch turns to crap! Glad the extra money you paid worked out to your benefit.

No Tom, that's a statement that resent. I know you meant it in a joking manner but it's not us. We live in a real world and if we had lots of money that apparently a lot of people seem to have, then we wouldn't buy the extra insurance for our lifestyle. I would imagine that everyone on this forum has life insurance, don't they. Well, we look at the possiblility of having major breakdowns as needing some kind of insurance. To each his own.

Orv

[richfaa]

I am pretty much a extend warranty guy also.. Our Rv service contract has more than paid back for us in a three period and we have 4 years left. We ruined 3 Cooper tires due to tread separation and have a tire protection plan on them. We have used a plan on our snow blower, Computer and cell phone over the last 3 years also. IMO most folks who do not have one are justifying why they did not purchase one.My favorite is.just put that money in a special bank account and use it if you need it. My RV contract cost 1100.00 for 7 years... That's 157.14 per year..If I had done that I would have put 471.42 + a bit of interest in the bank and my claims have been over 1100.00 in three years.we have 4 years left...I would have been a bit shy on $. And'If you don't use it you would get the 1100.00 back

With all the shoddy workmanship and cheap Chinese products we talk about all the time it would seem that one would purchase a Extended warranty on Every large purchase. It appears there is not a good product out there so to protect it with a extended warranty makes sense..

Of course it is not worth the money till your product breaks and you need to payout of pocket for a new one. We are way ahead on our collective extended warranties. IMO many folks are.

[bobivy]

I don't normally buy extented warranties, but did get on on our Montana. Based on the overall poor quality in the RV industry, I'm sure something major will breakdown during our seven year warrany period.

[Tom S.]

quote:Originally posted by ols1932

No Tom, that's a statement that resent. I know you meant it in a joking manner but it's not us. We live in a real world and if we had lots of money that apparently a lot of people seem to have, then we wouldn't buy the extra insurance for our lifestyle. I would imagine that everyone on this forum has life insurance, don't they. Well, we look at the possiblility of having major breakdowns as needing some kind of insurance. To each his own.

Orv

No reason to take offense! Some people have good luck, some people don't. It's not a personal reflection, it's life. Extended warranties are a money maker - otherwise you wouldn't see so may advertisements for them. That means the majority of people who buy them either don't have any claims - or the claims are less than the cost of the warranty.

As for life insurance, that's a whole different thing and not really comparable. After all, no one get out of here alive. Life insurance companies make their profit on premiums that are reinvested. If the average person was able to take those premiums and invest them their selves, the payout at their death would surpass that of the life insurance company.

In reality. buying insurance of any kind is nothing more than gambling. For extended warranties, you are betting the product you bought will break down and require service while the seller of the warranty is betting the opposite. With life insurance, the insurance company is betting you will life long enough to enable them to make more money off your premiums than what they payout. As with any gambling, the companies make sure the odds are in their favor. And just like casino gambling, some people do score 'payouts' - like your wife did with her purchases.

Again, no offense was meant!

[richfaa]

Most of the extended warranty companies, if not all of them, offer to refund your money IF you do not use the service. That would seem to be a really bad business move on the part of the warranty companies because if the vast majority of the folks who have them did not use them the company would be losing money.. There is also the deductables..anywhere from 50.00 to 500.00 so you would not be using the warranty for small claims. These companies do the same as any insurance company and invest the premiums over the term of the contract. Look up who the financial obligators are on these Extended Warranties. Most folks who have auto or home owners insurance never use it or The claims are smaller than the overall premiums. The RV contract is no different than any other insurance policy...Oh. and they all have exclusions.take a look at your Auto or Homeowners policy.

[Glenn and Lorraine]

This discussion is like so many others such as..
Do I need a 1 ton dually?? Those that have a 1 ton dually or MDT will always say yes. Those that pull with a 2500HD or F250 will say no.
Do I need to chip my diesel?? If they have chipped or re-programed their engine the answer, of course, is yes. If not, then no.
Do I need an extended warranty?? Maybe yes, maybe no, I think it was Clint as Dirty Harry that said "how lucky do you feel?"

As stated in another thread, I will not buy any extended warranties for my truck, my computers and the like. Over the years I have lost more money through lack of claims or the "that's not covered" BS.
Now having said that, I did take an extended warranty on the Monty. The reasoning was already listed above about the shoddy workmanship within the RV industry.

[Lawman]

It's an RV, it's going to break. You're gamble is whether or not it will break under the factory warranty or after it expires. If the latter, then you need the extended warranty, we got one.

[sgtpp214]

Purchased extended warranties on both the Dodge and the Montana. Dodge's has expired and we only used about 50% of the cost. The Montana has until July, 2010 and since April 1 it has been paid for 3 times over.