I thought there would be loads of discussions on this... but either there isn't, or I don't understand how the search function works

I just bought a 2010 Fit in Canada. Maybe "Honda Plus" is a Canadian only thing? I'm not sure. Basically, I understand I get 3 years, 60,000km comprehensive warranty from Honda as it stands. When I was signing the deal, the relatively high pressure "business manager" was trying to talk me into two things: $2000 for a "paint protection" and under carriage spray (yeah right! i can wax my car a whole lot for that money, and DIY underbody is less than $100); and a $1500 8-year, 200km Honda Plus warranty.

The latter actually sounded fairly decent to me. It includes road side assistance, which is worth something - say $80 a year (that's what I pay now for 3rd party). So $400 of the $1500 is accounted for. Basically then its $220 a year for a little peace of mind.

Thoughts?


One thing that struck me as odd was the sales tactic of the warranty. It seems to me to be counter-productive to the sales of the cars themselves. Here this lady was, showing me a brochure chalk full of yellow highlights among only a few blue ones... and she says, "the yellow items are those covered by the extended warranty while the blue is all that's covered by your basic warranty" or something to that effect. I didn't really look at the items very carefully, but it left me with the impression of, "what the hell am I buying? Nothing is covered and she's telling me I'm going to be out of pocket thousands of dollars unless I buy this warranty". It kind of sends the message that the Honda product sucks... but don't worry, we'll make it better with this warranty.

I do realize I have 3 years 60k to make the decision. She tried telling me I have 24 hours or it starts to get more expensive every day I wait. But I phoned a competing dealer and they said they'll honor that price right up to the 3yr/60k limit.

- Steven

 

I went ahead and got the 8 year / 120k mile warranty. For $28 a month i thought it was a good deal.

 

No need for it IMO it's a Honda

 

its Bulls***, they say that but when something goes wrong and you say that you have extended warranty, u still have to pay something.

 

Put that $1500 in a 3 year savings bond, when the SHTF use that money you saved plus interest.

 

Good advice... except that when the SHTF... it could be an $8000 bill and no interest is going to cover it

I guess I see no reason in buying it until the 3 years goes by. By then I should have a sense if I bought a lemon or not and I can make my decision then.

Thanks for the input.

- Steven

 

its works for some people and it doesnt for others... its personal preference, if you aint exactly car savi you'd probably opt for it. if you're a tech head you said f it cause you can do any of the work a dealer can but not get raped on prices and yes they sell the same package in the states.

they offered it to me when i bought mine i said no thanks but they kept trying to pressure me with a are you sure? and if you do it will drop your apr rate but i was already at 0.9 haha. (they offered to drop 1.9% but since i was 0.9 they wouldnt give me 0 apr)

 

Yeah I have considered the honda care but not got it yet. I am right at 900 miles on my Fit so I have a while to think about it. From what I understand its considered the same as new if you get it before 6k miles but can get some type of honda care warranty as long as you do so before the 36/36 standard warranty runs out. I will probably wait to see how things go for the first couple years.

 

Anyone who has been around the block more than once will tell you to never take an extended warranty on ANYTHING. They are full of small print and legalese and are a large, very large, money maker for the seller. For instance I got a 2010 Fit Sport AT today with a LIFETIME warranty on the power train (engine, transmission) at no extra charge. The manager explained to me that this warranty pulls in lots of extra sales that make it worth the "few dollars" the dealer has to pay. They only pay a few dollars for that lifetime warranty because:
1. The factory warranty is for three years. The average ownership of a new automobile in the USA is a little less than four years. They are insuring the car (engine and transmission only) for less than a year on average.
2. This Lifetime warranty is only for the original owner. Honda engines and transmissions usually go for well over ten years before problems develop. Not many of us keep a car for ten years.
The only way that this can work for the buyer is if they are doing in excess of 20k miles per year and plan to keep the car for a decade or so. Even then you may not experience any problems. Odds are you won't. But even if you do, they won't cost you $8,000 in repair.

