Buy Extended warranty! Yes/No? Help!

[Campncouple]

We are looking at a 2002 Class A we have no history on the unit. We are thinking of purchasing a Extended Warranty due to the age and possible unknown problems that might come up. This warranty is costly and can only be issued for. 48 month period. We have heard so many different opinions . Have any of you purchased one and has it worked well for you in their willing to pay on most claims? I have checked on many and this one seems best. It is exclusionary with a consequential clause added.
Hard to know what to do..
Thank you.

[Veebyes]

Being a hands on deal with it myself type of owner I have never had any extended warrantees.

7 seasons/about 140 nights per season have cost just under $5000 in repairs. The 4 door fridge had to be replaced.

Annual expenses have been well under $2000 per year for things the warrantee would not cover such as tires, brakes, bearings, upgrades to running gear like springs & axel alignment kit. Almost all of the upgrades done by me with help from DW, chief tool getter, wrench holder & supplier of cool drinks.

[bsinmich]

I have had everything from popups to a 38' Mountain Aire since 1969 with 7 being motorhomes and have never had an expense that would have made a warranty worthwhile. My '75 GMC I totally expected repairs because I spotted a lot of needs before I bought it. That is to be expected when you buy a 40 year old MH.

[creeper]

We had an extended warranty on our last RV because we bought it used. The Insurance company paid $20,000,00 in repairs before we traded it in. Only used 1 1/2 years on the policy so, we got half of the premium back.

We got a 5 year on our new RV. They wanted $6,000.00 for the warranty. After some negotiating they offered it to us at $4500.00. walked out with a 5 year warranty for $3000.00. HUGE mark ups on warranties so negotiate your butt off.

These things are expensive and can be costly if you're caught without a warranty.

[Golden_HVAC]

I flat out told the salesman 'no' and I did not want the warranty. Later they came back with a much better price, and I started to worry about the transmission on my 1997 Fleetwood Bounder with 460" Ford engine. The Ford 4 speed auto transmission was pretty new at that time, and I thought about it, I was concerned enough to pay the extra $2,500 or something for the 5 or 6 year 50,000 mile warranty. The initial cost was something a bit over $4,200 to cover all the same stuff, with this extra mark up probably being split as commmissions to the dealer and salesmen.

So how did it work out from 97 - 2003? Well I took the RV in for several things, including a leaking passenger side axle seal, several minor problem,s and about 8 times for leaking seals on the factory installed 'Big foot' jacks. Now they just install a rebuild kit on the jack for about $100, but back in 2000, they replaced the $850 jacks one at a time. It cost us $50 for each visit to the dealership, so we would wait for a few things to get all repaired at once.

I do remember having the flush valve replaced on the toilet too.

No problems with the transmission or engine. One broken weld that Fleetwood took care of when the RV was about 5 months old and around 3,000 miles on it. That was a month long repair! Fleetwood approved about 3 hours of labor time, while the dealership held things up until they where paid for a full 6 hours to make the repair. In the meantime, while the dealership and Fleetwood worked things out, we kept paying $650 a month and not being able to use the motorhome, that was a bummer.. . .

Good luck with your new RV, whatever it is!

Fred.

[DSDP_Don]

I think "paulcardoza" gave you some good info. I think another factor in making the decision is how capable you are in doing some of the repairs. If you're not a DIY type of guy, your best bet may be to get a warranty.

[Oaklevel]

The only time we tried to use an auto extended service & tried to use it it would not pay for the repair....... no other times have we needed one....so for us just a waste of money.......

We are on our 4th camper in 30 years and have never had any repair that an extended warranty would have covered.......

[midnightsadie]

READ ,OL,, yellers post about three times, then bank the money, thats a pretty old rv, just put some aside for repairs. and learn how to do them yourself.

[pconroy328]

BTPO1 wrote:
To me it is just an insurance plan. Just like insurance they will try anything to get out of paying you. I also feel that it is better to bank the money you save and use it to repair as needed yourself. JMO

That's *exactly* what they are. And yeah, they do the math. The company estimates how many folks will make a claim so they can make money.

I have no issues with the company trying to make a profit. That's about as American as you can get.

I've done an about-face on extended warranties. I used to never buy them but have bought them for some of our appliances. While I don't think I've come out ahead, money wise, I do like the piece of mind they can bring.

[jplante4]

No. Instead, put 2 times your per hour operating costs into a maintenance kitty and use than when things break. If nothing breaks, you have a good down payment on the next rig.

Figure your operating cost by taking 50 MPH / your MPG * average cost of fuel + 1 quart oil for every 5 hours.

[lawnspecialties]

I'm for them with RVs. Our extended warranty paid for itself with our Cyclone for the two years we owned it. Then it was a nice perk for the buyer since it was transferable.

[paulcardoza]

Extended warranties are a highly personal decision, based on your financial situation and fear of risk. You don't say if the class A you are looking at is a DP or not. An engine or transmission replacement for a DP can run as high $15,000.

Higher end coach repairs, especially on older models, can add up quickly. How would a $4,000 - $5,000 repair bill affect you? Will your coach end up sitting in the driveway, un-usable, while you continue to make loan payments on it? Will a $1,000 repair bill cause you the same financial difficulty? If yes, then you might consider an EW. It's a matter of how much risk you are willing to take and how comfortable you are with the condition of your coach.

All that being said, these policies, especially for older rigs, are quite expensive. The insurer is in it to make money and they price the policies to ensure that on average, they take in a LOT more money then they pay out. the odds are strongly in their favor that you will not recoup your policy cost in claims. Remember that, no matter how many people chime in and tell you they received way more in claims then their cost of coverage! Regardless of what they say, they are in the vast minority!

When we bought our first DP, we had no experience with them. It was a 2003 Monaco Executive, bought in 2010 with 62,000mi on it. As we were going into such an unknown, we did buy a 2 year EW. Over that two year period, the only thing we had replaced was the alternator, so we didn't come close to recouping our cost. BUT, we felt a lot more comfortable while we were learning exactly what we had for a rig. After the two years, we did not renew the EW. we had the rig for 2 more years with no issues.

Sorry for the long winded post, but this topic comes up often and so many people think it can be answered with a simple statement that the EW is either a wonderful or a terrible idea. It can be either, depending on the situation. One thing for sure however...... If you do decide to buy one, take lots of time to read the policy, understand the fine print on the coverage and ask questions. THIS IS CRITICAL!

[ol__yeller]

My advice is to read the extended warranty before you buy it. Do NOT rely on the salesperson to tell you what is covered. Too many take the salesperson's word and wind up disappointed. Find out exactly what is covered, what your deductibles would be, what is the process to get something covered and where are repairs authorized. Then decide if what they are asking is worth the coverage offered.

The consumer help columns in the RV magazines every month have sad tales of woe from folks not reading the fine print and expecting coverage of items that are excluded or they didn't follow the repair procedures and so their claim was denied. There are also stories of folks following the letter of the contract and still finding their claim denied because the warranty company is avoiding their responsibility.

For me extended warranties aren't worth it. I'd rather bank the money and save it for if and when I need it down the road.

[BTPO1]

To me it is just an insurance plan. Just like insurance they will try anything to get out of paying you. I also feel that it is better to bank the money you save and use it to repair as needed yourself. JMO

[mikensallyt]

I may be a fool, but I also bought an extended 3 yr warranty. Even though I've always had it on all my vehicles and never used it once. I just feel safer with it.