Extended Waranties Revisited ...

[swansnest]

OK - I have been holding off on this for as long as I could but here goes.

We bought an Extended Warranty from Good Sam's CSP when we ordered our APEX, we had it for the first 4 years. We felt like we had a hassel each time we had a claim, but as orphans within 2 years of the coaches manufacture, we were grateful to have it and it paid out more than we paid in for the 4 years.

We decided to look around for other companies when the contract came up for renewal, because we wanted one that would cover the radiator since so many Alpines were having to replace theirs.

We settled on Go RVing Warranty Insurance and took out the 4 year plan in July before we left for a month in Oregon. Everything they offered and their advertisement sounded really great - they claimed to pay the repair shop with a credit card ("Our claims are paid by corporate credit card to any dealership or repair facility of your choice in the US or Canada. This means no out of pocket expense to you for costly repair bills except the deductible. Hassel free claims!")

Well, week 3 into our trip our Xantrex RS3000 Inverter died! We found out the hard way that this new Insurance wasn't so wonderful after all. We had to pay the repair shop full price up front (RV Specialty in Aurora) and wait & wait & wait for our claim to get processed by the Adjusters. And ADJUSTERS they were...7 weeks after the breakdown they paid less than 2/3 & we paid more than 1/3 of a $3300 dollar claim. They claimed they were not responsible for programing the new Inverter with the computer program that was required to make it operate with the Silverleaf Computer or for the freight. Part of the problem was the Service shop that insisted on us paying full retail pricing.

Bottom line is that we can not recommend Go RVing Warranty to our fellow Alpine Owners. The insurance is certainly not everything they say it is! We also don't recommend "self-insuring" with a high end coach. Maybe CSP isn't so bad after all. There are a number of competitive companies out there and we would recommend you go to your Service Centers and ask them what Extended Waranty Co has been the easiest to deal with and the best paying before buying any plan!

[azloafer]

SWANSNEST,
See my post on cancelling our Go RV Warranty.

Extended Warranties

[Barbaraok]

I'm not sure why you think that the company should pay for programming.

Extended warranty companies can't stay in business if they pay out as much, or more, than they take in. In most cases, most people aren't going to get their money back - it is more a piece of mind for them.

We choose to self insure. Put 10% of the purchase price aside and add to that each month. That way we have the funds available when needed and we don't jump through any hoops.

Barb

[takepride]

I can't imagine why they should pay for programming the engine or the transmission, if they are replaced, either. Of course, that would be like buying a computer without an operating system...

I think the service shop may be the actual culprit, in not dealing or working out the problems, in advance.

I agree that the warranty company needs to protect their interests, but that does not include abusing the service company by not paying fairly, nor ignoring the customer by not staying on top of the repair process.

Seems like the customer is being taken advantage of by both businesses.

My last claim denied the freight, too. Cheapskates! Money Grubbers! Penny Pinchers! (Okay, now I feel better.)

[swansnest]

If you had an Apex you would understand that nothing runs on the coach without the Silverleaf program. When the Inverter died the programing for it also died and the computer had to have an interface for the inverter, which in turn had to be programed in order to run. When we bought the Insurance we had specifically asked whether it would cover the Computer Program that runs the Apex. We were assured it would - but the claims administrator denied it.

Yes you are correct - part of the problem was with the Service Provider - but when you are broken down you are kind of stuck! They refused to get the Inverter through the Insurance program and they had it air freighted which cost $300 compared to $75. Most Service Providers we have found in the past will charge you what they are charged or at least a discounted price for parts - like when we went to Coach Care in Coberg on the way home and had some work done... they discounted all the parts instead of charging us list.

[Old Rv'er]

Swansnest - can you send me PM and explain deepter into the inverter/silverleaft interface. Since I worked on computers for years, if the wiring is in place already, the inverter should have been a retrofit, i.e., take out the old one and replace with the new one and plug in/hook up the cables. The silverleaf has (if I understand it correctly - a dedicated ROM chip holding all the data, control interface, which it does not lose when powered down), yes the SL does control the on/off/charger of the inverter, but it's still got it's brains intact. Please try to explain, as I think someplace you got a load of salt. Did you talk to SL and get an understanding from them?

Something else to worry about????

[takepride]

Sorry Swans:

I was trying to be a bit tongue-in-cheek. The insurer is absolutely at fault when denying the programming costs. Things that require a computer, need to be programmed. I'd pursue a full refund on that part. They were ridiculous in rejecting that.

Too bad you are having these problems. We can all pass on your poor treatment and encourage others to reject doing business with Go RVing Warranty Insurance. I will.

[swansnest]

Hold on and stay tuned. Go RVing Agent is trying to get the Insurance Administrator to review the denial and pay for the Silverleaf programing as well as at least $75 shipping. I will post more as soon as this is resolved. I have actually told only 1/2 the story!