are the extended warantees worth having

[CantTakeit]

Hello. Are the extended warranties thru the dealers worth having? Which ones are best. thank you.

[NYBobbo]

this has been discussed many times on many forums... worth searching before posting

[Ret.LEO]

Glad to help out

The warrantys that dealers sell are a major profit maker for them. Their asking price is probably double of what it actually cost them. At closeing when they try to sell you one I would stand firm at 1/2 price for one.
I would look at Good Sam and go on line to see what company has one that will fit your needs. I wouldn't worry about adding one until your last couple of months of the factory warranty.
General consensus runs about 50/50 to get one or not. Depends on your comfort level and the depth of your wallet. If you can afford a unexpected $1,000-$1,500 hit every so often than a warranty probably not serve you well. If it would be a hard hit to take then I would. Or if you will just sleep better at night knowing that you are covered if (when) it does happen then I would.
Personally........when we buy a new rig I will add one for the security and a good nights sleep.
PS. Don't ever be afraid to ask something.......Dad always said "There's no such thing as a dumb question" Even when I would ask the same question more than once

[creativepart]

As was said best to turn down any Warranty add on from the selling dealership. They just markup up the plan by 100% of their cost.

You can always add a plan yourself later. Winnebago has a factory relationship with Coach-Net. And you can get special pricing from them. Coach-Net is best known for roadside assistance but they also offer extended service plans.

A company called Wholesale Warranties is best known for selling many different plans. And their pricing is usually good.

Remember no one sells extended “warranties” you can only buy extended service plans, otherwise known as mechanical breakdown insurance. There are a vast number of exclusions, conditions and outright gotchas that are used to avoid paying for many repairs. And the plans can delay the repair process especially if you’re on the road. In short it’s not a simple cut and dried subject.

Dealers will try anything to get you to purchase such a plan at closing. Their favorite trick is to price a service plan and the RV at a sky high price and when you balk they drop the cost many thousands to make it look like a good deal. It almost never is.

We planned on getting one after our factory warranty was up but after hearing the hundreds of stories of companies that refused to cover all manner of repairs we decided to self-insure and set the funds earmarked for the plan aside for future use. So far that’s worked great as we’ve had zero repairs in year two of Class A ownership.

Like was said you’ll hear 50/50 opinions on this topic.

[akeagle]

Someone once explained to me that buying insurance of any kind is actually a matter of the ensured and the ensurer engaging in a bet. The ensured is betting something will go wrong and the insurance will mitigate the cost of fixing it. The ensurer is betting the you'll never need to file a claim or that the cost of honoring any claims will not exceed the premiums paid by the ensured.

To me that makes perfect sense both ways. The rub, of course, comes when the ensurer seems to become unreasonable in denying claims. The question then becomes did the ensurer underestimate its ability to manage the premiums vs claims equation, or is profit the primary motivation?

Personally I feel we have benefited from buying extended warranties on vehicles. When we bought our last three used vehicles the financial institutions required that an extended warranty be part of the deal. (Is that the institution protecting its investment or could there be a collusion between them and the dealer to create some extra profit? Could be either.)

In one case a cylinder head warped just before the warranty expired. Wow, right?!!! It was fixed at their expense without question. The second vehicle developed drivetrain problems and again it was covered without question. The third one developed a persistent transmission fluid leak despite several visits to the dealer. Eventually I had to get the service manager involved and he ordered a fluorescent dye test and the problem was found to be a loose access plate instead of the pan and gasket which were replaced three times. Thankfully the extended warranty covered all expenses 100%.

Perhaps the overall question is whether or not the premiums we paid exceeded the coverage of the claims? I have no idea, but the peace of mind the policies provided were worth it for us.

[BellOnWheels]

Originally Posted by CantTakeit

Hello. Are the extended warranties thru the dealers worth having? Which ones are best. thank you.

On each of our Class A coaches we have had one. As Ret.LEO stated, the peace of mind is worth it. We had good luck with Good Sam and when our present service agreement expires will likely change back to them. (And BTW, over the term of our last service agreement, the cost of repairs exceeded the cost of the agreement.) Our present agreement was purchased last year when we purchased a new coach. It appeared to be equal to our Good Sam policy but at significant savings. Those savings have come at a cost as the new service seems to cover much less. Live and learn...

[Ret.LEO]

A couple of other thoughts for people on limited budgets: a service plan will allow you to have something fixed under coverage (hopefully)that you might otherwise have to put off to when you can afford it. This might keep you from not using your rig to enjoy.

[Journey39n]

Its all about peace of mind. We have been full-timing for nearly 9 years. 1st four years of the Good Sam Extended Warranty was understandably cheap as they knew not much would happen with a brand new rig. After that it was a bit pricey, but even though our premiums have exceeded the benefits, that peace of mind is hard to price.

Have used it two times on coach related items, and two times on diesel engine items. I can only speak to my own experience. Each time, they reimbursed all 'covered' costs above my deductible.

Most recently, like 8 days ago, we had a severe overheating problem in Las Vegas. Freightliner took a bit to get us into the shop, but said, yes they work with Good Sam, not many others. Before the work was done, we knew all items above the deductible were covered, again, that peace of mind. Freightliner did professional work, got us on our way the next day, following up with Good Sam, they have already processed the claim.

After all these years, still pretty satisfied having this Extended Warranty Plan.

[moonie]

Simple answer.
1. If you buy new: ABSOLUTLY buy an extended warranty! Only a fool or one wanting to depart with their money would buy a new motorhome without an extended warranty. Especially anything built by Winnebago and etc. Today's quality control is so bad that it becomes embarrassing. And, the process of making claims against the standard warranty drags on and on so that you never get rid of the obvious problems before the standard warranty times out.
2. If you buy a pre-owned motor home an extended warranty may not be worth the price. Most of the obvious problems were repaired by the last owner.

And, the quality is better with the older units over what comes out of the factories today.
Moonie

[soricobob]

I like the Good Sam warranty not because of any reason except, every 4 months it allows you to change your deductible, and as a part timer, I like paying less when I’m in storage.

[sunvale1]

The first year Dealer warranty will determine what kind of repairs you will be faced with. After that I rely on my own resources for repairs, most I do my self. I tuck away a couple of $ for the problems I don't want to deal with.

[melman3468]

Originally Posted by CantTakeit

Hello. Are the extended warranties thru the dealers worth having? Which ones are best. thank you.

If you do decide to purchase an extended warranty. Do Not get one from ACC warranties. They had a class action lawsuit in the state of Indiana and lost. They moved out of that state and into Florida, and who knows where else. But by moving out of the state. The state attorney general is unable to collect any thing. So everybody who had purchased those warranties are out that money and more to purchase another. Good luck which ever way you decide to go.