Did you buy extended warranty?

@Sheepshead45 You're asking for a unicorn. There's no definitive argument that everyone should get an extended warranty because not everyone should. Emotion comes into play rather than pure logic simply because we can't predict the future and we're dealing with risk-weighted future cost analysis where we don't have a handle on the risks or the costs. It boils down to individual risk aversion and ability to self-insure against major repair costs.

I've never explicitly bought a vehicle extended warranty, although on a couple of occasions I've effectively paid for one by purchasing a CPO vehicle. I did consciously purchase a tire-and-wheel warranty on my funcar as my research suggested that it might be a good idea given it's 18" wheels and runflat tires. Three punctured rear tires and two cracked wheels later I've received about twice as much in value as I paid.

Rhetorical question: how do you generalize and quantify the value of "peace of mind"?

 

i got the 2 year extended warrenty to make it a total of 5 years just so that it'll be covered the whole time i'm paying it off.......Fortunately i didn't need it but it was piece of mind for me...

 

The issue is that your opinion is black or white, you are the type of guy where there is no middle ground, it's either someone is right or they are wrong. I could easily sit here an say that you are an idiot for buying and selling 20 cars over the years, guaranteed you lost money at the end of they day, but I wont because I see things on a grey spectrum where as with you and warranties its only black and white.

For you to say that a $200 extended warranty is STILL a waste of money, pretty much sums everything up for me .

 

It may be against the grain on this thread but I did. I financed my truck and while I can do a lot of small repairs and maintenance myself, the thought of a major breakdown while I still owe money would keep me up at night. I did however negotiate the hell out of it to make sure I wasn't overpaying. I don't think there's any one right answer when it comes to warranties. Everyone's situation is different.

 

Bought the truck Dec 30, 2015, and did NOT buy an extended warranty. Here it is 14 months later, and I went in on my own volition and bought the 100K/10year Platinum. No one pressured me. I just wanted it.
Had the trip meter failure situation to start with, 17 fails.... theres so much electronics on these trucks.... and the Platinum is a pretty good package.

 

So far, the best offer for the Toyota Platinum 8yr/125k is $1335. I feel pretty good about that price as I usually keep my trucks for about 8 years or so and with the extra electronic stuff in the P&T package it is a good deal.

 

Agree. no right or wrong answer. was just feeling out what people tend to do. when you get enough opinions on a subject, it helps shape a personal opinion on something i didn't know much about. That is the beauty of forums and collecting opinions from a lot of people in a similar situation as you.

now to go spend more money on this truck than i want to!

 

I did not by the extended warranty but I did prepay the maintenance.

 

But the reason they are sold is to make money. For crying out loud, almost everything you buy they try to sell the extended warranty, I am waiting for them to offer one the next time a buy beer.

I don't think he said the $200 warranty is a waste of money, I think he said no one is going to offer you a $200 warranty.

 

There is a definitive argument that from a purely financial standpoint, they are not worth it.

Pretty clearly this doesn't sell to a lot of people. When you wrap human emotion into the equation, anything goes. There is all sorts of evidence that emotion can obscure good financial decision making, especially when investing. This is very similar.

Think about what you are saying regarding "risk aversion and ability to self-insure against major repairs". If you are truly that risk averse, or own a vehicle that you potentially cannot afford to repair someday, then the smart thing to do would be to set aside enough money in savings each month so that you can be "comfortable" once the warranty expires. That's what people are doing when they buy extended warranties; they are setting aside money in case they need to repair a car in the future. Except they are handing it over to someone else, never to be recouped if the car does not break, they sell it first, the warranty times out or expires on mileage, etc. Worse still, a lot of people finance the warranty (it's only $X/month!!), and are paying interest to boot.

I might be on board with you regarding a tire/wheel warranty. Going back to the BMW example, if I had a new BMW, M-sport or whatever they call it now equipped (18-19" ultra high $$ wheels with rubber band tires as hard as rocks..) and lived in a place like NYC with roads like a war zone, it would almost certainly pay. We are talking Toyota trucks here. I ran over a stinkin 12' ladder sitting in the middle of a highway with my truck. There was no time to react, I could not change lanes and just aimed straight. I thought I was a dead man, or at least be buying new tires and some suspension components, but there was no damage whatsoever. Try that in an M4..

