Thank god for extended warranties

Actually a lot more involved than CAFE. They also meet a lesser safety standard - which is less onerous and less costly.

It's the dealerships.... People need to realized that they are buying a car from a dealer, not from the manufacturer. Too many people I know think that when they are buying 'A' Ford, they are buying 'FROM' Ford. They are not, and the extended warranties that are offered at the time of purchase are from a 3rd party company that has a deal going with the dealership, and not the manufacturer. The ONLY extended warranty anyone should ever get (if you insist for some reason to have one - I don't) is a Manufacturer's Extended Warranty, that way as long as Ford is in business, your in business and can go to any dealer for warranty work.

The main reason for this is that most people work the cost of the extended warranty into the final price of the vehicle. Most think it's a "Ford" warranty, when in fact most are third party and people are so excited to get in the new car, they don't take the time to go through the fine print. Most cases, the extended warranty price is spread out for 5 years (depending on the loan length). 6 Months after the purchase of your car, you get notice that the 3rd party company that was to cover the extended warranty on your car is going or is now out of business. You are still under the manufacturer's warranty for now, but congrats...you just paid for a service you will never be able to use when you get to 30,001 miles. There is a reason dealers schedule all the signing on the day your going down to pick up your shiny new car. Be prepared to walk away, even if you have done all the legwork and loan and have the certified check from the bank made out to the dealer on you.

Yes, buying the car without a presale inspection was really dumb, but I have to tell you the AC worked perfectly when I got the car. Normally I always have a car inspected by an independent before buying, but I just had a good, gut feeling about the dealership and the salesperson. They fixed everything I found wrong, which wasn't much, before the final sale. As for interest, not an issue. I paid cash for the car and the warranty. Also, I know the warranty was probably not a Ford warranty, but I never had to pay a dime when I picked up the car. I'll have to check, but I honestly don't know if they will pay for repairs done outside of a Ford dealer. They will pay for a tow and a rental if needed.

I mean, if the repair is going to be free I don't mind going to the dealer even though it's 45 miles away.

No, I wanted clarification on why you're calling them Vans. I've never seen any federal definition for van, but the Feds have a lot of rules and I might have missed one or two. ;) So where exactly are you getting this NHTSA definition for what a van is?

Derek