Extended Warranty?

[DBC]

I think $2750 seemed high as well, but I have little experience here and not much to compare it to. The screen (big and little), the hands-free assist monitor, and all other integrated electrics are my biggest concern.

The $2750 might be an unconscionable fleecing or a great deal. Depends on the terms. You have years. You have miles. And you have deductibles. Make sure you understand all the terms because price is just one of them.

FWIW that price might be OK for seven years and 70K miles past the basic warranty period with a zero deductible. Only way to know is to call around and get some quotes.

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[VegStang]

Never purchased an extended warranty, never needed one, minor issues I repair myself, but I do average annual miles on a vehicle <15k. I generally keep a vehicle for 10 years, the kinks work themselves out during the 3 yr warranty period. YMMV of course.

 

[machefan]

Probably not. Bought a 100K one with my Escape. At 103K miles had to replace the Turbo for $2,.300. Because I put a lot of mileage on quickly not worth it.

However, if any of the rest of you want one, send me your phone numbers and I will forward you the calls I get daily about extending my warranty.

Wait, can I please?

I ask because I already have 15 warranty's with just 2 cars, I just wanted them to stop calling and they wont.

"We have been trying to reach you..."

 

[machefan]

Never purchased an extended warranty, never needed one, minor issues I repair myself, but I do average annual miles on a vehicle <15k. I generally keep a vehicle for 10 years, the kinks work themselves out during the 3 yr warranty period. YMMV of course.

Yeah the old saying is one is just buying now for the future with money they have today. Usually the math does not work out unless you have a real lemon. I have to say I am on the fence about long term ownership given the future of bigger and better range and or driving features. I like the idea of an easy lease program, but I know going in the house always wins. So first thinking is finance as I have done in the past, however the preferred lease program might be a match.

I have a lifetime on my Jeep Wrangler just before they discontinued it. Was $2350 in 2017 and I have yet to have to use it, however the Jeep is a keeper. Side note, the lady of the house keeps reminding me how cool the Bronco is. Ugh

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

Please let me suggest different way that could be used to pay for repairs. For me, I never buy a Repair Insurance Policy. Essentially I self insure. I have a Maintenance Account where I deposit the amount I would pay in premiums, each month. This has really worked well for me. I purchased new cars in 1986, 1993, 2001, 2005, and 2015 and when something needed to be fixed I'd draw from that account. Only one major repair (transmission) was necessary between 1986 and today.

I was going to post something along these lines myself.

I have sometimes bought warranties and sometimes haven't, but ultimately the alternative of "put money into a liquid account with some entry level investment" would have likely been better in all cases so far.

That said, I just bought the gf a Ford ESP (Extended Service Plan) online on her C-Max online earlier this year because I didn't want to have to think about it.

It's honestly a bit of gambling like any kind of insurance-ish thing.

I will say that COVID-19 has messed this up a bit, because Ford policies at least are to a limit of years OR miles just like the factory warranty... And the years only go so far. So if you don't drive a lot and want to keep the car a very long time, you reach a point where the miles are way under but you hit time.

For example, I can't get a meaningful Ford ESP for my Fusion at this point (at least that I can find), not at almost 8 years old, even though mileage is super low.

As others have said though you can if you want buy online and finance it still - that's what I did from some random TX dealer (and my local dealer has already confirmed it shows active). Once we have warranty prices online I will make a call for this car. It certainly will be a negotiation point with the dealer since they like the margins etc. on them and want to sell one, but I can at least go in armed with online pricing for them to meet or beat.

 

[Accord07]

Never purchased an extended warranty, never needed one, minor issues I repair myself, but I do average annual miles on a vehicle <15k. I generally keep a vehicle for 10 years, the kinks work themselves out during the 3 yr warranty period. YMMV of course.

I have not purchased any extended warranty for any of the cars I have purchased new so far. Had I bought one for the first few vehicles it would have been wasted anyway, because none of them required expensive repairs until well after 100K miles. The jury is still out on the fourth, which is only three and a half years old with 70K miles, but even if something unexpected happens it will be just a wash at worst (relative to buying one for each of these vehicles). There are anecdotes such as yours and mine that suggest purchasing an extended warranty is a waste of money, there are also anecdotes in which an extended warranty saved the owner thousands of dollars on unexpected repairs despite the make/model of the vehicle having a solid track record of reliability. It comes down to a personal decision.

Please let me suggest different way that could be used to pay for repairs. For me, I never buy a Repair Insurance Policy. Essentially I self insure. I have a Maintenance Account where I deposit the amount I would pay in premiums, each month. This has really worked well for me. I purchased new cars in 1986, 1993, 2001, 2005, and 2015 and when something needed to be fixed I'd draw from that account. Only one major repair (transmission) was necessary between 1986 and today.

This is not perfect, but you have the warranty period to build up your account; then you would have funds to cover most, if not all of a repair, or all funds are available if repairs were unneeded. (It works even better if you don't stop depositing in the account).

I like your thinking. If I could not build up a cash reserve for unexpected repairs after paying for the car, then I certainly had a cash flow problem. When I was looking at the charging equipment at one of the Mach-E roadshow stops, the salesman gave the pitch that it was better than other options out there because I could roll it into the vehicle financing. I looked at him and said: "if I have to finance an $800 charger, then I can't really afford a $60K car."

