Community Forums

WingHauler · 04-16-2016, 10:39 PM

Kind of a new guy here.
My wife and I are taking ownership of a new Montana next Saturday and today was our initial inspection of the recently delivered unit we had ordered. During our discussion with the salesman, the subject of an extended warranty came up. I realize that some of these units (all brands) don't have a very good reputation, but it seems that every time we buy an extended warranty, it goes unused. We have bought many new cars and trucks (and 3 rv's) in the past 30 years and we generally take good care of what we own and have had very little trouble with these vehicles. Am I wrong in thinking we would be better off not purchasing the extended warranty or are these units generally problematic in the long term and require an extended warranty?
I should mention that I did all the repair work on our last RV as it would have been a waste of my time to take the trailer to the dealer which was 2 hours away. It is only a 1 hour drive to our new dealer.
Thanks in advance for your advice and comments.

Edit: I should also mention the extended warranty is the Classic Plus Coverage by the Route 66 RV Network.

Mr_D · 04-16-2016, 10:45 PM

I didn't think so till my engine blew up 2,600 miles after buying the MH! But in truth, that paperwork to buy the service policy never got to us till after we got home from the first trip out.
BTW: no matter what they call them, they are, by law, NOT a "warranty" unless purchased from the original manufacturer of the vehicle.

tmm2good · 04-17-2016, 01:04 AM

My opinion, we never buy extended warranties on anything. Use your trailer a bunch during the factory warranty period to make sure you get all the bugs worked out.

Wryly Blithe · 04-17-2016, 04:27 AM

Personally, I sleep very well at night knowing I have an extremely good warranty covering my rig. I know it's good because I've used it quite a bit and they've never given me even a moment's grief about it.

That said, I own a big diesel pusher with a million moving parts. While my warranty has covered repairs for the generator ($4,100) and my Hydro Hot water heater ($2,900) and a variety of smaller repairs, I really have it to cover catastrophic failure of the engine and/or transmission and, to a lesser extent, the hydraulic lift systems.

BUT... if I had a 5th wheel without an engine or transmission to worry about, I think I'd probably skip the warranty altogether unless they gave me some kind of killer deal on it. Slides and generators can still be pricey to fix, but it'd likely be a one-time cost and probably still cheaper than renewing a warranty every few years... but it's hard to say for certain.

Speaking of, did you know warranty prices are FULLY negotiable? That doesn't mean they will negotiate the price, but they can if they want to. If they don't want to, strongly consider buying it somewhere else.

Good luck whatever you decide

Ramets · 04-17-2016, 05:31 AM

I agree wait til the manufacturers warranty is up, then shop around you'll easily beat the dealers price. One place to look www.wholesalewarranties.com

ZackMan · 04-17-2016, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wryly Blithe

Personally, I sleep very well at night knowing I have an extremely good warranty covering my rig. I know it's good because I've used it quite a bit and they've never given me even a moment's grief about it.

That said, I own a big diesel pusher with a million moving parts. While my warranty has covered repairs for the generator ($4,100) and my Hydro Hot water heater ($2,900) and a variety of smaller repairs, I really have it to cover catastrophic failure of the engine and/or transmission and, to a lesser extent, the hydraulic lift systems.

BUT... if I had a 5th wheel without an engine or transmission to worry about, I think I'd probably skip the warranty altogether unless they gave me some kind of killer deal on it. Slides and generators can still be pricey to fix, but it'd likely be a one-time cost and probably still cheaper than renewing a warranty every few years... but it's hard to say for certain.

Speaking of, did you know warranty prices are FULLY negotiable? That doesn't mean they will negotiate the price, but they can if they want to. If they don't want to, strongly consider buying it somewhere else.

Good luck whatever you decide

If there were to be a catastrophic failure of a major component such as the engine or transmission, I would not want to be without an extended service plan.

George Schweikle · 04-17-2016, 07:08 AM

Correct. They are extended service contracts sold, at a profit, from independent companies.

LOTS of discussion on this forum, both pro and con. Use SEARCH to see the posts. The main issue I read about is that people don't understand the difference between included and excluded coverage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_D

.....BTW: no matter what they call them, they are, by law, NOT a "warranty" unless purchased from the original manufacturer of the vehicle.

NevadaNick · 04-17-2016, 07:14 AM

If you are capable of working on it yourself of which you say you are and you have sufficient money in the bank to buy what may be needed then be your own warranty company. If you cant work on em and or dont have reserve cash then buy one and beat em up on the price of it as there is probably more profit in selling the warranty than in selling the rv.

D Lindy · 04-17-2016, 07:20 AM

The extended warranty issue is one more of peace of mind. The main issue though IMO is that, if you want one, DON"T buy it from the dealer, but form an independent source like
Wholesale Warranties, etc.

cb1000rider · 04-17-2016, 08:16 AM

I've got the " Route 66 RV Network" thing on a Keystone and while on the road get the "did you buy it here" - so I'm not sure that it has any value at all.

