Extended warranty - RV-Dreams Community Forum

granny · RV-Dreams Family Member

Extended warranty

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have one on our Mobile Suites. We also had one on a past 26-foot fifth wheel and when a TV went out, it was covered by the warranty with no cost to us. When the current warranty expires, I may very well find some kind of warranty that I can purchase to continue some coverage.

Terry

Luvglass · RV-Dreams Family Member

Terry and Jo wrote:
We have one on our Mobile Suites. We also had one on a past 26-foot fifth wheel and when a TV went out, it was covered by the warranty with no cost to us. When the current warranty expires, I may very well find some kind of warranty that I can purchase to continue some coverage.
Terry

I don't think so Terry. You paid for the warranty and got a new TV. The warranty was probably about $1500 and the TV $500. Unless you have a lot of problems they don't pay.

Motorhomes may be different, they can be really expensive to repair. But with a fiver there's not really much to go wrong except with appliances.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Actually, there was a charge of $700 on the replacement TV, plus labor. With a few other issues that we had (after the manufacturer's warranty expired), I figure that I got my money's worth. Plus, when we traded for our Mobile Suites, there was still some time on the 7 year plan and they prorated money back to us.

Terry

Luvglass · RV-Dreams Family Member

And how much was the 7 year plan?

Racerguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

I'm with Fred on this.I've not seen one worth the paper they're written on.We just took the cash and put it in savings and added a little each month.That way nobody can tell me "that's excluded " on your policy.I think it depends on your comfort level.If you are the type that needs the comfort of having it just in case ,then by all means buy one but do your homework.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Fred,

Does it matter what I paid? I've already stated that I felt we got our money's worth. If you are not a fan of extended warranties, then don't purchase one. I simply stated some facts in regards to my experiences.

A few more thoughts:

1. If extended warranties were so worthless, wouldn't the public have been informed enough that the companies would be out of business?

2. If I were confident in my ability to fix anything on our coach, then I wouldn't have bought a warranty on it. I've been in agriculture, over the road trucking, and dealing with electronics as well. Yet, for the systems in our coach, I am not confident.

3. In my experience with dealing in retail, we were in the position of offering extended warranties on certain products. I have seen a number of times when a product was repaired or replaced with no questions asked and a customer left as happy as could be.

Anyone considering an extended warranty really need to do their homework. Find out what may or may not be excluded. (I'll almost bet that there are some who don't buy warranties but could never tell exactly what it was that the warranty wouldn't cover.)

Now, all the above is based on my experience. I've seen their value, both for myself and for others. That is not to say that others have not had issues with them. As the old saying goes, "Let the buyer beware", but I would change that to "Let the buyer be wary" as it leaves it in the hands of the buyer to investigate, not just dismiss something out-of-hand..

Terry

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Fred,

It is difficult at times to determine the "tone" of someone's question. I first took your question as one questioning my judgement, and it is likely that you were just interested in the cost of a 7-year warranty.

In answer to that "tone" to the question, I can't really say. It was roughly 6 years ago that we first bought the warranty and I've slept way too many times since then. In fact, right at the moment, I'm having a mental block as to what the name of the warranty was. Hopefully, I can find some reference either online to a name I'll recognize or find some of the paperwork.

However, I don't have hope on the paperwork considering all the downsizing we've done in the last year.

Sorry if I misunderstood the intent of your question.

Terry

NorCal Dan · RV-Dreams Family Member

I've gotten more out of my ext. warranty that I paid for it. This RV stuff ain't cheap. With shop labor well over $100/hr. it doesn't take long to run up a huge bill. And I have 4 years left of coverage...for me it was a smart decision to purchase.

Luvglass · RV-Dreams Family Member

Well Terry, your reticence leads me to believe you spent a lot for it. :)

Of course how much you paid is relevant, You were quick to mention that the TV replacement was worth over $700. If the policy cost $400 you did well, if $700 you broke even, if over $2000, you have a long way to go to get your investment back.

An informed buyer should have an expectation of getting fair value for his/ her investment. As far as why are they still in business - sadly there are a lot of naive purchasers out there. Independent testing organizations, like Consumer Reports, claims that they are invariably a bad bet, and a major profit center for retailers. That is why they push them so hard. And from what I've seen on the forums, for everyone that is satisfied, there are a dozen that are disappointed.

As Racerguy says, put the money in the bank and the odds are at the end of the policy you'll still have some left.

Your mileage may vary :)

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Fred,

Perhaps I didn't read your original question wrong after all. However, if you will go back and read my posts again, there were more things than the TV that were repaired and because the warranty had not been used up at the time of trade, there was some money that came back to us from the warranty company.

As for reticence, perhaps you can afford me with a method with which I can have an infallible memory, as you must have.

Like I said, if you don't want a warranty, don't buy them. However, since I have seen their value, I would simply suggest that you not discount them out of hand.

Terry

Dr Gonzo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hey guys! - the long and short of it is that no one is always right but when it comes to opinion we must respect that others have their own regardless of perceived "tone".

GENECOP · RV-Dreams Family Member

A few thoughts to chew on regarding The Dreaded Extended Warranty. If considering the value purely in monetary gain, it is a bad bet, remember the House wins 86% of the time. I have a very interesting friend who is an actuary, these numbers are carefully crunched, the EW companies make a fortune every year, that being said.....Value is an intangible quality that is measured in many ways, only the individual can asses value as it pertains to him or her. Many people who can afford it pay off there mortgage early, does this decision always produce the greatest value? No, Often value is about feelings and not THE BOTTOM LINE, If the feeling of coverage is something that makes your experience more stress free......Go For It....G

RVPAINTER · RV-Dreams Family Member

Well said GENECOP! It is an individual choice of comfort. If possible I always get an extended warranty and on average I'm ahead.

soos · RV-Dreams Family Member

When we bought our Mobile Suites, we were offered an extended warranty, 7 years, for about $2400. Its probably based in part on the cost of the trailer (- about $78,000 for ours)
Because of the complexity of the Mobile Suites, we did debate it and do some research, but in the end decided that we wouldn't buy it. We looked at what was/wasn't covered ( we bought one of the TVs ourselves so it wouldn't have been covered).
My husband is extremely handy- plumbing wise, electrically etc., which played a role in our decision. He was a little daunted when looking at the one Touch Level System, etc. but not daunted enough to shell out $2400.
It may come back to bite us, who knows. The company offering the warranty didn't have wonderful reviews, but not horrible either. Most BBB reported disputes were resolved.
I do think its a very personalized choice that partly depends on how many things you feel you can fix yourself, should you need to.

Sue

-- Edited by soos on Tuesday 30th of August 2011 08:34:28 PM

Defiant · RV-Dreams Family Member

Well put Soos! Extended Warranties puechases are a personel choice, if you are mechanically inclined (like I consider myself) a person might not spend the $$$$ for one, there is not much I can't repair on a rig it might take some time and research to do it ,of course there will be a problem I won't be able to do myself somewhere down the road, so it all has to be weighed out . The otherside of the coin is some people want the piece of mind that comes with a EW , or maybe they do not want or are not capable to do repairs. The question is are EW's cost negotiable like they are when purcasing a car or truck? Car dealers have the habit of hitting you with an EW at a set price , but I have found you can usually get it for less if you are persistent enough ....