Extended Warranty - RV-Dreams Community Forum

LDM · RV-Dreams Community Member

Extended Warranty

Racerguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Some people swear by them but for me I have never run across one yet that was worth the paper it's written on. We bought two and had nothing but "thats not covered". I would go over the wording very close if considering one.I obviously did not on the two We bought.

DaveSam · RV-Dreams Family Member

We cancled ours after we also got the "that's not covered" line. We decided to put the money in the bank, draw interest and keep it there in case we needed it for repairs. I will never buy another one especially if it is from Interstate in NYC.

Luvglass · RV-Dreams Family Member

Everyone we've ever discussed it with has claimed to have more problems with "that's not covered" than they are worth. I feel that the money they cost put aside in savings is a much wiser route to take.
I understand they are a major profit center for dealers, so are pushed aggressively sometimes. Be wary.

phyllen · RV-Dreams Family Member

Yup, we bought a one -year "warranty" last year when we bought a 2002 Fifth wheel. We tried to use it a few times. Once they "allowed" only a small amount of the charge. The total cost of the warranty and our co-pay was more then what just paying for the repair outright would have cost.

Needless to say, did not renew.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Jo and I bought an extended warranty on our 26 foot fifth wheel. Last August we were in a campground with electric, so I was going to watch a DVD on the tv. Everything worked except the tv.

When I got home, I checked things like fuses and power to the tv but was unsuccessful with finding the problem. So, we took our camper in to get it fixed. It did take a new tv because there was a short in it somewhere.

If I remember correctly, our warranty was called something like "Campground USA Platinum". (Please don't hold me to that name, because it may be a bit different. I'll check for sure and correct the name if it is wrong.) The charges came to something over $850, more than $700 for the tv alone, and all we paid was $3.18.

That tv is a small flat screen, roughly 19" in size, so it wasn't really a big one.

Ordinarily, we don't buy extended warranties but we did this time, and I am glad we did. In the past, any extended warranties we purchased have been for products that consisted of a number of moving parts. We would seldom ever buy one for an electronic device like a tv. It is ironic that the first thing fixed on this camper warranty was a tv.

alflorida · RV-Dreams Community Member

I am not a fan of extended warranties. Having said that, I have had decent service from Good Sam's CSP (Continued Service Plan).

However CSP only will pay for "rebuild" parts, not new parts. I have heard that is standard for most extended warranties.

I had a Dometic fridge spring a leak in the cooling unit (leaked all the ammonia out). They would only pay about $1200 for installation of a "rebuild" cooling unit if you could find one. However they would and did pay about $1600 of $2100 for a brand new refrigerator. I didn't like (and ignored or forgot) the statement in the contract about the "rebuilt" parts. But in the end I was satisfied with the new fridge with a three year mfg warranty.

I did sell the 5th wheel and new fridge about 6 months later and bought a 2003 Phaeton diesel pusher motorhome, thus loosing the benefit of the fridge warranty.

In 2008 we stopped by the Phaeton mfg. plant in Red Bay, Alabama and had three separate repairs done and CSP didn't charge a separate $500 deductible for each repair. Instead it was $500 deductible for the total bill. I was happy with that.
CSP is the only extended warranty I have experience with.

-- Edited by Howard at 10:45, 2008-12-09

thebearII · RV-Dreams Family Member

If I did not have the skill and tools to work on my vehicles, appliances and RV, I would be more inclined to consider extended warranties.

However, after reading for years about some of the problems folks have had trying to get work done or covered by the extended warranty companies, I would have second thoughts and just take my chances with the normal warranty and hope for the best as the RV gets older..

We have had several RVs and have been lucky so far, no major problems eventhough we kept a couple beyond 15 years. That's the good thing about a travel trailer or 5th wheel, most of the components last like they do for homes. No worry about engine and transmissions...

Our trucks had been good to us as well, my 1986 chevy gave us many years of trouble free service. I still use it today for hauling trash and supplies. It well worn and I was concerned it would not handle too many more trips with the 5th wheel. So we bought the new truck recently and it comes with a factory 3 year, 100,000 miles warranty so we are covered for a while.

Back to the trailer, lots of the parts that will wear out or will go bad, are relatively easy to fix and inexpensive to have replaced. The internet is a wonderful thing. You can get step by step instructions on how to fix anything. In the past two weeks, I've had to fix both cars and went on the internet pulled up step by step instructions and tips to do the repairs. If I had taken the cars into the dealer, the repairs would have been $400 & $600. Instead I bought parts, a code reader, a shop manual and spent about 4 hours total to fix the problems. Total cost about $189. And now I have the code reader for future use with all 3 vehicles.

