Guidance on maintenance & extended warranty package

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I skipped ALL the after offers for service & maintenance because they are over priced and often not required. I've done this on my last 6 new vehicles and the mony I've saved is many thousands. Ed
 
Many good points have been made why to not give the dealership their wish list of free money. Another factor is, you may not have this car 2 years from now, for all sorts of reasons that you may not be able to predict right now.

It's hard for me to think of circumstances under which I'd bite on either, except maybe if somebody else, who I didn't love, was paying for it.
 
What about the maintenance package? I will need need the maintenance on the vehicle anyway. I can do the filter/oil changes but can't do some of the others myself.
The oil change is probably the worst.
Cabin and air filter are pretty easy.

Dealers differ the same way McDonald's franchises do. They have rules and guidelines but they aren't all the same.

The last two new cars I've purchased have never returned to any dealers. No problems. Maintenance is very simple until you get to the point of belt or transmission fluid replacement. Or tires, but many dealers can't compare with dedicated tire shops.
 
Hi @sm1ke - thank you for advise.

All, I've decided to go against these packages. I called in one of the service centers and coupons are available for these at just $100 + tax. So for these 6, it would never add to $1300+tax that they are charging me.
Glad you did the research to demonstrate the package is not worth it. Typically you just go to the service department and ask how much each service is, and typically you find it is way less. In addition, dealers will charge something like $100 to change the cabin air filter. You can get the part from the dealer, Amazon, eBay, either OEM or aftermarket filter, for about $20 and change it yourself in five minutes.
 
My guidance is that is is a waste of money. The cx5 is extremely reliable. You can find a good independent mechanic to do maintenance for less than the maintenance package. Of course they make money on this! If they didn't they wouldn't offer it!
 
I actually liked the experience of Tesla and in general I like EVs as a technology and liked how I did not have to negotiate the prices at all.
 
You can also use the fact that the dealership is making fat bank on those add on extras (pre paid maintenance, extended warranty, fabric protection, wheel dent ding, etc) to your advantage during negotiations. Ask questions about them up front with the salesman. Appear to be very interested in them. It's very possible to negotiate a lower purchase price when the dealer believes they're going to make it up in the finance office. Then, turn the table and decline decline decline on the extra add-ons ;) .
 
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Hi guys - thank you everyone for the guidance. I asked the finance lady for detailed description of what is covered and what is not covered and all she sent me was crap and some stuff to make me believe I should take it. Well, if you are not transparent, it basically means you are hiding a lot.

That gave her away.

For someone who might be reading this in the future, as a first time buyer, do not buy anything that is offered by the dealerships. If anything, show that you are interested to decrease the MSRP as much as possible and then don't take the packages.

More - please ask to provide what is covered and what is not covered in detail. Then pick your phone and call a dealership to ask about the price for those basic things. Obviously this will be lot less. Don't fall for the predatory tactics of the finance person. In my case, I called the service center of the dealership and the person on the otherside was really frank and helpful and said not to buy the package. Haha. Not everyone is helpful though, especially the person in the finance side.
 
Regarding Manufacturer Extended Warranties, as discussed this is mostly profit for the dealer. You should also see what is included in the fine print. I have heard, for example, with an engine problem, Ford was charging $50 deductible per occurrence. Burned valves on a V8 is $50 for each valve x 8 cylinders.

But my point for writing this, in my younger, less wise days back in 2006, I did buy into a manufacturer warranty. But the selling dealer was selling for $2200, but just for me, he would reduce to $1800. The Acura dealer said I did not have to decide that day, I could have 30 days. I researched this on the internet, and to my surprise the Acura extended warranty said you could sign up 0-7500 miles, or six months at no additional cost. And the kicker was there were many dealers selling this warranty on the internet, so I found the lowest price, which was something along the lines of $595 from a dealer in New England. In the almost 10 years I owned the car, I never needed it, even though it seemed like a really complex car.

In 2006, I think it was the first radar cruise control, integrated with a collision mitigation braking system, which included electric motor that cinched up the seat belts, pulling you against the seat back; tightly integrated voice integration with almost 600 phrases, and naviagation that allowed changing destinations on the fly, Bluetooth phone integration, AFS, run flats, torque vectoring AWD with three diffs in the rear, and a rear back up camera.
 
maint contract - hard no. Ext. warranty is different. Id' consider one, ,but not the on in the OP. For $1600 you can shop around and find a 7 year contract. 5 years is just dumb. It's already covered drive train for 60 month, so you're just looking at another 2 years for anything else. - Nope. As has been mentioned, you can call any dealer for a price. Let them know you're shopping around and I think you'll find 7 years for your $1,600 quote
 
To everyone poo-poo'ing the ext warranty, while I agree with you, I bet many of you pay that stupid $130 coverage on you phone, with a $100 deductible 🤷‍♂️
 
To everyone poo-poo'ing the ext warranty, while I agree with you, I bet many of you pay that stupid $130 coverage on you phone, with a $100 deductible 🤷‍♂️
That is definitely a hard NO.
Most people advocating against this maintenance plan/extended warranty garbage would never pay for phone coverage, or anything else for that matter.

You are better off self-insuring for normal life expenses, such as car repairs, phone repairs, home repairs, ect.
That is what an emergency fund is for.
If you don't have enough money in your accounts to comfortably pay for a side mirror motor or phone repair, then you have no business buying a brand new $35K car or $1000 phone.
 
Sounds like OP got their answer - thanks everyone for your input. This thread will now be closed.

For anyone else who comes across this thread - understand that you should not let anyone attempt to strongarm you into buying (or avoiding) anything. Advice and opinions differ greatly. The best thing you can do for yourself is gather information, consider all perspectives, then make an informed decision that takes your own priorities and your own situation into account.
 
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