HELP ~~ Extended Warranties

[Islandbride1025]

I bought a 2002 Chevy Trailblazer last year and the manufacturer's warranty expires in October.

Is it worth it to buy an extended warranty? I am torn, part of me says get it for the security and the other part says I may never use it.

Would love your opinion and any insight you have.

[ktsb]

How much does it cost to extend?

I bought a relatively cheap ($300) extension on a used car and it was well worth it. Depends on the car and how long you plan to keep it.

[BTB]

I think it depends on the manufacturer too, and what the warranty includes. If it's a reliable model, the car will outlast the extended warranty, or anything that goes wrong won't be covered by it anyway, and you'll just be out the money.

Reminds me of the time I bought a $50 vacuum cleaner at American while in college, and the guy tried to sell me a $30 warranty on it. The warranty excluded the motor, all belts, and the headlight. Hmmmm....

[Islandbride1025]

I was quoted $1400 for 3yr/36,000 more miles. It would cover, the engine, transmission, dirve, axle, suspension, steering, electrical, brakes, heating & air conditioning, cooling system and interior/exterior, roadside assistance, rental car.

Another dealer quoted $2100. Just seems like a lot of money.

This warranty also excludes, belts, lights and hoses. I plan to keep the car at least 2 more years.

[ktsb]

Hmmm, that's a toughy. Would you use the 3 years or would the 36,000 likely come first? For me 36,000 would be in a little over 2 years so it then would become $1,400 for 2 years.

I just checked consumer reports for the reliability on that car and most everything is in the Very Good category with the exception of "electrical" and "power equipment." Also "body integrity" but it doesn't look like that's covered on your warranty.

It's a gamble just like insurance. Except in this case kinda pricey. IMO I probably wouldn't do it given these circumstances.

Hope this helps.

[t3h_wookiee]

Honestly, I wish I didn't have the extended warranty on my truck, but that's soley because I want to mod it, and that will void the warranty (as Ford seems to ignore the Magnuson-Moss Act).

It could come in handy though if the model that you have has problems with any of the expensive parts to replace.

[Islandbride1025]

ktsb can you post the link for that consumer report. Thanks ladies, it is a tough one. DH says don't get it, my dad says get it. I'm soooo conflicted.

t3h wookiee what does mod mean?

[ktsb]

Consumer Reports cleverly has it so I can't email or even copy the rating page. It's a paid subscription. Unless someon else as an idea how I can do it??!!

Mod - modifications I believe

[t3h_wookiee]

Yep, modifications. I want to change out both my upper and lower pulleys and add in a chip, along with some other mods. :) I want more power. ;)

[juliemag]

I used to work for an extended warranty provider --- and I wouldn't buy one. I've always viewed them as a waste of money. *Although* ;) --- we did buy one for DH's Explorer b/c we bought it used and it came with no warranty b/c of the mileage, so in that case I thought it was pro-active.

[SingleWhiteFemale]

We have a Bravada (it's essentially their "luxury" Trailblazer model... whatever), and I know it's basically the same drivetrain and all that wonderful stuff. My father, when he purched his car, got it thrown in to sweeten the deal from the dealer free of charge. It's a 1999, and it ends later this year I believe.

I'm going to say, it really depends upon what options you have on your car. If you have a more basic model, I'd probably go no. But, if you have something like premium sound, heated seats, temperature gauges for the A/C/heat--the top of the line stuff, I've found that that stuff is most likely to have problems. Also, it depends on how you drive to a certain extent. We drive like maniacs (not that bad, and not unsafe but...), and probably do more wear and tear to it that way. There was an issue with the temperature gauge since we purchased the car, and the dealership told us that there was nothing they could do. Baloney, when that shop finally stopped servicing GM cars, I took it to another former Olds dealership, and they had no problem finding the issue. That was worth it. Also, the gear box had a lot of wear, but was still under warranty so that was free to fix. I went in and had $500 worth of repairs done (I don't remember what, it was mostly labor) 6 months ago, and everything was still under warranty. There has been nothing wrong with the drivetrain, nothing wrong with how the car drives--it was the upgrades that gave us the grief. None of the problems were big, and if I didn't take it to the dealership (with it's large markup), the bill wouldn't have been so high. Another shop would have charged less. If we had to pay an extra grand for it, we would have added it, and it would have paid for itself.

