Extended Warranty

Insurance is designed to protect you against catastrophic financial losses, not for every little expense that might happen in life.

I hold auto insurance because one accident could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and bankrupt me.

I do NOT spend $2400 (plus interest) on an extended warranty to protect me from the potential of a minor car repair.
If you can't afford such a repair, you have no business buying a $30K+ vehicle.

Agreed. You and I wouldn't do it.

But consider that for some people, the "peace of mind" may be worth more than the money they're spending. Even if it's an illusion.
 
Insurance is designed to protect you against catastrophic financial losses, not for every little expense that might happen in life.

I hold auto insurance because one accident could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and bankrupt me.

I do NOT spend $2400 (plus interest) on an extended warranty to protect me from the potential of a minor car repair.
If you can't afford such a repair, you have no business buying a $30K+ vehicle.

If you can't afford a $2400 warranty, you have no business buying a $30K vehicle. The warranty just takes all the hassle out. Drop it off at the dealer, come pick it up, problem solved. Also, you choose when to buy t he warranty, NOT when your turbo goes out.
 
I concur. Repair even up to a few hundred dollars should be expected with car ownership and part of owning a car is the research and shopping into models that have the least likelihood to have catastrophic failures (transmissions, engines, etc.).

6 1/2 years of ownership so far, not counting tires, and other maintenance items, I've spent maybe $500 on actual repair?

Every vehicle I've owned has had a catastrophic failure within 150K miles.

-G20, Transmission, 115K
-WS.6, diff, 80K
-Jeep Grand Cherokee, water pump ($1K), transmission leaking numerous times, and other things
-CX5, Diff, 35K miles (I flooded it, warranty covered it). HPFP, 106K miles ($1K)
-370Z (Sold at 34K miles after $1500 in brake issues)
-C6 Z06 (Sold at 4K miles, so not really fair, lol!)
-LT1 Trans Am (Previous owner said the transmission was totally trashed at 120K miles)
-88 Mustang GT, built from the suspension up, not fair to compare it.

I'm sure I forgot a car or ailment here or there, but in my personal experience, this thing will pay for itself.
 
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The warranty just takes all the hassle out. Drop it off at the dealer, come pick it up, problem solved.

This is just plain wrong...

There is NO less hassle when having a car repaired using a third-party warranty vs. paying out of pocket.
In fact, there is actually MORE hassle when using a warranty.

Pay out of pocket:
- Drop off car at the repair place of your choice (dealer, independent, mobile, ect.)
- Pick the car up. Pay using the $2500 you saved by not buying the warranty.

Using a third-party warranty:
- Call warranty company to find an approved repair center, determine what you need to do to file a claim, fill out necessary forms, ect.
- Take your car to an approved repair center. Hope that they are competent, can fit you in, are close to your house, ect.
- Repair center diagnoses the issue, but can't start on the repair yet.
- Contact warranty company to have repair approved. Plead your case, provide documentation showing you have maintained the car, ect.
- Wait to hear whether the repair is approved or denied. Will they cover all the repairs needed, or just a portion? What types of parts are approved (crappy aftermarket)?
- After all of these steps are completed, you MIGHT have an approved claim that can now be repaired under warranty.

Which of these scenarios sounds like more of a hassle?
 
This is just plain wrong...

There is NO less hassle when having a car repaired using a third-party warranty vs. paying out of pocket.
In fact, there is actually MORE hassle when using a warranty.

Pay out of pocket:
- Drop off car at the repair place of your choice (dealer, independent, mobile, ect.)
- Pick the car up. Pay using the $2500 you saved by not buying the warranty.

Using a third-party warranty:
- Call warranty company to find an approved repair center, determine what you need to do to file a claim, fill out necessary forms, ect.
- Take your car to an approved repair center. Hope that they are competent, can fit you in, are close to your house, ect.
- Repair center diagnoses the issue, but can't start on the repair yet.
- Contact warranty company to have repair approved. Plead your case, provide documentation showing you have maintained the car, ect.
- Wait to hear whether the repair is approved or denied. Will they cover all the repairs needed, or just a portion? What types of parts are approved (crappy aftermarket)?
- After all of these steps are completed, you MIGHT have an approved claim that can now be repaired under warranty.

Which of these scenarios sounds like more of a hassle?

You have simply nailed every post here on extended warranties and maintenance plans, but we've been down this road before, and you're talking to a brick wall here, unfortunately.

Nevertheless, I applaud you.
 
I agree with most of the above, however, he has a unique case putting a ton of miles on the car, he'd definitely be at the mileage limit far before the 7 years. If the turbo goes out, the plan has paid for itself. I'm curious if the turbo and intercooler components can last for 150,000 miles without issue. I could look up high mileage 2016 CX-9s on Autotrader, but Mazda locks all the service records down once the VIN has been associated with an owner's online account.
 
Basically, unless you're putting a ton of miles on the car, the odds are not in your favor making a positive return on the warranty. As stated many times, these aren't sold out of generosity.
 
I agree with most of the above, however, he has a unique case putting a ton of miles on the car, he'd definitely be at the mileage limit far before the 7 years. If the turbo goes out, the plan has paid for itself.

