Extended warranty? are they worth the price?

[partsben]

My wife and I are getting ready to purchase another camper, have not owned one in a few years and cant remember if the extended warranty's that the dealers sell are worth the money or are we better off not to get one from the dealer and purchase from another source? Any suggestions on companys that sell those? thanks, Ben

[bonzocfi]

If you are going to purchase an extended warranty, do not get it from the dealer. It's easy money for them!

[Mac99]

In general, on all products, I have found extended
warranties to not be worth the extra money. They are
sold to generate extra profit for the seller and the
insurance company behind them always makes a profit.
The manufacturers warranties will generally provide
adequate protection.
Just my opinion...

[hondavalk]

JMO, No

[vsheetz]

If new RV, no, as there is factory warranty.

If used RV, can be a mitigation against latent issues and having no history or experience with the RV. After one year, and gaining history and confidence, drop the extended warranty.

[Cumminsfan]

How much is it?. Rule of thumb is just put the money in the bank and wait for the big one. Normal repairs are relatively inexpensive if you're handy. If you're financing the extended warranty then figure the extra you'll pay in finance charges.
If you're not handy then get the warranty. Very few people have major repairs though.
A $2500 warranty will be $3312 at 5% for 120 months. You will be paying $812 more for the warranty. Plus if you're financing the warranty you're paying for it for the entire loan but only getting coverage for the time of the extended warranty. I.e. 3-5 years.

[gundog]

I have had our frig replaced, gray tank replaced, sink replaced, shower controls and spray head replaced, broken shackle replaced and all covered with the extended warranty. Money well spent. If buying used, get one and get it from the dealer you are going to use for repairs as you know they will take your warranty.

[Polymark]

My wife and I are getting the extended warrantee for our TT. I am not so worried about the appliances as I am about delimitation. In Canada we see a lot of extreme weather changes from very hot. To very cold, and we use out units all year round. To us it is peace of mind.

[RTegarini]

Yes and No. If you have one and anything major lets go, yes! But if you have the luck that I have, for one reason or another, the last 4 extended warranties never paid out a dime. With hindsight now, I could say 'no way', but if I'd ever gotten a reimbursement, then I guess I'd say 'absolutely'.

Check with a credit union or other sources and compare to the RV dealer. The dealer has a big mark-up for additional profit for both the dealer and finance person, where a credit union has very little mark-up and offers them just as a service, not a profit motivator.

No matter who sells it to you, all the contracts I've had required PRE-APPROVAL from the actual administrator of the policy (and often that is NOT the selling dealer) and depending on the contract price, may have a deductible. Also, dealers make it sound like 'everything is covered' when in fact they almost always cover only the things specifically listed, sometimes in paper work you get from the administrator weeks after you've paid, and not even mentioned in the glossy makes-you-feel-good brochure the finance person sends you home with. -RT

[RTegarini]

Originally Posted by Polymark

My wife and I are getting the extended warrantee for our TT. I am not so worried about the appliances as I am about delimitation. In Canada we see a lot of extreme weather changes from very hot. To very cold, and we use out units all year round. To us it is peace of mind.

Is delimitation specifically covered in Canada? I've never seen anything like that for California policies. A lot of policies shy away from coverage that falls under appearance and acts of nature.

[Polymark]

Yes the policy covers de-lamination sorry about the autocorrect error. The Canada First premium policy coves that. For up to 7 years past your factory warrantee.

[StevenNSteph]

I've given the statistics before but basically the seller of the warranty gets between about 50% of the purchase price as commision. The warranty company gets the rest and the statistics say that 95+% of those policies never pay out the amount the warranty company collects.

There are rare instances when you will get more than you put in but over 95% of the time you have just pissed your money away. Dealers push them hard because they are huge profit centers for them so remember you will get a hard sell on this item.

[Polymark]

Just like any insurance policy. It's the one thing we pay for to not use. Heaven forbid should a company that provides a service should actually make a profit.

The fact that someone some where makes a profit is not a bad thing. They are also the one betting that you won't have a $20,000 repair bill for the $2500 policy that you bought from them. If the insurance company does not make a profit I would not want to buy from them. I think the recent mortgage crisis that put the US economy in the toilet is a good lesson on that.

Just my opinion.... You still need to decide how lucky you are.

[caissiel]

Originally Posted by macandphyl

In general, on all products, I have found extended
warranties to not be worth the extra money. They are
sold to generate extra profit for the seller and the
insurance company behind them always makes a profit.
The manufacturers warranties will generally provide
adequate protection.
Just my opinion...

Mine to.

I always feel relieved when warranties are over for all my equipment and vehicles because I can apply proper maintenance to them for best performance. Sure doing it to our RV. Warranty repairs are usually patchup with all kinds of restrictions and overriding costs. Used regular warranty repairs to one vehicle after it broke down on the first day. It was a new lemon that I bought the lasted for 250k miles with additional minor maintenance.