What is the general consensus on used car warranties? I know this is a wide open question based upon the year, make, model and mileage but I was hoping to hear the good and the bad if anyone has an opinion on them. Or am I asking a question that is too vague?

I have a 2005 Chevy Suburban with 100k miles on it and have an option to by a 2yr/24k mile warranty for $1,600. It would cover only engine, drivetrain and suspension. I would pay a $50 deductible on any work that was performed. Cant decide if I should do this or not. Any thoughts on this?

9/14/2011 9:24:05 AM

No way I'd pay $1600 for a 24k warranty on that truck unless the trans is already slipping or something.

9/14/2011 10:09:56 AM

Warranty companies aren't in the money losing business.

Also, 3rd part warranty companies are notorious for weaseling their way out of anything they can, to the point of being borderline worthless.

9/14/2011 10:16:55 AM

Stay away from 3rd party warranties....

9/14/2011 11:17:00 AM

Depends on the company offering it. Always ask questions: how long have they been in business and how much do they pay annually in claims? Do they guarantee to pay 100% of parts and labor or do they cap it? Do they cover pre-existing conditions? A lot of the companies that send out mail advertisements are scams and tend to go out of business quickly (or only pay a portion of repairs), but extensions from the manufacturers and companies like CNA and Wise are legit.

If it's only a powertrain and suspsension warranty I would say it isn't worth it as those are typically not the components that would fail on a Chevy truck with 100,000 miles. If it was total car coverage on a Suburban with DVD, Nav, heated/cooled seats and all the other electronic goodies and it gauranteed to pay 100% of costs then it would be something to think about.

9/14/2011 11:52:36 AM

I bought an extended warranty on my GTI, and it paid for itself when the AC system needed to be replaced. Bill would have been over 3k for just that, and I paid $1k for the warranty.

Like others have said, needs to cover everything, not just power train and suspension.

9/14/2011 12:08:16 PM

In this instance I'd say $1600 for 2 years is ridiculous. Of course the car does have 100k miles so I guess that's why. When I bought my aftermarket car warranty it was $1400 for 6 years/100k additional miles.

9/14/2011 12:30:27 PM

My Wrangler had a 100k warranty that the previous owner bought the day he purchased it new. I want to say it was around $1,000 added to the invoice at the time of purchase. It was a nice selling point, but I drove the Jeep over 40k miles and only used it once for repairs that totaled less than $500 with most of that being labor. I could have fixed it myself for probably less than $150.

At $1k-$1.5k I'd consider it on a new vehicle if I was buying my dream car and I thought I'd own it for 100k+ miles, but otherwise it seems like a waste. Most cars these days are easily good for 100,000 miles with minimal repairs as long as you maintain them properly and if it were a turd I'd be selling it before it went out of warranty anyway.

Out of the things it covers...Engine, drivetrain, suspension...I really can't see you needing anything other than maybe a set of shocks on a 2005 Suburban with 100k miles. You could just get some from Advance Auto and hire zxappeal to install them. It'll save you $1000+ over buying that ridiculous warranty.

9/14/2011 3:03:39 PM

I would imagine that you'd have a bitch of a time getting a warranty to cover something like shocks, anyway.

9/14/2011 5:45:54 PM

Yep...They'd call it a wear item.

9/14/2011 5:47:17 PM

Shit, the clutch died in my Evo at just over 20k miles and they called that a wear item. I mean, it is a wear item, but it's also 20k miles, and by the dealer's own admission, that's pretty routine for that car. I was pissed...not at them defining a clutch as a wear item, but at Mitsubishi for underengineering the clutch THAT severely and then not standing by it with warranty maintenance. I understand it being a fuse on a powerful-ish AWD car, so as to not splatter drivetrain parts, but that's a little absurd.

They also wanted something like $2500 or $2700 or something to replace it, haha. I eventually got it done by an independent clutch shop for $1200ish.

...but yeah, shocks aren't exactly a consumable, but that would rightfully be called normal wear and tear. That's like saying "the leather on my seats is looking kinda worn. How 'bout some free new seats?" Well, no, they're 10 years old and have 100k miles worth of your ass sitting in them. That's what happens to them, motherfucker.

9/14/2011 5:59:21 PM