Extended warranty

6257 Views 33 Replies 17 Participants Last post by tailgatewagon, Jun 30, 2009

SGsynthetic

Discussion Starter · Dec 17, 2006

Wondering if anyone picked up the Subaru-endorsed extended warranty at purchase. About $1k gets 6yr/100k miles, and it even includes tire and wheel hazard damage replacement. Is it worth it? I plan on keeping the B9 (at this point) past the 60k warranty. Any common faults that would make the extended warranty pay for itself?

1 - 20 of 34 Posts

Mtnbiker

· #2 · Dec 17, 2006 (Edited)

That has quite a bit of mark up... you can purchase the extended warranty at any time during your factory warranty period, so don't feel pressured to buy one at the time of purchase.

BTW, That's where a lot of dealerships make their money. For example, my dealership tried to sell me the Subaru Gold warranty, 6 year/100k w/ $100 deductible for $1900. I made a few calls and found out that you can purchase the Gold plan with no deductible for about $725 directly from SOA. If the dealership counters with the fact you can roll it into the loan, well, SOA will also let you finance it. I think at the time I checked it was 0% for 16 months or so.

Armed with that info, I went back into the dealership and walked out w/ a no-deductible Gold for 6 years AND free oil changes for life for $725. I'm sure others have done even better but hopefully this will give you some idea of what to shoot for.

SGsynthetic

Discussion Starter · #3 · Dec 17, 2006

Mtnbiker said:
That has quite a bit of mark up... you can purchase the extended warranty at any time during your factory warranty period, so don't feel pressured to buy one at the time of purchase.

BTW, That's where a lot of dealerships make their money. For example, my dealership tried to sell me the Subaru Gold warranty, 6 year/100k w/ $100 deductible for $1900. I made a few calls and found out that you can purchase the Gold plan with no deductible for about $725 directly from SOA. If the dealership counters with the fact you can roll it into the loan, well, SOA will also let you finance it. I think at the time I checked it was 0% for 16 months or so.

Armed with that info, I went back into the dealership and walked out w/ a no-deductible Gold for 6 years AND free oil changes for life for $725. I'm sure others have done even better but hopefully this will give you some idea of what to shoot for.

Thanks for the info. The finance guy (I didn't finance, but that's where the paperwork was completed) said that they make about 30% and then pass that savings on, which is why it was priced below $1k. Ha. He also said that the price goes up as soon as you drive the car off the lot. Right. There were three levels of plan, Basid included just Mechanical and Road Hazard. The other two options added 36 mo basic maintenance and Secure Etch benefit (the windows are already etched, twice actually). I'll have to contact SOA and explore pricing. I'm still wondering if it is worth it.

SoDealer

· #4 · Dec 18, 2006

mls64 said:
Thanks for the info. The finance guy (I didn't finance, but that's where the paperwork was completed) said that they make about 30% and then pass that savings on, which is why it was priced below $1k. Ha. He also said that the price goes up as soon as you drive the car off the lot. Right. There were three levels of plan, Basid included just Mechanical and Road Hazard. The other two options added 36 mo basic maintenance and Secure Etch benefit (the windows are already etched, twice actually). I'll have to contact SOA and explore pricing. I'm still wondering if it is worth it.

Sounds like the Dealer is selling an aftermarket warranty and/or aftermarket services with the warranty.

Here is some info on Subaru's warranty:
http://www.subaru.com/owners/addedsecurity/index.jsp

http://www.subaru.com/owners/addedsecurity/index.jsp?id=ADDED_SECURITY_CONTRACT_COMPARISONS

check with SOA if you're not sure what's going on.

[email protected]

· #5 · Dec 19, 2006

good info. mtn. we got the extended warranty just b/c the B9 (at that time) is a new model production car, and you never know when you need it.

kooldak

· #6 · Dec 20, 2006

I'm seriously thinking about it. But in talking to SOA, they said that the warranty can be purchased anytime during the factory warranty period and that the cost had not risen in some time. So they do not expect it to rise much in the next 3 years. With that in mind, I'll probably wait until closer to the time my factory warranty expires and decide then if I really want it or not. Experience should also tell me by then which warranty would be best for my situation if I choose to get it.

So I'm going to wait a bit before buying.

SGsynthetic

Discussion Starter · #7 · Dec 20, 2006

kooldak said:
I'm seriously thinking about it. But in talking to SOA, they said that the warranty can be purchased anytime during the factory warranty period and that the cost had not risen in some time. So they do not expect it to rise much in the next 3 years. With that in mind, I'll probably wait until closer to the time my factory warranty expires and decide then if I really want it or not. Experience should also tell me by then which warranty would be best for my situation if I choose to get it.

