Extended Warranties

[ericandalice]

Me again. I hope you guys will indulge yet another question from me.

Eric and I have narrowed our selection down to a new Ford F-350 (that's local - yay!) and a few out of state 2011, used F-350s. A few of the used ones still have some warranty left. That makes them extra appealing, but obviously, more expensive. As I've mentioned before, we're not terribly mechanically inclined (yes, I see the irony in wanting a house on wheels) and we've never owned a diesel or a pickup so that makes us extra nervous about the other trucks not having even a year on the warranty. They still look new from what we can tell and have under 60,000 miles on them, which I've been told is "barely broken in" for a diesel.

Have any of you purchased an extended warranty before? Good idea?

I found the fordwarranties.com website and found that helpful as far as a ballpark figure and what our warranty options are. But I guess I'm just looking for more advice from folks who know more than I do.

Thanks!
~Alice

 

[Urban350]

From what I know the early Job 1 Fords (2011) have there problems, not sure of the cut off date, but would try to buy a job 2. As for extended warrenties the factory Ford one is not bad and if bought before the original one expires is cheap enough for piece of mind, it also depends on how many options the truck has, because the fatory driveline warranty is quite long.

 

[danemayer]

I wouldn't buy one unless you can buy a Ford warranty extension good at any Ford dealer or authorized repair shop, backed by Ford, not by a dealer or by the XYZ company.

I've bought two 7 year/70,000 mile Toyota warranty extensions at the time of auto purchase. It's good at any Toyota location and Toyota stands behind it, not the dealer.

The finance manager at the dealer swore he was selling at cost on the first one - $1500 I think. I later found out that any Toyota Dealer can sell you the same policy, you don't have to buy it at time of auto purchase, and there's a guy on the Prius Forum who will sell to anyone in the country for $1100. On the 2nd car purchase I told the finance manager I'd pay $1100 or buy it long distance. He sold it at $1100.

Shop around. A dealer can make a little money without doing any real work. Some will realize they don't need to make a killing.

Btw, I didn't expect to ever use the warranty extension, but it protects against some pretty expensive parts bills on hybrids and it's great when it's time to resell the car.

 

[Urban350]

Ford dealers also have room to move on the price of the extended warranty.

 

[jnbhobe]

I always buy Ford ESP warrantys, especially with all the computers on board nowdays. My deal with my dealer is $50 over cost to me. I have used the ESP for at least 20yr. I have them on my whole fleet and now days you can buy a ford ESP on a used car or truck also.

 

[GOTTOYS]

Aftermarket extended service contract companies come and go with the seasons. If you never heard of them do you really trust them? Having spent many years in the auto service business I've seen many of the bad ones people got stuck with. Many wanted us to install used or aftermarket parts a dealer could not warranty or they wanted to pay a discounted labor rate if they paid at all. If you must buy one read ALL the fine print so you know it will NOT cover. Don't believe the "bumper to bumper" buzzwords..I wouldn't even consider anything that was not a factory extended plan. You can negotiate the price through your local dealer or even purchase a Ford plan online from several Ford dealers that offer them online at discounted prices...JMHO..Don

 

[ericandalice]

Thanks all. I was looking into warranties at owner.ford.com and fordwarrantys.com.

 

[lwmcguir]

The Ford extended warranty on a Super Duty Diesel is well worth having. If you purchase a new truck get it then as it will cover less later on. It is the only extended warranty I purchase.

 

[mmomega]

I purchased an extended warranty on mine as well, the additional cost was not much at all BUT... do read through and find out what is and what is not covered by the warranty. I'm sure someone may chime in with some in depth examples but just as long as you educate yourself you shouldn't be caught by surprise if a problem arises.
If I wouldn't have purchased the extended warranty on our 2007 F350 we would've been out of pocket on the head gasket change that we had done fairly recently.
Also, if you're a modder don't pay for it, if you don't plan on messing with anything then get it. I'm stuck in the middle, I want to mod mine but I like the warranty too..... and 83,000 more miles is a long time before I can do anything to it. Yuck, lol.

 

[Urban350]

I know the to mod or not feeling all to well lol.....

 

[TXBobcat]

I got an extended warranty on my F250 until 200,000 miles. Only deal that I could get was on the engine. It did not cover the transmission, and most of the accessories. I had to replace the FICM, water pump, 2 fan clutches, fuel pump, complete A/C. These have cost me a fair deal of cash but if the engine, turbo, or some of the bigger expensive items died they would cover it.

Ask at the dealer, they can get many different choices than available online, they are set in stone. Also make sure it is a Ford Warranty. As stated above many of the third party warranties aren't worth the paper they written on.

BC