Extended Warranty: Why do I need it?

[ApexAZ]

Hi all,

We just got approved for financing on a Fuel toy hauler with an agreed upon price OTD. The F&I gentleman just called us to tell us about the approval and the rate. Then he told me the payment and I was surprised to hear it was higher than I had expected at that rate.

Of course with some probing I learned he priced in a 7 year extended warranty. I am reluctant to purchase these on vehicles in general. My understanding is dealing with warranty work on RV's is not as easy or convenient as it would be on an automobile, especially in the current supply constrained world we live in. I think no matter what 7 years is probably more than we want, but would maybe 2 or 3 years be beneficial? I've read that most major things are going to break in the first year and to expect it to be in the shop for a significant period of time in that first year. I've also read most people fix a lot of their issues because the warranty is such a pain to begin with.

For these reasons I am thinking it's not worth paying for an extended warranty, but maybe I'm wrong?

Thanks,

Brian

[JoeH]

Campinfan wrote:
I will be in the minority here. I normally do not get the extended warranties but I did get it with my current rig. I got it because it has a residential fridge which will not fit through the door should it need replacing. Also, it has the hydraulic leveling system. Well about 2+ yrs after buying it, the slides started to malfunction and literally started coming out while driving on the highway. fast forward to me calling dealer and them telling me it was about 3 months before I could bring it in but because I had an extended warranty I could take it anyplace I wanted. I found a repair place in Toledo and dropped the trailer off 2 weeks later. @ weeks after that, the rig was fixed and the bill was over $3000.00. I paid a small deductible. So this time it worked for me. All in all, I saved over a grand. The does not mean I am sold on the warranties. If I had a simpler trailer, like I used to, then no I would not have gotten the warranty. The best thing I can say is to look at what you have in there that can go bad and what the replacement cost might be. Air conditioning units, 2-way refrigerators, water heaters can all be replaced without costing a fortune.

The warranty company was easy to deal with. I must have gotten lucky.

I feel the same way. I had neve bought an extended warranty ( service plan) for anything. But, after my new coach was in the shop for over 6 months of the first year , I bought one. It was under $4k for 7 years. They replaced 2 roof ac units, repaired my dash AC, replaced 3 slide out motors, replaced the washing machine, replaced the slide out seals, replaced the Oasis control board, repaired the residential refer, replaced the in dash stereo/navigation system ... and the list goes on. It paid for itself, plus. An additional benefit is that I really had no worries or concerns... I knew the most I'd pay for a trip to the shop was my $100 deductible. fast forward... my 7 year coverage expired earlier this year... I shopped around for a new policy, but they were all prohibitively expensive. Well, on our most recent trip, I had a fan gear box fail along with the fan clutch... that was almost $5k out of pocket... but still less then what they wanted for a new policy.

[ApexAZ]

Grit dog wrote:
^ Congrats! Beautiful camper!!

From that pic, it looks virtually identical to our Torque.
Wonder what the differences are between the models?
You'll love it!

Thanks!

Heartland rep said they are made on the same line. Torques have extra ac unit, extra TV, etc. But aside from the fuel being a little less luxurious, they are essentially the same. Fuel are just rebranded as a Camping World exclusive.

We looked at a few Torques too, but couldn't seem to negotiate the price more than a couple thousand below msrp. Even this fuel we had to drive out of town to get it at the price we wanted. Market is still crazy.

[Bird_Freak]

I would be a little concerned about a dealer trying to slip it in on me. Bet he has a tire warranty in there somewhere as well.

[Grit_dog]

^ Congrats! Beautiful camper!!

From that pic, it looks virtually identical to our Torque.
Wonder what the differences are between the models?
You'll love it!

[ApexAZ]

We signed for the RV at the agreed upon price and declined all extended warranty and GAP add-on's. Overall very pleased with the sales process.

Now to just figure out why it's leaking water... lol

[JC2]

ApexAZ wrote:
Hi all,

We just got approved for financing on a Fuel toy hauler with an agreed upon price OTD. The F&I gentleman just called us to tell us about the approval and the rate. Then he told me the payment and I was surprised to hear it was higher than I had expected at that rate.

Of course with some probing I learned he priced in a 7 year extended warranty. I am reluctant to purchase these on vehicles in general. My understanding is dealing with warranty work on RV's is not as easy or convenient as it would be on an automobile, especially in the current supply constrained world we live in. I think no matter what 7 years is probably more than we want, but would maybe 2 or 3 years be beneficial? I've read that most major things are going to break in the first year and to expect it to be in the shop for a significant period of time in that first year. I've also read most people fix a lot of their issues because the warranty is such a pain to begin with.

For these reasons I am thinking it's not worth paying for an extended warranty, but maybe I'm wrong?

Thanks,

Brian

No,you are not wrong. If the unit is new, it usually comes with a warranty of sorts for at least 12 months. The F&I person has apparently added ($7K??)onto the original order that you signed? You need to set aside a reasonable amount of $$ each month for anticipated maintenance/repairs for what you want. Be prepared to get up and walk if they continue to play they play the numbers as you are being played with by these double talkers.

