Community Forums

Bucksmom · 03-09-2011, 01:41 PM

Good afternoon!
After being tent campers for a number of years, we have finally settled on a 2008 26ft used Dynamax! We are thrilled, but of course a little nervous!

I have generally never been a fan of extended warranties, but of course we were offered this by the dealer. I'm going to do some searches on the forums, but does anyone care to offer a link to a good thread on this or have any advice? We will be using the rig primarily on weekends, and 2 bigger trips a year. Thats the plan for now anyways.

I have read a bit on roadside assistance services, I'm wondering if there is usually any kind of overlap with these coverages.

Thank you so much in advance, your collective wisdom is truly appreciated. I will put a bit more on my profile once we have things a little more settled.

**NLOVNIT** · 03-09-2011, 02:28 PM

HERE's a fairly recent thread about the subject. Also, if you do a Search using the words extended warranty, you'll come up with a whole bunch more.

Some members have them either through the dealer or another source (pure profit for the dealer BTW). Others prefer to put that money into a savings account & earn at least a tiny bit of interest on it & have it there for when issues arise. Whatever you go with, read it, know it forwards & backwards, especially any exclusions & the procedure you have to follow if you're in a breakdown situation & there are no authorized repair facilities nearby.

Lori-

TXiceman · 03-09-2011, 06:12 PM

On a used motorhome I would be more prone to look at the extended coverage contract. These are very high profit for the selling dealers, so I would shop after market.

Be very careful of the stability and history of the company. Before you buy it, insist on a copy of the contract to read in detail. Pay particular attention to the what is covered and what is not covered. The lawyer weasel wording will drive you crazy.

Things like they may cover the wheel bearing, but not the axle if you have a bearing go out. They generally do not cover any kind of a seal or failure due to a seal.

Just remember....BUYER BEWARE.

Ken

Bob/Becky D - VA · 03-09-2011, 06:32 PM

Can only speak to my experience. I bought a 2003 motorhome used in 2007 and bought the extended warranty. It have got a lot more out of it than I paid:

windshield started leaking, rusted frame - paid
windshields broke while repairing frame - paid
Actia display unreadable - paid
basement heatpump compressor locked - paid
refrigerator control unit failed - paid

Most of these repairs happened during the last couple of years, so I probably could have put money aside to pay as many suggest.

However, after putting a large down payment on the coach to reduce interest payments and pay off earlier, I did not have a reserve to set aside should any major problem occur in the first few years. To me, if you can afford to pay for a major repair then you probably don't need the coverage. If you can't afford a major repair, then you should probably consider the coverage.

Just my $.02.

Bob

bluepill · 03-09-2011, 06:59 PM

45 years in the auto repair business, and I generally consider these policies to be Swiss Cheese - full of holes. I dealt with a number of companies on behalf of my customers and most were reasonable to work with on small claims. Large claims, however, were bad news. My dad was a trial lawyer and advised me to "Always insure angainst the BIG loss". The problem is that many insurers seem to have the motto "Don't pay the big loss" Example: Almost all engine coverage is restricted to "failure of internally lubricated parts". This almost never happens in real life. Damage caused by overheating due to any cooling syetem component - which is the most common - is not covered. Bad hose, thermostat, radiator, fan? Sorry, we don't pay.

As already mentioned, most of what you pay is profit for the dealer or salesman. This leaves little for the company to actually pay out claims, so they work very hard to avoid paying.

I recently looked into "Coach only" coverage when I purchased a 3 year old MH. I didn't want to pay for engine and transmission coverage, but thought that problems with slides, steps, A/C, etc. might be worth it. They wanted 2K for 4 years coverage, and the slides were EXCLUDED (even though the salesman said that they were covered.)