mjsporsche

I have been on the fence about buying an extended warranty.

I have read the numerous posts about the advantages of buying one and the arguments from others who would prefer to self-insure. Many factors that were important to me came into play.

(1) Coverage that would deal with repairs that are not normal wear and tear. Only an exclusionary policy made sense to me so I could clearly understand what is excluded.
(2) A warranty company that appears to be financially sound and will be around for many years.
(3) Length of policy period which for me is more about years than miles.
(4) Claims handling that is viewed favorable by service departments as being "reasonable" to deal with .
(5) Flexibility as to where the work can be performed.
(6) Reasonable pricing.

I became more motivated when my 2011 BMW Navigation system blew up and needed to be replaced. A very large repair bill paid by my BMW factory warranty. I thought about my 2008 Carrera S and the complex electronics and wondered what would be my out of pocket if something blew up after my factory warranty expires in April 2012. And RMS or IMS, etc. You can let your imagination run wild.

I narrowed my selection to the Fidelity Warranty Services Platinum Policy (Exclusionary). Fidelity Warranty Services is the actual policy that is behind the scenes for Audi Extended Warranty and for some stores, Porsche, as well as other brands. They have many other types of policies with less coverage from basic powertrain to enhanced coverage but not as good as the Platinum exclusionary.

I ended up with a 7 yr/ 70K Platinum policy. $100 deductible. For me, that means coverage until November 2018 and to 79,820 miles. And it works out to be less than I spend on my one daily tall bold coffee at Starbucks. Pricing is highly dependent on existing mileage and whether you are still covered by factory warranty.

It is all about comfort level and out of pocket exposure. PM me if you want any other information.

Zeus993

Yep. I did the same. Good decision.

sullivas

+1. Bought mine 2 weeks ago thru dealer.

kyrocks

^^ Of course all you guys agree and make each other feel better...you all made the same decision!
Hopefully it's money well spent. Good luck.

boolala

I pulled the trigger and did not buy an extended warantee. That was 7 years and 70 K miles ago. So far only scheduled maintenance. Now how much has that decision saved me?

sandwedge

Looks like a winning strategy given the hand you were dealt. Of course, you had no way of knowing what hand you would be dealt 7 years and 70K miles ago so it's a gamble. Potentially a $20,000 gamble, especially with a 2005.

I bought a Fidelity platinum policy too for my -06 just before the factory warranty expired. Paid around $1,800 as I recall it. Six months later I had recouped half of that on nuisance issues alone. A passenger seat air bag warning light kept coming on and couldn't be cleared. Parts and labor: $750. Then the front trunk release lever stopped working. Parts and labor: $275. Traded the car a year later and got a $700 prorated refund for the unused portion of the policy. Net cost for almost 2 years pf coverage and peace of mind including deductibles: $275 or 38 cents/day.

mjsporsche

Not enough to buy a single tall bold Starbucks coffee a day. And no need to leave room for milk!

Mark

alpine-al

Mark -

Were you able to get the waranty directly from Fidelity or did you get it through a dealer?

Thanks

mjsporsche

Fidelity does not sell the warranty directly. Call Fidelity Warranty Services, (http://www.fidelitywarrantyservices.com/). They will provide you with the names of dealers who are their "agents" for Fidelity products. Ask for names of 4 dealers local to you and negotiate as appropriate.

Mark

KeninBlaine

Thanks for the info guys. While I have a pretty trouble-free car that I use as a daily driver, I am aware of how easy it is to spend a lot of money if something does go wrong, as cited above by sandwedge. These cars have very complex electronics, and it is the electronics that worry me more than mechanical issues. When I purchased my car almost 2 years ago with a CPO warranty, I had to make about 5 trips to my local dealer to resolve issues with the PCM that ended up being related to a rear electronic module (which they discovered just as they were about to replace the $2500 PCM module). It was obvious to me that the techs were pretty challenged in trouble-shooting the problem. Then recently, in trouble-shooting a creaking noise in my dash, my dealer discovered a broken weld between my front fender and the body. I'm picking it up tomorrow after 2 weeks in the shop. CPO is covering the cost, which I don't even want to imagine.
Since my CPO expires in 4 months, I think I'll look into the extended warranty for the peace of mind it could bring.

sandwedge

If you do buy one, be sure to do it before your CPO expires. You'll pay quiet a bit more if you buy a new policy with no current coverage.

KeninBlaine

Yes, that was my plan. That seems typical of most extended warranties.

Zeus993

Yep. Purchased the extended before the manf ran out and a couple of months into it the flywheel sheared off. Who knew such a thing could happen, right? The extended warranty covered it (whereas the original manf may not have) as well as the repacking of the IMS and replacing the RMS. All good.

KeninBlaine

I called EasyCare a few weeks ago and got a quote that seemed too high to me. So today I called my dealer and got a much better quote for a Fidelity Platinum policy. My only concern is that my Service advisor mentioned that, since my car has some mods (primarily Damptronics, Champion wheels, and Dension etc.) that the warranty might exclude more things than a non-"modded" car. I'm curious if anyone has experienced a problem like this.

Eric - Plug Guy

Ken - talk with other dealers. None of the items you list should have any impact on major warranty items.

Damptronics, maybe, if you have suspension issues. But wheels? Ridiculous. And the Dension should have zero impact too - it's just another module on the already existing optic loop.

Good luck with all this. I had a chat w/ my service mgr last week about Easy Care, he mentioned that in past situations they have mandated sending him parts to be used, which were well worn, not new. He was not too thrilled with the experience he's had with them, and I know they are highly recommended on this board.

Just read all the fine print.