As others have indicated, don't cover it now - wait one year out, otherwise you're paying for double warranty. And buy it wholesale.

You need to included the details of WHICH warranty. There are lots of gotchas. And the "stuff" that most sales guys try to pitch that breaks - water pump, AC, plumbing.. Most of it is much less expensive to fix than the warranty costs. The fridge is probably the most expensive thing. And most exclude things like water intrustion, delamination, roof issues - the things that can get costly.

As you're buying a Keystone (I own one too):
1) Do a 2-3+ hour PDI before you drive off in it. In fact, expect to do a PDI and give them time to address it.
2) Watch that RV like a hawk for the first year and exercise the warranty.. Anything not repaired or that might be an issue, get documentation on.
3) Recognize that it will have issues (like most brands) - it's the nature of the beast...

Sky_Boss · 04-17-2016, 08:57 AM

IMHO, it is a matter of odds and risk management/tolerance.

You will find many folks that believe they can do all the work and don't need them. That can be a great outcome unless they have a catastrophic engine or transmission failure at which point I doubt they have that capability to fix except for perhaps a very rare exception.

My personal experience has been that my Wholesale Warranty was a winning move and I haven't even had a catastrophic failure. I've had a lot of moderately expensive things that needed repair for both the chassis and coach. I paid $6K for 4 years and they have covered about $9K so far and I'm working on a couple more claims that could take it closer to $11K.

I look at ESWs like any kind of insurance. You buy car insurance and never hope to use it except, maybe, for the free fixing of minor windshield repairs. Of course, you hope you never use life insurance except when you've lived a full life and are ready to let go. In essence, ESWs are tools of wealth management. If you can afford to invest enough money that the interest will pay for a $30K engine replacement then you have options. OTOH, if you are more like a lot of us where that kind of setback is a catastrophic event, it can be the difference between continuing the RV life style and leaving it. This could be especially true for full timers that traded S&B for an RV but are not extremely well off.

As a former online poker player I have come to respect odds and the odds are that the 8 year old coach we bought would need repairs that an ESW would cover. I was correct. I could have been wrong and maybe "wasted" $6K but I wasn't and I bet most folks with an 8 year old MH can agree to some extent that it wasn't a bad bet either. BTW, I am very good with electronics and have done a lot of those kinds of repairs on my own but mechanically, I'm not nearly as adept and used the ESW to get some things done.

In the end, I ask folks to consider whether or not they feel lucky and if they aren't lucky can they accept the costs of being wrong. Conversely, I ask them if they can afford the cost of an ESW if they need use it or don't use much of it.

Finally, not all ESW providers are equal. I'm extremely happy with my Wholesales Warranty that is administered by Pro Trek. All of my claims have been handle fairly without hassles. I've had a few items denied that I though could have been covered but I also though these items were reasonable toss ups when submitting. I've heard horrible stories from other providers but sometimes you only hear the worst because happy people don't often speak up. Choose policy providers carefully and make sure you understand all the jargon of the ESW.

In the end it boils down to your overall view of risk management. If you can't afford a major problem but can afford a good ESW to cover one, then it might be for you. If you believe you have the ability to absorb anything from the replacement of a water heater to a MH engine then you can play those odds without an ESW.

One last point is to what level of ESW do you purchase? If you only want to protect components of the chassis (steering, suspension, drive train and such) you can look into that kind of coverage at a lower cost than the one I bought which covered nearly everything I could ask for. When our current policy expires in 10 months I plan to but a 2 year policy that is just covers major components. I now feel comfortable that most of the coach systems are in solid shape and service for them is within my acceptable risk tolerance and budget means. After that, my coach gets too old for policies at any price I might consider or can't get an ESW at all.

YMMV.

Cat320 · 04-17-2016, 03:16 PM

Your entire coach should be covered for a year. See how that year goes, then go from there.

WingHauler · 04-17-2016, 09:05 PM

I was a little hesitant whether I should post this question or not and now I am glad I did. Many good points were brought up which answered questions that I didn't even know I had. So, my wife and I have decided to wait a year and see how things are looking then. I suspect things will be in fine shape, but we do have to buy other things for protection, like a surge protector which was mentioned in another thread on this forum. Because of all of you on this forum, this forum is GREAT! Thank you all!!!

Fiesta48 · 04-18-2016, 05:02 AM

Saved almost $10k so far by not buying an EW. 1st year is over and only the Thermostat and rear camera gone out. Cost to me $10.
I've found many small (over 100) items mfgr should have caught, I fixed, that could have turned into big tickets. BUT I can fix most things.
If you can't turn a screwdriver then get a EW. Or don't even buy a RV, they all break.