Advice needed about extended warranty for a 2021 F-150 XLT

[The Duker]

We just bought a 6400 lbs travel trailer. Now we need a truck. I have my eye on a Ford F-150 XLT 2021 Model. It has 55 K miles on it. We will be putting stress on the truck by towing the trailer. Would it be smart to buy and extended warranty? We will buy through Car Max. Any advice would be WONDERFUL!

 

[bikendan]

Moved thread from the General Community Discussion section to the Towing, Tow Vehicles and Hitches sub-forum since the OP's questions are specific to Tow Vehicles and are not general community questions.

OP, I bought a used 2024 F150 XLT 3.5 Ecoboost with the Max Tow package, from a Ford dealer.
I purchased an extended factory warranty from the dealer and was glad i did. Had two different claims covered that were more expensive that what the warranty cost.

 

[5picker]

Warranty plans are insurance policies.
Buying one will depend greatly on your ability to pay for a repair when necessary or how much repair work you can actually do yourself.

For those who are mechanically inclined and not afraid to tackle major repairs, paying someone else to do those repairs is foolish.

For those who are not mechanically inclined or worry about a breakdown on the road away from home, extended warranties are good insurance.

With all extended warranties, READ THE FINE PRINT!

Some will only authorize a specific network of repair facilities. Some require approvals in advance of repairs. Some include towing, some do not. Some only allow aftermarket parts. Some have higher deductibles that keep the policy costs lower and vice versa.

There's no "one size fits all" warranty and doing your homework before hand is important. Factory backed warranties are often a better fit than an aftermarket but again... did I mention... READ THE FINE PRINT!

 

[GolfingDave]

2021+ Ford F150 - Ford F150 Forum - Community of Ford Truck Fans

 

[Theb2b]

I have had extended factory warranties on my current truck and previous truck. Never used the warranty on my last truck, my current truck already paid for itself due to front end work, ball joints specifically. Recently the engine had a oil leak and factory warranty covered, just barely within the warranty period but had it not been this would have been covered by the extended warranty.
I would not have liked to been responsible for this bill, remember a time when you could practically rebuild a motor in place there was so much room under the hood. Again my choice will be to purchase a factory extended warranty, to get the best coverage for the dollar spend.

 

[Qwkynuf]

Just keep this in mind: do you know why dealers sell extended warranties? Because they are profitable.

Peace of mind definitely has value, and it's hard to put a price tag on that. But as others have pointed out, despite the name, these are *not* a warranty. These are an insurance product. Do not trust the sales person to accurately tell you what is and what is not covered - those statements are not legally binding. Read the paperwork.

Finally, there is no reason at all to buy the warranty from the dealer you buy the truck from. You can buy the exact same coverage online and save significant money in the process. The only real advantage would be if you intend to finance the cost of the warranty.

One more thing - these things will often run in parallel with any manufacturer's warranty, so if the rig you are buying has a year left on the original and you buy a 5 year extended, you are really only getting 4 years of of coverage on the extended (but for the price of 5 years)

 

[flyflotrtim]

The Ford Warranty offered through Ford is probably your best warranty. As mentioned above, check the F-150 forum and you will find that the warranty can be purchased through any Ford dealership and some of the purchase costs are dramatically lower through certain dealerships. I believe Flood Ford is one of the less expensive dealerships. Granger Ford and Lombard Ford also are recommended

 

[lazyjj]

I traded a newer truck for an older this past week. My newer truck had 27,000 miles on it however, I had reached the end time on the bumper to bumper warranty. The truck I traded for was a few years older with 85,000 miles, so I did not hesitate to purchase a 4 year, 48,000 mile powertrain warranty with $250.00 deductible just to have peace of mind. As others have stated already, read the fine print and make sure the person selling the warranty answers all your questions to your satisfaction. Don't take their first price offering as well. You normally can negotiate the upfront cost of the warranty to a reasonably good offer. Best wishes.

 

[jjscsix]

Do they have any stipulations on trailering?

 

[lazyjj]

That is a valid question that I do not have an answer to but someone else her may. I only buy 3/4 and 1 ton trucks which are set up for towing heavier loads so I don't think that would make any difference in coverage, just like the manufacturing warranty.

 

[Aussieguy]

modern cars/trucks much more reliable now a days

look at truck forums see if your preferred model/year has any bad habits
are any of these habits worth the thousands of $$$ the warranty costs

I bought a warranty once.... made a couple smaller claims
probably came close to breaking even

you can get warranties for different levels of protection
drive train or Bumper to bumper
make sure you read what is covered and specifically EXCLUDED

 

[Bob K4TAX]

Is that 6400 lbs. the trailer empty weight or the gross weight (GVRW)? There is a big difference. If that is the empty weight, then you will likely be towing 8500+ lbs. with a hitch weight about 1000 lbs. Can the truck handle that with some margin of safety? Also does the F-150 have the factory tow package? Lots of questions to be answered before getting into an extended warranty.

Bob

 

[BarabooBob]

I tow with an F150 XLT with a tow rating of 13,400 pounds. I have used it to tow in excess of 11,000 pounds (tractor w/loader and equipment trailer) I towed this combination up some pretty good hills and the truck never grunted. It did drop to 7th gear but the tranny temp only went up 5 degrees. They make about 30 different forms of the F150 and each variant tows differently. My friends F150 grunts when towing a 4000 pound trailer.

 

[TitanMike]

Do they have any stipulations on trailering?

If one purchased the warranty on a truck with factory tow package I would seriously doubt trailer towing could be excluded.

 

[jjscsix]

If one purchased the warranty on a truck with factory tow package I would seriously doubt trailer towing could be excluded.

I agree with you, but damn sure need to follow oil change recommendations for towing. Manual says to change it twice as often.

 

[TitanMike]

With my ecoboost is change every 3k.

Oil changes are the best and often the cheapest insurance you can buy for engines.

 

[Bob K4TAX]

I'm using Mobil 1 Pure Synthetic for high mileage, along with Mobil 1 filter. The computer gives "remaining oil change" as a percentage. I change at 50%. Likewise on the transmission, filter and oil change at 50K miles.

Bob