Extended Warranty?

[Murphyg]

I purchased an 01 STS in Nov of 05 for 22,000 Canadian.
So thats 4 years old I guess ???
Purchased a 3 year warranty for 2,500 Canadian. Full Gm warranty.
It had only 51,700 kilometers on it.

Im not going to do the dollar conversion for yous all. But will do the milage.
I paid 2500 Canadian for 3 years on a Cadillac that had only 30,000 miles on it.

I thought I got a great deal. The warranty has already paid for itself. And to tell the truth.....Most I could have done my self as others always like to bring up. But I didnt have to do it my self. I had someone do it for me. I had time to stay out of the garage. The wife and children really appreciated that. Also I was able to go to work because the warranty gave me another car. So I didnt loose money from work because I was at home fixing my own vehicle.

Sure I can repair my own car. But if it breaks down on a Monday morn or Tuesday afternoon ???? I still have to get to work.
Its not like I have a front yard full of vehicles that may or may not start and if Im lucky one or 2 will get me to my paying job till I have the off weekend time to fix mine.
I really dont understand the premise of those that say if you are mechanically inclined and have the tools then warranty is useless ?

Sure Im inclined and sure I have the tools.
But 2500 Canadian dollars over 3 years, that also pays for a vehicle for me to get to work.
As compared to the time and pay I would loose from not being at work because I chose to stay home and fix the car myself.......

That is one thing that I havent seen factored in yet. Werther it be 15 or 33 %. It is the loss of pay for not being at what is the bread and butter. That being your job.
Any boss will only accept the fact that your car is broke down and you cant come in to work for so long. He/She didnt hire you so that you were able to make just enough to stay home and work on your vehicle.

Warranties do work. This 33% thing though, I dont know. Im thinkin thats just hype and propaganda. But if not.......then anyone that falls for it.....wellll....dont really wanna dis someone for being uneducated. But isnt it a bit more than being noneducational to fall for something like that ???

Without a doubt the warranty companies are in business to make money. Thats what life is about. If we wanted to boycott anyone that was in business for the sake of business (to make money and prosper, Right ??), Then we boycott the world and every individual that exists.....every business. Every aspect of our existence.

Should also mention as well:
There is a hell of a difference between the purchase of cell phone, television, or plain old insurance for that matter.
Yes a vehicle warranty is a form of insurance. But some of the apparent statistics I have read here, as well as identical threads of the same, seem to be pertain to "Insurance" as a generic. Not always necessarily to "vehicle warrantys" in particular.
The straying can be deceiving. As a whole it "may" have merit. But as to the particular topic of discussion brought about......again.....it can be derived as misinformation as to the particular subject.. and slightly misinformative and/or deceiving.

So goes the same with cell phones, televisions, etc.......
They are a far cry from the technology that is within a Cadillac. A far far cry from the discussion of extended warranty for a Cadillac.

Yes we all have our opinions on extended warrantys. Or just plain insurance for that matter
But lets get back to the prospect of extended warranty on a Cadillac.

33% then dont even blink. Just fart when you walk out the door. Or dump a load right on the desk LOL !
Im amazed to believe anyone would consider to charge that. Even more amazed if anyone would pay it.
And if they do/did. Then they obviously have more cash then brains. Or have so much cash they really dont care.
To be here though and question if 33% is too much.....To be any where and question it.....

I cant believe that.

Warranty or Insurance ????

Originally Posted by turnne

..............................
what I have an issue with is a 5 year old STS that is worth half as much... but yet the warranty from the same company with the same coverage is twice the price...ie 33% of the value of the car...that is not cheap insurance
Warren

Warranty and insurance are 2 totally different animals !

[Ur7x]

Originally Posted by Murphyg

Warranty and insurance are 2 totally different animals !

Not really, at their core they are EXACTLY the same thing. I'm not sure I understand most of your post, but I think I know what you are getting at with this point.

Automobile insurance is a coverage policy that covers against theft, damage, liability, etc. that can occur from the use of a car.

An Extended warranty is really just an insurance policy that covers you in the event of a mechanical breakdown. The industry name for an extended warranty is actually Mechanical Breakdown Insurance.

We've had this debate before, I'm not against these firms making money. Heck, I used to work for one... If they didn't make a ton of money I wouldn't be driving a Caddy. The point the everyone needs to know is that if you are buying this policy because you think it is a good investment you are making a BIG mistake. These polices are a TERRIBLE investment.

