by linmk2 » Mon Sep 04, 2006 10:16 am
I worked for many years in dealerships and have learned first hand, there are good extended warranties and bad ones. The two biggest problems are; who will take them and the financial condition of the company backing them. Dealers tend to go to companies where they make the most commisssion. The better plans cost the dealer more, hence less profit, so they tend to shy away from those. Remember the old saying, you get what you pay for. Bargins sometimes turn out to be anything but. During my time in the business, there were three companies that went belly up. We sold hundreds of policies, but no way to collect on them. We had no choice but honor the warranties we sold, but it costs us tens of thousands of dollars. Also many of these cheaper warranties are only good at dealerships who sell that brand of warranty. If you breakdown somewhere out of town, you may not be able to find a dealer who will honor that warranty. So make sure you know what you are buying before you buy it. Read the entire warranty! The dealer will tell you everything is covered, just like the factory warranty. Most of the time, that is not the case. Read, read, read! Good extended warranties can save you a lot of money. Bad ones, can be a nightmare. Be careful before you sign of the dotted line. One last thing, one type of aftermarket insurance you might consider if you finance your car is Gap insurance. What that is, if the your car should be totaled, gap will pay the difference between what you owe on your car and what the insurance pays off. With today's car prices, the difference could be a lot.
Howard
Arctic Frost Pearl/Ivory, Navi 2006 SLE Convertible