 

We picked it up because I didn't want to still be paying on the car and have to pay for repairs. It's peace of mind and for me it was only something like $15/month.

~SB

 

99% chance you can simply cancel it when you realize you didn't buy a Chrysler.

The absolute worst honda stories I have seen are complete transmission failure, costing some up to ~$3000, and then honda ends up reimbursing you if it ends up being a "honda thing" with subsequent bulletins and good-will repairs for everybody else.

I have a '99 Odyssey that got a free transmission at 100,000Miles, by the dealer, with no extended warranty.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it hahah don't mind the sarcasm please

 

for what its worth i have 100k miles and never once have had a problem. just oil changes brakes and tires all of wich are not covered i would say save your money.

 

I had a 94 del Sol VTEC that I drove the snot out of for 14 years/168K miles. In that time, the only thing that failed was the ignitor module (once), and the airbag computer just before I gave the car away. I fixed that, then gave the car to a woman I know who drove it another year before an adjacent car in a parking lot became a carbeque and took some of the del Sol with it. She still got $1500 for the remains.

Unless the warranty states that it is "bumper-to-bumper", I promise that there is escape-clause language in there for about 95% of the things that could go wrong. About all that they ever cover is full transmission or engine failure (e.g. - drivetrain), then they'll try to wiggle out of that by making you prove that you changed the oil et al and had it serviced exactly at the required intervals. Note that "drivetrain" typically does not cover the ancillary parts hung on the engine like waterpumps, alternators, AC compressors, etc.

 

Of Note: I know what I bought... a Finely designed and built piece of machinery. And while extremely well built with high tolerances, it IS a piece of machinery and they are subject to potential failures.

I've had hondas all my life and with the exception of the Altima, that's all I've owned. Hondas are great cars and last forever but are not without the potential for serious issues. Our Ridgeline had some brake issues that were under warranty. New Rear Caliper, Pads, rotors, and Labor was over $600. Fortunately, Honda covered it. My integra had a distributor that was under "campaign" and fortunately for me, that too was covered when it seized and locked my timing belt. Fortunately the car wasn't moving so no engine damage. Labor & Parts there would have been over $700 on that. Hondas are GREAT cars but not infallible.

Since my overall cost for the extended warranty is just over $1000, a $3000 transmission or engine failure would cost me $2000 more than it would now. And while I expect the fit to be problem free, I have peace of mind that as long as I'm making payments on the car, I'm guaranteed to not have to pay for repairs.

Oh... and I get roadside assistance among other things.

~SB

 

SteveinNC is perfectly correct. You will have to PROVE to them that you had the car serviced by an APPROVED facility with a LICENSED mechanic that did the work. On time. And even then it will drag on for months, and you will have to pay for the repair in advance to get your car out of the shop. In addition some of these warranties have to be performed by the dealer that sold you the car. IF they still honor that warranty.
Yeah, right.
Specboy, that extended warranty you bought does not say that you are "guaranteed to not have to pay for repairs". I'll bet they gave you the impression that they were selling you "peace of mind", when in actuality all they were selling you was a piece of paper.
You can buy an extended warranty on the net for about $10 a month. You have paid in advance for EIGHT years of coverage that will not even be valid until your factory warranty runs out three years from now.
Can you cancel this? I bet not. It was probably fed into the loan that you made for the car, so these goons have got your money and ain't gonna give it back.
Next time, if you must have one, buy your own extended warranty, and don't be pressured into anything by anybody.
Sorry if I sound as if I was dumping on YOU, when that was not my intent.
These crooks just burn me...

 

I turned down an extended warranty when I bought my used 08 Fit. The finance guy kept pushing it, and told me it would drop my APR (though really, having to spend 10% more to lower my interest 0.25% on a short-term loan isn't my idea of savings). Since he kept trying to sell it, I finally asked for details. He gave me the glossy brochure which makes it sound like all your problems will be solved. I asked him for the actual warranty contract so I could read the fine print - and lo and behold! full of exclusions and limitations. I also found that it made reference to a deductible, which of course wasn't mentioned in the glossy brochure.

