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.
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?
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.
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,
-- Todd H.
2001 Legacy Outback Wagon, 2.5L H-4 Chicago, Illinois USA
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.