Good Sam ESP

[Fish and Dear]

First off I do NOT want this to devolve into arguments about whether or not service contracts are worth the money or a rip-off. I am just curious to hear some first hand experiences. I'm sure we can tell things, good or bad, without it becoming too overly critical.

Who here has had experience with Good Sam ESP? What do you like and dislike about it?

Who has experience with any other service contract company? Same question...what do you like and dislike about it?

And...go!!

[16ACE27]

Since most people don't have an ESP and even fewer have Good Sam's ESP your replies here will be limited.

[cpmath]

Or do a search and see what was written previously

[Bob Denman]

i had Good Same on my Outlaw, and they paid for a new wiring harness for the slide with no problems...
(less the $100 Deductible)

[MelWV]

Had Good Sam's ESP for 3 years (until our old class A aged out). Transmission blew main seal and lost all fluid within 1/4 mile stranding us in middle of Texas. Quite a smoky event!! GS road service got us to the shop we chose. Since we chose shop ESP did not pay quite what we wanted, but they did reimburse us for the lion's share of the repair. For some reason they did not want to pay for the new trans fluid.

But, they did pay and we were glad we had it on that older RV. Not sure that we'll get it again. 2021 Four Winds has not led us to believe we'll need such a warranty any time soon. (Crossed fingers AND knocking on wood!)

[Pete'sMH]

When I had a slide failure on my Fleetwood I took it to the factory service center and they asked if I had an extended service contract. I didn’t although I’d had Good Sam on a previous coach (and I do on my current t machine) so I asked them if their experience with GS was good and they said it was as good as any. They are familiar with the rules and exclusions and follow them. It was a $1400 repair and they said it would have been covered.

[Fish and Dear]

Originally Posted by Pete'sMH

When I had a slide failure on my Fleetwood I took it to the factory service center and they asked if I had an extended service contract. I didn’t although I’d had Good Sam on a previous coach (and I do on my current t machine) so I asked them if their experience with GS was good and they said it was as good as any. They are familiar with the rules and exclusions and follow them. It was a $1400 repair and they said it would have been covered.

This is good info. Thanks!!

[Fish and Dear]

Originally Posted by MelWV

Had Good Sam's ESP for 3 years (until our old class A aged out). Transmission blew main seal and lost all fluid within 1/4 mile stranding us in middle of Texas. Quite a smoky event!! GS road service got us to the shop we chose. Since we chose shop ESP did not pay quite what we wanted, but they did reimburse us for the lion's share of the repair. For some reason they did not want to pay for the new trans fluid.

But, they did pay and we were glad we had it on that older RV. Not sure that we'll get it again. 2021 Four Winds has not led us to believe we'll need such a warranty any time soon. (Crossed fingers AND knocking on wood!)

This is the kind of thing I worry about. But with only 13k miles I'm not sure now is the right time. Trying to decide.

[Fish and Dear]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

i had Good Same on my Outlaw, and they paid for a new wiring harness for the slide with no problems...
(less the $100 Deductible)

I always trust your opinion, Bob. I just wonder should I pull the trigger now with only 13,000 miles on the rig or wait until closer to the end of the F53 warranty.

[Pete'sMH]

Originally Posted by Fish and Dear

I always trust your opinion, Bob. I just wonder should I pull the trigger now with only 13,000 miles on the rig or wait until closer to the end of the F53 warranty.

The “usual” Good Sam coverage is “coach only” although I think they’ll also sell you chassis coverage if you want it. In any case, there are a lot of rules and exclusions. Most of the structure is not covered, for example. Best to think of it as mechanical only. Slides, leveling jacks, AC, generators and refrigerators can be expensive to fix. Water heaters and furnaces too if you’re not “handy”. Also, know that the price is highly negotiable.

[paulwadley]

I had it on my 2016 Winnebago Class B motor home and had an issue with the awning. The nylon cord began coming out of the roller on the awning. I had GS advise and quoted me $1100 to replace the nylon center cord(cord that holds the awning material to the roller which slides through a slot on the roller). I told them ok since I had a GS extended warranty. They next called for approval and it was denied as not covered. I then called them and was told the same thing. The awning motor was covered but nothing else associated with the awning. I was not happy and left. I dropped the policy and went to an independent shop who did the job for $500.00. GS uses a third party insurance carrier for their policies. You have to read all of the exclusions in order to make an informed decision to purchase it or not.

