Extend the warranty???

[myronlh]

I had a Coleman Mach I Power Saver installed on my truck camper today. It comes with a 2 year warranty and an offer to extend that to years 3,4,& 5 for $90. Do most of you do that?

[bobndot]

quote wrote:
provided a major fix isn't needed that exceeds what the warranty account has put aside in it..

True Kev , that possibility is in place in the beginning of building a self-fund but diminishes as time goes on. If that occurs, you take the hit and keep investing , paying yourself, over the years that cash flow will eventually be greater than you will need and you will be able to recover the loss of a repair.
Some people just can't do that and need to feel protected. That's what these EW companies bank on .
I've been doing this since 1988, the risk of evacuating the fund for a needed repair are long gone in my particular case.
Doing this takes discipline as to NOT use the money for other things. I think of it as money already spent and is gone.
You have to do what fits your situation at the time and I understand your thinking in covering your RV . Each individual must feel comfortable and that's fine . There are going to be times when the EW will help someone.
Some people roll the EW cost into a loan, paying interest on it and worse.
One other thing to look for : Aftermarket companies in general.
http://www.8newsnow.com/story/1350831/car-warranty-company-goes-bankrupt

Bob

[KevSchofield]

bobndot, that's sound thinking.. provided a major fix isn't needed that exceeds what the warranty account has put aside in it..

'most' of the time, I imagine the warranty companies do just fine on they wouldn't be in business offering more extended warranties.

I admit, I bought an extended warranty on the 5th wheel I bought in August..
It's a 2007.. and I was able to get a platnium coverage, zero deductible warranty for $12 a month more..
To me it was worth it as the camper is already 7 years old and will be covered for 5 more years..
Appliances, AC, slide motors, landing gear, axles, all plumbing and electrical, and more..
Worth $12 a month to me to know that if anything breaks or stops working, I'm covered.
At the end of the 5 years, my plan is to trade in for something newer..

[bobndot]

Line your own pockets not someone else's.
For each individual product , you have to ask .
" What are the frequency of breakdowns in combination with the expense required to repair/replace what you want to insure".
EW's are service contract insurance policies that are full of fine print "we don't cover that" disclosures.
People here have good advice and some have their own formula of calculating the expense of an EW best suited for them.
It goes by group percentages or (profit margins from specific covered items) not individual statistics.
I took a financial investment course where the professor used the phrase "For every single person that did benefit from an EW there are 100 that didn't.
The companies that offer them are the financial winners and the people buying them are the financial losers ! That's why they are in business" .

Try this: Assuming you have the money to make the EW purchase. Pay it to yourself . Set up your own EWA and draw from it IF...IF...you ever have to.

With compounded interest and rolling over on the EWA (extended warranty account) investment , you will be able to buy yourself a brand new toy someday with your own EWA money that you would have paid to unknown salesmen that are buying new toys for themselves.
It works,,,,you will gain money and have a cash flow for yourself.

[Hybridhunter]

I just got one of these and was debating the same thing. This AC, shipped and imported to Canada was $900. $90 for a 50% longer warranty does not seem excessive. I am pretty much averse to any extended warranty, but this one seems not too bad.

[tibbitts]

Assuming you paid with a credit card you might get an additional year added to the warranty anyway, although you'd have to check the exact terms and conditions.

[wintersun]

I only extend the warranty for something that is likely to have a problem and where the fix is likely to be a lot more expensive than the extended warranty cost by a factor of 2 or more.

Labor to replace one of these units is minimal and my new AC sold for $900 and I bought it and had it installed for a lot less than that amount. These also seem to be rarely a problem.

Different with a fridge where the controller boards often are the point of failure and the labor and parts will be over $600.

In general extended warranties provide a profit margin of 90% or more. That is not to say that they are all bad all the time.

[edbehnke]

don't waste your money on an extended warranty.

[Royals_Fan]

I never buy em! If the dealer or manufacture didn't make $$$ on them they wouldn't offer them.

[sleepy]

wnjj wrote:

sleepy wrote:

myronlh wrote:
I had a Coleman Mach I Power Saver installed on my truck camper today. It comes with a 2 year warranty and an offer to extend that to years 3,4,& 5 for $90. Do most of you do that?

What is a "Coleman Mach I Power Saver" ?

do I need one

I never buy extended warrenties...

It's an AC unit. You probably don't need another one, Sleepy.

http://www.adventurerv.net/coleman-11000-btu-power-saver-roof-air-conditioner-mach-p-1472.html

Wow that is expensive shipping... it comes from about 40 miles from home.

Actually I might need one...I have always hated the installed Dometic penquin that we have. It blasts sub zero air sometimes... then cuts back... then does another cycle.

In a perfect world:

My AC would be in a basement, ducted, and slightly smaller.

I think that a good part of the water damage to the skin of the camper is from AC condensate running off the roof.

Ducted = distributed ait.

And smaller = longer run times but more more consistant tempertures

I hope to hear about the OP's thoughts when this new one is in use.

And, I get another question:

Does the extended warrenty cover repair, replacement and all labour?

The labour part is worth as much as the replacement or repatr... if it's included.

Sleepy

[Desertboy]

Ohhhh we need a like button 🙂

[wnjj]

sleepy wrote:

myronlh wrote:
I had a Coleman Mach I Power Saver installed on my truck camper today. It comes with a 2 year warranty and an offer to extend that to years 3,4,& 5 for $90. Do most of you do that?

What is a "Coleman Mach I Power Saver" ?

do I need one

I never buy extended warrenties...

It's an AC unit. You probably don't need another one, Sleepy.

http://www.adventurerv.net/coleman-11000-btu-power-saver-roof-air-conditioner-mach-p-1472.html

[sleepy]

myronlh wrote:
I had a Coleman Mach I Power Saver installed on my truck camper today. It comes with a 2 year warranty and an offer to extend that to years 3,4,& 5 for $90. Do most of you do that?

What is a "Coleman Mach I Power Saver" ?

do I need one

I never buy extended warrenties...

[tonymull]

Extended warranties are generally a bad idea...if you don't expect something to last just don't buy it..most items which fail either do so soon, and are covered by any warranty, or last well past any warranty.

[mrkoje]

As with any warranty/service contract I would heavily weigh the value of what you get. In this case you are receiving an additional 3 years of coverage for $90.00.

On Google it shows that the unit itself costs approximately $500. $90 for a contract on a $500 purchase seems a little excessive representing 20% of the purchase price.

I used to sell vehicle service contracts - a real value would be in the 3.5-5% range. I used to have quite a few 7 year factory extensions to the 3 year basic that only cost a customer around $1300.00 on a $50,000 vehicle.

A lot of the time the service contracts are a big money maker for the company selling them with huge margins - but not always. Honestly I wouldn't pay anymore than $25 for that coverage on that unit however that is most unlikely if it's a fixed,take it or leave it, price.