Is the extended warranty worth purchasing? Does the fit have any problems that would require the warranty?

 

I didn't purchase it because, in my mind, it defeats the purpose of buying a Honda. You pay the extra money for a Fit over an equivalent Korean built car for the better reliability. In my mind, I have already spent the extra money for the better car. If I was going to purchase and extended warranty, I would buy the cheaper car.

We're at 3 1/2 years and 60,000 miles and haven't seen the dealership since we pulled out with our new car.

 

I purchased the warranty because I drive alot. I will run out of the bumper to bumper within a year and a half. I also work for Acura, so I got the 120k, 6year warranty for right at $1,000. Good deal in my eyes.

 

It depends on how much you see making in repairs that are out of warranty. Regular maintenance is pretty minimal on most any Honda, so the question is, do you see yourself spending more than the cost of the warranty in repairs in that given period? On my last car, a VW, it was a worthwhile item. Repairs on VWs are more frequent and more expensive. I did not buy the warranty on the Fit for a couple of reasons, I know Hondas very well, and I've had many other Hondas in the past without issue. Having warranty for 6 years and 120k miles for 1000 bucks? ...that would be very, very hard to pass up, and if you can get that deal, it might be worth it. That is a pretty massive warranty. Usually insurance is something you hope to never use, and that is what you're buying with a warranty - an insurance policy. Nobody wants their car to break, but if it does, there is little to no money outlay if you have a good warranty.

The Fit is a super-reliable car. If you don't want to shell out the coin for a warranty, then don't let it worry you too much.

 

I agree with all the above posts. However, I got a bit screwed by my dealer and thought I'd share this with everyone:

I didn't really want the extended warranty, but the salesperson told me that if I paid for it, he would give me 60 days to think about it and decline it for any reason. At about 45 days, I sent him an email saying I didn't want it. No response. At 65 days I followed up. He then sent me the cancellation form, which clearly showed that I would only refunded $1450 of the $1500 I had paid. I had no choice but to take it. $50 for nothing at all whatsoever.

Say no to the extended warranty the second you walk into the dealer.

 

If you feel you must get an extended warranty, don't buy it from the dealer.

Even Honda warranties are available online after you buy the car for big discounts. Just get it before the car has 6,000 miles or so (not sure of the limit) before it's considered a used car.

And shop around.

But really, any extended warranty is a waste of money on these cars.

 

It depends... Its basically peace of mind. You never know what can happen. If something happens you are covered, if not you were prepared.

 

I opted to get the extend warranty up to 100,000 miles. I will be covered all the way through the end of my payments which is all that I felt would be necessary.

My reasoning behind this stems from my prior Honda ('03 accord) which had a 60k warranty and proceeded to blow the motor at 82k...... basically the peace of mind knowing that any damage done will be covered through the life of my payments was worth the extra 600 or-so bucks.

 

I bought the extended 120k, 8 year warranty from Honda the month I bought my car Jan. 08. Cost was $900. Haven't had to use it yet.

 

I bought it because I put a lot of miles on my cars. I was through the basic warranty in just over two years. Any kind of isurance is a bet....Life insurance? You're betting you're gonna die, the ins company is betting you won't... same goes for health ins. It all depends on how lucky you feel.

 

Got the 8 year 120K mile warranty for $650 (iirc) by haggling. I plan on keeping the car for a long time and the piece of mind seemed worth it.

Mainly just got it in case any engine related componenets or electronics fail, I have pretty good faith in Hondas but you never know... sensors are expensive.

 

The only item I've bought an extended warranty on was my Goldwing, and that was because of a rash of reported transmission failures that cost some owners some coin (while many of them had extended warranty and had the transmission covered). I was fortunate and did not have any trans problems while I owned it.

I have yet to buy one for a car, mostly because I rarely keep a vehicle over 3 years (this Fit will be an exception) and also because I am technically proficient in tearing down/rebuilding certian items in cars. It may take me a little longer than a shop to do it, but I can do it for much less money and have the pride knowing I did it myself. I know that not everyone has the luxury of time, however. At the same time, as mentioned by GAFIT, it defeats the purpose of buying a Honda if you get one!

