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Old 01-09-2011, 11:15 AM   #9
mikefocke
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Sanford NC
Posts: 2,537
The car price sounds good.

Ask to read the contract. Read it 3 times. Not the sales literature, the contract. If they won't give it to you ....

A warranty does you no good if it doesn't cover the things that can cost big money on your car.

And research the financial strength of the company that is behind the warranty. Does you no good if you find the company went out of business (they often do). Oregon has a list of who is behind what warranty sellers policies at http://insurance.oregon.gov/insurer/financial_regulation/obligors.pdf

Third party warranties (aka service contracts) have interesting reputations with the insurance commissioners of the various states. Consumer Reports says they pay out very little compared to what you pay in.


Something that sounds too good to be true probably is. And $2,200 for 6 years coverage on a car whose engine can cost what our does just doesn't pass my smell test. Becasue I've priced these things from companies and they would only go 3 years and for a lot more. There may be something we don't understand, some exclusion, some deductible, etc. Because the sales guy has to get paid out of that, the sales manager, the dealer, the insurer, the people who administer the policy, etc. Leaves very little for parts and labor does it? What is the limit on the labor rate per hour? What book do they use to define the number of hours covered for a specific repair? Does your mechanic work with that company? Are they slow pay or slow approval? Some shops insist you pay and then you have to negotiate with the insurance company which makes it impossible because they want to approve before the work is done...and you may have to wait for an inspection.

Bumper to bumper like a new car with every part covered? So what is the difference?

Extended warranties are like a casino:

* some who play will win
* a very very few will win very big
* most by far will lose
* the casino will make a lot of money.

Only the casino odds are so much better...there the percent returned to the person who places the bet is generally more than 80% as opposed to the extended warranty where it approaches 20-30%. Like a casino, you hear the stories of the people who win big and that persuades you to play. You mostly don't hear about all the many, many more people who lose.
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