There's also the issue of rolling the warranty into your loan. So you're not paying $1500, you're paying $1500 + several years of interest.

Some people like the sense of security they get from the warranty. To each his own. But I'll continue to steer clear of the warranty offers.

 

The car comes with roadside assistance for 3 years, right? Any catastrophic mechanical failure would be good-will'd after that, from your own experience!

I think you know intuitively that the fit won't self distruct until well after your warranty is over. You would be far better off addressing why you worry like that, specifically in unwarranted situations. You bought one of the most reliable cars on the planet, so it's a bit irrational.

 

I noticed that point and it would suggest that you think that you have a 1 in 3 chance that you'll have transmission or engine failure.

Looking at the odds, I'm willing to keep my $1000.

 

Actually, you have that reversed. In Canada, at least. And I'd bet its the same in the US and you're mixing up common misconceptions and bully tactics with what the law says. THEY (your Honda dealer) may tell you that you have to prove, blah blah, and they may even act on it. But if it went to court, and don't give me the "its not worth the lawyers" argument, because its just small claims, you just have to prove you have a warranty contract. They have to prove you didn't properly service the vehicle. And if you didn't properly service the vehicle... then you didn't follow your own contract and shouldn't get paid out on it.

Anyway, the Honda Plus contract SPECIFICALLY mentions the "ancillary parts hung on the engine like waterpumps, alternators, AC compressors" - each of those parts is listed as covered.



Sometimes I think Honda enjoys a bit TOO good of a reputation with its owners I fully agree with those of you that say they are great cars - they are! But I also fully agree with those like specboy who say they are not infallible... because they aren't. My favorite cars of all time were my 1984 and 1991 CRXs. I had both for a long time. The '84 had a cylinder go out just after warranty... even back then, that was over $4k in repairs. When the clutch eventually went, it was replaced with Genuine Honda parts at the dealership... and the replacement failed within a couple months. I had rust all over the place, which would (should?) be covered by an extended warranty. My '91 had a bad catylitic converter that was replaced under warranty. Just out of warranty, two passenger seat bolts sheared off (with a passenger in it!) going around a corner. And the electric fan stopped working at some ponit - though I can't remember the mileage.


I personally have always been of the mind that extended warranties are for suckers. But then, only a sucker would stick to that "rule" absolutely. It depends on the cost of that warranty and the expected benefits. I've only bought extended warranties twice in my life - once on a $75 vacuum where they only wanted $2.50 to extend it from 6-months to 3 years (and that paid off! Amazingly, it died one day. My wife reminded me about the extended warranty. I figured it was passed. The next day we dig up the receipt and find out it expired the following day! New vacuum, just like that). The second was my DLP projection TV. DLP was brand new and I liked the picture but it didn't have a track record so it was hard to guess at longevity. I took the rather expensive warranty package because it was a pricy TV ($3k at the time... I can't sell it for $200 now). If you know anything about DLP TV's, you'd think I made the right choice! They are notorious for dying thanks to the moving parts. But I was a lucky one... the TV is still going strong and only had to replace the lamp once (not covered anyway) in 7 years where others say they replace the $200 lamp every 6 months to a year.

My point is... to buy, or not to buy... I don't believe it is a matter of "personal preference" but rather one that depends on an examination of variables. A primary one being cost. When I bought my smart - a $19k car - they wanted $4k to extend the warranty from 4/80 to 6/100. Yeah right! But for this honda - a $22k car - they are asking $1500 to go from 3/60 to 8/200... that's a different animal!

I am, however, going to take the advice and warnings here seriously and I'm going to ask for a copy of the contract and go over it carefully at some point to see how many "loopholes" they've given themselves.

- Steven

 

I canceled mine a few week after I bought the car. A lot of limitations once you start reading it.

I did bend over for the paint protection only to find is covers squat. I had a dose of rail rust this past Spring. Their cleaner did not work. I ended up using clay bar myself.

I did go for the undercoating as well and am satisfied with that.