So I'm going to wait a bit before buying.

I'm going to do the same, and hopefully others will rack up miles more quickly than me and report if there are any problems. It ia amazing that the guy who was selling the extended plan, and said that he was an SOA employee not one of the dealer, would make false statements like "the price goes up when the car passes the curb" when it is so easily discovered that he's lying.

Mtnbiker

· #8 · Dec 20, 2006

mls64 said:
I'm going to do the same, and hopefully others will rack up miles more quickly than me and report if there are any problems. It ia amazing that the guy who was selling the extended plan, and said that he was an SOA employee not one of the dealer, would make false statements like "the price goes up when the car passes the curb" when it is so easily discovered that he's lying.

I sold cars for a while, so I'm familiar with the process. Finance guys earn their money by selling service plans, extended warranties, and the like. If they don't sell the plan, they essentially worked for free. Just like salesmen (salespersons?) who can go too far trying to make a sale, there are shady finance guys who will say anything to get you to buy that plan.

Part of the problem is that most dealerships are 100% commission. You don't make a sale (car or warranty), you're not paying the rent that month. It creates a sense of desperation for some. Now that I'm on the other side of the table, I use that desperation to my advantage... :devil:

SubOperator

· #9 · Aug 1, 2007 (Edited)

Damn. I wish I would have found this site and this thread _before_ I bought the B9. We paid 1400 for Gold Plus at the dealer

EDITED: Question then, does anyone have real life experience cancelling extended warranty that was bought from dealer ?

texan

· #10 · Aug 2, 2007

When it was offered to me, they said i could cancel at any time and get back the prorated amount. But since I like to work on cars, I declined...

Magic Marker

· #11 · Aug 22, 2007

SubOperator said:
Damn. I wish I would have found this site and this thread _before_ I bought the B9. We paid 1400 for Gold Plus at the dealer

EDITED: Question then, does anyone have real life experience cancelling extended warranty that was bought from dealer ?

I found this directly from Subaru.com. I guess this should apply if you bought the manufacturer version.

"Cancellation Full refund first 90 days, pro rata thereafter, $25 fee"

Here is the direct link
http://www.subaru.com/owners/addedsecurity/index.jsp?id=ADDED_SECURITY_CONTRACT_COMPARISONS

Magic Marker

· #12 · Aug 28, 2007

Mtnbiker said:
That has quite a bit of mark up... you can purchase the extended warranty at any time during your factory warranty period, so don't feel pressured to buy one at the time of purchase.

BTW, That's where a lot of dealerships make their money. For example, my dealership tried to sell me the Subaru Gold warranty, 6 year/100k w/ $100 deductible for $1900. I made a few calls and found out that you can purchase the Gold plan with no deductible for about $725 directly from SOA. If the dealership counters with the fact you can roll it into the loan, well, SOA will also let you finance it. I think at the time I checked it was 0% for 16 months or so.

Armed with that info, I went back into the dealership and walked out w/ a no-deductible Gold for 6 years AND free oil changes for life for $725. I'm sure others have done even better but hopefully this will give you some idea of what to shoot for.

Hey, How did you go about buying the extended Gold warrenty for $725 directly from SOA?

Mtnbiker

· #13 · Aug 28, 2007

Magic Marker said:
Hey, How did you go about buying the extended Gold warrenty for $725 directly from SOA?

I threatened to go directly to SOA, but actually ended up purchasing it from the dealership after a little haggling. It's been a while, so the prices may have changed.

I called a bunch of local dealerships and asked to speak to their finance managers, and got a bunch of quotes that way. That's how I found out about the SOA deal.

Just remember, there's no hurry. Finance managers make it seem like you'll pay more later if you don't get it right away.

Hope this helps!

Magic Marker

· #14 · Aug 28, 2007

Mtnbiker said:
I threatened to go directly to SOA, but actually ended up purchasing it from the dealership after a little haggling. It's been a while, so the prices may have changed.

I called a bunch of local dealerships and asked to speak to their finance managers, and got a bunch of quotes that way. That's how I found out about the SOA deal.

Just remember, there's no hurry. Finance managers make it seem like you'll pay more later if you don't get it right away.

Hope this helps!

Ok, so you basically shopped around and said you would buy the gold plan directly from SOA if the dealer didn't give you that price? How did you get that $725 number? Thanks for your help.

