Not long ago, my fiance and I purchased a used car, 2005, one owner, as new, with low km (mileage). We got, for 'free', a dealer warranty covering certain mechanical aspects. However, the number of warranty claims is limited to three over three years, even then each claim is only covered up to $500. Plus, its void unless they do the servicing for the three years. Now, I know its not a compulsory thing and we can go anywhere we want, but reading their little brochure it says that 'servicing is done to the dealer's satisfaction', not the manufacturer's or the handbook's specs, the dealer's. This had me worried as it is, then it said that the car had to serviced at their convenience, so far as they will send two reminders and if you haven't booked within a certain time, the warranty is void. Also, the items covered are things that are just irrelevant. Things like the gearbox and so forth on a car 4 years old, that still has the original coolant, are not likely to falter. Having said that, the fine print tries all it can to avoid warranty claims, as we have to prove it wasn't driver wear and tear. What a load of crap and a waste of time. We had the car checked by our faithful mechanic of over a decade and they reported the car was 'as new'. Having experience with many cars of this make and model they reported that it was extremely unlikely, non-existant, that a warranty item, as per their terms, would even occur. Like a good chap he left the final decision up to us. After thinking about it for a while, should we go to the dealer and see what happens, etc or should we go to our trusted people, we decided it was more logical to ignore the dealer warranty as it didn't offer anything useful and had too many restrictions. Basically, its just a way for them to continually earn money off you for servicing. ...anyone have any stories or thoughts?
i went through that with my first car, except it was a 2 year warranty. the dealer was useless and basically stalled over the same problem with useless bandaid fixes until the thing was nearly falling apart. by that time the warranty was up, so i sold it for parts bought myself a different car. i wish i could say something better.
The warranties are pretty much a scam. The things covered are things that rarely break. It's all about the advertising. It's easier to sell used cars when you give away "free warranty" with every purchase.
you made the right call what they tried to sell you is a scam "to the dealer's satisfaction" is the tip off on it and most major car repairs will fly past $500 very quickly
I don't bother with warranties. They are a waste of money. But since we are talking about them, I am curious about all these commercials I keep seeing for "extended warranties" from private companies. They just seem like car failure insurance to me. Anyone deal with them? The only 1 I can remember is Fidelis, cuz Rusty and Steve Wallace do the commercials.
Sounds like you did the right then and took it to a 3rd party mechanic you trust. He said it is great so it should do well. I watch People's Court and Judge Judy from time to time and used car sales are there all the time and unless it is a state with a lemon law, the buyer always loses because of the "as-is" agreement.
pretty much the only car warranty worth a crap is the manufacturer warranty, which will come on a new car. after that you should just go with a guy you trust to do everything.
So do I. Indeed. Also, they'll milk some extra dough out of you for a few years - plus, their 'reduced' servicing charge is $100 more than our trusted mechanic and he also uses genuine parts, which the dealer said was the reason for the price difference as my guy wouldn't use genuine parts!! Morons. Yes. Thats the first line that grabbed me and made me shiver! Well, someone else I know was stung badly by poor 'dealer warranty' services, even having second hand cooling system hoses fitted instead of new ones! Once they even forgot to fill the oil - their excuse? "We have apprentices working here..." - unsupervised? Absolutely. They got quite irritable when I told them I didn't trust them and their flimsy warranty. No kidding, they've been told that in no uncertain terms by myself.
