Community Forums

M&J · 08-22-2010, 02:14 AM

Dave,

I am not big on extended warranties and I passed on the ones the dealer offered as they were very expensive and didn't make sense. I did research other extended warranty companies and found one that I ended up purchasing for less than a third of what the dealer offered and has better coverage.

If you are interested you can PM me and I will get you the contact info for the person I dealt with.

Like Kraig I can work on my coach as well. The major failures are what I was concerned with and weighed the cost of the warranty heavily before I moved forward with purchasing one.

Hope you are enjoying your coach. We are a new owner of an Apex as well.

Good luck!

azloafer · 08-22-2010, 02:28 AM

I carry a five year extended warranty. Cost was $2300 with the tire coverage. I was told, by Winnie, that an engine replacement is about $28,000. I just feel better knowing that the big things are covered. Joe

Dave and Jaime · 08-22-2010, 06:31 AM

Doesn't anyone find it ironic that during the sale process the dealers and manufacturers brag about the build quality of their MH home and you always hear someone say that these diesel engines will "run forever" blah blah blah. Then, the moment you agree on a price to buy this top of the line, high quality MH with the engine that lasts forever, they ask you to pay $1000's for the extended service/warranty because "these things are complex" and "repairs are expensive" -- especially that diesel engine (that minutes earlier was supposed to run forever). Where would be without salesmen?

HD4Mark · 08-22-2010, 07:22 AM

This is our first diesel and first "previously owned" MH. The dealer came up with a ridiculous price for an ESP so we shopped around and settled with GS for about $1300 a year. Not knowing what to expect we figure we would give it at least the first year in case there was some hidden problem then re-evaluate when it was up. Last weekend we discovered the fridge was not working. Leaking coolant so it looks like a cooling unit, parts alone close to $800. Norcold 4 door with ice maker for the record. The A&E Weatherpro awning never retracts right so we added that to the list of repairs, who knows how much that will be. I figure when it is all said and done even with a $500 deductible we will be money ahead.

The repair shop tells us they have never had a problem with Good Sam but we shall see and I will try to report back.

I usually don't buy extended service plans figuring they don't make a profit by giving money away so let's hope the one time we actually make out on the deal.

rmmpe · 08-22-2010, 07:57 AM

Thanks to Algoma, who provided better info than I had, Prizm's main phone indicates they are still in business. I now believe it is only "Warranty Experts" that has gone out of business.

I'll be following up on this and will provide more detailed info as this evolves.

In the interim, I apologize for my previous post.

azloafer · 08-22-2010, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave and Jaime

Doesn't anyone find it ironic that during the sale process the dealers and manufacturers brag about the build quality of their MH home and you always hear someone say that these diesel engines will "run forever" blah blah blah. Then, the moment you agree on a price to buy this top of the line, high quality MH with the engine that lasts forever, they ask you to pay $1000's for the extended service/warranty because "these things are complex" and "repairs are expensive" -- especially that diesel engine (that minutes earlier was supposed to run forever). Where would be without salesmen?

You are so right! We accept the fact that when we first take the new coach out we are prepared to make a list of the things that do not work properly. We even have a name for that first trip which is called a "shake down cruise." I recall, years ago, buying a new coach and finding out that the cruise control did not work and that I could not see the speedometer because the steering wheel was in the way no matter how it was adjusted. Plumbing was leaking. Bathroom doors did not close properly. And the list goes on. We learn that coaches costing as much as the house we live in seem to have never been tested to see if everything works. What happened to quality control? Joe

dwebcbceo · 08-24-2010, 10:22 PM

To all who replied (too many to list individually) to my post I want to say thank you! I can tell it's a topic of great interest to many and with strong personal opinions about it and with varying personal experiences. I the past we have never bought extended warranties but have wondered whether this house that we now own that goes bouncing down the road is different than other things that we self-insure. A compromise might be a high deductible plan to cover only for the really big ticket items. I really don't have respect for insurance companies in general and extended service warranty companies seem to be right at the top of the ones with a lack of integrity. Dealers I've talked to echo the same issues with the companies that many of you note and they find that they have to be very careful of the language they use or the claim will be denied.
In the end the decision is a very personal one.
Thanks again to all,

Dave and Susan Weber, Maggie(our Havanese), and Zoe (our Cairn Terrier)
'08 Alpine Coach Limited SE 40MDTS