Last but not least, your rhetorical question. It's a trick one; there is no such thing as piece of mind. If you're worried about a possible repair cost years in the future, you probably have lots of other stuff swirling around in your noggin too. The serenity prayer is useful, as is saving your $$ for a rainy day and making smart financial decisions.

 

It's an insurance policy plain and simple. As with any insurance policy the law of averages is against the purchaser.

Do you carry homeowners and automotive insurance? Life insurance? Health insurance? Umbrella liability policy?

Same thing.

Is it correct to assume you have no such policies? That you merely save enough extra to cover any expenses?

Correct. There is however such a thing as "peace of mind". If you've not seen it I can't help you there, but it exists.

Nobody's telling you that *you* should go buy an extended warranty. They're often not the best choice for people. I don't have one except the aforementioned tire/wheel policy on, as you surmise, an msport package 335i convertible that I bought used.

Funny thing though is people are different, and while *I* don't see where an extended warranty is typically a wise choice for me, I'm neither so naive nor so arrogant as to claim that I know what's best for others. I have enough trouble keeping up with what's best for me.

 

Sorry no it's actually a small town in Northern California. It was a Porsche show and drive event where we all meet up and then go drive through the mountains

 

Thank you sir! Yeah before I wanted a GT3 but then when I heard that the GT4s were going to be a manual transmission i had to wait it out and get a GT4! I don't get to drive the car all that often because I'm always busy traveling for basketball. But whenever I'm in town it's so much fun too break car loose and banging through the gears

 

Of course not, it's a 4 cylinder 4x4 toyota pickup.
I'll put 200-250k miles on it, change the oil a few times, replace the body mounts, and sell it 8-9yrs from now for some obnoxiously high price due to residual resale value.

 

I have given lots of folks a "piece of my mind", but never really get "peace of mind" from an extended warranty.

 

for the cost of the extended warranty I could do so much more to my truck.. like buy gas for a year or so.

 

Basketball player and fitting in a GT4? Must be a point guard

 

Hahaha yeah I'm a PG and I'm only 5'10 and if I was any taller it might be kind of uncomfortable... but then again Stephen Curry drives a GT3rs and he's 6'1

 

This makes a ton of sense. Makes me wish I didn't get mine now. Haha. Should have taken the amount it added to my monthly and invested it. Instead. Ow I'm paying interest on it. Ha. Didn't think of that.

Good thing I'm young and learning this crap now. Better now than later.

 

Good points, but there are important distinctions.

First of all, I'm required by law to have auto insurance. A lender will require you carry homeowners insurance if you have a mortgage. Furthermore, these sorts of policies are intended to cover major life events, to prevent catastrophic consequences. If I die, I want to insure my family won't suffer financial hardship. If my home burns to the ground, it's likely I won't have enough in savings to rebuild. If I become seriously ill, I could be bankrupted without health insurance. A car repair does not fall into the category of a catastrophic life event.

Lastly, there are few other types of "insurance" (well, none I can think of) that are quite like this. Why would you buy an insurance policy for something that offers no benefits for years? And who knows if you'll still need it when it does kick in. Maybe you moved on, sold the car, whatever. If you really need an "insurance" policy to cover incidental expenses, at least wait until such time as you can actually benefit from it immediately. Wait until the original warranty expires, then shop around for the best deal. Better still, save your money and be prepared for any one of an infinite number of unanticipated expenses life may throw your way.

I was being a bit tongue in cheek with my "no such thing as piece of mind" comment. For this particular subject, I would hope it comes to most people from making educated, informed financial decisions. I'm not naïve either, at least I hope so, but I am certain my comments here will seem "arrogant" to a few here. That's because people become emotionally attached to financial decisions when they ought not be. So be it. Unless you have a crystal ball, and can see yourself in the future as the unfortunate 1 in 10 people who will actually come out ahead on the purchase of an extended warranty, then I don't see how anyone can objectively state that spending your money this way is a wise choice for anyone. I'm sorry if that ruffles anyone's feathers.