Extended Warranty - experience with 3rd party (non-Volvo) providers?

I can tell you Monday, which is the first time I'm going to have my Volvo mechanic try to get permission from my warranty company to do some work on my "new" 1992 240 wagon. I already had the mechanic do nearly $600 worth of work before I saw in the warranty that no work would be covered unless the mechanic called first and got permission -- no exceptions. I frankly don't have high hopes that they'll end up covering anything, but feel it's worth the try. I'll let you know.

When I bought my 2001 S60, it came with a warranty from Great Lakes Warranty Corporation out of Pittsburgh, PA. It is a 4 year, unlimited mile warranty.

So far I used it for tie rod ends as well as a brake booster. The dealer that I got it from is signed up so I don't have to pay anything out of pocket. I recently had the Electronic Throttle Module go bad... something that the used Volvo dealer could not fix because of the need for a computer to "reprogram" the car. So I took it to a regular Volvo dealer. They did not have an account with Great Lakes so I had to pay out of pocket, then submit the bill to Great Lakes. They paid for it no questions asked.

I think I had to pay about $50 because the warranty company only covered $40 or so for labor and the dealer charges $75.

So far - great experience... and since I've put 60k miles on the car in a year and a half, if was definately worth the $1000 that I paid for it.

Charlie

Did you ever pick a warranty company, and have you had any experience getting a claim paid from them? I just purchased a warranty from Warranty America, but I still have 28 days to back out and get a refund. The broker who sold me the warranty told me they are one of the top companies, but I can find very little feedback on them. It makes me wonder how many warranties they really sell. If you have any thoughts on them or on the warranties in general, could you please pass it along? Thanks, Mike