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwebcbceo

I am a new Alpine owner having purchased a "new" 2008 Alpine coach from Guaranty in Junction City , OR in April of this year. Decided at the time to not buy an extended warranty but to risk it. Now I'm having 2nd thoughts about that decision. I'd appreciate some of your thoughts on the good, the bad, and the ugly of extended warranties. To buy or not to buy, that is the question. Any extended warranty companies to avoid? Any shining stars?
I'd appreciate any information you can provide. Thanks in advance for your help.
Dave Weber
2008 Alpine Coach 40 TS

dwebcbceo · 08-24-2010, 10:33 PM

Hi Mark and Janet,
I would appreciate the contact name if you can provide it. I'm not sure how to PM you, though.
Out of curiosity did you buy your 2007 Apex from Guaranty RV in Junction City, OR? They had just sold one before we bought our Coach in April of this year.
Dave Weber

dwebcbceo · 08-24-2010, 10:37 PM

Thanks, Kraig. Very good advice.

Renipladlo · 08-26-2010, 09:42 PM

When we purchased our MH, we purchased an extended warranty it, 3 weeks later the company refunded out money, because there was not any parent company left. WRV was gone, no manufacturer’s warranty, they would not touch it.

So I paid to go to RV Repair School to the tune of 6K, now I can fix anything on the coach that breaks. However, the Cummins warranty is 5 years or 150K miles whichever comes first, and I was told you have to buy the engine extended warranty before the end of the 1st year. When I went to look into it, the gal told me it's not worth the expense. Keep doing your regular maintenance, warm up and cool down correctly and you should not have any problems.

Allison are bulletproof so like do the maintenance required and check your fluids, keep it from getting too hot, and everything should be fine.

HH/AQ services at least every 12 to 18 months and that should be good, if it starts smoking have a service done asap. Flush the regular type water heater once a year, keep the RV refer clean in back, and be a stickler for having it level using one in the freezer shelf and again, you should be good to go. Put 250 a month in the bank to cover anything major, and you will be covered. Call me if you need work done, I give 10% off for being alpine owner.

Many warranty companies won't honor it if they know the parent company has gone south, so you need to really check the fine print.

Now my friend purchased a new 2008 MH and the dealer threw in the 4 year extended warranty free. So check those lottery tickets again.

M&J · 08-26-2010, 10:04 PM

Dave,

We actually were dealing on that 2007 at Guaranty but it was sold out from under us. We actually purchased one from McClains in Texas. I am very happy with it so far. The extended warranty was for 7 years and 70,000 miles in addition to what you have on your coach now.

There was an additional charge for the coach being orphaned but it was only $350 for that portion.

The warranty was through Wholesale Warranties and I was impressed with Jeff. He called me several times rather than emailed me and I have his cell number so he has been very accessible. He called to explain things to me on a Saturday as well rather than email as he wanted to make sure he answered my questions to my satisfaction. They are a Better Business Bureau "A" Rated company as well. I am not sure how the forum rules are so I am not sure if I am supposed to give out his info so I will try to PM you on this.

M&J · 08-26-2010, 11:34 PM

Dave,

I tried to PM you but you must not be set up to Private Message yet.

If you go onto the forum and log in you should see on the menu at the top a item named "User CP" and is usually on the left side of the tool bar. You should be able to set it up from there and then message me or let me know you are set up and I will message you.

Renipladlo · 08-27-2010, 01:21 AM

Dave, forgot to mention, I think your 40MDTS is just like our APEX, since ours is also the 40 MDTS. We liked it because it's got a large kitchen and we cook home a lot. However, there is not any good place to have a traveling office. So we just set up a table in front ot the Passenger Seat, if I need to print, I use the floor. The 40 FDQS plan has a little bit more room to set up a traveling office, but I still like that big kitchen area.

swansnest · 08-27-2010, 02:36 PM

Monty - You might check with Amazing Creations/Kustom Coach Works in Junction City - Scott & Bobby do Amazing things to add to the MDTS for very reasonable prices.

We are very pleased with the work station they gave us in the same coach and the "disappearing table" in front of the co-pilot seat - suspended from the side.
http://www.amazingcreationsrv.com/ - http://kustomcoachworksrv.com

THIS IS KIND OF OFF SUBJECT!