Ok, bought used and was sold a warranty, now questions

[baranski]

Dealer told me there was no MBS warranty left, wrong, MB says I have about 1 year left on the 3/36, engine has 5/50 and the emissions has 7/70.

Anyway dealer had me a bit worried at time of purchase and I bought a Star/Interstate warranty (about $3500) for a 7/70 additional bumper to bumper warranty.

What's the consensus here on these aftermarket warranties?

Anyone have experience with this particular company?

[bikendan]

general consensus on all RV forums, is that it's a waste of money.

[Oaklevel]

Do not know about that company but keep in mind that the warranty company is in business to make money.

Out of all the vehicles and RVs that I have owned in the past 40 years my money being in the bank was a better bet 100% of the time.

[baranski]

Thanks for your thoughts so far, I have about 10 days left to cancel for a full refund, I'm leaning that way. Yet there are so many parts and pieces as well as things that run and move (2 slides) not sure what the potential repairs costs would be or if failures are even likely.


The first trip is under our belt (from San Diego to NY) and there was not one issue, is this a sign of the reliability?

[Flybob]

Many of the OEM items AC, Slides, Furnace etc are covered under manufacturers warranty. Most extended warranties have lots of escape clauses and are not as good as the dealers make them out to be. Remember the dealer gets a commission on each one he sells. In general you are better off putting the money in the bank and paying out of pocket if repairs are needed. In addition, warranty work pays dealers less than their street rates so they tend to prioritize non warranty work. A covered repair is of little value ( to me) if it takes most of the camping season to complete.

[formerFR]

remember this: when you 'purchase' an extended warranty...

a) you are subject to the whims of the 'company' that you purchased it from, and whether they are going to even respond to your claims. you have no leverage with them, and there is no refund if you decide to change you mind later.

b) the warranty provider can subject you to using certain dealers who only they will pay for service, and that dealer may be no where near you, or may not provide service at your expected pace or time frame.

c) you are paying $3,500, which guarantees you that you will spend $3,500.

d) deciding to hold onto your hard-earned money will guarantee you that YOU decide what you want to spend your money on, what dealer you want to spend it with, and YOU then have leverage with the repair facility....IF you ever even need to use them.

[clr]

Read all the fine print in the agreement. You may find that most of the big ticket items you are most concerned about are not covered by the agreement.

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by bikendan

general consensus on all RV forums, is that it's a waste of money.

While this DOES seem to be the general consensus, some of us have fallen into a bowl of cherries. It appears to depend on the issuing company. Here's my story:

Originally Posted by Mr. Dan

Like bum4heli wrote: "It's not my place to tell someone not to purchase, or to purchase, an extended warranty, however, I would like to share..." my story even if it's happened to no one else. When I bought my current unit (first ever NEW unit), I had done plenty of study on the unit itself but nothing on extended warranties. I bought a 5-year warranty (Protective Asset Protection by XtraRide). I hadn't read all the posts where members were advised against "wasting their money" on extended service contracts. I hadn't read advice to put the money in the bank instead and have it at the ready if stuff failed (also, I didn't find any cases where someone actually did that 'bank the fee' thing).

So after 3.5 years, I had never needed to make a claim until my front A/C unit failed. As I passed by my chosen service provider, I dropped in and showed them my paperwork and asked if this policy was generally worth anything. They said it was good. I dropped the trailer off and they hit the extended service company with these claims.
1. front A/C failed
2. front axle bent
3. water pump failed too often
4. black tank dump valve cable failed
5. LED fixture above inside steps failed
6. floor covering not stuck to floor in one small spot

XtraRide accepted all claims except #6. One service writer said he'd NEVER seen an extended service contract company "roll over for an axle". The other said he'd seen 3 axles bought by warranty since 1976.

The final invoice came to $2943.91. Of that, I paid the $100 deductible, freight on the new axle (warranty doesn't pay freight and 2 locally procured axles didn't work with my hubs, etc.), freight in the LED fixture, and bearing/brake maintenance on the old axle (to match what was done on the new one). My total outlay was $554.76. I paid $1800 for the 5-year warranty. I'd say I'm ahead plus, as the service manager told me, I still have several months left on the warranty in case something else fails. YMMV

[TeachTexas]

Read carefully the terms of getting service under the contract. Make sure you have read all the info on covered and not covered items. Research the company offering the policy. Does it offer trip interruption payments or lodging costs? Does it provide for any ancillary costs associated with the breakdown?

After you have satisfied the above then ask a simple question:
Am I comfortable with paying out for the repairs and other possible costs on my own or do I want a little insurance to provide some security on costs?


