Guess this is a multipart question...
1. Are extended warranties worth it.?
2. Is Ford the only game in town ?
3. Anybody get a deal from Ford ?

I bought my extended warranty from Toyota for my TCH at cost. After I had a prices from a firm called 'Warranty Direct' My 8yr, 100,000, 0 ded platium Toyota warranty was $990 - Original Toyota price was $1700 plus

Fords appears to be closer to $2000

 

Well, I got a 5 year 75,000 mile Premium Ford warranty (good till June 9,2012) for about $878.00. My local dealer had a special in the Fall and I gambled that it would pay off. I knew of the issue with the water pump (via Gary G's. information) which is around a $400.00 dealer repair bill.

If I remember correctly, the 7 year 100,000 warranty at the time was something like $1350.00.

 

Extended warranties are only "worth it" if you feel a low probability repair might cause you extreme financial hardship.

The warranty is really an insurance policy. You have a substantial new car warranty already. Statistically, the insurance company knows they will only have to pay out about 50% of the warranty cost and they will have your money immediately to invest.

Why do some companies offer lower rates than Ford? They are willing to accept a lower profit, they know they can make collecting very difficult without the PR problem Ford would have, and they can go out of business if payouts get too high.

If you haven't guessed, I never buy extended warranties.

 

Agree, 100%. Never insure against a loss you can sustain.

 

If the vehicle needs extra insurance, then maybe I shouldn't be buying it.

The other big profit item is GAP insurance. I got the credit union to throw it in, Ford dealer wanted $400.00 for it. It's only about a $15 policy per year in Indiana.

 

Might want to read this before you consider an extended warranty not provided by the manufacturer (note in the story that they mention that these are also sold by used car dealers).

"Thousands stuck with worthless car warranties"
http://www.startribune.com/business/12387251.html

I've always been anti- extended warranties, especially when they are from third parties. They are just gravy on the top for whoever sells them.

 

Just be careful of who will do the service for your Extended Warranty.

My son found that the "any service facility" clause all too often means "no service facility". In other words, if it is up to the service facility to participate, then most will not. That is due to many problems they encounter like long lag time in payment, the required use of "junk yard" parts instead of new or rebuilt parts, low hourly rates, and waiting for a field-rep to inspect/authorize the repair.

 

I have had 5 cars in my life. My latest I bought Monday (yes, I traded in the FEH for a car that better suits my needs *sniff*).
My first car I bought a thinrd party warranty that was not even worth the paper it was written on. About 6 months later the MN Atty General sued the pants off them.
My second car I bought the GM extended warranty; it paid for itself after the first repair (replacing the Bose radio) and came in handy when my tranny blew out at 67,000 miles.
My third car was the gas Escape; didn't buy any extras and I drove the car about 5000 past factory warrant.
My fourth was the FEH; no need.
My fifth is a Mazda CX-7 and I bought the warranty because of its coverage of the electronics system, moonroof, and tires (my sister's tires have already had a failure; a pair is $500, so about one-third the warranty cost).
It is up to you, obviusly, but I will never again buy from a third party. One thing to keep in mind: like KenG said, it's an insurance policy, and as such the company offering it must be registered to sell insurance in your state for it to be a valid policy. Check with your Department of Commerce, Insurance or whoever regulates this industry in your state.

 

Mary, Good luck with your CX-7. I see it comes with the same size (2.3L) engine as the Escape Hybrid but has turbocharging. I assume you got the AWD version based upon some of your previous reports of the 2wd Escape in the snow.

 

Sorry I'm to cold from the recent power outage to search, but one of my previous posts (5-6 months ago) shows the warrenty I got for my FEH. I don't know if this was a dealer special, a Hybrid special, limited time or on going, but for about $1100 I got something like a 5 yr 75k warrenty as well, but with a cool loophole, if I don't use it, I can request a full refund on it! The loop hole seems to be, any warenty work, weather in the first 36mos, or not, counts so gotta make sure anything I might have done is worth big $ first! I'd hate to lose $1k over a $50 part!

I hope to never need it, but I got it incase I do, esp with all the electronics these days, Hybrid system apart.
My last vehicle, Ford Freestar minivan, I bought one for it, luckily I traded for the FEH about a year later so I got like an 80-90% refund. Never used it, but would have in the next month or so as it started whineing at 60mph, and the automatic doors were going crazy.
Before that was a 2000 Expedition EB. Still have it, 65k miles on it. Warrenty paid for a broken drives window motor. Did not cover the broken lumbar support or the broken rear washer fluid line (slipt above the 3rd row seats, so I can now shower a kid! I'm sure I had something else done, but can't recall what. So probably didn't get my $1-1500K out of that deal.

Might as well flip a coin if it's worth it or not. If you have savings, might stick the 1K in there, collect interest, and if you need a repair outside 3yr, just pay for it. Who knows. But I like the refund option I have! use it or get it back!

Here the post I made earlier: https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...tml#post133276