What does Warranty Forever cover and NOT cover

[dkrobath]

I bought a 2020 class A motorhome last year and the dealer offered WARRANTY FOREVER plan that came with the purchase.

Anyone have this plan? and if so what does it cover and what does it NOT cover.

The catch is, you have to bring it in and have a inspection done and documented to keep the W F service activated at about $300 a year.

I am looking for people that have this same warranty to see it they think it has paid off over time and is it worth the $$$ to perform the inspection every year?

Or is it just a way to get more $$$ out of you. I am wanting people who have this to give me some feedback. It sounds too good to be true from watching a few Warranty Forever videos on YouTube. Not much good or bad out there that I can find. Help anyone?

Thanks

[Don and ren]

Pure dealer marketing

[groswald]

According to Google, Warranty Forever's RV warranty is an inclusionary warranty.

That means that it covers the items listed in the contract, and only the items listed in the contract. These types of warranties can be problematic as they allow the underwriter to deny service on lots of things that your would expect "to be in there".

For example, the warranty might cover the refrigerator, but not the ice maker because it's not explicitly listed. While this is a made-up example, things can and do get that crazy.

Far better are exclusionary warranties where everything is covered except those items explicitly listed in the contract. These tend to cost more, but have fewer complaints for denied service.

Buying a service contract (which is what these are - not warranties, despite the names) is a very personal choice. If you're reasonably handy, you'll (statistically speaking) be better off doing most of your own repairs/maintenance and setting aside the money you'd have spent on the service contract for major repairs should they be necessary.

Regards,

Randy

Regards,

Randy

[Ljwt330]

Agree with Randy, above.

Also, consider the following: You will have at least a one-year factory warranty on the coach when buying new, longer on the engine/chassis, and these cost you nothing (actually part of the initial cost of the RV.) Most all issues from poor assembly to faulty systems, tend to show up within that first year and will be covered by the factory/dealer. Nearly all house issues can be resolved by a competent DIY or certainly an independent shop without waiting months for appointments and at less cost. Engine/chassis issues can be very expensive but those items are warranted longer and are less often to actually happen.

Should you go with the "Forever Warranty," you will be subject to an annual charge of $300 that is simply profit for the company. Further, all repair work that is covered will have to be done according to their policy which may include having to wait for work to be done at specific shops. As stated by others, extended service contracts are pure profit for the dealer and the companies. Yes, there are a few who come out ahead due to a major failure, but they are offset by the thousands who put the money upfront and never come close to covering that amount during their term of ownership, and those are policies that do not require an annual "Inspection" of $300.

Read the fine print, closely. Inclusionary contracts are riddled with "loopholes." Ask yourself, honestly, how long is the "lifetime" that you will be owning this RV and is it worth the amount you will have to spend initially and annually? Yes, it is a game of odds and, like in Vegas, the odds are always with the "House." In this case, the "House" is the Forever Warranty.

[busyguy]

Covers everything as long as you don't use it.

[Mudfrog]

No firsthand experience but I'd imagine there'd be a lot of hoops to jump through to make it work. You can bet that all preventative maintenance would have to be done at the time required. A person would have to make sure to keep all documentation and not miss a single thing.

Not sure how much the annual check ups would cost but I bet they'd add up pretty quickly. I can also imagine there'd be extra charges at almost every inspection for things the repair facility found needing to be done to keep the warranty forever in effect.

Having said that, if a person is insistent on having some kind of service contract, it might be possible the warranty forever is the better deal of the two. That is, if the annual inspection cost was actually around $300 and if the fine print was comparable to that of a service contract.

Imo, the OP already has it so he or she needs to read its contract thoroughly to see what all it does and doesn't cover. If it looks ok, then find out what the annual inspection entails, costs, and the time it would be in the shop for that inspection.

[theroc]

There have been threads on this before on this forum as well as other RV forums.

Essentially, it's just a gimmick in my opinion.

Yes, you are required to do the yearly maintenance at your cost by an authorized dealer in their system but from people I've talked to that have it, the dealerships across the country are not that ubiquitous. In some areas (if you are a full-timer and are moving around a lot), you may (or may not) have a difficult time finding an authorized dealer. You can't do the inspection yourself or have a friend do it and sign the coupon.

Plus, the dealerships that do have it (or are authorized) can charge what they want for that yearly inspection. You have to send in a coupon each year proving that the inspection was performed by an authorized dealer.

The hidden catch from what I've been told is that these dealers are "trained" to suggest additional services during that inspection that may or may not be needed and charge premium prices for them

Some put a lot of pressure on you to do services that are questionable or really not necessary but they are on that fine-line where it's a gray area if it needs to be done or not. Some dealers try to take advantage of those who they feel may not know much about RV systems by suggesting things that scare them into having a service done ...e.g. "wow, you really should flush your water heater or it will explode as we can see a lot of dangerous stuff inside the tank ...we can do it right now for $395 and you can rest easy"

This is not to say that all the dealers will do that. If you have the fortitude to fight off they sales pressure when you bring it in for the inspection, then it may be okay especially if they charge a reasonable price for the inspection. The prices seem to be in that $200 range plus-or-minus $100. It's way too high for what they are inspecting but if you're getting a free lifetime warranty out of it, I suppose it's worth it if you can ward off their high-pressure salesmanship to suggest (or insist) that other services be done that may not be absolutely necessary.

The warranty includes ten (10) items. The first two (brakes and suspension components) I believe are for travel trailers ...somebody showed me their contract once and I seem to remember those two items being left out of the contracts for motorized vehicles. Of course, it will not cover drivetrain or other major chassis components.

Here is the website that will give you a little bit more information: RV WARRANTY FOREVER®


A short video from one of the dealers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2ik_Nc4T_c

eta: oh, and notice how one of the items is "Manual Leveling Jacks" ...most Class A motorhomes do not have manual jacks so hydraulic or electric jacks systems do not appear to be covered. We all know that those can be a MAJOR expense when they need fixing. I also don't see slides mentioned so hopefully somebody who has this coverage and owns a motorhome can clarify these two items.

[Dav L]

If you have an average RV experience then you will certainly loose money on purchasing any service contract. That's the way the math works and why they are in business.
If you are DIY, then even more so as that reduces their claim cost.

If you know you are more of a risk than others (hidden issues that they aren't aware of and they don't realize), then MAYBE you stand a chance of breaking even.

Most do better by taking that contract money and putting it in the bank for a rainy day. If you aren't good at saving, and spend this money, then you put yourself at risk of a possible failure you then can't pay for.