Paul

[Fish and Dear]

Originally Posted by Pete'sMH

The “usual” Good Sam coverage is “coach only” although I think they’ll also sell you chassis coverage if you want it. In any case, there are a lot of rules and exclusions. Most of the structure is not covered, for example. Best to think of it as mechanical only. Slides, leveling jacks, AC, generators and refrigerators can be expensive to fix. Water heaters and furnaces too if you’re not “handy”. Also, know that the price is highly negotiable.

The price is negotiable when purchasing from GS? We've owned the coach a year and a half. But just now considering the ESP.

[Fish and Dear]

Originally Posted by paulwadley

I had it on my 2016 Winnebago Class B motor home and had an issue with the awning. The nylon cord began coming out of the roller on the awning. I had GS advise and quoted me $1100 to replace the nylon center cord(cord that holds the awning material to the roller which slides through a slot on the roller). I told them ok since I had a GS extended warranty. They next called for approval and it was denied as not covered. I then called them and was told the same thing. The awning motor was covered but nothing else associated with the awning. I was not happy and left. I dropped the policy and went to an independent shop who did the job for $500.00. GS uses a third party insurance carrier for their policies. You have to read all of the exclusions in order to make an informed decision to purchase it or not.

Paul

That is good info to have. Thanks!!

[Pete'sMH]

Originally Posted by Fish and Dear

The price is negotiable when purchasing from GS? We've owned the coach a year and a half. But just now considering the ESP.

Yes. Not only can you select from the various coverages they will try to sell you, the actual price is negotiable. When I bought my coach they started out with a $7,800 package. I selected coverages down to about $4,500 and then said “no thank you” until it got down to $3,900. Still a lot but should pay for itself if I have 2 or 3 major repairs. Possibly different when buying after purchase but I doubt it if you tell them you are comparison shopping. (I probably would have passed anyway but DW all but insisted after our slide repair on the last coach. Don’t mean to get close to your verboten topic....!). I consider myself to be pretty handy and have fixed most everything that needed fixing myself. 2 exceptions in the 4 years I’ve been RVing included the aforementioned $1,400 slide repair and a complete failure of the fridge cooling unit. The fridge failure was covered by Norcold on my still new coach but the part alone was about $1,200 and the labor was considerable.

[mhbell]

I have had 3 good sam ESP's 2 Compass and 1 other. I never got what they cost in claims. I would have been better off banking the money and paid out of my own pocket for repairs. I will say what few small claims I had they did pay. was it worth it. NO!
Mel

[Thor2015]

I bought Good Sam towing for my 1st RV which was a diesel Cummins 19 years old. 1st trip out west water pump went out in middle of no where in South Dakota. They paid a pretty steep tow bill for about 150 miles with no questions asked. If I bought a ESP I would buy it from Good Sam.

[tkwalden]

Originally Posted by Fish and Dear

First off I do NOT want this to devolve into arguments about whether or not service contracts are worth the money or a rip-off. I am just curious to hear some first hand experiences. I'm sure we can tell things, good or bad, without it becoming too overly critical.

Who here has had experience with Good Sam ESP? What do you like and dislike about it?

Who has experience with any other service contract company? Same question...what do you like and dislike about it?

And...go!!

I googled " what is the best motor home warranty " It gave me the top 3. I read through their research and went with RV Solutions based on the research. Fortunately I haven't had to use it yet on our 2019 Windsport.

[BASSMAN]

The extended warranty is nothing more than a insurance policy and most people do not read all the exclusions until they have a problem, I got the extended warranty from Thor when I bought the coach, so far all the little problems were not worth the trip to the dealer, Yelp reviews of the local dealer told of coaches sitting in the shop for months, I have never used the extended warranty on all the vehicles I have bought over the years but I am sure if I did not have them I would of wished I had.

[71_340]

I had the Premier Plan from MPP )bought it from the dealer when we purchased a used 2011 Itasca Reyo), cost me 3200 with 0 deductible. They paid for a slide out repair, a new macerator pump and some other small items. Saved me almost 2K in repair bills.

In June we traded for a new Sprinter Four Winds and my dealer offered me to transfer the warranty to the new unit at no cost. To my surprise the warranty period is longer then it was on the Reyo, I now have 7 years/105K miles MPP with no deductible.

Yes, the warranty was expensive but it already has paid back 2/3 of the price. RV repairs are very expensive, so, to me it is worth having the extra warranty.

If you do decide to buy a warranty read the fine print of what is covered. MPP Premier has very few exclusions. I am sure GS has a comparable plan.

[Bob Denman]

Originally Posted by Fish and Dear

I always trust your opinion, Bob. I just wonder should I pull the trigger now with only 13,000 miles on the rig or wait until closer to the end of the F53 warranty.

Since the prices are negotiable: I'd see what sort of a deal could be found right now...