Subaru "Added Security" Extended Warranty Plan?

I bought my first new car in 1959. I've never had an extended warranty plan and only used the manufacturer's warranty a couple times as a result of door lock switches going bad. Could have used an extended warranty on my 1989 Honda Accord. I had some major work done in the past two years, but I don't know of any warranty that would have been good for 15 years!

I too received the added security plan for my new Subaru in the mail and will pass on it.

Bill

60K Mile Plan (actual extension time is 3 Years, 24K Miles) for $550.00. I have an ?04 Baja Turbo with 2,200 miles.

Some overlap in Warranty coverage exists with the "Added Security" 6/60 Plan due to the Subaru Powertrain Limited Warranty which covers the first 5 Years and 60K Miles. Therefore the Powertrain Coverage Components and Transaxle and Differential Coverage Components listed under the Subaru Powertrain

6/60 Limited Warranty are only extended 1 Year in duration and Zero Miles.

From my perspective, the Subaru "Added Security" Extended Warranty Plan wants $550.00 to cover the following major items for 3 Years, 24K Miles:

Engine - adds Turbo Charger and Fuel Injection components

All Wheel Drive Components - those not covered under the Subaru 6/60 Powertrain Limited Warranty.

Front Suspension Components

Brake Components - excluding pads but including calipers (fine print not evident).

Steering Components

Cooling & Fuel Components

Electrical Components - major Emissions Components are covered by Federal

8/80 Emissions Warranty.

Air Conditioning Components

Towing & Rental Car Reimbursement - towing $50.00 and Rental Car $30/day, Max $150.00 (I have outside coverage for both of these)

Given any Subaru experience you might have or any consumer reports, do you think that the Subaru "Added Security" Extended Warranty Plan for $550.00 to cover the above major items for 3 Years, 24K Miles is a good or bad investment?

I've always shied away from warranty that are not free and instead placed the funds in a savings account.

Howdy,

What I learned when I was shopping for my extended warranty was that the one Subaru mails you and tries to sell is you absolute overpriced crap. Like you, I endured the religious fervor with which people react when anyone mentions "I'd like to buy an extended warranty." Ignor that, but do konw that it's a gamble. If you don't have any problems with your car in the first 3 years, it probably wont' pay off, but me, I've had that thing into service plenty of times, and I'd like to keep this car for a good long time, so I gambled with buying the warranty.

Now, first thing you need to know is that they have two levels, of warranty, each available at a variety of year and mileage limits. One (named the Classic plan, at least a year ago when I went through this) is little more than a power train warranty, and at least when my car came up on 3 years, that's the crappy one they were plugging hardest on the mailers I was getting fromSubaru of America. The better one (which I bought, Gold Plus was the name at the time) is exclusionary coverage that covers everything except a list of certain things. I opted for 6yr/100k miles given my time horizons and mileage habits, and some early service history that makes me wanna gamble such that I'm going to use this warranty for mor ethan I spent.

The second thing you need to know is that Subaru sells these warranties through their dealers as well. And it's also no surprise to find out that what they offer you by mail has zero chance of undercutting their dealers--the mailer is probably the highest price you could possibly pay for these warranties.

Third, you get to pick what dealer you buy the warranty from, and it'll be honored no matter what Subaru dealer you choose to have your car serviced at. Various dealers have various policies on how much they discount their warranties.

So... in my case, on a tip from this newsgroup, I ended up visiting then subaruwarranty.com which at the time was a front end for Curry Subaru of Chicopee Massachusetts (fwiw, I live in Chicago). However, it seems that that site no longer exists, and furthermore it seems that Subaru of America bought the domain name from their dealer...hrmm.

I bought the Gold Plus coverage there for 6yr/100k, $0 deductible for $1184--a price that my local dealer told me was "simply impossible." However, I do have the genuine Subaru Extended Gold Plus warranty, it is the best warranty they've got, and my local dealer is cheerfully servicing my vehicle under this warranty with no problems--even though they weren't willing to come anywhere close on the price.

So, shop around for that warranty even out of your local area, and bargain like a madman. Myself, I'd start with a phone call to Curry Subaru in Chicopee MA and see if there's a juicy story about the non-existence of subaruwarranty.com anymore. Maybe other dealers got po'd that an out of state dealer was taking their extended warranty profit center....

See this related thread:

Best Regards,

-- Todd H.

2001 Legacy Outback Wagon, 2.5L H-4 Chicago, Illinois USA

I did the same as you- but I went for the $50 deductible. Cost was $999, and you could pay it over 10 months with an automated credit card deduction at NO interest on the cost of the warranty. The only caveat was if you had to use the warranty, you had to pay off the balance in full.

So far, I've had the transmission replaced at 86,000 miles, and the Macintosh head unit repaired- at a cost of over $4400!! But since I paid only $50- I was very happy to have the warranty.

dukephoto

You bought a Subaru - not a piece of crap American born car. Extended warrenties were invented by our US car makers to cover their sloppy workmanship and engineering flaws (I hear they are better now though...)

Skip the overpriced "warrenty".

-- Bill

I did opt for the extended warrenty on my '04 OBW. I had it added on at the dealer when I bought the car. There is a catch though. The plan/warrenty I bought will refund my money if after the duration of the plan, 7 years/100,000 miles, I have not used the plan to pay for repairs. The cost was $1,500-2,000. Basically, if I pay out of pocket for the small items and don't exceed $2,000 in repairs in 100,000 miles, I get my money back. I'm aware of inflation and lost interest, but I'll consider that price for piece of mind. I have the contract in my save, so if anyone wants to know more, I'll post it.

Brian '04 OBW

On my 1995 Legacy, I've put no more than $2000. in maintenance so far, including oil changes. However, a friend of mine, after seeing my maintenance records, bought a 2003 Legacy. Within the first year, almost everything that rotates has been changed on his car: bearings, axles, transmission, even the engine. Reliability went down with the

2000-2004 generation. I wouldn't buy a 2005 generation without waiting a couple of years to learn about reliability issues. So it depends how long you expect to keep your car.

FWIW: RE my 2004 Forester XT, 14 months, just about 18,000 miles: no problems whatever, NONE, nada, zip. I love it.

HW