What a joke

Well Scott, if what you tell me is true, that's great. My experiences during the past 5 years with Camping World, and Good Sam have been that I only use Camping World when there is no other choice, and as far as their service departments are concerned, they are way overpriced and under qualified, and have rather serious attitude problems. I'm speaking specifically of Robertsdale, Alabama, and your Bowling Green, Kentucky stores.

As for Marcus, I've never met him, but I feel I know him with all the junk mail, and "insurance schemes" that I continually receive.

As for "Emergency Road Service", this summer, we had a serious mechanical problem in "no man's land" between Las Vegas, and Reno, NV.
Cell phone service was sparse, but we finally contacted Good Sam Emergency Road service to get help. We were told that there was nothing they could do to help, the nearest tow service was 75 miles away, and it would be a couple days at best. Not really what we wanted to hear, especially in 106 degree heat in mid afternoon on a Friday.

Good Sam Club, Trailer Life, and Woodalls used to be reputable products and companies, but those days are long past, and I doubt if they will return...

For what ever it's worth from this old geezer.

Larry, while I wholehartedly agree with your byline "a day spent fishing is not subtracted from your life span", I have to respectfully disagree with your statements about "the affinity group". First of all, the "Affinity Group" is a thing of the past, and now we are back under the Camping World/Good Sam Club umbrella. There has been a major push since Marcus has been in charge to return to the days when the customer was king and I think that those who have dealt with Camping World or The Good Sam Club in the past two years or so will have seen the difference.

Camping World, years ago, was an excellent company. Since "The Affinity Group", has been involved, this company has deteriorated considerably.

Their "Extended Coverage", and other "insurance", is simply an excuse to part the RVing client from his money. The GMAC vehicle insurance, is one of the few coverages that we feel has saved us money.

The Affinity Group, is not interested in the RVing community, except as a "cash cow".

Did you read the policy before buying? Have you read the policy after purchase? Do you know what is and is not covered? Or have you just assumed "everything is covered" based on a salesman's statement?

I have a (new to me)2008 Tiffin Allegro FRED (Cummins 6.7 on a Freightliner chassis). It has low mileage and in good mechanical shape.
I am considering the GS Extended Service Plan and have a quote from them. The comments I have read concern me since it sounds like the value of this type of program just may not be there. Any suggestions on the plan or is there a better alternative to consider?
Thanks for any suggestions or guidance on this.

Brad

Scott Blanc wrote:
The reason people buy extended warranties or Mechanical Breakdown Insurance is because they are not willing to play the odds. Just like your homeowner's insurance or your auto insurance, the odds are that if you just kept your premium payments over a 20 year period, you would be money ahead. BUT a significant percentage of our customers fall on the other side of the equation as well, they have major repair bills paid by Good Sam for them. In fact, one out of every three Good Sam ESP customers has a claim paid EVERY YEAR. That's a much higher percentage than you will find for homeowner's insurance or auto insurance yet we would never dream of not protecting our homes or our cars.

You mention wear and tear, and this is a big issue. Good Sam ESP cover parts that fail due to wear and tear, and we will continue to cover your RV until it is either eighteen model years old, or exceeds 150,000 miles. While a lot of failure do occur during those later years, we find that there are enough mechanical components that can go wrong that we save our customers major repair bills for RVs and trailers of all ages.

Yes it is all about risk taking. The risk is still in buyers favor because insurance companies need to pay their sales commissions and other expenses which includes making a profit. Also if one is handy and can do many of the repairs the odds even get better for them. It is all in the math and actuary calculations. The risk of extended warranty considerations is much different than home owners or auto accidents and should not be put in the same risk taking category because one would not get sued for a broken appliance on other RV parts. Also there is no legal or loan requirement to get extended service agreements-- like there is for auto and home.
As far as wear and tear is concerned I stand by my assertion because many repair organization tell me they seem to get into arguments with insurance companies on these issues to determine cause and fault even though it simply wore out. The insurance companies are quick to blame to avoid paying the bill.

The reason people buy extended warranties or Mechanical Breakdown Insurance is because they are not willing to play the odds. Just like your homeowner's insurance or your auto insurance, the odds are that if you just kept your premium payments over a 20 year period, you would be money ahead. BUT a significant percentage of our customers fall on the other side of the equation as well, they have major repair bills paid by Good Sam for them. In fact, one out of every three Good Sam ESP customers has a claim paid EVERY YEAR. That's a much higher percentage than you will find for homeowner's insurance or auto insurance yet we would never dream of not protecting our homes or our cars.

You mention wear and tear, and this is a big issue. Good Sam ESP cover parts that fail due to wear and tear, and we will continue to cover your RV until it is either eighteen model years old, or exceeds 150,000 miles. While a lot of failure do occur during those later years, we find that there are enough mechanical components that can go wrong that we save our customers major repair bills for RVs and trailers of all ages.

Mathematically speaking, one is better off self-insuring when they buy a new unit. Most failures occur in the first few months or end-life cycle. The early failures are covered under manufacturers warranty and the end-life occur many years latter when the product is worn out. Most insurance programs terminate before the produce is worn out or does not cover wear and tear-- as it is called. So save your money and spend it wisely is my advice. When I hear extended service contract, I hear legalized scam :-)

Scott Blanc wrote:
Stephanie and William,

Our claims administrator agreed that the log and the credit card receipt were adequate proof of maintenance. They are authorizing the claim for the replacement of the transmission.

I am so happy to hear this because even though I keep the receipts some of those will fade over time and not be readable. So I keep a record or the repairs and PM.
I had an issue with a west coast state that wanted documents 4 years back but some of the papers were unreadable due to fade out so other means of proof was required.

JimR

I have the CSP or what ever it is now called and I am very happy with it. It has repaired my furnace with parts and works very well I have also had other repairs done and for the most part all have been paid and any money out of my pocket was expected and not a surprise.
I just paid a quarter payment and will pay for the next quarter in October.
I am happy with it you just need to read the contract and then comply with what they want as far as notifications before the work is done.

JimR