Is This Extended Warranty Some Kind of A Joke?

On the 1st stop of my recent trip from BC to SoCal, my Slide-out broke in the open position. It was on a Sunday morning of the Labour Day weekend. I went under and discovered that a bolt through the drive shaft of the drive motor had been sheared off in two places. I figured the chance to find a hardware store that open on Sunday and had grade 8 bolts on its shelf were rather slim. So was getting a mobile RV Tech who would work on holiday weekends.

With the help of a fellow camper, we managed to push the Slide-out back in and tied it shut with a strap and I was on my way. I was lucky to get a hold of a RV shop close to my destination in SoCal while enroute on Labour day and made an appointment for the next morning. It was fixed while I was having lunch as soon as I got there. The charge was more than reasonable for one hour labour and the owner even threw in a couple of spare grade 8 bolts for my spare at no charge.

I don't know how many of you would carry your extended warranty insurance company's contact number on a trip. I didnt,
,assuming that I can make a claim after the trip.

Fast forward 3 weeks later, I filed a claim with the insurance company. Suprise! The claim was rejected. They pointed to the fine prints of the policy stating that all nuts, bolts and fasteners are not covered under this policy. This effectively shut out 80% of claims in RV failure. On top of that, they also advised me repairs should have prior approval from them or risk rejection out right. So if it happens on a holiday, you are out of luck even if you can find some help for your repair.

I dug out the policy and sure enough it was a long list of items on the uncovered list. To name a few: body panels, chassis , brake & rotors, wheels & tires, microwave, etc. etc. It only leaves out a few things in a RV that haven't been mentioned.

I have never bought into extended warranties. This one was inherited from the previous owner and only cost me $100 for the transfer. It's good until Nov. 2020. I believe I have better than 50/50 chance to get even before it expires.

valhalla360
Navigator
Sep 25, 2018
Fordlover wrote:
For what it's worth, I bought a camper that the MFG has gone out of business, so no factory warranty. The dealer sells every unit with a "warranty forever", and though I didn't want it (was included at no cost to me) he said he'd included it and I could let it lapse at the 1 year mark by not doing the maintenance work.

At 4 months of ownership, the 15K Dometic A/C stopped cooling, and was seeing only a 4 degree delta across the coils.

I called a local mobile RV repair company, and to my surprise the warranty forever people covered the cost of the entire repair and labor, minus the trip charge. Total covered repair was 1,100 bucks or so and the trip charge x2 was 150. Well worth the $150 for me to not have to take the time to hitch up, drag the camper to repair and back again.

I will say I do not believe in extended warranties in 98% of cases, and still wouldn't have paid much for this one, but I will say I'm pleased in this case it worked out.

If I'd had no extended warranty, I would have bought the unit online and installed myself.

People win the lottery too...but no independent analysis would suggest it's a good retirement strategy.
trail-explorer
Explorer
Sep 25, 2018
SpeakEasy wrote:
but she offered me a deal I couldn't refuse. I won't go into the details, but I bought it. Cost me about $1700.

WOW, she saw you coming for sure.... that is NOT a deal.
Fordlover
Explorer
Sep 24, 2018
For what it's worth, I bought a camper that the MFG has gone out of business, so no factory warranty. The dealer sells every unit with a "warranty forever", and though I didn't want it (was included at no cost to me) he said he'd included it and I could let it lapse at the 1 year mark by not doing the maintenance work.

At 4 months of ownership, the 15K Dometic A/C stopped cooling, and was seeing only a 4 degree delta across the coils.

I called a local mobile RV repair company, and to my surprise the warranty forever people covered the cost of the entire repair and labor, minus the trip charge. Total covered repair was 1,100 bucks or so and the trip charge x2 was 150. Well worth the $150 for me to not have to take the time to hitch up, drag the camper to repair and back again.

I will say I do not believe in extended warranties in 98% of cases, and still wouldn't have paid much for this one, but I will say I'm pleased in this case it worked out.

If I'd had no extended warranty, I would have bought the unit online and installed myself.
captnjack
Explorer
Sep 24, 2018
SpeakEasy wrote:
When I bought my truck, the person at the dealership who "handles" the paperwork gave me a really hard sell to get me to buy the Ford extended warranty. I NEVER buy these things, but she offered me a deal I couldn't refuse. I won't go into the details, but I bought it. Cost me about $1700.

Then I started reading the fine print. The thing that got me the most was when i read that any parts that were damaged as a result of a failure of a covered part were not covered. There were other issues as well, including the fact that I misunderstood the total # of miles covered (as a result of misrepresentation, I maintain). Long story short, I was able to cancel the sale that day and get a refund. At least the dealership was kind enough to me to let me do that.

But the thing about damage to non-covered parts that happens as a result of failure of covered parts seemed to me to be an awfully big exclusion.

Lesson learned. No more extended warranties for me.

-Speak

The dealer likely wasn't being "kind". I think NYS law requires a 3 day review period that allows you to cancel the contract. This would also be in the "small print" area of the agreement.

Either way I'm glad you got out. I believe those warranties are all a waste of money for the vast majority of consumers.
SpeakEasy
Explorer
Sep 24, 2018
bdpreece wrote:
Take what ever the cost quoted for the extended warranty and open an interest bearing account at a credit union. Only draw out the money for repairs. Your account will never deny a repair unlike the extended warranty. At the end of what would have been the extended warranty period you will most probably have money left in the account.

X2. Plus, you don't have the aggravation that goes along with having to fight for what you believe should be covered. Life is too short for that kind of stuff.

-Speak
valhalla360
Navigator
Sep 24, 2018
CaLBaR wrote:
What is the company for the extended warranty. Just bought a new Grand Design Reflection and dealer gave a low pressure pitch. DW thinks it might be a good idea but nearly $3400 for 7 years and I have only the pamphlet. I really want to see the policy of all the fine print for this much money.

You can pay for a lot of work to be done for $3400.

Make sure you use every thing the first year (lots of times if possible) or so when the manufacturers warranty is still in force and get those items fixed...after that, there is unlikely to be any more items that would be covered under warranty.
bdpreece
Explorer II
Sep 24, 2018
Take what ever the cost quoted for the extended warranty and open an interest bearing account at a credit union. Only draw out the money for repairs. Your account will never deny a repair unlike the extended warranty. At the end of what would have been the extended warranty period you will most probably have money left in the account.
TKW
Explorer
Sep 24, 2018
midnightsadie wrote:
x2 on the bolts, they,are shear bins to protect the gear box etc from damage.yours did there job.

I am certain they are grade 8 bolts by their marking on the head. I don't think they meant to be a shear pin. It is a coupling bolt that goes through a hollow shaft over the drive shaft. At close inspection, it looks like it's a metal fatigue failure. It just so decided to give up on a holiday weekend. It didn't break b/c of some sudden applied stress.
jbjuices
Explorer
Sep 24, 2018
I always have bought the extended warranty and haven't had any issue with them fixing it. I use Wholesale Warranty and in each case, I got my money back in major repairs that I would not have been able to fix myself. To each his own, but I was the one laughing when water heater had to be replaced, electrical work done and awning system fixed. I just bought a 7 year on my new trailer and know that within the full 7 years that I'll own it, I will not have to worry about repairs except the normal wear and tear of items not covered, i.e. tires, brakes, lights, etc.
midnightsadie
Explorer II
Sep 23, 2018
x2 on the bolts, they,are shear bins to protect the gear box etc from damage.yours did there job.