 

I think there are too many people who think that Hondas can't go wrong. I've know dozens of people who's Hondas don't make it to 100k without problems... usually very expensive... and almost always more than the cost of the extended warranty. There is just too much MYTH about Hondas.

 

Beyond how lucky you feel, however, it is about your ability to absorb unexpected costs. Insurance is a gamble where the odds are stacked against you; most people lose. Most owners would be better off if they just took that $1000-1500+ (either in a lump sum or on a monthly basis) and invested it.

There is obviously a big difference between health insurance and a car extended warranty. When you "lose" on your Fit your out a maximum of... well the current value of the car minus what you can sell the pieces off for. But with health insurance, you are out potentially MILLIONS of dollars. On the other end of the scale is something like a cell phone; fewer people buy insurance because, if it is a total loss, they are out a maximum of a few hundred bucks. Most of us can absorb a loss of a few hundred dollars; few of us can absorb millions!

Thus an extended warranty is a "bad" investment when looked at from the perspective of ALL purchasers combined. However, whether YOU should purchase it really comes down to how much it will hurt you if you end up being one of the unlucky ones.

I do think it is an interesting takeaway from this thread though how variable the cost of these warranties are (i.e. how "bad" the investment is)... 8yr/120k for $650 is something I would consider; 7yr/100k for $1500 I would not.

 

I just question whey someone would spend about $5,000 more to buy a Honda than a Korean equivalent AND then buy a warranty on top of that premium. That is a waste of money. If I didn't trust in Honda's quality, I could have bought a Hyundai or Kia for less money and get the warranty for free.

 

I didn't get the warranty mostly because of Hondas reliability and I just read an article recently explaining how extended warranties were at the top of the list of regretted purchases.

 

Why do dealers try to sell you a warranty? Not because they are concerned about
you and your car. They try to sell it because it's more profit for them. If they lost
money on them they wouldn't sell them.

A Hyundai has a 100 k warranty, so it make no sense to buy an extended warranty
for them.

Clifton

 

My dealer started a program in '08 where they gave lifetime warranties with all their new cars - it ran for 1-2 years. I'd have to find the paperwork, but effectively, as long as I own the car, the drivetrain is covered, and I think any non-wear items as well.

 

Every car has the potential to have problems. But Honda's, with proper care and maintenance, have better reliability than most other OE's. Many OE's are starting to catch up, though!

 

The extended warranty will not cover wear-away items like brake pads and other such things. However, it is worth it to get it. For example, at 13000 miles suddenly the AC fan control would only work on #4 or high and it was covered under warranty. So I either had to have it on full blast or nothing at all. Lets say that happened at 40,000 miles when the warranty runs out? Another example, there was an article about Hondas having transmission problems so lets say you start having a transmission problem at 75000 miles when the car is out of warranty?

Honda Transmission Problems Seem to Persist - NYTimes.com

I have had a few Toyotas and despite their reputation of reliability there were a few expensive problems which cropped up over 50,000 miles that a warranty would cover like the O2 sensor which cost me $400.

The best place on the web to get the warranty is through the following link. I got the 7 years, 120,000 mile warranty and paid $850. The warranty is also transferable meaning if you try to sell the car than you can advertise that it has a warranty.

Hyannis Honda Care

Remember to read the terms of the warranty. In order for the warranty to be valid, you must follow the maintenance schedule and be on time with the oil changes.

So, the short answer is you never know whats going to happen, Hondas are reliable but not totally problem free, the average price at the dealer for a problem is $450 and you should get the warranty. I would at least get the warranty which has a $100 deductible and doubles the current warranty in both time and miles. If things go wrong, they usually go wrong between 50-75000 miles.

The reason why I got the 7 year warranty is because I use my vehicle for work and needed that extra protection. I cant afford to have the car go out because of something.