Cost of extended warranty goes up if you buy it later?

[PA135i]

You make a good point. I agree that FORD products have recovered from their bad reputation in the early 80's.
The styling of the current FORD product line is fresh and current. FORD cars have never looked better (as a whole) as they do today. And they are more reliable.

[GerryL]

Originally Posted by ejm3

I don't intend to debate the value of an extended warranty.

I was just interested if the cost of extended warranties went up as you got closer to 36k miles, which made no sense to me at all.

So here is the actual explanation, which surprisingly no else has mentioned. You actually get further coverage when you buy a GM plan later in the vehicles life. For example I have an '07 GM SUV that I bought a 72mo/72k extended warranty on when it was 2.5 yrs old and had 23k on it. It is now covered out to 2016 and 95k. (FWIW, its well paid for itself already and still has 3 more years coverage which is transferrable if I sell it)

So a plan of a given life, say 48/60 or 72/72 has considerably more coverage if bought later. The plans start the day you buy them, so if you buy them early, part of it has the basics covered by the factory warranty, and is of little value, hence making it cheaper to sell early in the cars life. The dealers like that most people don't get that, as it makes what they are pushing at the new car purchase look like a better deal.

[thehalcyon]

Originally Posted by GerryL

So here is the actual explanation, which surprisingly no else has mentioned. You actually get further coverage when you buy a GM plan later in the vehicles life. For example I have an '07 GM SUV that I bought a 72mo/72k extended warranty on when it was 2.5 yrs old and had 23k on it. It is now covered out to 2016 and 95k. (FWIW, its well paid for itself already and still has 3 more years coverage which is transferrable if I sell it)

So a plan of a given life, say 48/60 or 72/72 has considerably more coverage if bought later. The plans start the day you buy them, so if you buy them early, part of it has the basics covered by the factory warranty, and is of little value, hence making it cheaper to sell early in the cars life. The dealers like that most people don't get that, as it makes what they are pushing at the new car purchase look like a better deal.

I will have to inquire about this, are you positive that the plans start the day you buy them? I'm sure bmw canada has found a way to screw us on this too

Wouldn't everyone be buying extended warranties a week before the newcar warranty runs out if they knew they would be covered for another 6 years and 160,000 km?

I have the Extended Warranty Sheet in front of me for Canadians:

1 Series :

6y/160k km's $2,299
6y/200k km's $2,399

7y/160k km's $2,999
7y/200k km's $3,099

[ejm3]

Yeah that makes no sense.
The factory warranty covers the first 3 year or 36k miles. I am fairly certain the extended warranty starts at 36,001 miles and covers the car up until 48k, 60k, 72k or whatever length warranty you buy.

[GerryL]

Originally Posted by thehalcyon

I will have to inquire about this, are you positive that the plans start the day you buy them? I'm sure bmw canada has found a way to screw us on this too

Wouldn't everyone be buying extended warranties a week before the newcar warranty runs out if they knew they would be covered for another 6 years and 160,000 km?

I have the Extended Warranty Sheet in front of me for Canadians:

1 Series :

6y/160k km's $2,299
6y/200k km's $2,399

7y/160k km's $2,999
7y/200k km's $3,099

Thats how it works for the GM plans which is what he asked about. Those numbers are straight from the face page of my contract. The reason everyone doesn't wait until the last minute is exactly the reason that he asked the question. The price goes up for a given extension as the car ages. You are really not saving anything, you're buying a longer warranty for more money. Of course if you wait longer you can then buy a shorter extension and everything somewhat evens out.

I do not have a BMW plan, again the original poster asked about GM's factory plan, but I think BMW's plans are more conventional just going to a fixed mileage. There are plans out there that work both ways. I had a third party plan at one time for my Audi, that worked like the GM ones do, but I think most OEM ones work to a fixed figure, unlike the GM.

[GerryL]

Originally Posted by ejm3

Yeah that makes no sense.
The factory warranty covers the first 3 year or 36k miles. I am fairly certain the extended warranty starts at 36,001 miles and covers the car up until 48k, 60k, 72k or whatever length warranty you buy.

So go back and ask them...if you buy one today, does it cover 48 months from today or 48 months from the in service date.

By the way, the bumper to bumper, and the drivetrain factory warranty are two different periods for GM as well, so maybe you can see how it gets complex.

You may want to look at the first sentence that is bolded on the GM sample contract cover page in the link below.

http://www.gmprotectionplan.com/obje...20Language.pdf

[ejm3]

Ok so now I'm confused.
In this case the car she bough at 14k miles. The factory warranty is 3yrs/36k miles I believe.
Had she bought, say a 6yr/72k extended warranty my assumption was that she would be covered for an additional 3 years and an additional 36k miles or a total of 6 years or 72k miles, whichever comes first.

Are you telling me in the case she bought the warranty last week with 14k on the clock she would not be covered for a total of 6yrs/72k miles but something else?

[08LMB135i]

Originally Posted by ejm3

Ok so now I'm confused.
In this case the car she bough at 14k miles. The factory warranty is 3yrs/36k miles I believe.
Had she bought, say a 6yr/72k extended warranty my assumption was that she would be covered for an additional 3 years and an additional 36k miles or a total of 6 years or 72k miles, whichever comes first.

Are you telling me in the case she bought the warranty last week with 14k on the clock she would not be covered for a total of 6yrs/72k miles but something else?

More than likely 6 years from the date she bought the warranty and 72k from the mileage when she would have bought the warranty.

[GerryL]

Originally Posted by 08LMB135i

More than likely 6 years from the date she bought the warranty and 72k from the mileage when she would have bought the warranty.

That would be correct if it is a GM factory warranty. The mileage would go out to 84k and the time to 72 months plus whatever age it is now. If it is a 3rd party product, that many dealers sell, than you need to specifically ask for the exact wording as it could work either way.

[ejm3]

Oh ok I was confused. I assumed the extended warranty just picked up where the old one left off.
But buying it today is only cheaper because it covers less time and mileage than if I wait until the facory warranty is about to retire. So is it really cheaper? No, just different.
Thanks for clearing that up for me.

[GerryL]

Originally Posted by ejm3

Oh ok I was confused. I assumed the extended warranty just picked up where the old one left off.
But buying it today is only cheaper because it covers less time and mileage than if I wait until the facory warranty is about to retire. So is it really cheaper? No, just different.
Thanks for clearing that up for me.

Thats correct, or if you want it to be the same, you just buy a shorter plan if you buy it later.