Like any insurance policy a few people do well and "get their money back". MOST do not. If everyone made money the insurance company would be toast. If you came out "ahead" someone else "lost". When you factor in all the costs "loser's" out number the "winners" about 4 to 1.

Speaking as someone who worked in this industry for over 12 years and who has taken just about every course offered to man on auto insurance. The most fiscally prudent approach to insurance is to only buy polices that you MUST. Buy polices to protect yourself against a catastrophic financial loss. "Catastrophic" is the difficult term.

To Warren Buffet almost nothing he owns could cause him a catastrophic financial loss, you can bet he only buys insurance where he is legislated to do so. At the other end of the spectrum, my brother in-law who has maxed out a dozen credit cards, a head light burning out is catastrophic financial loss.

Most of us are somewhere in between. If "in your gut" you would find a head gasket project "catastrophic" financially then buy the extended warranty. If a failed head gasket will only cause you to have a second beer with dinner to get over it, then you don't need the policy.

[Murphyg]

Yes I do think you know what Im talking about. Without a doubt
Even though you may not understand most of my post ?

And as you say, this debate has had before.

But that is the thing. The debate on automobile warranties always seems to turn towards the generic of "insurance". Insurance as a whole. And its just happened again.
Automobile warranties has now been added to a scenario of credit card debit.

Not saying Im right. And not saying your wrong.
Just trying to say to not confuse the matter within a whole world wide corporate industry standard.

"At their core they are exactly the same...." .sure thats true.......but if the core is what is attempting to be knownst......Pepsi, MacDonald's, and Madonna, and anything to do with Harry Potter LMAO ; Its exactly the same. But didnt think the core was what was being questioned.

All that Brax wanted to know was whether or not he should have second guessed purchasing an extended warranty.
For one, he didnt indicate how much the warranty was offered from the seller.
But did though say how much it would be from Car Max for six years

Originally Posted by Brax

.......Ive put about 3k miles on it so far (bought with 27k miles).

Think it's a good gamble or should I see if I can still get the warranty?
Carmax does charge $50 per visit for warranty work.

A whole breakdown of the entire industry that has all and any affiliation towards the industry of life/and or insurance, isnt in my opinion, welllll...how to say....helpfull towards someone that thinks he may be interested in purchasing some sort of Auto Moblile Warranty.

Without a doubt there is much insight as to the workings of insurance industries and there affiliates.

So what about Brax and his inquiry about his vehicle (the year etc...) and repair issues ? To purchase warranty or not ? Ya know... the shyte that pertains to the question of the member.

Nothing to do with insurance companies. He wanted to know if it would be wise to pay an x amount for warranty towards his vehicle

Read the first post. Believe he stated all about the vehicle and what warranty would have cost him.
All he wanted was an opinion on that. Sure he received many posts with break downs and math percentages of industries debate wise and etc.....
So many that have the time for so much math. But not one to even attempt to talk to Brax (original poster), or to break down with the odds, about the probability of his question.....
Many statistics taken from magazines and what not. Many stats posted here. From many, obviously intelligent individuals. But still, not one of those intelligent enough to be able to offer statistics to the original post.

So basically.
Ive said that my extended warranty has without a doubt helped me along my way. I believe that I "may" have actually surpassed what I had paid for the warranty. But either or.
The conveniences of the "GM" warranty that Id purchased has given me piece of mind.

BTW....I do also have insurance on a few other things. Have credit cards as well. But im not here to discuss that. I believe it had something to do with purchasing "Warranty on a Cadillac"

[Ur7x]

The point I was trying to make was to answer the question "should he buy? or should he spend X?"
You need to know one extra bit of info. (and its not an easy question to ask)

Financially, how are you doing?

If the answer is "I'm comfortable" Then financially you will be better off not buying.
If the answer is "Money's really tight these days" Then financially you might be better off buying.

Without going into all of the math, the above is a fact. If you want to know why this is a fact I need to post actuarial tables and all kinds of probabilities, math and case studies. I will spare all this pain.

That's the "cold" "money side".
Lots of people buy these "warranty polices" because they make them "feel good". Or feel protected. This is a valid point, and if that works for you, go for it. Here the point I was trying to make was, if you understand how the product you are buying works, you can probably feel just as good not buying it.

Sorry I confused you with my brother in-laws credit problems... That was supposed to be an analogy.

