Extended Service Plan???

Have any of you bought an extended warranty from one of the online websites? Looking to get a 7yr./100k mile Extended Service Plan for my '02 Explorer.

So far, I've priced them here:

formatting link
Thoughts? Suggestions?

Thanks-

Reply to
Tom C.
Loading thread data ...

I have one thru the ford esp plan. Good plan.

Reply to
My Own Little Universe

It's a good idea for the Explorer. It will pay for itself as soon as you have to replace the front hubs... which you will by around 70K.

Rob

Reply to
trainfan1

Save your money, preferably in a bank. Historically less than one percent of ALL Ford extended service plans ever pay out more than their cost plus any deductibles

mike hunt

"Tom C." wrote:

Reply to
MikeHunt2

Not if you do the proper maintenance. If you do the proper maintenance they should last for the life of the vehicle.

mike hunt

tra>

Reply to
MikeHunt2

I never buy them. It's a real waste of money, but they sure make it sound good. Just my .02

Spdloader

Reply to
Spdloader

I disagree with this: Save your money, preferably in a bank. Historically less than

I own a 2000F150 that is WELL maintained and all service done on time and maintenance items watched. On a recent trip to NY I had a major starter failure that created a large load on the battery cables as well as starter that actually caught fire before the fusible link cut in. Towing, new starter, starter solenoid, starter relay, new battery cables, rental truck for 5 days and labor that WAS all covered under warranty exceeded the cost of my orig. Ford ESP cost when I bought it. Buddies tranny went out at 43,000 miles due to a internal part failure--cost was way over his warranty cost. Guy I work with had the #3 plug blow on his Lightning and cost of new head, labor, coil and etc was way under his warranty cost also. All 3 of our plans have 50.00 deductible with the premium care and 1 repair has already paid for the warranty on each. All 3 vehicles are all well serviced and maintained at required service intervals and most times sooner. Any more repairs after this are all more benefits to be had with a 50.00 deductible with any warranty repair. You never know when a major part can fail EVEN when well maintained and cost could be in the thousands.............. So much for the 1% idea in my opinion and better safe than sorry if you plan on keeping a vehicle for 5-6 yrs nowadays with repair costs getting higher and higher.

Reply to
Fordowner

So that makes you one of the one percent, that all.

mike hunt

Fordowner wrote:

Reply to
MikeHunt2

What is the proper maintenance for the sealed front hubs on the Explorer?

Or the S-10 platform Blazer/Jimmy/Bravada? (HUGE problem with those hubs at $580.00 each)

Rob

Reply to
trainfan1

It depends largely on the vehicle - you have to realize that Ford is selling the ESP on gazillions of vehicles like the Taurus/Sable & CV/GM/TC that have a very low claim rate... and it's easy to sell too because it can be paid for with the ultra-low interest rate loans available.

I'll bet that the 1% is pretty darn close...

Rob

Reply to
trainfan1

Price it at

formatting link

When I got an ESP on my '99 Explorer they beat every other dealer hands down.

Reply to
Jacque Uler

Extended service plans are just a form of insurance. Ford (and everyone else) who sells them has better information on the claims rate than you do. With this superior information, they should know how to price them so that they make money. Most extended service plans have very high profit margins. I have heard that dealers make as much as 50% right off the top. Then there is the cost of administering the plan, advertising the plan, and finally paying actual claims. I doubt if more than 40% of the money paid in for the policies actually goes towards paying for repairs (probably a lot less). This implies that for the "average" person, extended service plans are a very very bad deal. You get a better pay out playing blackjack in Vegas.

Does this mean you shouldn't buy an extended service plan? Well no. That still depends on you. I have bought them on several vehicles and never gotten a cent out of them (1981 Audi, 2001 Mustang, 2003 Expedition). In fact I have never owned a vehicle where an extended service plan was a "winner" for me. So why did I buy them? My explanations (rationalizations?) are as follows -

'81 Audi Coupe - I loved the car, but friends (including two Audi owners) warned me that they were maintenance nightmares. So, I bought the extended warranty. At 50K miles, the car was running fine, but I was tired of it and sold it. No claim was ever made against the extended warranty.

2001 Mustang GT - When I bought the car I expected to only keep it for 2 to 3 years. However I drive a lot (20K miles a year on this one car). So I looked at the extended warranty as a sales tool for the used car (3 year old car with 60K miles). In the end I traded the car in at around 40K miles. I had the Ford ESP and they rebated me about 35% of the original cost of the ESP when I canceled it.

2003 Expedition - This was the first year of the "new" version Expedition. I had a 1997 Expedition that in 148,000 miles only required about $500 total of out of warranty repairs (one coil pack, one alternator). However, given the changes in the 2003 (IRS, smaller transmission, more powerful engine, etc.), I believed there was increased risk that the vehicle might suffer from some unforeseen problems. So far (50K miles), these fears have proven groundless. However, I still don't feel too bad about the money spent.

