[Freon]

I'm not positive what you mean by ""maintenance plan" vs. "service contract". That wording sounds the same to me. By your description of a deductible the later sound more like an extended warranty for stuff that breaks but doesn't actually cover required service.

Personally for maintenance, I'd be fine paying for certain services, but I *really* dislike paying for something like that with a time limit for use if they won't perform *all* the services listed. I.e. if I prepay $2k, I want to get specific services at a discount rate (like buying stuff at Costco, buy in bulk for a discount) not roll dice on putting enough miles on the car in a fixed period that I actually get what I paid for. I want a specific list of what I *WILL* get for that money, without any "if" clauses short of the downfall of western civilization. They perform X, Y, and Z for $A paid up front or they can pound sand.

If it's service every 6 months regardless of mileage, that's fine. It just shouldn't be a disconnect between the time limit of the contract and what they will do.

Now, in reality I'm doing my own maintenance now (yay water pump that just blew up!) since I like turning wrenches as a hobby, but that's my advice regardless. For something like home AC/furnance, that's not my thing, so I'm fine with paying $200 for biannual AC service as long as it is guaranteed service, not dependent on "using" the AC enough to require the service I already paid for.

Extended warranties are a different beast. That's more of an issue of risk mitigation (read: insurance), and I tend to not buy insurance for things I can cover in cash out of my emergency savings account. Instead of insuring every little thing I own, I keep cash on hand and insure myself. Unless something truly major happens, like blowing a crank bearing or ringland, which doesn't seem to be a common issue with this car, I think I'm better off rolling the dice. I add the premium I'd pay for the insurance/warranty into my savings rather than pay someone's overhead and profit margin. I do the same by skipping extended warranties on things like home appliances, electronics, and so forth. If I have any reason to think a $1000 TV I am buying will blow up 2.1 years just out of warranty I just won't bother buying it at all, and I prefer things with a good base manufacturers warranty.