[turnne]

I think the topic that no one has touched on here is

price of the warranty compraed to the car you are buying it for

a $25000 car that has a warranty that costs $2500 makes some scence

a $12000 car that has a $4300 extended warranty costs is very questionable

all things being considered you have to consider the value of what you are investing in



Warren

[orconn]

I think the argument that the cost of a warranty being a high percentage of the car's makes warranty coverage unjustified is missing the point that owning expensive, high performance, luxury cars is a potentially expensive proposition. The fact that Sevilles cost a relatively small percentage of their original cost as used cars does not mean that their parts and repair cost suffer a corresponding decline in cost. The purchase of one of these or any other luxury car is not a financial investment but rather an investment in one's own enjoyment in the car's performance and design and the pride of ownership that comes with owning such a vehicle. The purchase of a warranty by a person who cannot or chooses not self-insure against the high cost of repairs that may be necessary for the continued enjoyment of the car is one way of prepaying the real cost of ownership .........if yoiu can afford the repairs or can do them yourself then it doesn't make sense to make ownership even more expensive by paying an insurance (yes, insurance) company to indemnify you against these potential.but real, expenses. But if your financial situation doesn't allow for unexpected increases in your monthly outlay, then a warranty would make sense ...........that is, ofcourse, that you were getting the coverage you needed from the warranty and not having real and potentially expnsive reapirs (such as HG's and accessories) excluded from coverage.

[turnne]

I think the argument that the cost of a warranty being a high percentage of the car's makes warranty coverage unjustified is missing the point that owning expensive, high performance, luxury cars is a potentially expensive proposition

yes and no

based on costs to buy the breakdown insurance( and yes it is insurance) a car like the Lexus LS400 costs roughly10% or less of the cars retail value to insure... this would imply that for that particular vehicle..as far as the insurance companies statistics findings go, must not be a very potentially expensive vehicle...anything is possible of course..I completely understand
but statistically there has to be a correlation

A 16 year old driver can be a better driver than a 35 yo...however statistically they must cost the insurance companies a lot more money
..same thing applies to extended warranties...and more than likely a factor in the public's opinion of the cars value..ie..resale

My point is..that based on what the car is worth is directly related to how much I am willing to spend on it

I recall my mechainc, who used to work on my Auorra, say that they had done several head gaskets on mid to late 90's northstars and in many cases the head gasket job was more expensive than the worth of the car

I think many people at that point choose the junkyard option..and based on what I have seen in the junkyard in both Auroras and Sevilles( Devilles etc)..this rings very true

several years ago I owned an early 90's S class Benz...it needed an evap core replacement( very typical repair)...$3000 ..which warranty covered in my case.
I have seen several people pay their own repair bill on one of these when it was more than a decade old
I doubt if the value of the car was not where it was you would have seen as many step up and pay the costs for this repair.


Warren

[wake]

I purchased an extended GMAC backed warranty on the 2003 STS that I purchased yesterday... On high dollar repair items like Cadillacs it's a good investment IMO, I haven't lost money on one yet...

I also weigh now I'm going to use the vehicle... I bought a 2002 Trailblazer last year with 61K miles on it, I only plan to drive it a few thousand miles each year, 4K last year is what I came to on that vehicle... For that one, I didn't buy the extended warranty because it wouldn't pay for itself...

On my first Corvette I purchased one and it paid for itself 2x over... My 98 ETC warranty paid for itself 3x-4x over...

On my ETC, the big ticket items that come to mind were the A/C compressor, water pump, and blower motor, all replaced at the Cadillac dealership... There were a couple more larger expenses but I can't remember them at the moment...

An A/C compressor is around $1K to replace at the dealer, an alternator or water pump is around $600-$800 as well... And as crazy as it is, I think the blower motor replacement was around $1K because you have to tilt the motor away from the firewall to R&R it...

Now if I bought a Cavalier or other base model car I wouldn't buy the warranty but with more (expensive) goodies like are on our Caddys, it's worth it...

I love and hate my GM vehicles at the same time... I love the look, ergonomics, and power, I hate the fit and finish issues, and long term reliability... I've NEVER had a GM product though go 60K miles without a major repair of some type...

[turnne]

about 50% of the cars I have owned I have bought extended warrantys on

and of that group 50% of them have paid out more than the warranty cost....in the case of the last Benz I owned it paid 5 times what I paid for the warranty.
So all in all I am still ahead of the game all things being considered.



Warren