 

[benk016]

I will say, I have purchased a premium care plan on several of my last vehicles. I also would typically by a vehicle used with 1 year left on the warranty and extend it to 7 years/100,000 miles. Usually costs between 1800 and 2000. and that is with the $0 deductible option.

The best part is with that plan, it is almost exactly the same as having your bumper to bumper warranty for 7/100,000. There are a FEW things that it doesn't cover that the b2b covers. But there are benefits to having it as well. The biggest one I have noticed is that if a dealer doesn't have a loaner car, you automatically get a rental car paid for. My dealer usually is booked for months for service if you need a loaner. But since I had the ESP, I could bring it in immediately and get a rental for free.

If you pay attention some of those dealers online that sell the plans will remove all the optional stuff and make you pay extra to add it back on. Those include light bulb coverage, key fob coverage, extended rental coverage and first day rental, and a key fob coverage. I've never done the fob coverage, but Have done all the rest.

Out of the 3 cars I've had it on, The plans saved me money every time.


A pro-tip. If you do plan on buying one, don't buy it until your b2b warranty is about to expire. It will cost I think $200 more, but when you buy the ESP, it actually deletes your b2b warranty and replaces it. So if you choose a plan with a deductible, and bring your car in for service a week after you get the car, you now have a deductible to pay for warranty work. You can also decide when you're at the end of the warranty if you are going to keep long enough to justify adding the cost of the ESP.


All this is based on the regular ICE vehicle ESP. They obviously could have a new plan that's for EV's, but just kind of wanted to throw out my experiences with the regular premiumcare ESP.

 

[macchiaz-o]

There are a FEW things that it doesn't cover that the b2b covers.

The list of excluded items includes tiny words like "squeaks" and "trim" but those categories include lots of items that won't be covered by Ford Protect.

when you buy the ESP, it actually deletes your b2b warranty and replaces it. So if you choose a plan with a deductible, and bring your car in for service a week after you get the car, you now have a deductible to pay for warranty work.

I do not believe this is true.

 

[benk016]

I do not believe this is true.

I had 3 different dealers in town tell me the same thing. When you buy an ESP, the year/mileage you buy is from date of manufacture. So if you buy an 8 year extended warranty just before year 3 of your b2b warranty, you're really only getting about a 5 year extended warranty.

 

[generaltso]

A pro-tip. If you do plan on buying one, don't buy it until your b2b warranty is about to expire. It will cost I think $200 more, but when you buy the ESP, it actually deletes your b2b warranty and replaces it. So if you choose a plan with a deductible, and bring your car in for service a week after you get the car, you now have a deductible to pay for warranty work.

That has not been my experience with Ford ESP contracts. It's an overlay to your existing B2B warranty. Some ESP benefits like first day rental coverage do kick in right away, which I've used several times since I hate shuttles. But things like deductibles only kick in after your B2B warranty expires.

 

[generaltso]

I had 3 different dealers in town tell me the same thing. When you buy an ESP, the year/mileage you buy is from date of manufacture. So if you buy an 8 year extended warranty just before year 3 of your b2b warranty, you're really only getting about a 5 year extended warranty.

Yes, that part is true. The part that is not true is that that your original B2B warranty will be replaced.

 

[Dangerfish]

I've always been insured through Geico and they offer "Mechanical Breakdown Insurance." Covers everything on the car through 7 years or 100K miles. Cost me $39 every 6 months. Screen shot attached because I know that is hard to believe. There is a $250 deductible if you need to use it. I have needed it on past cars and I think it is VERY worth it considering the price. You have to add it to your policy when the car is new before you have 12K miles on the car. So you do end up with double coverage on the car for a while. But I still think its worth it considering how inexpensive it is.

 

[ChasingCoral]

I've always been insured through Geico and they offer "Mechanical Breakdown Insurance." Covers everything on the car through 7 years or 100K miles. Cost me $39 every 6 months. Screen shot attached because I know that is hard to believe. There is a $250 deductible if you need to use it. I have needed it on past cars and I think it is VERY worth it considering the price. You have to add it to your policy when the car is new before you have 12K miles on the car. So you do end up with double coverage on the car for a while. But I still think its worth it considering how inexpensive it is.

The important thing to remember about all of these is they are insurance. Insurance is like gambling against the house in a casino. You may win some days but in the long run the casino makes money. You're providing the insurance company with profit. You're better off self-insuring if you can afford to do so.

 

[ab13]

I've always been insured through Geico and they offer "Mechanical Breakdown Insurance." Covers everything on the car through 7 years or 100K miles. Cost me $39 every 6 months. Screen shot attached because I know that is hard to believe. There is a $250 deductible if you need to use it. I have needed it on past cars and I think it is VERY worth it considering the price. You have to add it to your policy when the car is new before you have 12K miles on the car. So you do end up with double coverage on the car for a while. But I still think its worth it considering how inexpensive it is.

I've seen these policies, and since they are called mechanical breakdown does that mean it only covers the drive train? Does it cover things like the standard bumper to bumper warranty? Commonly those could include electrical parts.

Sorry, I see you wrote "covers everything". If true that is less than the extended warranty from a manufacturer, the main difference being the deductible. Though component exclusions may be different.

 

[ab13]

Bumping this, since perhaps the pricing is available now for the Mach E.

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