In the end, extended warranties are like any other insurance policy. They mitigate risk. Compared to policies for some other areas (home owners, or even regular car insurance) they are way over priced (at least in my opinion). The dealers mark them up way too much. I also won't touch a policy from a third party. I know some are just fine, but if I am going to spend the money, I am going to buy it from the vehicle manufacturer. If you want a policy, you should also negotiate the price. The dealers have a lot of room to lower the price on these policies without affecting the coverage. If having the insurance makes you more comfortable, then I say spend the money. Just don't expect it to make financial sense on its own merits. I am very sure I if I had put the money in the bank for the three policies I have bought, I'd be ahead financially. On the other hand, if the engine in my Expedition goes south tomorrow, I may decide I did the right thing. I am getting a significant "warm feeling" because I have the ESP. So far I still think it was worth the cost.

Ed

"Tom C." wrote:

Reply to
C. E. White

I agree with most of the posts so far. Extended warranties are almost always overpriced, and seldom pay for themselves (the clerk at Office Depot tried to sell me an extended warranty for a $20 answering machine the other day. Couldn't understand why I wouldn't buy it. Cost of the warranty? $20!) I make it a policy NEVER to buy them.

However, there is one question that no one has yet asked. Do you have any signs of incipient failures?

When I bought my 02 Explorer V-8 XLT, I refused the extended warranty even though the dealer pushed it hard. I haggled with him a while (I wanted to see where he would go), and he cut his price substantially. I had no intention of buying it, but I kept his paperwork and his quote.

However, by 30,000 miles, I experienced the infamous "howling rear end", had the rear end replaced at Ford's expense, and had the new rear end begin to howl. In addition, I began to have transmission problems that everyone assured me were "not a problem". At 35,000 miles, I got nervous, bit the bullet, and bought the ESP Plan direct fgrom Ford. Haven't used it yet (65K miles), but I feel a lot more comfortable. The rear end continues to howl (which may not be a problem), but the transmission continues to deteriorate, and I may yet need it.

Interesting detail - I bought the plan directly from Ford, and paid $400 less than the dealer's "best" price. On a $1000 policy, that's a lot.

The second link you provided gets you the Ford plan, but through a dealer. You can bet that he takes a big bite as your money passes through him.

Bill

Reply to
Bill Jeffrey

Can you cite references for this claim rate?

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

I would take the money and put it in the bank. If you do this for every vehicle you own, you will come out ahead. If I put $1000 for the ESP in my bank account on my 1997 Contour, I would have about $1150 there now.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

sure. but you didn't. most people don't have cash lying around. they finance this expense too. it doesn't just buy repairs. it buys peace-of-mind. it's like locking in your mortgage rate. it may be higher than it needs to be, but you KNOW you can carry it. same with the ESP. i always recommend it.

what i do just before it expires is go to the NHTSA web site and review all the TSBs for my vehicle. then i go to the dealership and pretend i feel some of the symptoms. they check and sometimes i get stuff fixed that hadn't yet shown up. ...thehick

Reply to
frank-in-toronto

The one time I bought a warranty was on a used Mitsubishi Eclipse. After the deal was done, the dealer started on the warranty; he wanted $1,200. We finally settled on $250 and some change. That should give you an idea of the profit margin on those things.

Check out your credit union, your driving club (AAA), etc. They typically offer decent warranties at far lower cost.

The dealer offers peace of mind but at a horrendous markup. I really think that they could offer the warranty straight-up at something like a hundred a year, going up as the vehicle got older, but that's too simple. That's really what you want; someone who will sell you mechanical insurance on the vehicle, based on loss history and not dealer fluff.

--Kamus

Reply to
Kamus of Kadizhar

That could work well. In my case I had a 1989 Mustang with a Ford Extended warranty from the dealer. When the vehicle decided to start idling at 1200 -2200 rpm sometimes, and the only way to stop it was shut off the engine and restart, fun while driving, I took it in under warranty. The dealer the 3 times I took it in couldn't find any problem and said $75 each time for diagnostic fees, since nothing was found there was nothing to warrant.

Reply to
I.Care

I haven't replaced one yet on the current flavour of Exploder (I don't recall any of the other guys doing one either). I have my own opinion of extended warrantees and I wont bore you folks with what's been discussed. I will mention that you should read the conditions VERY CAREFULLY before signing the cheque.

Reply to
Jim Warman

Read the warranty CAREFULLY to see what is and what is not covered. Most of the extended warranty plans I've seen have a specific list of parts they will cover. If the part(s) that failed aren't on the list, you're SOL. If the contract doesn't have the list, call the warranty administrators and ask them to send you the list.

Reply to
The OTHER Kevin in San Diego

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.