Service contracts

Don, I have never owned one. That Marcus guy who owns Camping World ( he used to monitor this website don’t know if he still does?) said publicly he makes a lot of money off those contracts!

I bought mine well used from original owners who had all service records and a Good Sam ext warranty. Found out that it was still covered after all these years and I could extended year by year.

I have been doing some repairs getting it to my standards of road worthy and the ext warranty picks up whatever parts are covered. In my case I think it is a benefit. If I was the original owners when it was new and didn't want to worry about the expensive diesel engine or trans repair soon after new MH expired I would do it for peace of mind. Of course I could also put aside some money each year and say after 19 years I would have had x amount of dollars that I could cover that but if the engine failed right outside of new MH warranty I would not have saved that much to cover it. The side benefit is that it covers a lot (not all) of the systems from refrigerator to ice maker that can wear out or break after years of full time use.

We spent a winter in a site next to a retired insurance executive. 1st he had an amazing motorhome so lots of money to be made in insurance. In general the Insurance companies usually win.

While we were there he brought a new high end motorhome and brought the extended insurance policy. When I expressed my surprise (as he knows the numbers) he pointed out that yes he knows the numbers and that is exactly why he brought it. Went on to say they are priced for the majority of folks who use their rvs a few weeks a year. As a fulltimer, the odds were in his favor to more than recoup his cost.

I haven't come out ahead, and ours ends this year. Lost a lot of money on ours. Never again. It was my wife's demand that if we bought a MH we bought a extended warranty too. So she won and we bought a new MH 5 years ago. Now I get to explain how wrong that warranty decision was. There are many warranties, engine , trans, mfg, that will get you out to around 5 years. So the warranty doesn't serve a purpose there.

What it "should" cover they argue and drag their feet over. Plus ours had a deductible that was required . Stupid,stupid stupid, yes I am.... But I wasn't arguing with the misses.

A huge waste of money

People who come out on top with a service contract are about as common as folks who beat the casinos in the long term. If everybody who claims to beat the odds actually did beat the odds the service contract companies and casinos both would be out of business. :)

We purchased a used coach with no records. We purchased a service contract and it has more than paid for itself. At the end of the 5 year contract, we purchased another one. Will it pay off? Don't know. We are now very much on top of the maintenance and take meticulous care of the coach. But for us, it was worth the peace of mind if something really major went wrong.

DownTheAvenue wrote:

GHOST1750 wrote:
Thanks everyone, I have never bought an extended warranty on anything and was curious about them. They are really pushing one on the motor home I'm dealing on and from what I gather from some of your answers it is a big bonus for the salesman.

They are really pushing it because they make so much money on it. The sales people will make more on that "warranty" than on the sale of the RV.

JUST CURIOUS FOR FORUM MEMBERS. HOW much Commission do you think a Motorhome Salesperson makes on a NEW motorhome priced over 150K? What is the thought process out there? Doug

DownTheAvenue wrote:

GHOST1750 wrote:
Thanks everyone, I have never bought an extended warranty on anything and was curious about them. They are really pushing one on the motor home I'm dealing on and from what I gather from some of your answers it is a big bonus for the salesman.

They are really pushing it because they make so much money on it. The sales people will make more on that "warranty" than on the sale of the RV.

You have NO CLUE. You have no idea how much money a Salesperson makes on a NEW Class A motorhome in commission. You also have no clue as to the rebate(cash back) the Dealership makes on a ESC. In almost ALL Dealerships, the Finance manager makes the commission, NOT the Salesperson. There is a set cost for the ESC on a particular RV and the Dealership can sell it for cost(make no money) and anything above the cost is profit. Salespeople can push it, but they receive no benefit unless the Finance manager kicks back a portion because the Salesperson helped close the deal on a ESC. Doug

Depends on several factors. There are those who say no, save your money. Then there's those who swear by them. There is no short answer. The older your coach is the more costly they are, up to 10 years and then I don't know of anyone who will write a policy for a coach older than that. I've had three over a 10 year period. They've all paid for themselves. That said, you have to do due diligence and also follow their instructions exactly as they're written. A good practice is to visit several RV dealers and ask them which policies they like. Some pay better and are easier to work with than others. I recommend Wholesale Warranties, Jeff Sheldon. He'll take the time to explain the different types available and email you a blank copy so you can look it over before deciding. Finally, make sure your policy is an exclusionary policy. That is, a policy that spells out what is NOT covered. If it's not listed, it's covered. Be sure to ask about the cost of having the weasel clause deleted. Usually about $75. The weasel clause goes something like this - "If a covered part fails, due to the fault of a non-covered part, the covered part is not covered."...good luck...Dennis

GHOST1750 wrote:
Thanks everyone, I have never bought an extended warranty on anything and was curious about them. They are really pushing one on the motor home I'm dealing on and from what I gather from some of your answers it is a big bonus for the salesman.

They are really pushing it because they make so much money on it. The sales people will make more on that "warranty" than on the sale of the RV.