VEHICLE WARRANTYS ON OLDER CARS?

Question

Has anyone had any experience with buying the extended warranty for older cars. I'm reaching 100,000 miles on my 2002 Sebring and its going to need some maintenance service soon. And does the warranty cover only certain things. Greg

Answer 1

I have deal with many extended warranties for older cars and you can search many of them out but once you reach 100,000 miles they will be expensive and you cannot make a claim for the first 30 days, also in some cases if the claim is worth more than the vehicle they will refuse to authorize the repairs and that you will see in the small print on the contract...

Answer 2

You would do better to save your warranty premiums in your own savings account.



Warranties are a gamble. You're betting you're going to collect - the warranty company is betting you're not. In any case, they win.



Cars as old as yours are more subject to equipment failures and the warranty company will price the policy based upon that fact. You'll actually be paying for repairs in advance, betting that you will need those repairs. If you don't, they keep your money and you get nothing.



Warranties don't cover wear and tear items - and THEY define what is wear and tear. Some are obvious (belts, hoses, tires, etc), some are not (wheel bearings, friction surfaces is a common term they use for brake pads/shoes and brake jobs in general and the clutch, etc). Warranty companies almost always fail to cover repairs due to "failure of the owner to maintain the vehicle". Also, on top of your premiums, you'll have to pay a deductible. Example, you pay $80/mo for the warranty. In two years, you'll have paid about $1,920. Then for major repairs, you may have to pay $500 deductible. If that major repair was the transmission, you'll have paid $2,420 - the cost of the transmission anyway. Additional parts and labor are not covered. So add about $200 for transmission mounts, transmission fluid, etc).