SubieTri08

· #15 · Jan 21, 2008

I'm renewing this thread!!! So I also bought the Gold warranty from the dealership when I completed the finance papers. I think it cost me about $1400 for it and now i'm not sure I should've since IMO its kinda pricey and they never really sent me a comparsion of what the Gold covers above the factory warranty except that it extends the factory one for another 2 years. I have an '08 Beca, any suggestions on whether I should keep the Gold or cancel and get my $$ back? I mean, what are the chances that I will need to use the Gold within my reg Factory warranty timeframe???

Magic Marker

· #16 · Jan 21, 2008

SubieTri08 said:
I'm renewing this thread!!! So I also bought the Gold warranty from the dealership when I completed the finance papers. I think it cost me about $1400 for it and now i'm not sure I should've since IMO its kinda pricey and they never really sent me a comparsion of what the Gold covers above the factory warranty except that it extends the factory one for another 2 years. I have an '08 Beca, any suggestions on whether I should keep the Gold or cancel and get my $$ back? I mean, what are the chances that I will need to use the Gold within my reg Factory warranty timeframe???

I would totally cancel it and get your money back. You can rebuy it when you get closer to the end of the standard warrenty. My plan it to pick up the extened a few months prior to the end of the original warrenty.

Off topic, in my regional thread I wanted to get a group buy for the extended warrenty. Basically I want to go into my dealer and tell him that we have 4 Tribeca owners that want to buy the Gold pkg in hopes we would get a better deal. Thoughts?

SubieTri08

· #17 · Jan 22, 2008

Magic Marker said:
I would totally cancel it and get your money back. You can rebuy it when you get closer to the end of the standard warrenty. My plan it to pick up the extened a few months prior to the end of the original warrenty.

Off topic, in my regional thread I wanted to get a group buy for the extended warrenty. Basically I want to go into my dealer and tell him that we have 4 Tribeca owners that want to buy the Gold pkg in hopes we would get a better deal. Thoughts?

Yea that sounds like a good idea MM. Think i'm gonna cancel it and then buy later. That group thing sounds good, should give it a try when that time comes. But when you do that, do you automatically extended it for the amount of years you purchase?? Because right now it seems like a waste of money for me since its sorta like double warranty. If it extends for the amount of years you purchase it for that would mean when the factory warranty is up and you get the 7 yr gold, you have at least another 7 year on it. Correct?

Magic Marker

· #18 · Jan 22, 2008

SubieTri08 said:
Yea that sounds like a good idea MM. Think i'm gonna cancel it and then buy later. That group thing sounds good, should give it a try when that time comes. But when you do that, do you automatically extended it for the amount of years you purchase?? Because right now it seems like a waste of money for me since its sorta like double warranty. If it extends for the amount of years you purchase it for that would mean when the factory warranty is up and you get the 7 yr gold, you have at least another 7 year on it. Correct?

I pulled this directly off of Subie's site.

How long does the service contract coverage last?

You can select the length of coverage that best suits your needs. You have a choice between eight different plan terms. You can even choose a plan that covers your Subaru until it is seven years old or has accumulated 100,000 odometer miles, whichever comes first. The plan term is calculated from the start of the factory warranty and at zero miles.

So in essence, the Gold plan is only good up to 7yrs old or 100k miles/ whichever comes first. I guess the only benefit of getting the plan at inception is that you can finance it through your auto loan. If I remember right, my dealer was giving 30% off the price as a holiday promotion, but I'm sure we'd get a good deal if we all came in at once.

njjuliano

· #19 · Jan 22, 2008

SubieTri08 said:
If it extends for the amount of years you purchase it for that would mean when the factory warranty is up and you get the 7 yr gold, you have at least another 7 year on it. Correct?

One of the biggest misnomer in auto marketing, the (insert number) warranty. Its not after the manufacturer's warranty, its alongside it. So yes, they say you purchase 7, but really, you're paying for the 4, since the 3 was already built in the price. And what's worse, there are loopholes in most of them, that make them not as good as the original warranty. So yeah, they can be a big ripoff.

If you are set on buying the 7 year warranty, I'd keep the money you would use for it in your bank, get the money to work for you (ie dont spend it). Then when its time to buy it, take the money out and pay for it then. If there so happens to be a sale that you can get it for much less than what SOA offers it, then get it then. But, its better to keep the money with you till its time to purchase.

SubieTri08

· #20 · Jan 22, 2008

I wonder how its going to work now if I cancel and have it built into the finance.

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