Purchasing an extended warranty from the dealership?

Extended warranties are like insurance, you take a gamble.

Don't know what make/model you are purchasing. Don't know if you are full time folks or part time or what. There are a lot of factors that could go into the decision for an extended warranty.

We full time and tow our unit between 4,000 and 8,000 miles a year. I have heard some of the prices for replacing holding tanks, repairing suspension systems, or replacing a double door Dometic refrigerator. This was our first extended warranty on an RV.

Same thought process went into an extended warranty on my truck. Always thought they were a rip off on new vehicles. 80% of the miles on my truck are pulling the fiver. I feel I am maxing my truck out and putting tons of wear and tear on it. It is a gamble but I wanted complete protection through 125,000 miles/7 years.

To clarify...Presently, we are just taking vacations in the 5ver and is a Keystone.

I went back to the email and paid more attention to the amount and it was more like $1,800...OUCH!

We did get an extra warranty on our diesel, cause with a diesel, when it breaks down, it is $$$$ for labor. The days of a shade tree mechanic is just about gone due to all the computer technology.

Years ago (maybe things we built better back then) we owned a Mallard 5th and put lots of mileage towing it throughout the national parks in the west and up the west coast and no major repairs. Perhaps we were lucky.

Speaking in 'general terms'; those that have bought the extended warrenty and never needed it feel it is a waste of $$. Those that bought the extended warrenty and it paid for itself (and more) swear by it. Only you know your financial status and the degree of risk you wish to take.

We bought an extended warranty on our 5'er we bought new last year. They wanted over $3000 but settled on $1300 for a 10yr $100 deductible. Made our first claim last month for some minor issues that saved us $400. No hassles getting approval for a local RV shop to do the work. Our policy is thru XtraRide. Check for decent reviews for the company you're looking into.

The companies writing the extended warranty policies know the failure rate on the various items they cover, do you? They are betting that they won't fail (and know the numbers). You are betting they will fail and don't know the numbers.

Simple for me. They don't write the policies out of the goodness of their heart. They are out to make money, but not mine.

If you go to a casino expecting to win you'll probably want one.

You all brought up valid points...risk involved, reviews of company, out to make money and a casino comparison.

My instinct tells me it is a money-making scheme through the dealership, whereby the financial person makes a hefty commission. The extended warranty on our truck, which cost more than this Rver, was less than half the price of this warranty.

I'd rather start a small savings account specifically for the 5ver and spend on replacing or repairs as needed. I appreciate all the savvy advise here. Thank you.

I was iffy buying the warranty.But sure glad I did.
Fire place went out.grey and black tank valve issues.tv went out.roof antenna broke.Air bed took a dump etc. It was only owned for 2 years
And repairs were costly.
Alot more than the warranty cost.

Jandsa wrote:
You all brought up valid points...risk involved, reviews of company, out to make money and a casino comparison.

My instinct tells me it is a money-making scheme through the dealership, whereby the financial person makes a hefty commission. The extended warranty on our truck, which cost more than this Rver, was less than half the price of this warranty.

I'd rather start a small savings account specifically for the 5ver and spend on replacing or repairs as needed. I appreciate all the savvy advise here. Thank you.

You are going to make a good RV'r. Buying a true extended warranty from the manufacturer on a truck is much different than buying a 3rd party insurance policy from a RV dealer. Only a manufacturer can offer a warranty of their product, the rest are just profit centers for those selling them.

My fiver came with a 2 year manufacturer warranty and we had a few things repaired during that time and our dealer was very good about it. In our third year, we had what turned out to be a temporary failure in an electrical circuit board that fixed itself, but the replacement would have been over $800 for the dealer to do or about $400 to do myself. Given that the board may eventually fail completely and that we plan an extended 2 month trip next year, we went ahead and bought an extended warranty. We didn't shop and should have and paid more than we should have, but we do feel more comfortable about the trip now. I have occasionally lost sleep worrying about it and now I won't.
I actually now wish I had gotten an extended 120K warranty on my truck as it is worked hard, past its 60K factory warranty, and I suspect has a warped exhaust manifold that squeals under heavy boost. However, had I bought it from the dealer, I would have paid too much and it turns out the Ford ESP can be purchased for much less than my dealer asked. Next time I will know.