extended warranty/ service contracts

[jkbaum]

My wife and I just purchased our first motorhome, a 2000 Fleetwood Flair 31A, low mileage and very good condition. I would like to purchase an extended warranty. I have quotes from Good Sam and from Wholesale Warranties. Any advice?

[JohnRR]

It's been a topic many times in the past if you want faster answers just do a search for extended warranties in the iRV2 search box or sit back and relax and wait for the answers here.

[slick60]

You are asking for a ton on replies none of which you can say is more than an opinion. As for me I would not leave home in a 2000 RV without a road service contract and I would want an extended warranty if you can get it. It really depends on what you can afford if you should have trouble on the road.

The search mentioned in an earlier post is a good thing to do then I think you will understand my reply.

Happy Trails and be SAFE

[Rich and Cork]

I have owned motorhomes (new and used) continuously since 1979 and never purchased one. I can do most of the needed repairs and will pay someone every so often if I cannot do the job. I think I am so ahead of it financially. So many threads on here about people not getting satisfaction from their warranty. The problem is you have to carefully go through the offer and see if it would really cover the things you think you want them to cover.

That is my opinion and I know others feel differently. Good luck and enjoy.

[Barbaraok]

We put 10% of the purchase price in a repair/replace account and add to it each month. If something needs to be fix, we fix it. If we find something warn or think it might let go, we fix/replace it. We also have money to replace batteries/tires as they come due.

Extended warranties aren't warranties - they are service contracts and the companies underwriting them only make money if they take in more in premiums than they pay out in claims. Since the salesmen can often make 50% commission on these products, how much in claims do you think they pay out. If you do decide to go that way, make sure you get a copy of the contract, read it through, read again, read again and work out a flow chart so you will know all of the steps you have to go through to get a claim paid. Pay attention to things like what happens if an non-covered part (belt/hose) brakes and a covered part also breaks because of it - - often they will not pay. Or what if there is other damaged caused by a covered part - will they be fixed? All RV magazines are full of people complaining about not getting extended benefits under their service contracts.

Barb

[livesound]

I too just bought a older 2000 fleetwood jamboree. i know its a class c your is a class a, i saw a couple of flairs i liked allot. i bought an older unit becuase if price, first rv and didnt want to get in to deep. how ever buying a 13 year old vehicle can put you in to deep. so i looked into the big ticket items. now mind you im fairly handy on the construction side of things not so much on mechanical. so i came to the conclusion that im not afraid of anything in the RV itself, plumbing, electrical, 12 volt and 110 system. what i was afraid of is the big ticket items, fridge, gene, drive train and roof air. a friend believes whole harted in warranties (of which on his 06 itasca has not used). when i looked at the absurd cost. my quotes were in the 4k range. and took a real close look at the fine print. it was much like a home warranty, and didnt cover enough of my list. so i chose not to get one. IMHO is that warranty companies are kinda like vegas, not built on claims. (or vegas not built on winners)
But i did allot of reaserch on my unit and any i was interested in. i looked the unit over for any past repairs. i feel pretty confident that i dont need a warranty. how ever im not saying i dont have one on my new truck either.

[RickO]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new rig!

You'll want to do a search on this topic because, other than WalMart, it is certainly in the running for the most discussed topic on the forum.

IMHO, these things are easier to understand if you look at them as insurance policies. But, they're insurances policies which I believe operate in a much less regulated environment than more familiar policies. Reading the fine print is critical.

We were newbies and bought a new 40DP. I wanted the peace of mind that the EW brought me. As it turns out, we were lucky and bought one from a good company and in the end they paid out just about what the premium cost... but it was the peace of mind I was after. We were happy with our decision to buy at that time. However, the EW just came up for renewal and I declined.

We're no longer newbies and I've come to believe that a "self insure" strategy like Barb describes above makes a lot more sense for us now.

Best of luck.

Rick