Why Did You Get Extended Warranty. Regarding 07 Nbs And Up

[Fanged03]

I own an 08 Sierra CC Z71. I didn't get the warranty extension when I bought it. Now I have 30k miles on it and am wondering if it is really worth it with the 5 year 100k drivetrain warranty. The only I can think of would be if a window motor went bad, you have any other ideas? Why did you get the extension? I am gonna be getting a beater car soon so my miles won't get too high per year like the last 1.5 years. I am just having a hard time beleiving it to be worth it for an extension, but would regret it if there is a common occuring problem that happens later on after 36k miles. Give me your best theories.

 

Thanks,

Brent

[Stex]

What are you looking over? yrs, miles and cost? These trucks are pretty solid if you keep up with things...might lose a compressor, water pump, electronics etc...but if I remember GM was steep on the extended warranty.

[BuckFeverZ]

I didn't bother with the extended warranty on my '07 either. The major stuff (i.e. tranny, motor) are covered.

[56kz2slow]

For GM to make money with the extended warranty, the average cost of repairs in the extended warranty period have to be lower than the cost of the extended warranty. Like any game, the odds are in favour of the dealer.

 

You will hear some stories about people that regret not buying it because they had a problem and some about people that bought it and were happy because they had problem. You never hear however of the people that don't buy it and don't have problems. People don't complain when the don't have problems.

 

I saved 1800$ by declining it on my 1995 Jeep, saved 900$ by declining it on my 1997 Civic, saved 1200$ by declining it on my 2002 Nissan, don't know how much I saved by declining it on the Sierra, I did not check for it. I did not have anything go wrong that would have been covered by the extended warranty.

 

In the long run, I save a lot more money by declining extended warranty on everything. I'd rather save on every purchase and bite the bullet of by bad luck, something went wrong with one of my purchases.

[ryan_hermanutz]

Tough call, I have horrible luck so no matter what I would decide the other choice would have been better. If you do go with an extended warranty make sure it covers the items that the GM one doesn't.

[CalixEros]

Are you talking about any warranty or just the GMPP warranty? I did not even consider the GMPP warranty after they told me the price. It was the same as it was previous years only now the powertrain stuff is already covered. They only cover a small percentage of the truck but the price is the same. I didn't understand it. This was early '07 so maybe it's changed since then. Anybody know?

[Fanged03]

Well I've looked at a few of the aftermarket ones and the gm one, they are all pricy. A family friend owns a chevy dealership and I asked him and he uses both the gm and one aftermarket (which gm actually owns and is usually much cheaper). I have him looking into a price for me. I guess mostly I was wondering if there are any common fairly major problem that people have experienced on these trucks that would warrant buying an extended warranty. Also can tsb still be done without a warranty?

 

Thanks guys

[Bish]

I got one. It was only $1000, claimed it was their cost. I didn't want to have to worry about anything in 100K. I'm at 40K so far and I've had 3 door handles replaced in the last 6 months that would have cost me at least $300-$400. BTW - Who the F%$k thought to make door handles out of cheap plastic???????? I figured with all the sensors and electronics, I didn't want to have to worry about it. It is my business vehicle and my business would have paid for repairs but for the price I thought it was cheap insurance. Prior to this vehicle, I have never purchased an extended warranty and never regretted not getting one. We'll see how I make out in the next 55K miles

[jwieps]

You have to ask yourself........ Can I afford not to have a warranty? If you take the chance; could you drop $2k tomorrow on your vehicle to get you back on the road. Most people cant pay for a unexpected major repair, or it would be devistating........ if they want to admit it or not.

[minibike132]

I have health insurance. I'm pretty sure the odds are stacked in their favor too but I would hate to have to go out of pocket in the event.

 

The last guy is right, can you afford not to is the question. If you have disposable income and can afford big repairs then don't get it. If you can be disiplined and save a few bucks every month from the time it is new till you run out of warranty to cover any high dollar stuff, don't get it. If you live month to month and can only spare that little premium but your life would be turned upside down by a $500 bill then get the insurance.

[High Plains Drifter]

As stated on here a multitude of times regarding warranties, you already have a warranty on the vehicle, 3 years, 36,000 miles. 5 yr/100K on the powertrain. Why would anyone pay for a warranty on a new vehicle when you already have a free one that covers practically everything?

 

If you decide to get a warranty, buy it after the free warranty is about up. It'll cost less, you won't be paying for the first three years or so that's already covered, and finally, if you decide to sell before your manufacturers warranty is up, you haven't wasted any money.

