Californian here trying to shop for extended warranty

[CAroute-1]

Hello,

I am trying to shop for an extended warranty and I looked at Granger, Ziegler and Flood which they all do not accept California state. How do California residents shop and purchase their extended warranty?

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[RickMachE]

Pay full price from in-state dealership. State law.

 

[Fins160]

Avoid any extended warranty. Put the monthly payment into an investment fund. Live your life without the scam.

 

[superdave80]

I’ve heard some people just put in a non-California address when purchasing online. The warranty is tied to the VIN, and is good at any dealership in any state.

 

[thenew3]

Hello,

I am trying to shop for an extended warranty and I looked at Granger, Ziegler and Flood which they all do not accept California state. How do California residents shop and purchase their extended warranty?

When I reached out to Granger, they said I just need a mailing address out of state. They don't actually mail anything out to that address and the warranty is good at any ford dealer in the country.

I was going to give them my employer's head quarter address in Texas. They said that would work.

 

[RonOinAZ]

When I reached out to...

You know that Ford personnel monitor this forum but even with that, you're certain you didn't just throw the vender under the bus?

 

[thenew3]

You know that Ford personnel monitor this forum but even with that, you're certain you didn't just throw the vender under the bus?

Others on this and other forums have mentioned the same, so I'm not the first one to mention that.

I didn't end up buying from Granger because the used MME I purchased already had a Ford extended warranty on it (6 yr 100k) and they said they couldn't extend it to 10 year until it was closer to the end of the 6 year term.

 

[RWG]

Recently I got a post card from Ford Protect for an extended warranty on our Mach E so I called the listed number for a quote from a Ford Warranty specialist.

The Postcard implies there are several warranty plans/options available.

The Facts,

• The person I talked to did not impress me as a specialist. I think it was his "first rodeo".
• There is only one extended warranty plan ( Premium) available and the quote for 5 years or 60K was about $2150, seemed a bit high.
• The quote for one year was $100 less. That did not seem right at all since the cost for 5 years was $2150 or amortized yearly at $450. So a one year is $2050?
• There was no discount for paying it all up front, just a 0% APR on a monthly payment. This seemed illogical because current interest rates are at least 5% or more. Ford would rather incur interest charges instead of getting paid up front?

I am disappointed with Ford. I bought a vehicle at MSRP price, waited 7 months to get it, residual value isn't even 50% of what I paid, 18 months later, Ford made promises to send a Tesla charging adapter and it is still not here after nearly a year, a few weeks ago they sent me a thank you loyalty letter and a replacement charging paid (which we did not need). Why?

We are not impressed with the gesture since we paid thousands of premium dollars for the car. All in all it is not up to my expectations as a loyal customer and is actually a bit insulting.

Bottom line: This type of treatment from Ford is disappointing and is too bad. The car is fine, works OK for us but at 28K miles and a 36 month warranty it is time to think of getting rid of it because we know from experience, this car is very expensive and inconvenient to repair and that is driven by:

• It is limited production, last I read they have built at little over 100,000 of them which by manufacturing standards is a "drop in the bucket." So all Service Parts are OEM at seemingly premium prices.
• The only service source is the OEM dealer at premium OEM prices.
• There are a bunch of special procedures, tools and therefore dealer costs required to be a bonafide service provider. Those extra costs get passed on to the customer.
• The basic design of the vehicle, and required service procedures drive up the cost. Example: If there are problems with any of the forward sensors, after replacement, there is an additional cost to "calibrate" the system or if you bump a raccoon with the front end, it will cost thousands of dollars to repair, broken shutters, plastic parts, etc.
• For something as simple as tire service, some tire shops will not touch an EV because of technical liability risks so some owners had no choice but to call the dealer and pay OEM prices for simple tire repairs.
• Insurance companies are raising the rates for an EV dramatically.
• The tires for an EV are special. I have been told it is an EV tire designed to roll easier to improve range. That is short sighted, if a tire was designed to improve range it should be standard on ALL vehicles, not just the EV. As it is, it is a limited production tire and VERY expensive.
• Etc.

Conclusion: The grand experiment to adopt an EV is/was expensive and the claims of low maintenance costs are not true.

As such I am researching other warranty providers and other EV manufacturers. We paid upwards of $60k cash for this car, and I accepted that financial premium as part of the cost of being a "first mover". We bought the vehicle fully aware of the upfront cost premiums and I know things have not work out as planned for Ford. But in the end it appears we are left "holding the financial bag" with no empathy from Ford. Fortunately we can afford it but it makes no sense to keep a $60k MSRP vehicle, watch the residual value drop to scrap price and then toss the vehicle when the batteries are dead. The current price for new batteries is equal to or greater than the current residual value of the car.

Fortunately for us, there are alternatives.

PS: I just called the number one rated third party extended warranty group, here in Minnesota, and was told they will not sell an Extended Warranty for the Mach e. That was surprising and disappointing.

 

[David bernd]

Hello,

I am trying to shop for an extended warranty and I looked at Granger, Ziegler and Flood which they all do not accept California state. How do California residents shop and purchase their extended warranty?

move out of that crazy state

 

[leehinde]

move out of that crazy state

Says the guy from FL. Hah.

 

[CAroute-1]

is it worth even getting the extended warranty?

 

[RyZt]

You know that Ford personnel monitor this forum but even with that, you're certain you didn't just throw the vender under the bus?

Why would Ford care? This is a California law, not a Ford rule.

 

[CAroute-1]

I just called a local Ford Dealer to inquire about extended warranty. They said there is an inspection fee of $200 first for me purchase any extended warranty....

 

[RyZt]

There should not be any inspection if you're within 41 months 41000 miles.

 

[RWG]

As a follow up to my Extended Warranty quest.

I just signed up with Car Shield but it may or may not have been the right choice. However, of all the Extended Warranty providers, they had the most flexible plans and the longer I resisted, the price kept dropping. From about $150 per month to about $90 considering our usage situation. There are Pros and Cons with every supplier. Car Shield is a bit different than the usual extended warranty plan with some unfortunate restrictions; Example; The maximum claim exposure is $6000 per month or year. So they have limited their financial liability to $6k per year. That could be fine or could be a problem, considering the price of Mach e parts. The fact that they charge a monthly fee, while everyone else charges a flat term fee is surprising.

Another drawback is at their discretion, they can call for tear down and inspection of failed components, but the client has to pay for that. I assume this gives them added flexibility to see if a failed part fits the program caveats.

Is it worth it? Good question and difficult to answer. In our case, we like the car but it is a future cost risk, based on our past experience with having repairs done and considering the considerable cost.

Because of the 25 day cancellation grace period I am still researching other Extended Warranty providers.

Time will tell.

PS: Car Shield has some good customer ratings on platforms like Google and some others. However their BBB reviews are horrible. . . . interesting,

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