Howard has said he's never been one to pick up tools and do repairs, but in the three years they've been on the road, he's tackled quite a few tasks with success. The RV community is a great source for help. It's amazing how fast you'll get offers of assistance once you open the hood of your vehicle at a campground. Like I've said before, just set your toolbox on the picnic table, scatter some tools about and start scratching your head... it's like a mating call... pretty soon you'll have several folks offering to help or fix the problem. It's better than an extended warranty because you'll meet some nice folks as well.

Howard · Host

Well, I guess I'll chime in.

Knowing nothing about RVs and certainly not being a handyman, we purchased a 7-year extended warranty for $1,894 when we bought our fifth wheel in 2005. That comes out to about $270 a year. It has been well worth it for us.

Yes, I have, to everyone's surprise, learned to do quite a few repairs I never thought I could or would do. Some would have been covered, some would not have been, but they all saved us from having to schedule an appointment to have the work done. However, there have been a few things I would never tackle on my own that were covered.

Now, my guess is that extended warranties for motorhomes are much more expensive because big problems can cost a lot more money.

There is no question that the wrong warranty with the wrong company is a big waste of money as there is a lot of profit built in. But a well-priced warranty with a reputable company is like good insurance for peace of mind. It's just not easy to find that balance.

I agree that setting aside money for future repairs is probably the best option for most people, but I wouldn't dismiss extended warranties completely without doing some homework.

Often, when dealing with warranties, your best friend is the warrantly clerk at the dealership where you hope to have repairs. A good warranty clerk knows how to get things covered and is usually trusted by the warranty company because they are thorough and precise in their documentation. Bad warranty clerks can't get anything covered and always take "no" for an answer. If you have warranty repairs, always go out of your way to be nice to the warranty clerk. And you might even shop dealerships to find a good one with lots of experience.

For our annual cost, I would buy the same warranty again on a new fifth wheel. But I would have to do a lot of research on pricing, coverage in the contract, and the company standing behind the contract to buy one on a used RV, especially a motorhome.

My two cents and it is probably not worth that.

Judy · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have a 2 yr warranty on our rig but not an extended one. Hubby can do just about anything himself. On a MH I could see buying an extended warranty. However on a fiver no. We did buy one when we bought a TT Ourback at one time and we sold that in about 5 months after buying it as we then bought a fiver.
southwestjudy

annette · RV-Dreams Family Member

We bought the extended 7 yr warranty on our Flagstaff 2009 Vlite in june 2008. Hubby thought it would be well worth it with the two slides etc. Also we got the road warranty on it too. We might not use it but we figure it is well worth the price. i think it was like 1700 for the 7 yrs.

Old Snipe · RV-Dreams Family Member

I purchasd an extended warranty with my new MH last year. It was the top of the line package, which includes repairs right down to gaskets and will cover parts that are damaged by another componant failure, i.e. a water pump bearing breaks and causes the fan to destroy the radiator.

This week I had the AM/FM/CD/Sirius radio replaced under the extended warranty. My MH is out of the manufacturers new warranty. Total cost: $407, my deductable: $100.

My cost breaks down to $3.00/month over the life of the extended warranty. I'm pretty happy with that.

Best Regards!

ahoweth · RV-Dreams Family Member

Over the years we have owned pull trailers, fifth wheels and motorhomes. Some we have purchased extended warranties for and some we have not. As for their value, I can honestly say that I have yet to have ever recovered the cost of the warranty via claims against it. Perhaps we have just been lucky!

I believe that Howard hit the nail right on the head as he usually does. If you feel one gives you some security against catastrophic failures then be sure to do you home work. Research exactly what is covered and what is not and be sure to check out what you have to do to get the warranty company to pay for covered items. Most of them require you to contact them before having any repairs done. That is not always an easy or convenient thing to do. If you don't follow the letter of the contract you are usually just left to pay the bill yourself. That is one reason the warranty clerk is so important. Unfortunately many shops are just too small to have a good warranty clerk and you may well be in a position where you can't be real chosey where you get repairs done. Failures don't always happen when you are sitting in the parking lot of your favorite repair shop!

Remember one thing when you a looking at an extended warranty, these warranties are sold to make some one money and it isn't you!

Tim & Robyn · RV-Dreams Family Member

Howard,
As usual your 2 cents are worth quite a bit more than that. You always present the upsides and the downsides, and provide a lot of food for thought, which is worth a lot more than 2 cents. We all have to make our own decisions and to be prepared to live with the consequences, so the more we know up front the better off we will all be.

We're not at this point yet... our RV is still a ways off. But when the time comes, we'll sit down and gather as much information as we can, but without paralyzing ourselves by trying to think of everything there is to be considered, and go with whatever our heads and hearts tell us. We might make a mistake, but at least we'll be able to sleep at night and enjoy the now....