 

I'm baffled as to why people pay $1500, $2000 and more for warranties when buying a new car. Would you buy a 52" widescreen plasma TV if you couldn't watch it for two years? Of course not. So why would you pay on a warranty that won't go into effect for three years or so?

 

As someone already stated, it's a sucker's bet. Chances are you WON'T need it, otherwise they wouldn't sell them. Odds are, you won't make a claim. Not to mention, buying them at the dealer is more expensive? They make a lot of money on the back end which is money YOU pay.

 

Buy it AFTER the free warranty is use dup. Aftermarket warranties are cheaper and cover just as much. You can decide your own coverage. Most warranties, dealer and otherwise are underwritten by third parties anyway.

 

Peace of mind, I'm not so sure. Once your truck is out of warranty, you can find a good independent that can cost half as much to make any needed repairs if necessary. Many thing anyone can do themselves with a standard set of tools. Sure, some may need a new trans or something but the vast majority.

 

They only sell warranties for one reason-they make money on them. It's not because they care about your peace of mind.

[minibike132]

They don't always take more money out of the customer then they pay out in claims. I was at a dealer that had a GMPP audit team watching and authorizing our every repair for 2 months because we were taking almost 50% more out then we were selling. They were sure we were scamming them but after 2 months they only walked out with a couple hundred bucks in charge backs.

 

Obviously that isn't the norm but it isn't never either.

[High Plains Drifter]

I have health insurance. I'm pretty sure the odds are stacked in their favor too but I would hate to have to go out of pocket in the event.

 

Extended warranties are similar to other types of insurance but they differ in many ways.

 

A catastrophic injury can cause $100,000 or more in medical claims. Hardly comparible for replacing a water pump, worn out wiper motor, or other part.

 

Vehicle insurance is not comparible as well because 1) most state laws requires it and 2), you are covered in case you cause bodily harm to someone else and they recover civil damages as well. Your broken water pump won't cause someone bodily harm or injury.

 

A house consumed by fire could be $200,000 or more in damages. Insurance is offered for these types of calamities because of the enormous amount of monetary recovery involved. Cars don't have that. Car repairs are nickel/dime compared to homeowners, ,life, medical and car insurance.

 

I mean, should we buy warranties for everything now? Cars have been sold for most part of a hundred years without any "extended warranties." It's only fairly recently, the last couple decades, that the cash cow know as the automobile extended warranty has been offered to this extent.

 

I was offered an extra warranty for some $10 calculator a few years ago. Are you kidding me?

 

But here's the reality. Half of the people who buy new cars trade them in for another within three years. You won't use it anyway. You can get a prorated refund but you'll never get the money back you paid for three years. Well, you can but there's a lot of strings on that specific coverage plan. Like rolling it over to the new car, not making a claim, keeping the car for a ridiculous amount of years and so forth.

 

I try to counsel people to save their money for life's real emergencies. It is the rare exception that you'll ever get what you pay into an extended warranty. The companies that sell them are betting that you won't make a claim. And they have the odds far in their favor.

[C. Charles Hahn]

My view on it is this: I always buy an extended warranty on any vehicle I plan to keep for an extended amount of time/mileage and not mod excessively like my Sierra. It's currently my primary driver but it isn't going to stay that way for its entire life with me, and it will stick around much longer than other vehicles I will own during that period; and that makes it worth buying the extra insurance on it IMHO.

 

Now on vehicles I plan to mod the hell out of or sell/trade within a short period of time, an extended warranty is a waste of money since it would likely be voided by my activities with it anyway.

[56kz2slow]

I have health insurance. I'm pretty sure the odds are stacked in their favor too but I would hate to have to go out of pocket in the event.

 

You can't put a price on your health though, but you can put a price on a power steering pump. You can't have a repair bill that is worth more than the truck, otherwise you send the truck to the crusher and get a new one. But from what I hear, in the US you can get a health bill that is certainly worth more than your truck (correct me if I am wrong).

 

For people that can't afford to pay big repairs (I don't have the cash handy, but I have credit). It's probably best to invest the money you would have paid for the extended warranty. If you need the money for repairs, take it. If you don't, use it as a down payment on your next vehicle.

 

If your credit was good enough to buy a truck that still can get extended warranty, your credit is also good enough to borrow a couple thousand bucks for expensive repairs.

 

Just add up the cost of all the extended warranties of all the items you purchase, you will see see it adds up quick.

 

I'd be interested to see a poll to see how many people bought extended warranty and did not need it and how many people did not buy it and did not need it VS those that bought it and needed it and those that did not and would have needed it. (holy ****, that's a run on sentence).