Extended Warranty purcahse (on Subaru)

[amanda992004]

Two days ago, I met by a FORMER car saleman (the bf of my sister's
front office secretary who QUIT working as a car saleman because he
couldn't take advantage on people and had decided to study pharmacy).
He suggested me to purchase extended warranty when I purchase legacy.
I found out that he helped my sister with her purchase of Mercedes a
few years ago. He is going to help me with my purchase as he has a lot
of friends in the business.

He told me to buy the extended warranty from the dealer where the car
is purchased saying other places might not cover exactly the same
thing. he also said that it has to be purchased at the time of car
purchase.

To those of you with some experience in this area, I'll apprecaiet it
if you would share your knowledge.

 

[l.lichtman]

I don't have particular information about Subaru extended warranties,
but I can say, and it is commonly known, that extended warranties on
most products are NOT a good deal. Extended warranties are just a form
of insurance. It makes sense to buy insurance against losses that you
cannot afford to bear yourself, such as your house. But if you are
able to pay for car repairs, you should not buy insurance for that.
Insurance has to be a good deal for the insurer--if they don't make
money, they are gone. Why should you pay for their operating costs and
profit?

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

If you do get one, try to get the actual official Subaru Corp. one as it
is most likely to ; A. not go out of business and B. Be accepted at
other dealerships around the country.

Also ask if it is transfereble. Ask when is the absolute last day you
can purchase it. No sencse in paying for it to OVERLAP the existing
warranties.(many aspects of auto failure these days affect emmissions -
and there is a generous emissions warranty mandated by the gumint already.)

If you do not put many miles on your cars ina year - you might
investigate the ext. warranty offered by Geico - no time limit, if it
takes you 12 years to get to 100K miles they don't care.

Generally, I feel you're better off putting the money you'd spend on an
ext. warranty in a money market fund or something. They are calculated
to yield about 50% profit. It's a gamble. Don't forget, it won't cover
some very annoying things like worn out batteries. Plus, you must keep
to the maintanence schedule or they could use that as an excuse to not
cover an expense.
You might consider roadside assistance (extended past the normal time)
or a maintenance program (sometimes you can get that trhown in with a
purchase). Also, ask the dealerships at which you shop about their
loaner car policy, school/work drop-off shuttle or if they offer a
pick-up service etc. Don't rely on the saleman's word for that stuff -
get it/see it in writing.

Carl

 

[Todd H.]

Two days ago, I met by a FORMER car saleman (the bf of my sister's
front office secretary who QUIT working as a car saleman because he
couldn't take advantage on people and had decided to study pharmacy).
He suggested me to purchase extended warranty when I purchase legacy.
I found out that he helped my sister with her purchase of Mercedes a
few years ago. He is going to help me with my purchase as he has a lot
of friends in the business.

He told me to buy the extended warranty from the dealer where the car
is purchased saying other places might not cover exactly the same
thing. he also said that it has to be purchased at the time of car
purchase.

To those of you with some experience in this area, I'll apprecaiet it
if you would share your knowledge.

A little knowledge can lead one to a misleading conclusion. You
don't say, but I'm guessing this individual didn't work fora Subaru
dealers.

Generally, yes, you do need ot be careful with extended warranties,
and common issues that trip people up are portability (will another
dealer honor it), and also, profit margin. Extended warranties can be
huge profit items for dealers, and there is alot of markup out there,
so it pays to shop around.

However...Subaru of America's extended warranties can be purchased
from any Subaru delaer, or from Subaru directly (at the max price of
course). any dealer is bound to honor the SOA extended warranty
regardless of where the warranty was purchased. But... it must be the
Subaru of America extended warranty, and not any sort of private
extended warranty.

I was amazaed when I shopped around differed sources for the exact
same SOA warranty to find marked price difference. Search the
newsgroups for old posts at groups.google.com for my specificis. I
bought my extended warranty at Curry Subaru of Chicopee MA because
they choose to sell them at much lower margins that my local dealers
want to rape me for. Note that I've never been to Chicopee, MA. My
car is serviced at Subaru dealers in Chicago, and honoring hte
warranty has never been a problem.

Extended warranties are always a gamble. You're gambling that your
car will have enough issues to have the warranty pay for itself.
Whether it'll pay back for your particular subaru is anyone's guess.

Best Regards,

 

[amanda992004]

Carl 1 Lucky Texan wrote:

Generally, I feel you're better off putting the money you'd spend on an
ext. warranty in a money market fund or something. They are calculated
to yield about 50% profit.

I agree.

Don't rely on the saleman's word for that stuff - get it/see it in writing.

Yup, unless I see it in writing, I won't give weight to their words.

<snip>

 

[amanda992004]

Thanks a lot everyone for all the info.

 

[Chris Werner]

Like most purchases, Extended Warranty cost is negotiable so you should
bargain for the best deal that you can. The Subaru extended warranty
mirrors your initial warranty, including roadside service, to 100k miles. In
my experience, the Extended Warranty has always saved me money.

Chris

 

[amanda992004]

If you do not put many miles on your cars in a year - you might

investigate the ext. warranty offered by Geico - no time limit, if it
takes you 12 years to get to 100K miles they don't care.

I just called Geico and was told this:
$32 per 6months (in additonal to insurance policy): 7yr/100k mi/250 de
covering all mechanical and electrical stuff. They don't have one with
no time limit. This would overlap manufacturer's 3 year warranty.

 

[amanda992004]

If you do not put many miles on your cars in a year - you might

investigate the ext. warranty offered by Geico - no time limit, if it
takes you 12 years to get to 100K miles they don't care.

I just called Geico and was told this:
$32 per 6months (in additonal to insurance policy): 7yr/100k mi/250 de
covering all mechanical and electrical stuff. They don't have one with
no time limit. This would overlap manufacturer's 3 year warranty.

 

[amanda992004]

Extended warranties are always a gamble. You're gambling that your

car will have enough issues to have the warranty pay for itself.

I don't have the gambling personality/trait but I do play it safe and
so I think extended warranty is for me.

Whether it'll pay back for your particular subaru is anyone's guess.

It will give peace of mind and that's worth it.

BTW, I read your old posts and learned about curry's new website. It's
www.currysubaruwarranty.com, right? I haven't gone there yet..been too
busy.

 

[Dr. Rastis Fafoofnik]

I don't have the gambling personality/trait but I do play it safe and
so I think extended warranty is for me.

It will give peace of mind and that's worth it.

You are a shit-magnet........buy the warranty

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

Sorry, they must have changed it (
http://www.geico.com/auto/safety/mbi.htm) since I last looked.
Still, it's pay as you go , so you'd only be out $32 if you sold the car
soon, I THINK it's an excluionary policy - meaning they tell you exactly
what isn't covered - instead of someone trying to weasel out of paying.
Plus, you can have the vehicle repaired anywhere. That could be
important if you have a problem many miles away from a Soob dealership.

There are probably other good policies too. The SoA one or Geico or
perhaps your own insurance co. offers one.

Too bad Geico altered theirs.

Carl

 

[Frank Logullo]

You are a shit-magnet........buy the warranty

What disturbs me, Rastis, is that like us, she likes Subarus
Frank

 

[amanda992004]

Frank Logullo wrote:

What disturbs me, Rastis, is that like us, she likes Subarus
Frank

I decided to read this thread - I don't use news reader - when I saw
that it's still alive. Made me realize that some people really don't
have much of a live.

BTW, if you can be disturbed that easily, I kind of feel sorry for you.