An extended service agreement(which is what it really is) is just an insurance policy on repairs. You make the choice to gamble one way or the other.


I have done both paths. So far, I think I have been ahead of the game with what I have purchased. I have received all of the coverage I was entitled to and had no hassles. It has some peace of mind, to know I have some control on out-of-pocket expenses.

[Ready2camp]

Not to sound rude but $3500 is a waste of money. Any extra $$ for warranty is just a waste of money. The $3500 should be in your savings account INCASE you need to spend $3500. In the 39 years of owning RV's I've never come close to having $3500 in repairs. Try to get your money back.

[Iwritecode]

I really wish someone could do a study to see how much money people spend on extended warranties and how much they actually get back out of them, if anything at all.

Not even just with RVs, but with everything. Appliances, phones, cars, etc...

For the most part, I go with the general consensus that warranties are a waste of money for the consumer and a profit generator for the manufacturer. There are always a few anecdotal stories here and there where people come out ahead with repairs, but in my experience, they are few and far between.

I've heard of people gambling and winning a lot of money too. But not very often...

[KyDan]

Get your money back!
The casino always comes out ahead eventually.
Put the money in a savings account or CD.

[Teetime]

I think we all have a few friends or relatives where an extended warranty may be beneficial. They don't have the tools or aptitude to do basic electrical, plumbing, or mechanical repairs. Another factor could be physical health and ability.

But for most of us, yes the odds are its a waste of money. Personally, I like the challenge of maintaining what I can, and this forum is a tremendous help if you need help.

[Blazer]

Waste of time and money every decline of a repair is profit to the warranty CO.
And in the end that's all they. Care about

[BigRockr]

Personally I would never get an extended warranty for an RV. On the other hand I would never buy a top of the line diesel pickup WITHOUT one. The Ram warranty can be bought just before the 3 year warranty expires. You can get it directly from Ram and it covers EVERYTHING. You can get it online from a different dealer MUCH cheaper. As I have mentioned before that Ram was made on a Monday and was in the shop 22 or 24 times. They paid for everything. I paid not a dime. The extended warranty for my new Ford is a bumper to bumper from Allstate (kinda surprised me). I told the dealer NOPE right away and he said I'll give it to you for half price. Huh??? Bought it.

[JohnD10]

I bought an extended warranty from my dealership on my previous TT...

They refused to pay for a repair while 1000 miles from home because I didn’t happen to have repair records for the TT on the road with me.

Had $1000 band aide repair just to get us home, then another $3000 to fix it right...

And the extended warranty company offered to pay $150.00 of the total...once I paid my $150 deductible!

This company is still in business, but has changed their name several times since then (3 1/2 years ago) and I don’t know what they are going by now.

That all being said, I told them to keep their $150.00...then read ALL of the fine print cover to cover...and found a backout clause.

And, as expected, the dealership tried their hardest to talk me out of doing this.

Which I opted to do...got 2/3 of the money back and used it for the down payment on my current, uncovered-by-extended-warranty 5’ver, and haven’t had any major issues that would have required using an extended warranty.

[old40ford]

The company that writes it is important, but, the dealer that does the work is more important, because if they do not follow the instructions in the warranty, the claims can be denied. I used to be in charge of the service department at our dealership and I usually made out fine getting approvals on repairs and the customers were usually happy. That said, there are some that are not so hot, my personal vote for worst was Good Sam, they would always insist on rebuilt parts, just so you know there is no such thing as a rebuilt cooling unit. Good luck and make your own decision.

[brandon 2]

Dealers selling these warranties is just a waste of time and mostly money. We had one dealer try to sell us a warranty on the cloth seats in our Sun Seeker. Dummy did not even know all the seats are vinyl. We have purchased warranty in the past with trailers some time back and would never purchase one again. Go figure, you have $3,500 available in repairs to play with so if you spend away over that it would be worth it Otherwise not worth the ink, besides a lot of warranties make a lot of items un claimable.. Hang on to your money and make all the repairs you can by yourself with the help of the forum and u tube.


Brandon2
2014 Sun Seeker

[Decon Blue]

Cancel cancel cancel cancel cancel !!!

[rlocicero]

42 years and camping with these trailers pop ups, fifth wheels I don’t have time and I never spent $3500 for repairs total.42 years and camping with these trailers pop ups, fifth wheels I usually did all the small repairs myself and no major repairs. My holiday rambler was a leaker from the factory and we got rid of it after only a couple years. Water problems weren’t covered under my warranty or any other warranty.