Need some off-topic advice...
Got a shock today when I took my Jeep in to find the cause of an underside thumping. Seems the frame support had rusted and broke on the passenger side and the vehicle deemed very dangerous to drive. I knew the day was coming for a new vehicle, but never expected this. To make a long story short, though I loved my Jeep, finances and gas prices needed to be taken into account and I ended up with a 2009 Hundai.
I took an extended ZURICH comprehensive warranty and now wonder if that was wise. I do have 60 days to cancel (am sure it will not be easy should I decide to). The warranty cost was $1800.00 for 5 years or 100,000 miles (the vehicle has 39,000). Would welcome thoughts on this.
Thanks!
Not wise. The car came with a 100,000 mile warranty and it should be transferable. It appears that you have duplicated your coverage.
As a auto repair professional, I've had some dealings with warranty companies. I don't know anything about that particular company, but generally those warranties aren't that great of a value. Hundai (according to their website) offers a 5 year (from date of mfg) 60k transferable warranty on their vehicles so basically the extended warranty is only covering for an additional 2 years and 40k miles. Typically you're not likely to see expensive repairs before 100k miles if you maintain your car properly. You need to examine your warranty policy carefully as there are often a lot of loopholes that can be used to deny a claim. I've seen some policies require excessive amounts of documented preventive maintenance beyond what most people would normally do. Is it worth it? Only you can make that decision. Keep in mind that typically repairs for non-wear items will not exceed what you paid for the warranty. (Generally wear items are not covered by any warranty)
--Dale
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Hey Karsten
Just my opinion, but a way to scam you out of 1,800.00. They always try to talk people into these things and the very few cases I have ever known of when someone was waranteed up to the max and HAD to resort to it, there was a "hitch" of some type and all slipped through the cracks. The customer stung once again.
All the best-
Justin~
Karsten- I'm not sure about vehicle warranties- However,I went with my Mom who wanted to buy a flat-screen TV and she ended up buying 42" Vizio and they asked her if she wanted to get the extra warranty...The TV all ready came with a two year manufactures warranty and the extra warranty they where trying to sell her was two additional years...But in reality you are paying for the same thing twice because the product all ready has a warranty...I never get extra warranties on my electronics...Point of the story, double check your warranty and see if you payed extra for something you all ready have covered anyway...(That's where they rip of the consumer and try and trick them into extra warranties)
Good-luck,
Dee.
Sorry to hear of the demise of your Jeep. I and my partner did go with the extended warrantees on both our Chrysler Sebring Convertibles. Both cars have prooved dependable though some high dollar repairs did occur and they were covered. However, I feel the "break even" point to be around 1500 dollars. It is easy to encounter a repair cost that exceeds that amount. However, Friends of mine just purchased a 2010 Fusion, and I recommended they not purchase the extended warrantee. as the car itself has a proven relaibility record, the mileage is low and the factory warrany still has several years to run, also the extended warranty in that caes was over 3500 dollars. Not worth it. Its a decision to make regarding the incidence of repair history to a particular make and model of vehicle.
Hi Karsten,
I know many have chimed in already on your question but I too feel these extended warranties are just more profit for the seller whether it be for a car,electronics item,etc.Maybe once in a blue moon you may purchase a lemon and would be glad to have taken out the extra coverage but I feel most cars today are fairly reliable and if you follow the maintenance schedule you should have many trouble free years with your Hundai.How old was your Jeep anyway as maybe it was just time for it to go.
Mark
Don't know, but here some thoughts.
1) I buy Toyotas and the dealer admits that for Toyotas an extended warranty is a tough sell.
2) I think Hyundais get that J. D. Powers award for new cars, regularly now, but that is for brand new cars. Heck, anything is nice when first delivered. Check back in 5-10 years to see what LASTS.
3) Most modern cars go way beyond 100,000 miles, and mostly without a major failure. If all that warranty covers is nebulously defined parts like "drive train" (when did you last have a transmission fail in less than 10 yrs/100,000 mi??), I would ditch it.
4) Bottom line is that, according to Click and Clack, the Car Guys, after a few years cars settle down to $600 / year in repairs (not upkeep), and stay FLAT essentially indefinitely. What the dealers count on, and happens, is that you see your expenses in years 2,3 4 go like $100, #200, $400, and extrapolate that, panic and trade in. At which point you are making car payments again, each of which is like the annual cost of keeping your old car. To stay happy with the old, take in your new car once a year and get the small things fixed that annoy you. You trade a car because the radio quit, not because of the tranny!
Hey Karsten,
I agree with Hairball and Justin(I'll elaborate on this) with this one. If you do your maintence, cars/trucks these will last. I swear by this rule, especially diesels.
I used to own a 2006 F150 now traded >:( During my ownership with it, the engine developed a nasty misfire under hard acceleration. To make a long story short, a sensor went bad in the engine(beyond my control) When I purchased the truck(used) I bought the ext. warranty. Part of the deal was the ext. warranty covered the powertrain Engine, tranny, etc...
Well, turns out, the sensor(the dealer claimed) was not part of the "powertrain" so it came out of my pocket. Which IMO, the sensor had everything to do with how the truck ran and was part of the engines' driveability and performance. I'll never buy the ext. warranty again.
Don't know too much about Hyundai to be honest. Hope your purchase works out for you:)
Damn ... I really miss my wrangler! I know I made too hasty a decision but was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Got a lot of thinking to do.
Thanks all for your thoughts on the matter.
Karsten
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Me thinks it is a waste of $ as I have a 2003 Toyota Tundra with 47K miles with regular maintence. I did not get the
extended warranty. I live 2 miles from my work and 10 miles from my adult children.
With gas at $4 a gallon in
Brea Ca it is best not to drink their kool-aide...
My truck has seen some heavy duty use in 8 years and is still going strong...
Wish I had 8 years of hair growth...
To be honest, I think a lot of the extended warranties are a rip-off, especially if, like in the case of Hyundai, you've got a good warranty on the car anyway. Are you going to spend $1,800 on repairs even if something does go wrong?
One thing I'd recommend is that you get one of those engine diagnostic gizmos - usually under $50 and can pay for itself within one garage bill.