I tired searching, but it looks like most of the discussion regarding ext warranties is buried in other threads.

When I purchased my '11 Fit Sport, I went ahead and sprang for the Factory Extended warranty. The agreed-upon price was $1800, which I considered a decent deal considering I negotiated them down from $2500 and the best price I could find for the ext. warranty on my old Volvo (traded in) was $1750. I went for the 7yr, 80k mile one w/ $0 deductible.

After my purchase I joined the forum and now see that that might not be such a great deal. I've seen reference to Saccucci Honda, and have contacted them for a quote, but it seems like if they are super-cheap, there must be a catch.... Is that right or is it just a good deal pure and simple?

I'd have to come out of pocket for the Saccucci deal, versus the one from the dealer being rolled into the financing, which is at 0.9%, so it's only costing me an extra $50 or so in finance charges....

The other thing I could do is wait until the end of the factory warranty to buy an extended one, but is there any advantage to buying one right now when the car is new?

Thanks in advance for the quick responses... I'm hoping to get some feedback soon because my 60 full-refund cancellation term is up in a week or so.

 

Just got the e-mail from Saccucci; their quote for 84/80k w/ $0 ded is $604 + $100 since i'd be cancelling the existing plan from the dealer. Wow. Is this really the same coverage for that much less? Does anyone have an explanation for the extra $100 because I already have a Honda Care plan?

I'm suddenly feeling like and idiot for thinking I got a good deal at $1800 vs. the $2500 the were asking.... That's crazy that they are 4x more expensive than Saccucci. I'm skeptical but the Saccucci website/e-mail looks legit.

 

The profit margin on a new car itself is pretty slim nowadays. So dealers have learned to go with other means of getting your money.

 

I got a little excited when I bought my Fit and got the extended warranty. Then I joined the forums. Now I regret spending money on an extended warranty that I'm bound to void.

 

I don't understand the idea of getting an extended warranty on the "most reliable" car category. $1800 is a huge amount and if something goes wrong, without having paid, I have a lot to work with.

 

I don't understand extended warranties in general. I don't buy crappy/likely to go bad stuff, so the cost of an extended warranty should be dirt cheap (ie cost of repair * likelihood of going bad + reasonable profit margin = expected cost of warranty). I find warranties to be way way more expensive than I would expect them to be. You're almost always better off just sticking the money you would have spent on warranties in a high interest savings account and using that to pay for repairs/replacement.

 

I agree and think this is going to be the way to go for me.... I'm coming from Volvos, which were in general, very reliable, but if anything went wrong, it was very expensive to fix since it's a European car... I guess I just got into the habit of purchasing ext. warranties.

 

I told the dealer flat out I will not buy the extended warranty because I knew I would have it completely voided in a year or two.

 

At the time, I did not want to deal with any car repairs. I opted for 120k mile/7 yr / $0 warrantee for about $1500-1700 ish. I wouldn't waste money on a warrantee under 100k miles, hondas almost never break under that. I did learn that the warranttee also covers the nav screen, etc. I figured the peace of mind, at least for me, was worth it, but it probably isn't necessary. Worst case, your rack and pinon or AC goes out, that would be probably like $1500 to replace later.

 

The warranty from Saccucci, Curry Honda, etc. The ones from online honda dealers are all legit Honda Care warranties. The same warranty that your dealer is charging you double or triple for. As long as its Honda Care, you can go to any Honda dealer for repairs.

When I got my 2009 Honda Fit, I bought the extended warranty because I just wanted the peace of mind. I paid $865 for the 120k/8y, $0. The reason I paid this much is because Curry Honda or whoever at the time had the warranty for $860. My dealer asked me to pay an extra $5, so I agreed. I paid invoice for my car and bought no accessories, no trade in. So they just gave me the price as a courtesy since they were trying to charge $1500 or so.

I justified the $865 because my other car is a Lexus and it comes with road side assistance. Getting AAA for 8 years is about $60 a year, so 8x60 is $480. So I'm paying $400 for the warranty. I could live with that amount so I bought it.

I think the prices of extended warranties have gone up but an online price is still about $1000 for the 120k/8y.

 

Ext. warranty cancelled at dealer last night (refund goes to Honda Finance), Saccucci website added to favorites in case I decide to buy it again later... Thanks to everyone for the input.

 

I believe Saccucci sells it so low because they make up their profit by getting volume bonuses. I bought from Saccucci, and Gardiner was extremely friendly and answered all my questions.

 

FWIW...the way I look at extended warranties is that the dealers and others push them because they are profitable. That means they take in a lot more money than they ever pay out in warranty work. On average, the customer who buys them will not ever recoup the cost.

So they make sense to me only if I think that I'm going to have a worse-than-average experience.....whether it's a car, a refrigerator, a power tool, whatever. And that never happens.

geo

 

We picked up the extended warranty as an assurance that there would be no out of pocket expense for major repairs while we are paying on the vehicle. The last thing you want to deal with is major repair costs while you are still paying on a vehicle.

Warranty is a Peace of mind thing. It is similar to insurance. Even the best drivers have accidents and while statistically, you'll never recoup the overall costs of insurance, it is still handy to have. No one wants a $6000 repair bill, just like no one wants (except for Lyon) wants to replace their Engine.

Willing to play the odds? Skip the warranty. Want Peace of Mind... get a warranty.

~SB

 

^ yup, ext warranty is like insurnace, you are playing the odds.

If you have not had a Volvo before, you may not understand. It would be really good odds to buy a Volvo with ext warranty. Honda Fit, not so much.

 

Ya i did the same thing i feel your pain, but that won't stop me from still doing small things to my car though

 

I've never been big on extended warranty. But for $860 for 8 years? That is tempting!!

Even if I trade the car in a few years, it would add to the saleability of the car.

I usually bought 1 0r 2 year old cars to avoid the depreciation, but that does not make sense anymore with many makes. Maybe I need to rethink the warranty also. It is so easy to run up a $300 plus repair bill today.

I can see where they would be very attractive for many people. If it makes sense to you go for it
JIm 0311

 

Yup, at that price, you'll come out ahead for a major repair, rather than just breaking even. I still think its a bad idea in almost ever case, but at that price it's much less of a bad idea.

 

arnt those contracts made to void the warranty once you sell them? Last time i got a warrantee extension when i had my civic, it said something to the effect of it being valid in my name only.
anyways, it was the last time i ever get an extended warranty.

 

Extended warranties do not transfer on trade to a dealership. They are cancelled with the company that sold it to you on a prorated basis. So if you sell a car after 20K miles and have a 100K warranty, you get back 80% of the money. We did this with our altima. Had a 7 year/100K warranty on it and when trading the car for the fit at just over 30 K miles and 2 years, we received back 70% of the money (in the form of a check). Had to take an odo statement to the Nissan Dealer and have them fax the paperwork to Nissan financial for cancellation. Transferring via private party may be a different story but our honda dealer couldn't purchase the Ext. warranty out from us. They'll probably make more money selling their own Ext. warranty anyway vs. transferring it to a new owner.

~SB