[net.auto] Extended car warranties

wally@cornell.UUCP (Wally Dietrich) (03/29/84)

They are Rip-Offs.  This is according to Consumer Reports and other
consumer experts.  They don't usually cover routine maintenance and things
that are likely to go wrong.

                                    Wally Dietrich

kothari@ut-sally.UUCP (Kshitij Kothari) (03/30/84)

I am considering to buy the extended car warranty offered for
new toyota corollas.  Are these extended warranties just Rip Offs or
are they really worth while to be obtained.?  If anybody has
any suggestions or comments please mail them to 
                 kothari@ut-sally.ARPA.

Any comments will be appreciated.
                                            kothari
                                            University of Texas at Austin

dmmartindale@watcgl.UUCP (Dave Martindale) (03/30/84)

I got an extended warranty on my VW Rabbit, and it was a waste of
money.  The car is now nearly at the end of the warranty period, and
nothing covered by the warranty has broken yet.  The reason is that
many of the things that are likely to go wrong are simply not covered.
For example, the most serious occurence so far was that the boot
covering one of the constant-velocity joints developed a tear.  I
spotted it and had it fixed before the CV joint was damaged by water or
dirt getting in.  However, the warranty explicitly excludes anything
that goes wrong due to the failure of a seal or boot.

So if the alternator died or the camshaft broke or a variety of other
major disasters happened, the insurance would have been helpful (and
you might want to buy it for that reason), but it doesn't cover the
things that are most likely to happen.

For myself, I'd prefer to keep the several hundred dollars when I buy
the car, invest it, and bet that the things that break during the
extended warranty period can be fixed for less than the cost of the
warranty plus interest.

	Dave Martindale

jmsellens@watrose.UUCP (John M Sellens) (03/30/84)

Fire insurance for your house is a waste of money.  My parents
have always had fire insurance on the house and it hasn't
burned down - not even part of it!

Seriously though, buying an extended warranty is the same
as buying breakdown insurance - you're betting the insurance
company that your car will fall apart.  If extended warranties
were never useful, don't you think someone would be selling
them really cheap since they'd never have to pay any claims??

Those of us who are risk averse will buy it, those of us who are
risk accepters won't.

John M Sellens - U of Waterloo - watmath!watrose!jmsellens