Extended warranty - to buy or not to buy?

[curtpg]

Picking up a new 2017 Thor Vegas 25.3 soon and I'm interested in opinions on the need, value, cost, and value of extended warranties.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

[Marine By Choice]

The financial "experts" do not recommend purchasing. But, it is YOUR money!

If you can negotiate for around $1,5000-$2,000 for 3 years it MIGHT be worth it. Typically anything that will go wrong seems to go wrong the 1st year.

If you DO choose to purchase make sure you read & understand what is and is not covered, as there are a lot of choices!

Good luck with your decision.

[Taking Flight]

I waited a year for the manufacturer warranty to run then in the 11th month bought the extended warranty. To me there is no sense buying a warranty during the manufacturers warranty term. The cost was the same quote given at vehicle purchase.

If you search here in the forums on the same subject you will see recommendations to purchase. My thoughts are if you are having issues throughout the first year then it makes sense to purchase the extended warranty.

From what I read RV's maybe the one exception to extended warranties.

Another plus is our extended warranty transfers to the subsequent own if we decide to not keep the MH.

[DocMike]

Curtpg,

Extended warranties, I have always purchased them on my vehicles...seldom used (most of the time I'll get part back when the vehicle is sold). But, I am a "Belt and Suspenders" kind of guy when it comes to insurance and warranties. They are a bit pricey and worth shopping around for the best price.

However if purchased, never needed and without a partial refund (if the unit is sold before the end of the warranty period) there goes a few thousand out the window.

To purchase or not to purchase, it is kind of like the famous line in the old Clint Eastwood Dirty Harry Movie: "Do you feel lucky, well do you?"

Doc

[gmc]

Some items to consider include the risk you are willing to take - and your level of ability in fixing things yourself...

On my previous rig (2000 Infinity purchased in early 2012) - I got a Good Sam Extended Warranty that I viewed as 'catastrophic coverage' - Limited what it covered and high deductible ($1000) - and I intended to use for a major powertrain issue - but I would take care of most minor things myself... Made it reasonable in price for a rig that age - and gave me the comfort that a major issue wouldn't render the rig useless while I still owed the bank $$$...

On new one (2014 bought used at end of 2014 season) - I did get the extended warranty - Cornerstone - with $150/200 deductible on all but the powertrain (powertrain still under factory warranty and transferred). They have covered little so far (though rig is in shop right now and I expect them to pay here...)
My biggest issues with them:

• For intermittent issues - if it won't fail for the dealer - they won't fix it... How many times do I need the radio/cameras to fail on the road... but work fine for the dealer... If I didn't have the warranty - I would have replaced it already - but hoping it will fail for them and they will pay for.
• Unlike the factory warranty - they won't allow you to have parts shipped to you to install/replace. Has to be written up by dealer - subjecting me to their lead times, waiting times, etc... I would prefer in many cases to just do the work myself.

Still can provide piece of mind... Factory powertrain warranty about to expire - so looking at my options going forward...
(In general - aside from the RV - I typically do not get extended warranties... as they rarely pay...)



As Doc said in his quote "Do you feel lucky?"...

[sky_blue]

My 2¢
Definitely do not buy the extended warranty. Save your money in a savings account. The only time I bought one, the issue I had was not covered in the fine print. They are worthless.

Just use your RV a lot and make sure your dealer stays on top of fixing anything that is wrong.

[Hurricaneray]

Originally Posted by curtpg

Picking up a new 2017 Thor Vegas 25.3 soon and I'm interested in opinions on the need, value, cost, and value of extended warranties.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Like the man said earlier save wore money, they always find a IF And's OR BUT'S. Not to pay.

[nosticks]

I posted this recently on another forum. Here is my view on the subject.

OK, let's say you are going to fall for the extended warranty scam. Here is something to think through.

You are financing your rig for 15 years. The extended warranty is let's say 5 years. The sales pitch will be "you can have this warranty for only a $50 a month increase in your payment". Then they'll go on about the cost of refrigeration, air conditioners, generators, power trains etc. and how inexpensive the warranty becomes if you encounter these repairs.

Yea, but you will be paying $50 a month for the entire term of your loan, long after the warranty has expired. Basically you are financing the cost of the 5 year extended warranty for the 15 years. If you sell the rig after the warranty has expired you still owe the amount of the warranty and it will be included in your payoff amount.

So, do the math, find out the true cost of the warranty for each of the 5 years as if you are being billed separately for it. Add it up. Now add it up with finance charges on top. Still want an extended warranty, then by all means go for it, but read the full disclosure of the offer, who can service it and under what conditions. Don't let slick willy interpret it for you. Don't be in a hurry, you have plenty of time until the manufacturers warranty expires and you will get a ton of junk mail offering you an extended warranty from just about everyone in the business.

[gmc]

nosticks:
Getting the extended warranty... and financing the extended warranty... are two different issues...
Your points on financing are good - and even when I've gotten it - I've kept the payments separate from the financing.
I paid the Good Sam's monthly on the older RV - and paid the new one up front.

And Taking Flight:
I agree - on a new RV - I would wait till the factory warranty is about to expire... The only warranty I got on my 2014 (bought used at end of first season) was the remaining 36K powertrain... so I didn't cover that in the extended. Made sure there wasn't overlap...

[Scott]

We purchased the extended warranty and I'm glad we did. In our 2nd year with our unit the hydraulic pump for leveling jacks died. The cost to have it replaced was close to $10,000, but it was covered by our extended warranty. Here the warranty more than paid for itself.

[gentilebrian]

They told me the warranty for my 26' $60,000 class c was going to be $12,000 for 5 years. I told them I will give them $2,000. That was not well received. O well. I didn't buy it. That's what it was worth to me. I'm sure it depends on the RV but I have a pretty basic class C so how much can really go wrong for it to be $12,000. O and keep in mind the real expensive items which is the chassis is covered by ford for 3 years.

[Scott]

My memory might be a little fuzzy, but I seem to recall our extended warranty was $3,000 and was for 5 years. Ours is from Cornerstone if that helps.

[dw1gator]

I negotiated 7 years at 3000.

[Lloyd]

Buy it! With a Thor product, you will never be sorry.

[scrubjaysnest]

We don't normally get them, only time we did it didn't cover what broke. Cost paid for itself in free oil changes.

That said we did get one on the Axis; probably wasted money but I'm an old man and DIY is getting harder every day. Time will tell.