Next car you buy, always ask them to throw in the extended warranty. Couldn't hurt, my father has asked for that both times and he was given it :) The worst they can say is no.

Also, that $1400--is that with a deductible or not? I know that GM (last time I checked) had a $0 deductible plan, a $50 deductible plan, and a $100 deductible plan. If I take it in for 6 different problems on the same visit, I'm only charged one deductible :D Not a bad deal.

[boilermaker]

I personally would not buy the extended warranty, esp if you are only planning to kepp the vehicle another 2 years. Typically, when you buy a car new, you can get the extended warranty for free or around $500. So if you could negotiate down to that, I would say go for it.

[sandt8704]

I work for Chevrolet. Buy the extended warranty, but make sure it's the GMPP extended warranty. I actually process these claims for a living, I don't sell the contracts, but you will use it. It's worth it's weight in gold. Make sure you get the Major Guard, as it covers everything except trim items and wear and tear stuff. The reason it's pretty pricey is that you are buying it after the fact. If the extended warranty was purchased along with the vehicle when it was brand new, it would have been cheaper.

And modifications do void the warranty.

[t3h_wookiee]

And modifications do void the warranty.

Only for that part. Say if I put in a K&N air filter, then the warranty for the tranny isn't voided. Though with some thing like an air filter, you're safe anyways.
Really it's big modifications like chips, or a 10# pulley that will void the engine warranty. But you still have the body one. It can NOT void your entire vehicle warranty. It can only void whatever parts that it has to deal with (though with a chip that's a lot of the engine!). I've had many friends had to fight with Ford over this before. And Ford has always ended up paying for the coverage.

[Cohl]

My DH is a mechanic (God he would kill me if he saw me call him that...so..automotive technician :rolleyes: ) for a Chevy dealer. I just woke him up and picked his brain on your question and I got this...If it were his father/mother/insert important family member here, he would recommend that they buy the extended warranty especially if you plan on keeping it for a few years. He said he has seen quite a few of these with transmission problems where the warranty has more than paid for itsself. Just thought I'd give you another "insiders" input. :D

[Darlene&Scott]

I work for Chevrolet. Buy the extended warranty, but make sure it's the GMPP extended warranty. I actually process these claims for a living, I don't sell the contracts, but you will use it. It's worth it's weight in gold. Make sure you get the Major Guard, as it covers everything except trim items and wear and tear stuff. The reason it's pretty pricey is that you are buying it after the fact. If the extended warranty was purchased along with the vehicle when it was brand new, it would have been cheaper.



I worked for several years with a Mazda dealership and as long as it's a GMPP warranty then it's good. The one the dealership sells through their own extended warranty is usually crap - insist that it is the GMPP one and not the dealership's little two bit ext. warranty company.

If your transmission, a/c, coolant system, or engine fails, you're looking at a huge price tag without an extended warranty.

[sandt8704]

t3h wookie...you are correct. I should have been more specific. By modifications, I meant like chips, suspension lift kits, massive mods to the engine for racing, etc. Belts, filters, sold by K&M or having your vehicles oil changed at Kragen is not going to void anything. Besides, dealers charge to much for oil changes anyway.

[t3h_wookiee]

t3h wookie...you are correct. I should have been more specific. By modifications, I meant like chips, suspension lift kits, massive mods to the engine for racing, etc. Belts, filters, sold by K&M or having your vehicles oil changed at Kragen is not going to void anything. Besides, dealers charge to much for oil changes anyway.

I was hoping that you wouldn't think I was being a pain there. :) I just know that some people are very literal on things, so I wanted to make sure that somebody wouldn't think that any mod would void it was all. :) I know I used to think that myself!

[Islandbride1025]

Ladies you have helped me make my decision I am going to get the warranty. What does GMPP stand for? I want to know so I can tell them exactly the one I want.

[sandt8704]

Make sure you get the Major Guard by General Motors Protection Plan :D