I would argue that buying a warranty makes even LESS sense for Unob, given how many miles he drives.

As I pointed out, he will only get 2.5 years of powertrain coverage and 3 years of B2B coverage from his "10 year" warranty.

I would rather have $3000 in the bank, that can be used for repairs beyond those 3 years, instead of hoping/planning for a turbo to go out during that narrow time window.
 
I agree with most of the above, however, he has a unique case putting a ton of miles on the car, he'd definitely be at the mileage limit far before the 7 years. If the turbo goes out, the plan has paid for itself. I'm curious if the turbo and intercooler components can last for 150,000 miles without issue. I could look up high mileage 2016 CX-9s on Autotrader, but Mazda locks all the service records down once the VIN has been associated with an owner's online account.

That, and the transmission with the added torque.
 
This is an unwinnable argument. Extended warranties are insurance, same as any other insurance policy. Yes, the issuing company prices the warranty at a level that they will make acceptable profits overall. That means that a few will benefit from the EW, while many will not. For most people who buy in to an EW, it's not about a guaranteed return, but more about peace of mind. If I had a million dollars in the bank, would I buy life insurance? Maybe not. You think Bill Gates or Warren Buffet pay for medical insurance? Why would they?

I know Unobtanium seems excited about the prospect of cashing in on his EW, but I'm guessing he'd be even happier if nothing ever broke on his CX.

I purchased an EW once in my lifetime.
2015 Jeep Wrangler
FCA LIFETIME Warranty with a $100 deductible for as long as I owned the vehicle.
If after 100,000 miles a failure would cost more than the value of the Jeep to fix, they would write me a check for the value. And Wranglers hold value extremely well!
Also for the first 100,000 mi.
Free loaner
Free towing
Trip interruption costs covered - Rental car, hotel, meals.
Cost was negotiated to $2400

This was a situation where FCA was clearly banking on people to not keep their cars for the very long haul. Was not trasnferrable, if the car was sold, totaled or stolen, the warranty ended. They no longer offer it, so I'm guessing it was not as profitable as they had hoped. :)
 
Of course, much of the value of getting EWs depends on the lack of reliability of the vehicle. On average, Mazdas are better than average as far as good reliability is concerned.
As a general rule of thumb, EWs on Japanese products is a bad bet.


It's kind of like buying earthquake insurance when living far away from any major faults. Having it may give you peace of mind but it won't likely save you any money.
 
I purchased an EW once in my lifetime.
2015 Jeep Wrangler
FCA LIFETIME Warranty with a $100 deductible for as long as I owned the vehicle.
If after 100,000 miles a failure would cost more than the value of the Jeep to fix, they would write me a check for the value. And Wranglers hold value extremely well!
Also for the first 100,000 mi.
Free loaner
Free towing
Trip interruption costs covered - Rental car, hotel, meals.
Cost was negotiated to $2400

This was a situation where FCA was clearly banking on people to not keep their cars for the very long haul. Was not trasnferrable, if the car was sold, totaled or stolen, the warranty ended. They no longer offer it, so I'm guessing it was not as profitable as they had hoped. :)

A former colleague of mine purchased an EW for his Jeep Wrangler and had to use it after his new car warranty expired. The Jeep's transmission died and it was a good thing he had it. After getting it fixed, he immediately sold it since although he had always wanted a jeep, but it was time to move on to a truck that could pull an RV.
 
This is just plain wrong...

There is NO less hassle when having a car repaired using a third-party warranty vs. paying out of pocket.
In fact, there is actually MORE hassle when using a warranty.

Pay out of pocket:
- Drop off car at the repair place of your choice (dealer, independent, mobile, ect.)
- Pick the car up. Pay using the $2500 you saved by not buying the warranty.

Using a third-party warranty:
- Call warranty company to find an approved repair center, determine what you need to do to file a claim, fill out necessary forms, ect.
- Take your car to an approved repair center. Hope that they are competent, can fit you in, are close to your house, ect.
- Repair center diagnoses the issue, but can't start on the repair yet.
- Contact warranty company to have repair approved. Plead your case, provide documentation showing you have maintained the car, ect.
- Wait to hear whether the repair is approved or denied. Will they cover all the repairs needed, or just a portion? What types of parts are approved (crappy aftermarket)?
- After all of these steps are completed, you MIGHT have an approved claim that can now be repaired under warranty.

Which of these scenarios sounds like more of a hassle?

Maybe with 3'rd party warranties, but with the Mazda Added Protection I have paid for (50% off mind you..) in Canada I've NEVER had to deal with anything remotely like what you state above.

I've taken my car to my Mazda dealer, dropped it off... they've diagnosed the issue, confirmed my coverage, repaired the car and I've picked it up.

I haven't had ANY hassle at all. Not even once.
 
I have an 2005 F150 with 116,000 miles over 14 years. UNOB will do that in 3 years and 150,000 in 4 years. The time of 7 years is moot. It's the mileage that eats up the vehicle not the time. 150,000 miles is alot with NO major repairs. His decision makes sense for peace of mind.
 
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