Extended Warranty Cautionary Note

[bmurphypdx]

Linky

[kmac]

i am not a fan of EXTENDED warranties....at some point the added cost will break even and the cash could be used for tires and gas...most big issues i have had have fallen in the normal warranty time and the repairs have lasted longer than the originals....transmissions in my trucks things like that

[tallman]

Lock 'em up, throw away the key.

101 years, one for each million.

I'll provide an extended warranty for them for free.

I will extend the warrantee on their bar of soap for 30 days and if it should not function as intended provide them with an authorized soap repairman at no additional cost.

 

The won't be able to provide restitution, so make an example of them.

 

I wonder how long complaints had been happening?

 

Maybe the warning shouldn't be about extended warranty's but about lack of consumer protection.

[CoarsegoldKid]

 

Maybe the warning shouldn't be about extended warranty's but about lack of consumer protection.

 

Oh! It's a free market don'tch know.

Seriously I agree but someone has to watch these companies all the time and budget for watching them is hardly available.

[tallman]

10-4

But a threshold for complaints should be low rather than high, IMO, and trigger an audit before they sack the company.

 

[XTrooper]

An extended warranty is nothing more than insurance.

 

They're great if you buy a policy and it ends up covering repairs that exceed what you paid for the policy. They're not such a great deal if you buy one and never use it though some feel the peace of mind they provide make them worth the price.

 

Regarding the story about the unscrupulous company in the linked article, this reinforces the fact that it's always best to do business with established firms even if it costs more to do so.

[Matts_12GS]

extended warranties are mere marketing and a tax on the unprepared consumer....

 

Save the the extra $$$ and you'll be prepared for the eventuality that might not come.

[RocketMoto]

Typically, I shy away from extended warranties. The exception, for me, would be one that is offered **by the manufacturer**.

 

About eight years ago, I purchased a Ford F250 diesel truck, about 10 months old, at the time. On the Diesel forums, there was a highly regarded warranty company, Warranty Gold. Going against my better judgment, I plunked down about $1600 for a warranty that was supposed to get me to some number of years, with unlimited mileage, as I recall.

 

WG, as it turns out was nothing but a sales company, with the contracts underwritten by some place in a grass hut in the Caribbean... swell. Less than a year on, the underwriter of WG's warranties - a shell company in the Cayman Islands - shut their doors (or closed the straw curtain; whatever). My truck needed a major transmission repair, to the tune of $1500, and that is specifically why I bought the warranty - the transmission were known to be junk on these trucks. When the dealer called to authorize the repair, Warranty Gold's phones were disconnected!

 

Suffice to say that there were literally tens of thousands of people holding a worthless piece of paper. A class action suit ensued, and then WG declared bankruptcy. The debacle has been in the Cayman courts for over five years. A settlement is at hand - and we *may* see about $.10 on the dollar of our contracts and the repairs that we shelled out our dough for.

 

You can read the entire saga at WarrantyNews.com. My suggestion - save your money, unless the warranty is from BMW, or whomever the manufacturer is.

 

 

[Penforhire]

I agree, the cautionary tale relates to 3rd party warranties and we've been told that for many years. Only buy from the manufacturer. No guarantee they won't go bankrupt but the odds are against it. Ha ha, my "GMPP" extended warranty on my Chevy truck is still good, thanks to our government.

 

And don't forget the warranty price itself is negotiable. The vehicle before, a Corvette, they started asking over $2,000 for it and I got it below $800. That was an awful lot of robbery at the asking price!

[DiverRay]

I DID opt for an "extended" warranty on my R1200RT. This is my first BMW, and after reading the threads on the final drive, I took a gamble on it. I figure $750 for four year "peace of mind" for me was worth the money. Others may not agree, but it IS my money.

[kmac]

if it is a BMW Factory extended warranty then that is fine, a GM or FOMOCO is great. it is these Billy Bob warranty.

 

You can spend your money however you want....if you wanna give me some of it that is fine too....

[Teddy]

I "think" BMW Motorrad here in Aus were offering an extended 1 year warranty for $515 and it also includes 1 year roadside assist as well in the price and this goes for around $150.

I did not purchase the warranty on my ST & guess what the ESA went kaput after 2 years & 3months outside the manufacturer's warranty period of 2 years unlimited kilometres. A bun fight ensued and they eventually paid for the rear ESA part + controller (>$3500)& I ended up paying about $200 in labour.

Its times like this I wish I had forked out for the extended warranty. I had a battery fail within the 2year period which was covered though so had a win there.

 

Next time I might just pay for the extra 12months piece of mind considering how complex the electronics are on these bikes now.

 

Just my experiences...

 

Teddy

[Ponch]

I bought an extended warranty on my last bike, a Nomad. 4 years was $355. Fremont Motorsports sells the Kawasaki warranties at a great price. I wonder if some dealer sells the extended warranties at a discount price?