It is all personal preference. I agree that the warranty companies are holding the cards, so to speak. But I have had good returns on the auto extended warranties I purchased. A few replies above I detailed the ROI for my corvette extended warranty. We also had an extended warranty on our Honda FIT which covered major repairs such as the AC system and the NAV radio. Same with our Prius that has had various covered repairs. Our costs vs the ROI were in our favor. Yes it is a gamble but I will keep betting on a good ROI. But one thing, as mentioned by another poster, is that you have to go to dealers that understand how to process claims and also that are looking out for your best interests and not those of the warranty company.
I agree it is personal preference on what one may decide to do, but it is an empirical fact that most will lose money when investing in extended warranty plans. Getting a deal is a deal and they are out there, but for a new coach everything is covered anyway; so if you were going to buy an extended warranty, you should at least wait until year two.
In black jack yes you can hit with a bust hand of 16, and may win. But if the question is should you hit with a bust hand of 16, or should you pay the nominal purchase price for an extended warranty for a new RV. The best answer is always No.
The fact that later you may have drawn a 5 and hit 21, or had your transmission go out, are independent single outcomes called lady luck aka gambling. Short investments, I don't gamble with my money.
Not sure I follow or agree with the logic of going to a dealer that knows how to process claims and looking out for you best interest over the warranty company? For starters I don't think most people know or can evaluate what the dealers know or will do. A Authorized Dealer is an Authorized Dealer and in most cases only game in town. I don't know if I have ever heard of, or if the discussion is about an issue that was covered under the warranty and the Dealer does not honor? Yeah I didn't like how they dealt with my refrigerator that need repair, but
they did exactly what the contract said. FWIW, I never signed the contract as warranty was given to me and I gladly accepted it (it was free). I simply cited my lesson learned as part of my evaluation if I think any extended warranty may have future benefit if I wanted to pay for one out of pocket.
i.e. In 2019 if my RV Dealer had offered that same warranty at say $3,500 for 5 years, I may have bought. But it was $7,500 for 5 years and it was never a consideration.
But with all that water under the bridge, it is now 5 years later. Given I had zero issues that would have been claims under warranty. Today going forward years 6 - 10 it is more like when one may have failures.
How many that have bought the extended warranties for the 1st 5 years will buy a 2nd extended warranty for years 6 - 10? I NEVER see newbies or seasoned owners ask that question; so I conclude no one cares or do. That fact tells and confirms for me all I need to about the value for those that bought extended warranties the 1st time.