Extended Warranty

Thanks for the help I think I will go for the warranty

We had the RV Shield extended warranty on our 06 Montana and used it without problem. It is like any other premium we pay hoping we never use the policy but glad that we have it if we do.

I'd do alot of reading also before signing also. There may be a clause in there about depreciation so that if that $4000 Dometic 4 door fridge goes after 3 or 4 years they might say, oh well, lifespan expected may be 5 years, we are only paying 20% on replacement.

I did have that Dometic $4000 fridge go after 5 years use & many thousands of miles of bouncing back & forth across the country. The attitude on my part was, Oh well, guess I got my moneys worth, & swallowed it.

Same with the truck. Preventative maintenance has so far saved me from any huge failures.

skipnchar wrote:
Whether you decide to purchase this "insurance policy" on your RV or not, I would advises that you utilize the factory warranty for the first year (or two on many models) and THEN make your decision about the insurance. If you find yourself having a lot of repairs it's a "no brainer" but if you don't have any warranty issues it's probably a waste of money. Just remember there is ONE party that almost NEVER looses money....the insurance company. If you can afford to pay for your own repairs there is a HUGE chance you'll come out ahead.

X2, remember an insurance company (what this is) is in business to make money and are usually good at it meaning they will have many clauses and conditions to keep them from paying. Keep your money and use the real warranty that the manufacturer supplies.

It comes down to one thing, are feeling lucky?

Have you ever heard of this company? Will they be around when you have a claim? (Many of them go out of business and keep your money) What items DON'T they cover?
I would wait until your factory warranty runs out then decide..

B.O.

You have to weigh the cost for yourself, but when we purchased our Outback in Sept 2013, the dealer sold an extended type of warranty. We've never had to use any extended warranties,-ever, so we quit doing them on everything.

But when the dealer explained what it covered, he said something that made sense, that changed my mind this time.

Consider the electronics in your camper today, that did not exist 20 years ago, 10 years ago, even 5 years ago. The technology in your television alone far exceeds anything from days gone by. As does all the other electronic systems in your camper.

The cost of a new refrigerator will run $2500, in the event it fails after the initial 1 year warranty. How about the motors in the slide-outs and the cost to replace them.

Face it, the electronics in your new RV is far more sophisticated and advanced than anything before. Do you really want to pay the price for replacement if something failed after the initial warranty?

Like I said, we quit doing extended warranties, but after think about this a few minutes, we took the warranty and paid the price.

Yes, it IS a gamble. You are gambling you will need it and save you money. They are gambling you will not need it, and they make money! It is a crap-shoot to say the least, and only a risk you can live with yourself. No one can make this decision for you.

Extended warranties are a bit of a gamble. In general, I usually don't get them on anything. Did not get one on our last trailer and never needed it. Did get one on the used diesel F-350 I bought and was glad I had. Saved me over $4k in repair charges. Paid for itself and then some. Took the extended warranty on the new diesel because of experience with previous truck and knowing how expensive diesels are to repair. I do not plan to take it on the new fiver, but do plan to buy the extra 1 year manufacturer's warranty that Forest River offers for $150. After that, I'm gambling that I can fix/replace most things myself that might go wrong and come out ahead.

What's going to likely fail in 5 years, on a brand new 5th wheel, that'll cost you $1800+ to repair? Probably not a good option.

For me it was replacing shackles in Whitehorse Yukon, a burned out motor in the self leveling system, awning replacement motor. All expired within 6 months of the dealer warranty. For me it has paid for itself. That being said as a general rule I don't buy extended warranties, this being the exception. I knew when I purchaed the unit I would be putting on a lot of miles for a lot of years. Trailers are built from the inside out and the major cost of repairs is labor. If an appliance needs to be replaced sometimes windows have to be removed to get things inside and out. If you plan on limited mileage with a limited holding time, I wouldn't do it. But for me I've got over 20,000 towing miles and over six months occupied time when all the systems were in use and that is likely to double or triple over the next six years of my warranty life. Oh...one other thing. When it breaks it will likely be at the worse possible time.

For the most part extended warranties aren’t a good move. A few people with bad luck come out ahead while most would be better off setting the money aside for possible repairs and they won’t spend it all. You have other options, too. You can buy later, or from a third party, and sometimes from the manufacturer. Although I’m not sure how common the latter is in the RV industry.

It’s more of a peace of mind thing than a good financial move, but if you’re inclined to go for it it’s critical you read the fine print like a lawyer. Between the deductibles, caps, and exclusions, like “A’ isn’t covered if it fails because of a failure of “B” you may have less coverage than appears on the surface. Lastly, there’s serious money in selling the warranties and you can negotiate the price like anything else.