Extended Warranties

[Alaskajo]

Are they worth the money? I have a 2005 unit that has only 9,722 miles so it has been sitting arounsd a while and advice?
XtraRide
Nationwide,
EasyCare,
Good Sam,
or another brand?
AlaskaJo 05 Simba

[jfran304]

Alaskajo,

Welcome to IRV2.

Do a search and you will find several prior topics on extended warranties. Some like them, some don't. Be sure to read the fine print to see what is covered and what maintenance has to be documented.

My personal opinion is that they aren't worth it since the warranty company will try to get out of paying making it a hassle.

Good Luck,
Jon

[Ray,IN]

The worth of an extended service contract, IMO depends on the type of RV you own. A towable trailer does not have the complexity of a motor home, and the appliances have at least a one year warranty, a couple even have three years.Thus, an extended service contract may not be worth the cost, especially if you were to put the same monthly premium into a savings account for future repairs.
I just received two quotes for an extended service contract on a 2000 Country Coach. Good Sam was right at $2,000 a year for $1,000 deductible. The other quote was from Wholesalewarranties.com. I don't have it with me now, but I think it was under $2,000 per year, with $200 deductible. Reading the fine print of the sample contract takes a while, and plainly states what is covered and what is NOT covered. It details the procedure for contacting them prior to ANY repairs too.
IMO What you are really purchasing is an insurance policy against covered losses. Is it worth the premium? Only you can decide for your circumstances. I never purchased one for our 5er's. Owned the first one 13 years with no major expenses that would have been covered. Owned our present 5er since new in 05 with the same outcome.

[vraines]

I have extended warranty policies and have hit and missed on them. My previous motorhome had a number of smaller faults and one larger one. With $100 deductible, it was a winner in under three years. My current policy with $1,000 deductible may not be as good a deal. After one year, I have complete confidence in my drivetrain. I take good care of the drivetrain and a warranty covering that may not be a good investment. With that deductible, most of the other covered systems simply don't cost that much to fix. My Aqua-heat would be an exception however. Most likely failure on that thing would be the boiler tank, but my policy does not cover "rust". I will probably cancel the policy and just accumulate a cash reserve to protect myself.(Self insure) its all about risk management. The warranty companies make a profit. It's a little like playing a slot machine, you may win in the short run.

[StevieG]

As Jfran mentioned, if you do a search, there is a lot of recent conversation on this topic. Several of us over the past few weeks have been talking with many of the bigger warranty companies and not sure who actually purchased one yet... if any of us... The best policies are exclusionary (items that are not covered are listed on the contract and everything else on the coach is covered) and have a consequential damage provision (where if a covered part damages a non-covered part, the non-covered part is covered and visa versa). Costs from company to another can be over $1000 different for similar coverage... In most cases you can negotiate either a better price or get some throw ins like seals and gaskets or trip interruption coverage. I found a $200 to $500 deductible to be the best for what I was looking for. With all of that said, I got to a sticking point on concesquential dmage (see the threads) with the company I thought I was ready to roll with... and am now not sure what the future holds as far as a warranty is concerned. I may just self insure for this year. I can tell you of the ones you mentioned above, Xtra Ride is supposed to be very good, but very expensive with all the above. Good Sam was also very high.