[JC2]

bgum wrote:
You should tell the dealer that you don't want any any see if you get the agreed upon deal.
You should also let them know you don't appreciate them adding to the deal. Do a good exam of the rig and get everything fixed before anything changes hands. That means tradein or deposit. Only take delivery and sign papers after all is fixed.

Very well said.

[ApexAZ]

Campinfan wrote:
I will be in the minority here. I normally do not get the extended warranties but I did get it with my current rig. I got it because it has a residential fridge which will not fit through the door should it need replacing. Also, it has the hydraulic leveling system. Well about 2+ yrs after buying it, the slides started to malfunction and literally started coming out while driving on the highway. fast forward to me calling dealer and them telling me it was about 3 months before I could bring it in but because I had an extended warranty I could take it anyplace I wanted. I found a repair place in Toledo and dropped the trailer off 2 weeks later. @ weeks after that, the rig was fixed and the bill was over $3000.00. I paid a small deductible. So this time it worked for me. All in all, I saved over a grand. The does not mean I am sold on the warranties. If I had a simpler trailer, like I used to, then no I would not have gotten the warranty. The best thing I can say is to look at what you have in there that can go bad and what the replacement cost might be. Air conditioning units, 2-way refrigerators, water heaters can all be replaced without costing a fortune.

The warranty company was easy to deal with. I must have gotten lucky.

It's helpful to hear success stories too!

We don't have a full size refrigerator and it only has one slide, but it sounds like even one slide can be fairly costly to repair!

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[Campinfan]

I will be in the minority here. I normally do not get the extended warranties but I did get it with my current rig. I got it because it has a residential fridge which will not fit through the door should it need replacing. Also, it has the hydraulic leveling system. Well about 2+ yrs after buying it, the slides started to malfunction and literally started coming out while driving on the highway. fast forward to me calling dealer and them telling me it was about 3 months before I could bring it in but because I had an extended warranty I could take it anyplace I wanted. I found a repair place in Toledo and dropped the trailer off 2 weeks later. @ weeks after that, the rig was fixed and the bill was over $3000.00. I paid a small deductible. So this time it worked for me. All in all, I saved over a grand. The does not mean I am sold on the warranties. If I had a simpler trailer, like I used to, then no I would not have gotten the warranty. The best thing I can say is to look at what you have in there that can go bad and what the replacement cost might be. Air conditioning units, 2-way refrigerators, water heaters can all be replaced without costing a fortune.

The warranty company was easy to deal with. I must have gotten lucky.

[MikeDupont]

ApexAZ, if youre happy with it, that is all that matters. You obviously did your due diligence.

[pitch]

Always see what the dealer can offer in financing. My DIL is loan officer at a bank and they could not come close to the dealers rate. Loan companies often offer tremendous incentives to dealers.

[ApexAZ]

MikeDupont wrote:
Also, lets back up a step. imo, you shouldnt be trusting/using the dealership's financial guy. Check with your local credit unions and banks and i bet you find a better deal.

And fwiw, i never buy extended warranties. Sucker's bet- THEY have all the data AND decide if they will honor it or jerk you around until you give up.

I called our bank plus a couple credit unions and he actually found a better rate through B of A @ 4.25%, which was more than a full percent lower than the quotes I got direct from the others. Perhaps I could do better if I spent more time on it. We took a 20 year loan to keep the payment minimum and we'll try to pay it off in 5, but I thought that was a decent rate for such a long term loan.

dodge guy wrote:
Also make sure they didn’t throw in any type of GAP insurance.

Although I’ve only seen it used once. The kid at work bought a Mustang and didn’t know they included it in the deal. Well the car got totaled and it was used! Probably the only time I’ve heard it work out for the purchaser.

winnietrey wrote:
GAP insurance, may be something to consider, if you are going low down, and long term financing ( like 12 years). If so you will be under water for a long time. Make sure you get a policy you can cancel though, when you are at break even. Might bring some peace of mind. JMHO

I hadn't thought about GAP, but I won't be surprised if that's slipped in there. The insurance we got will replace it with a brand new one in the first 5 years. Then they'll cover the cost of the original financing for the rest of the time we own it. So it basically has GAP built in (better, even) and we'll be sure to keep an eye out for that and decline it when we go to sign.

We are driving to go see it in person tomorrow and do a thorough walkthrough to look for anything that may need fixing.

[winnietrey]

GAP insurance, may be something to consider, if you are going low down, and long term financing ( like 12 years). If so you will be under water for a long time. Make sure you get a policy you can cancel though, when you are at break even. Might bring some peace of mind. JMHO

[MikeDupont]

Also, lets back up a step. imo, you shouldnt be trusting/using the dealership's financial guy. Check with your local credit unions and banks and i bet you find a better deal.

And fwiw, i never buy extended warranties. Sucker's bet- THEY have all the data AND decide if they will honor it or jerk you around until you give up.