Service contracts

[GHOST1750]

How many has had a service contract or extended warranty on your class A and if so did you find it worthwhile? They seem to be very expensive.

[GHOST1750]

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.

[rgatijnet1]

I checked on one extended warranty policy several years ago. In the fine print was a statement that at any time, THEY could cancel your policy and refund 100% of all premiums paid.
In other words, if you have a claim that exceeds the amount of premiums that you have paid in, they could just refund your premiums INSTEAD of paying for the repairs.
It was several years ago and I do not remember the name of the company, but I decided against any extended warranty policy for any of my vehicles.
Just be sure that you read, and understand, the fine print on all insurance policies.

[mowermech]

If you stop to think about it, ALL "insurance policies" are sucker bets! YOU are betting you will have covered expenses enough to get your premium (and then some) back. The insurance company is betting that they will get your premium(s) and never have to pay you anything.
The insurance company always makes a profit. ALWAYS!
Having said that, I must admit that I have purchased such "Service Contracts" or "Extended Warranties" in the past. A couple of times I won the bet, but most often the insurance company won, paying out half or less of my premium over the life of the contract.
Was it worth the PEACE of mind to have the contract? Yes, I think it was. In fact, I found myself wishing I would have had one on the truck, with $100 deductible, when the overdrive gear fell off the shaft in the transmission while visiting Nevada a few weeks ago. $100 out of pocket would have been much better than the $600+ that it cost!

[dougrainer]

It all depends on YOUR Finances. If you can handle a bill of $3000, then self insure. If that $3000 would have to be paid with a Credit card because you do not have the extra funds, then consider a ESC. SELF INSURE???? That would mean banking about $500 to $800 dollars a year. After 7 years, you would have less than $7000, IF you had not already spent that money on needed repairs. But, self insuring will usually beat the odds. Inspectors do NOT wait weeks to come out. They will come out within the week if the unit is ready for an inspection. They are independent subcontractors and they do not get paid until they submit their report. Take the cost of the ESC and divide by the years of the contract and see if that annual figure is worth the price for piece of mind. They ARE betting you will not have a lot of covered repairs, and they usually win that bet. Doug

[Dale_Traveling]

Everyone's situation, risk tolerance and financial status will be different with regards to a service contract or extended warranty. As a weekender with a simple budget coach that I only use maybe 50 nights a year the benefit didn't justify the cost to me. Anything that fails I have the time to save for the material cost and can probably effect the repairs in the driveway saving on shop labor.

If I was full timing, heavily dependent on every system in the rig working all the time and living off my retirement income I would give much greater consideration towards entering into a contract.

[midnightsadie]

X2 ,pay your self 3k for the program,bank it, add a little now and then, and some thing breaks ask yourself is it covered? sure is.

[The_Owl]

ScottG wrote:
Do a quick search to see what others have experienced with them.
Short answer is don't do it.

I’ve been doing a lot of research on this myself and this seems to be the conclusion I’ve come to. Better to self insure because of coverage and speediness of payment for repairs.

[ScottG]

Do a quick search to see what others have experienced with them.
Short answer is don't do it.

[Passin_Thru]

Consumer reports says they aren't worth the paper they are written on. In 14 years, I've replaced tires, 1 wheel and brakes + the usual maintenence. I've save about 3K doing my own work so that's a fishing trip to the Keys.

[eadeal55]

I had one for 5 years...2008 to 2013. Bought it at my selling dealer right after the 3yr/36mo Ford powertrain warranty expired. Ford did not have an ESP for the F53 chassis, so I went with what the dealer was selling...I think it was called the Choice. I paid $1450, which was a 90% discount off the dealer's commission since the salesman was an old Navy buddy. Original cost was around $2800.

Anyway, it was a 5yr/60K mile bumper to bumper ESP with a $200 deductable. There were the standard exclusions, and failed part clauses, and owner service/maintenance requirements. Nothing I couldn't live with.

I used it about six times in the 5 years. A $1400 fridge coil replacement, a $900 roof air replacement, a $500 electric leveling jack replacement, a $400 front TV replacement, a $400 12v/120v converter/charger replacement, and a $800 main slide motor/gear replacement. All these were with a $200 deductable, so my total cost in 5 years was $2650, and I got $4400 worth of service/labor/parts.

I looked in early 2013 to replace the ESP, but could find nothing that I wanted to pay the price for, so I became self-insured.

[DownTheAvenue]

An "extended warranty" is really an insurance policy. You pay a premium and they promise to fix certain things if they fail. Remember, the odds are not in your favor. If they pay out more than they take in they loose. Most of these "extended warranty" companies have access to repair records so they know what typically fails, and excluded those parts from coverage. Some companies make you jump through extensive and complicated hoops to get payment. A classic is their inspector must look at the failed part before approving. The inspector takes weeks and weeks before the inspection. Mean while you are without your RV and the repair shop wants it out of their way.

Before buying an "extended warranty" read the actual policy not the ales brochure. Understand exactly what you are buying.