Used car extended warranties...

I'm refinancing my 2016 f150 ecoboost to pull a littler cash out and pay off some higher interest debt. I've been trying to sell and have gotten absolutely zero action on 2 months and my price is almost down to trade in value.

They asked if I want to buy a warranty.... Well part of the reason to sell was because it's getting up there in miles and I don't have money for any expensive repairs. Maybe this warranty isn't a bad idea.

It's through route 66. Anyone have experience with the them? I'm sure not all are created equally.

Questions... I don't see anywhere in the fine print where me being the previous owner disqualifies me from purchasing and using this thing.

There are a few things I that I'm sure could use repair... Bcm (causing rear parking sensor fail)....... It fouls plugs pretty quickly (like 10-15k miles)... Sunroof doesn't open.... And I'm sure steering ends and such will need attention sooner than later. Not to mention expensive things like the turbos or the cam phasers etc.

What have we your experiences with these warranties? If I pay the $2k for the service, I'd probably just hang on to the truck for another 24k miles since I'll have at least some added reassurance.

I paid for an extended warranty on a used 4Runner we bought... had a claim that should have been covered, they denied it. (Rear wheel seal started leaking). They claimed it was a wear item like brakes and not covered under the bumper to bumper extended warranty. 🙄

IMO, non-factory extended warrantys are bullshit and just another way to make money on you. I'll never buy another one.

I bought one when I was younger on a Scion TC that was like a year old when I purchased it. There was an issue with the evap system I don’t remember the details of why but they wouldn’t cover it.

My sister had one on a Nissan maxima that had an engine fail and they denied it also. She ended up getting it paid but only after paying the repair out of pocket then had to hire an attorney.

I firmly believe that banks and dealerships get spiffs or kickbacks of some type for selling those warranties. I don’t know this for sure but I’ve never heard of anyone having a good experience with a third-party warranty and there has to be a reason people are pushing them and it doesn’t seem to be because they’re in the best of their customers.

My dad had one on a vehicle and was supposed to get some of the $ back after not using it for X amount of years. He was pumped to get the $ back until he called their number and it was disconnected. He did some research and the company had gone out of business...

I bought one on my wife's Audi Q7 (since German) I had a PCV valve failure. They claimed emissions equipment was outside of the bumper to bumper warranty parameters.

I had to pull the whole supercharger because it was underneath... But surprisingly easy to work on. It's almost as if it was designed to be serviced by engineers who work on stuff.

Long story short: aftermarket warranties feel like a scam.

I have a feeling the "bumper to bumper" warranty contract is based on a pair of bumpers in the lobby of the business with nothing in-between them.

Gravy said:

Long story short: aftermarket warranties feel like a scam.

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They ARE a scam. Just like insurance, they wouldn't make money if the odds were in the customer's favor.

All vehicle service contracts (ie, "warranties") are not created equal. If you (a) purchase one from a reputable company and (b) you get the coverage you actually want, they can be a godsend.

Point A: reputable company. Pick a company which is recognized by a lot of shops (at least ones you would use for repair). Pick a company who is easy to work with (ie, they don't give the shop grief when making a claim). Ask around a various shops and see which companies they say they are happy to work with. At my dealership, Zurich is now the only aftermarket service contract we generally offer. Based on my 26+ years selling here, I would say they seem to be the best aftermarket company in the business.

Point B: coverage. The vast majority of service contracts offer inclusionary coverage. This means there is a list of items which are covered by the plan, and nothing that isn't on that list will be covered, period. These sorts of contracts often cause disappointments and lead to customer dissatisfaction, so as a dealership we avoid them. OTOH, some contracts (the ones that cover the most components of the vehicle) offer exclusionary coverage--they have a small list showing which items they do not cover (typically maintenance and some wear items), and everything which is not listed will be covered. These contracts generally do not cause rude surprises down the road, and thus they typically result in better customer experiences... which is why we use them exclusively when they are available.

HTH

I had a Route 66 warranty (I think) about 10 years ago. Paid $2k for it when I bought my 2002 f-350 7.3 with 125k on it. Within the first year, I needed a starter, glow plugs, and a whole new transmission. Like $8k in repairs. Warranty covered all of it, was not a problem. Had all the work done at the ford dealer.

johngottfredson said:

I had a Route 66 warranty (I think) about 10 years ago. Paid $2k for it when I bought my 2002 f-350 7.3 with 125k on it. Within the first year, I needed a starter, glow plugs, and a whole new transmission. Like $8k in repairs. Warranty covered all of it, was not a problem. Had all the work done at the ford dealer.

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That’s awesome. I’ll have to remember that company.

Unless their claim approval is more like a lottery and you won that round.

Herzog said:

That’s awesome. I’ll have to remember that company.

Unless their claim approval is more like a lottery and you won that round.

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Yeah, I would do it again. My credit union sold it to me, I did no research. These were three separate claims, all without issue.