[kp11364]

Hi everyone,

I'm fairly sure of the answer, but I wanted to see if there are any experts here on TOTV.

With all the TV ads for "extended warranties" with celebrities like Ice-T and others, are they actually worth it to get or not? The commercials give the impression that anything that happens to your car is covered; I believe that if it wasn't covered under the original terms of the warranty, you are basically SOL.

I am currently leasing a vehicle up north (and I have 2 years and 3 months before I can tell my company to go jump in the lake and retire) and I recently hit a pothole. The car was fine for several days afterward, but one morning, every light on the dash lit up, I was unable to go in reverse and had to call service to get it towed to the service center. I was originally told that it was "probably" covered under the warranty (this was about 3 months into the lease) and then was told it was not covered and the charge was $8500. There was a short in the "wiring harness" that was caused by a "collision" (which I vehemently denied as I had no accidents, just the pothole incident)

Would something like this be covered under these "extended warranties"? I think not and these are just money-making schemes to take advantage of car owners.

If I could get some confirmation (true or false) about these warranties, I'd appreciate it. I would plan to purchase a used car when I move down to The Villages.

Many thanks in advance.

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by kp11364

Hi everyone,

I'm fairly sure of the answer, but I wanted to see if there are any experts here on TOTV.

With all the TV ads for "extended warranties" with celebrities like Ice-T and others, are they actually worth it to get or not? The commercials give the impression that anything that happens to your car is covered; I believe that if it wasn't covered under the original terms of the warranty, you are basically SOL.

I am currently leasing a vehicle up north (and I have 2 years and 3 months before I can tell my company to go jump in the lake and retire) and I recently hit a pothole. The car was fine for several days afterward, but one morning, every light on the dash lit up, I was unable to go in reverse and had to call service to get it towed to the service center. I was originally told that it was "probably" covered under the warranty (this was about 3 months into the lease) and then was told it was not covered and the charge was $8500. There was a short in the "wiring harness" that was caused by a "collision" (which I vehemently denied as I had no accidents, just the pothole incident)

Would something like this be covered under these "extended warranties"? I think not and these are just money-making schemes to take advantage of car owners.

If I could get some confirmation (true or false) about these warranties, I'd appreciate it. I would plan to purchase a used car when I move down to The Villages.

Many thanks in advance.

The damage is probably covered by your Automobile Insurance Collision coverage and depending on the specifics of the pothole, you might have an action against the city/town/county that owns the road.

All that aside, "after market warranties" are the highest profit item in the automotive industry (& most other industry that now used them).

Depending on what warranty & what's covered, the profit on extended warranties typically runs in the 75%+ range. For every $100 a dealer collects, they pay out $25 or less.

Of course, if you're the one that has a problem that's covered, it can come in handy.

[Altavia]

Originally Posted by BrianL99

The damage is probably covered by your Automobile Insurance Collision coverage and depending on the specifics of the pothole, you might have an action against the city/town/county that owns the road.

All that aside, "after market warranties" are the highest profit item in the automotive industry (& most other industry that now used them).

Depending on what warranty & what's covered, the profit on extended warranties typically runs in the 75%+ range. For every $100 a dealer collects, they pay out $25 or less.

Of course, if you're the one that has a problem that's covered, it can come in handy.

I used to agree but with the technology, the latest models many times can only be serviced by the dealer.

And costs are increasing exponentially. I might go for a dealer service contact/warranty if buying today.

[retiredguy123]

I will never ever pay money for a warranty on any product. Period. If the warranty doesn't come free when I purchase the product, I do not want it.