Third Party Warranty?

[RERobbins]

I just picked up a 2004 330Ci ZHP with about 84,000 miles. It seems to have been well maintained, passed a PPI without issue and I've since had it very carefully inspected by a shop that I trust and, based on their recommendation, remedied a few small things they found. This morning I received an email from Carchex, an entity that seems to be affiliated with Car Fax, promoting their warranty offering. That's something I hadn't really thought about. What do you think about these offerings in general for your ZHPs? Any experience with Carchex? Worth exploring or should I just avoid like the plague?

-- Rich

[Alphatek45]

Stay away IMO. Warranties, extended or third party are money makers for the provider and usually suck. I don't extend warranties on anything. ( if you slapped all that cash during the coarse of a year in a savings account you'd be able to cover most issues) and when nothing goes wrong, you keep your dough!

Just my 2 cents.

Congrats on the car.

[kayger12]

Agree with Adam 100%.

Droid X. Tapatalk. Use it.

[ecrabb]

I wouldn't oversimplify with the blanket statement that "all extended warranties suck". There are definitely some rip-offs out there, so you have to watch out for those, obviously. But barring those, it really depends on each persons's situation. For some people, it's a waste of money, while for others, it's money very well spent. I tend to equate extended warranties to insurance - you analyze your overall risk and decide how much coverage you want compared how much that coverage costs.

For instance, some might want to pay the $10/month for replacement insurance on their smart phone. For the people who take care of their stuff and never break it, they'd say, "Why the hell would I pay $120/year for replacement insurance on my phone? I'd have to destroy my phone every 18 months for the dollars to even come close to working out on that!" On the other hand, the accident-prone amongst us might say, "Wow, for $10/month, I can drop my phone in the toilet once a year and get a new/refurbished phone? Awesome!"

To get back to extended warranties on cars, again I think it depends on a number of factors. How much is the warranty, what does it cover, what's the deductible, how likely is the car to break down, how expensive is it to repair if it does, and are you the DIY-type that work on it in the garage in the spare time, or do you need your car every day and need it repaired as quickly as possible? Do your homework, think about your situation, consider what level of risk you're willing to accept, and go with what makes the most sense for you.

Yes, the warranty companies (and resellers) most often make money on the policies. But, just like insurance, it only works that way the majority of the time. Here's an anecdote: I had an '01 Dodge Durango R/T. The factory warranty ran out, but I did't want to replace the truck yet. I'd heard enough stories about transmissions, transfer cases, and steering racks on Dodge trucks, I decided to buy a 2-year/24,000 mile extended warranty. My folks resell GM extended warranties (applicable to non-GM vehicles), so I did get the warranty at a reduced price, but it still wasn't cheap by any means...

Well, less than a year later, I noticed power steering fluid on the floor in the garage. Take to the stealer (I love that), and it was about $1500 parts and labor to replace the entire steering rack - almost double what I spent on the warranty and deductible.

So, it just depends. A high-mileage 330 with a sketchy service history and automatic transmission, driven a lot miles daily, by a non-DIY type - an extended warranty might pay off. But, I'd still do some research on how good the warranty is, what it covers, the deductible, etc.

Cheers,
SC

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Nice take, Steve.

:hashbrowns

[Alphatek45]

I wouldn't oversimplify with the blanket statement that "all extended warranties suck".

Cheers,
SC


Stay away IMO. Warranties, extended or third party are money makers for the provider and usually suck..

[ecrabb]

Sorry, Adam... I was reading between the lines and ignored the lines themselves apparently. ;)

SC

[Alphatek45]

No problemo,brosef. was just clarifying :)

[Go Horns!]

One other thing to consider is the financial security of the company you buy it from. When I bought my Tahoe I got an extended warranty. Two years later I got a notice in the mail that the company I bought from had gone bankrupt and that I could join the class action. Lucky for me I bought with a Mastercard and they gave me a total refund.

[SoarinZHP]

Futilely resisting jumping into this can of worms.

[jiggz]

I'd be leery.

I don't have experience w/ that particular company, but I had a forgettable experience w/ another company (don't remember the name of it now, to many years ago). They denied just about everything. I will never make that mistake again....

[ecrabb]

One other thing to consider is the financial security of the company you buy it from. When I bought my Tahoe I got an extended warranty. Two years later I got a notice in the mail that the company I bought from had gone bankrupt and that I could join the class action.

I had a forgettable experience w/ another company (don't remember the name of it now, to many years ago). They denied just about everything. I will never make that mistake again....

These two comments illustrate perfectly why if are considering an extended warranty, you should go with a well-known company with a reputation that can easily be ascertained.

That's exactly why my family (who sells used vehicles out of their fleet) only offers this warranty:
http://www.gmprotectionplan.com

For them, it isn't much of a money-maker, but more just giving used buyers options to buy a used vehicle with peace of mine that they're not going to have super-expensive repair a few months down the road from purchase.

Just like insurance, you can get from a $0-200 deductible, road service, rental car, etc. (and of course pay accordingly). This one can only be purchased on vehicles purchased from GM dealers (GM or not), but obviously there are others. Just be sure the company you're dealing with has a well-known positive reputation. Do your research.

SC

[GreenFrog]

I bought my used zhp from a bmw dealer and got an extended warranty through them. Would installing an aftermarket intake (afe) and angel eyes void my warranty in any way?

[pleasecorrupt]

I'm pretty pretty sure not but I'll let those that are positive chime in.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

I bought my used zhp from a bmw dealer and got an extended warranty through them. Would installing an aftermarket intake (afe) and angel eyes void my warranty in any way?

Here you go: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/keeping-your-mods-warranty-intact.html

[GreenFrog]

I feel like it would be easy for a dealership to attribute any potential engine problems with my aftermarket intake.. after all, you can't really 'prove' it per se, but it's not as arbitrary as attributing an engine problem with an aftermarket trunk spoiler.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

The good news is that the onus is on the dealer to prove that the intake was the cause. It's not your burden to bear.

[johnrando]

My .02, definately based on the company you buy from, and what your car's history is. Completely different, but when we bought a house, we purchased a 1 year home warranty (covers appliances, etc). The company was extremely responsive for repairs, and it definitely was a cost saver in the long run, as you just never know what's going to happen with unknown mechanical devices, and we had several things go wrong.

As for my car, I have the repair history, and I don't drive it enough to warrant (pun intended) an extended warranty. It makes more sense for me to pay as I go for repairs that may come up, as hopefully they will be few with good maintenance and low miles.