Dealer extended waranty? Should I purchase

[fstclyz]

I just bought a new Navion and have the opportunity to buy a 7 year or 100k mile extended warranty called "Ultimate with Luxuries" for $4,008. $200 deductible.

Are these any good? It seems with all the little problems with RV's it might be helpful however I know the game with extended warranty's and many times you can't get covered what you want (small print has too many exceptions). Plus it sounds like the dealers/manufacturer are hit and miss on fixing things...?

Thanks

[Oldchinahand]

Welcome board! There are several threads on the subject of extended warranty's.

For example, http://www.winnieowners.com/forums/f...ce-352263.html

You can search more if you like. Some people like 'em, some don"t. We do not.

We are, however, more accepting of roadside assistance plans.

Fair Winds and Following Seas

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by fstclyz

I just bought a new Navion and have the opportunity to buy a 7 year or 100k mile extended warranty called "Ultimate with Luxuries" for $4,008. $200 deductible.

Are these any good? It seems with all the little problems with RV's it might be helpful however I know the game with extended warranty's and many times you can't get covered what you want (small print has too many exceptions). Plus it sounds like the dealers/manufacturer are hit and miss on fixing things...?

Thanks

Those dealer offered extended warranties are often nothing more than another "profit center" for the dealer. Our dealer tried to sell us one that cost $8000 and it was all I could do to not laugh.

I have nothing against extended warranties but I would be careful about what you are being charged as that price ($4000) seems a bit high for an extended warranty with a $200 deductible. If you push back you might end up getting a better price. When I told them I did not want their $8000 policy they suddenly discovered a $3000 discount and when I told them no for that as well they suddenly discovered a "coupon" for more money off. Their final offer was $4000, but for a $50 deductible at their service center and $100 deductible at any other place.

Or, better yet, you could choose to get a more time-limited plan from someone like Good Sam that might cost less.

[CoastalEd]

Like buying a Lottery ticket......you might ‘win’, but the odds are you are just throwing your money away......especially since the fine print makes it so easy for these policies to deny your claims. Best advice, bank the $4000. And save it for emergency repairs......

[BobC]

Use the Google search box at the top of the page and search on extended warranties, no need to go over this for the umpteenth time.

[Morich]

There are just too many ways to write things up to sound good and then not mean anything when we want to use them. Think of the simple term "lifetime" and ask what that means. In some we are led to believe it is as long as we live while the person who sells it knows that it means the designed/planned/normal/ possible or theoretical useful life of the product. So what does the warranty mean? Pretty much whatever the person with the most willingness (and time and money) can make it mean!
So if we pay $4000 for a policy, they may be quite willing to pay to fix a $200 step but if it is a $6000 item, no way! They are not in business to lose money!

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by Morich

There are just too many ways to write things up to sound good and then not mean anything when we want to use them. Think of the simple term "lifetime" and ask what that means. In some we are led to believe it is as long as we live while the person who sells it knows that it means the designed/planned/normal/ possible or theoretical useful life of the product. So what does the warranty mean? Pretty much whatever the person with the most willingness (and time and money) can make it mean!
So if we pay $4000 for a policy, they may be quite willing to pay to fix a $200 step but if it is a $6000 item, no way! They are not in business to lose money!

I think it is more complex than that.

Some years ago I bought an 8 year old Class B motorhome and, not knowing its real condition, I also bought a Good Sam ESP Plan. During the time I had the RV and plan I made two claims. One, for a new starter, paid me about $20 for something like a $400 bill, with Good Sam making all kinds of claims as to why they did not cover much of the bill. However for the second claim, which was something like $1500 they paid all of it except for the deductible.

Good Sam claimed that for the first repair I was being charged too much for the parts, the labor and the time it took, and they only refunded based on their maximums for those. That repair took place on the road in a small town in southern Utah and they said I was being taken advantage of by the local mechanics. The second repair, much more expensive, took place where I live in a responsible RV repair shop, and it was all covered except for the deducible.

I think if you are going to get an extended warranty the most important thing to do is to find out how responsible the warranty company is.ut also remember that selling extended warranties is a profit center for the RV dealership. They make a lot of money selling over-priced warranty packages.

[Wetstuff]

Not really knowing, but, I'd bet a number of existing dealers 'reorganized' in the last major recession. Can you imagine there not being one within the next seven years?

...and, if you are over XX years, unless this is your 2-5th RV, is seven years ownership truly realistic? There are any number of potential 'breakdowns' that do not directly relate to the Navion.

$4k in Treasurys is a comfortable cushion, compared to 'an opportunity' offered by an RV Dealer.

Jim

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by Wetstuff

Not really knowing, but, I'd bet a number of existing dealers 'reorganized' in the last major recession. Can you imagine there not being one within the next seven years?

...and, if you are over XX years, unless this is your 2-5th RV, is seven years ownership truly realistic? There are any number of potential 'breakdowns' that do not directly relate to the Navion.

$4k in Treasurys is a comfortable cushion, compared to 'an opportunity' offered by an RV Dealer.

Jim

The theory is that the warranty is transferrable and thus adds to the value of the trade-in. I have my doubts about that, as I do about extended warranties in general, but it does not seem to me that the 7 year term is unrealistic. If you can get added value with the trade (and I stress IF), then the 7 year term is quite realistic.