I am gonna buy a new automobile this weekend. I am sure they are going to try and sell me the extended warranty contract when I get it. I have bought them in the past and I have not bought them in the past. They are usually quite expensive. I think the last one I bought was 2700 bucks. After a few weeks I cashed it in cause I felt I overpaid.

I have never gotten to use any of the extended warranties that I have purchased but I am also aware that a couple of trips to the dealer and it will pay for itself.

Anyone ever buy one of these and if so did you ever get to come out ahead?

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Everything I've ever read on the subject, says no. It's also one of those contracts where you had better read the small print.

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They're a sham. Don't waste your money.

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I got one when I bought a 60" plasma tv, for 4 years I can use the crap out of it and not worry, if it died and I didn't pay for that I would be stuck using 20" monitor for a tv and couldn't afford a new one. So in some cases they might not be bad.

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Great question, I got no real answer.

No and Yes.

No because the company would not offer the deal unless they felt they would make money off of the deal.

Yes if you plan on keeping the hotrod for the full lenth of the contract. Something will break down (IMHO)

As a teen I got sucked into a "Bumper to Bumper" Contract, only to find out that "Bumper to Bumper" was just a name and it had nothing to do with what it covered.
Good times!

Sounds like you really couldn't afford the first one.

To the OP, save your $$$ and put that same amount aside for any problems, add to that over time. Chances are you will still have that money saved when it's time for your next vehicle.

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That's weak sauce!

Dealt with them for years in the car repair business, sent you a PM.

We do have a couple on applicances that have paid for themselves through the years.

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Still missing you everyday pal.

I would say it depends on the vehicle. Some vehicles are inherently high maintenance such as minivans, which have among the highest cost of ownership of all vehicles due to expensive part failures as they age. In general, though, vehicles are quite reliable these days and if something is going to catastrophically break, it's going to happen during the initial warranty period. Hammer on your new car pretty good for the first 10k to find the squeaks, rattles, leaks, and so on, get them fixed under warranty, and enjoy your ride for 250k miles or more.

The smart money is on following the maintenance intervals as suggested by the manufacturer and don't pay for the service plan.

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Thanks guys. I understand the game thar is being played here with the companies issuing these warrantees.

I was really wondering if anyone had actually bought one and if they did, did they come out ahead.

I won't be buying one from the dealer. If I do at all it would be thru my credit union which offers them for half the price. Basically it all boils down to price.

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They're a huge source of profit to places like Best Buy and car manufacturers. Don't do it.

i didnt buy the extended care on my iPhone and have now paid 300 bucks replacing broken phones. that was dumb. (lets not turn this into a phone debate)

id say on electronics yes. you never know when theyre gonna go wonky.

on my car i purchased some extended warranty crap (car was 8 years old, from a Dealership) and not 6 months later i had some issues. took it in and lo and behold, what was wrong with the car wasnt covered. a sensor on the engine went out, sunroof wouldnt fully close, and an interior light on the door went out.

they replaced the light and sensor (about 150$) and said they couldnt tell me if the sunroof was under warranty without tearing the interior out. basically, if it was covered, it was free, if not, id be out a few hundred bucks not counting what was wrong with the sunroof. not a gamble i was willing to make. said screw it, ill fix it myself. (which i did later, hard to remove sunroof glass when the glass wont pop up and expose the bolts, but i managed. culprit? a piece of plastic smaller than a kernel of corn got stuck in the track and was tripping the pinch sensor)

anyways, after all that, a week later CEL comes back on. take it back and pull the WTF fix it for free it was just in spiel. turned out the Catalytic converter went out and was fouling the sensors. and i was IN LUCK! VW had extended the factory warranty as it was a known issue. so that was free! haha.

tl;dr:

yes ive purchased, no it didnt do me any good.

electronics (phones, computer/tv etc) could be a good back up plan

and dont buy VW.

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if it's electronics get a square trade warranty and be done
With cars, it totally depends on the dealer
Some guys see repeat business and others see cash out in repairs that sometimes are even covered
Do some googling on dealers in your area and go from there

The timing chain went out on my 09 Corolla with about 70,000 miles on it. The 100,000 mile warranty saved me from paying well over 1000 in repairs to the engine after it went.

Yeah, but how much did it cost you in the first place to buy the warranty?

A timing CHAIN died, you sure not a belt? If that's the case, it sure shows there is some truth in the rumors that Toyota quality has been on the decline. That just shouldn't happen unless you were really abusing that car!

This is one reason I won't buy (used, being as it's all I can afford), a VW, Honda, Mitsubishi, or Nissan product; they are all "interference engines", meaning should the timing belt or chain snap catastrophic engine failure will ensue (pistons will smack into the valves and bend them and sometimes put holes in the pistons). I've gotten a few such cars free, but I'm not gonna pay for that. Not that these aren't good cars, some are quite good, just it's one worry I'd rather not have.

Someone mentioned Square Trade; I've gotten a couple of those on used phones from Ebay. They actually paid for a phone I used almost a year because the WiFi went out. On used electronics for eBay I'd swear by those guys!

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Any extended service contract is basically....We are extending our fingers into your wallet and giving nothing in return.

Yep it was definitely the chain...as some of the valve needed to be replaced as well. It was an extensive repair for sure. Probably a freak occurrence as I don't see a history of this problem with Toyota

I bought one with the first car I purchased. The dealership found every excuse in the book to not do anything, or to half-ass what they were forced to do.

Not worth it.

Probably not, though I suppose its easy to get caught up in the excitement of buying in a new car and not having to pay that cost upfront makes one feel like they aren't being ripped off at the time.

Meanwhile, the cost of an expensive repair can really wreak havoc on one that needs their car to commute, not to mention their monthly budget.

Obviously the best answer is to not have to use credit in a pinch and have a "rainy day" savings account...but many live paycheck to paycheck or do not have the discipline to do so.

I bought the extended warranty because I had gotten tired of paying some expensive repairs on the old POS I had before it. Now I know better, just keep a buffer in your savings or on a credit card to cover car troubles if they come, lol.