Thank god for extended warranties

It is insurance to pay damages to a third party, by definition - the other guy. It does not cover damages YOU suffer (except in the case of no-fault insurance, technically)

They're cars too. I seem to recall reading a article talking about the PT Cruiser being certified as a light truck for CAFE reasons. I suspect the HHR is a "truck" for the same reason.

Here's one article that says that...

What platforms were they on? That's before my time.

Derek

I agree, but in this case I got the warranty because I never got the car checked out before I bought it, and I wanted to be able to drive away without thinking about repairs. My last car threw a rod, and that's why I now have the Escape. The math is simple: I spent 2200 on a warranty/insurance, only had the car for two months and the money I spent went towards a 2000 repair that I would have had to pay if not for the warranty. Keep in mind I've only had the car for two months, and it's a 48 month 48,000 mile warranty, so I have a lot of warranty left to go.

True, I probably could have gotten the repairs cheaper at a private shop, but once again, I have a lot of warranty left and it covers a lot. Was I unlucky? Absolutely. Never heard of an AC unit disintegrating and taking out the rest of the components. Did the warranty pay off? Absolutely. Was I a sucker? Not in this case. :-)

I haven't had an accident in years and years, but my last two cars gave up on me mechanically. A warranty would have done me a lot more good than accident insurance, although it is required by law.

True, most cars are never good investments, unless you really luck out.

In Colorado it's a car.

$2200 minus $2000 means that you paid a lot more than you got out of the warranty. Plus, as you admit, you could have gotton the work for less, probably a lot less.

Ford doesn't sell warranty because it makes a great product - They sell it because they make money on them. A lot of money. And, so do the dealers (like 50%).

Jeff

Actually the Mazda are generally based on the Ford designed chassis, not the other way around. It is no unusual to first sell the lower volume vehicle before using it on a high volume vehicle. The Mazda version of the Ranger was an exception, however.

Which Mazdae are built on platforms developed by Ford, rather than Mazda? Of all the cars that I know of that share a platform for Ford and Mazda, Mazda designed it.

You're right. The Ford Ranger and Mazda B-series sold in the US, Canada, Brasil, Chile, Mexico and Argentia is an exception to the rule. It was built on a Ford Platform. However, the European Ford Ranger (sold in all countries except those listed above) is actually a Mazda-designed truck.

Jeff

The VAST MAJORITY of used car warrantees - and even extended warrantees on new cars are NOT sold by the manufacturer. They are sold by third party "warrantee companies" who package an insurance product as a warrantee.

Some are good, some are mediocre, and some are just plain crooked.

Ranchero was originally on a fairlane, then a falcon (and even t Torino) platform - and actually used many of the body parts and virtually all the running gear parts, of those base models. The El Camino started on the full-sized Chevy car platform and migrated to the Chevelle / Malibu - again using the car front body sheetmetal and complete running-gear/chassis from the car. The Rampage was built on the Onmi/Horizon TC3 platform - again using all the chassis parts and front sheet-metal.

Moving on to the dodge Ram mini-van and the Magic-wagon derivatives - they were based on the K-Car platform - but used NONE of the K-Car sheet-metal - not even the floor pans. Same goes for the PT, based on the Neon platform - and the HHR based on the Cobalt?.

Because when the rear seats are stowed or removed they have a flat load floor they are all considered VANS - not cars.

How are you saying it was an exception? The Ranger is a FORD design, through and through - sold as a Mazda. The Courier was a Mazda design - sold as a Ford. ANd I'm not sure how much "ford DNA" is in the 626 Mazda, on which platform the Ford Fusion is based. Same with the ealier Mazda based Escort and the current Mazda-based Focus.

More accurately, few are good, few are mediocre and most are rip-offs. Why anyone would buy warranties from insurance companies without checking out how well the companies pay out claims is beyond me.

Jeff

It is an exception to the rule that most Ford vehicles that share a platform with Mazda as based on a Mazda design, not a Ford design.

There are two Ford Rangers. The one sold in the US is designed by Ford. The one sold in most other countries, including those in Europe, is designed by Mazda.

Actually, the Ford Focus is based on a European design. The Mazda 3 series is also based on the same European design. The next generation Focus will be the same as the one sold in Europe, rather than just based on a European-designed platform.

Likewise, the Ford Escort platform was derived from a European design.

Jeff

I fully understand that these warranties are aftermarket warranties sold by a third party. I also understand that there is a lot of profit in these warranties, and in most cases one would never see $2200 worth of repairs outside of normal wear and tear. I also understand that one can often get repairs done cheaper, and sometimes better, as a private shop. But, in my case the math doesn't lie. I trusted the dealer to sell me a warranty that would serve me well, and AFAIK it is good at any Ford dealer. I also know when you sign that contract and it says CAR SOLD AS IS the dealer isn't going to do anything for me if something breaks.

It was a tough decision to spend that much on an extended warranty, and in the majority of cases it would never pay off. You can look at these warranties and repairs from a lot of angles, and most of you all make sense, but I still think I did good in this case. Had I not had the warranty, and let's say I took it to a private shop, I would still be out a bunch of money. Just letting a shop "check" your AC often costs upwards of $200, and unless you buy your components used, they also cost a bundle.

Yeah, you lost interest on the money and you paid more for the insurance than the repair would have cost you. You lost.

You trusted a dealer?

Bingo!

Except that you spend more for the warranty than you would have paid for repairs.

Whatever. You're still behind.

Jeff

You don't by insurance with an expectation to "win or lose" in the absolute sense. It's a game of probability. You assess the odds of needing the insurance against what the insurance costs and decide if in any particular situation it makes sense to buy it. By it's very nature, most people who buy insurance WILL lose in strictly money accounting terms. In the OPs case he has already come out ahead/even by HIS assessment of HIS needs. And he still has a lot of time left on his coverage and he might wind up in the minority who collect more then the policy costs. Few people with understanding of insurance would expect to "win" in the sense of "making money" on an extended car warrantee just as most people won't "win" by trading in their 3 year old car on a new one. Not every decision in life is assessed purely in terms of dollars and cents or we'd all be living in a 200 sf house with no heating or cooling and riding a motorcycle to work.

Actually, that's taking the subway or riding a bike to work.

Insurance should just be for the major events in life that are too expensive to cover by yourself and to protect others (like some liability insurance). It is essentially sharing the costs.

Repair work on a car doesn't make the cut of worthwhile insurance (nor does insurance on washers, driers or most computers).

Jeff

I was referring to the basic chasses. The "Ranger," sold by Mazda, his different packaging and trim but it is the same vehicle and is assembled in the same Ford assembly plant. The previous Mazda pickup and was imported as was the Ford version until Ford started to built the "Ranger," sold by Mazda

It is only the Ford designed chassis that is used by Mazda in the "6," the drive train, body panels and interior are Mazda designs.

The Taurus, Flex and Lincoln MKS are all built off the same basic chassis, but everyone is different than the other.

You might ask why anyone buys an extended warranty from ANYBODY? Statically, less than 2% of all manufactures warranty ever pay our more than the total cost of the extended warranty and the deductibles.

Interestingly, most buyers in our foreign brand stores bought the vehicle they did because they believed the were "better." Yet we able to sell extended warranties to a much higher percentage of our to import brand buyers, than we could to buyers in our domestic brand stores.