Has anyone ever used them? My son is buying a used car (2001) in New Jersey. The dealership offered an extended service plan with this company which covers most engine, transmission, drive axle components and repair work. (3 months or 4,500 miles for $195) The car "seems to be in good shape" mechanically with some new parts installed. (New radiator, hoses, belts, battery, etc.) We would appreciate any information, or experiences that anyone has had with this company, or with this type of coverage. Thank you!
I did an extended once on a used Audi (my first car) and it was a complete waste of money. However repairs on German cars are really expensive, so it's good to have a deal or manufacturer warranty.. i stay away from 3rd party, but that's just me.
Having said that, at that car's age, a little insurance against a serious problem would provide some comfort or peace of mind if he's the worrying type. I have a daughter that's this way. She was buying her first car this summer, a 2006 Subaru Forester. A close family friend was offering it to us at a very low price. She just kept worrying and it was hard for her to decide. I knew it was a good deal, so I bought it.
She wanted to use it, but I told her that it was mine, and if she wanted to use it she would have to pay for it. She had use of a different car, and I was really just trying to get her through the process of making a buying decision which is hard for her. After a few weeks she finally agreed to buy it. She's really happy now, but she's the type that may have wanted to spend the extra $195 to buy a warranty just to give her peace of mind to go through with the purchase.
Seriously, if you think a car has a decent chance of a major repair within three months, don't buy the car.
But then again $195 isn't a lot for 3-months of piece of mind
Bought a used Nissan Sentra from the Nissan dealer - was probably 6-7 years old give or take. It had around 49,000 miles or so. The warranty was sold to me as an extended 50,000 mile warranty. I believed it would cover most repairs for another 50,000 miles. Somewhere around 80k or 90k miles I had a major mechanical failure and tried to make a claim on the warranty at the dealer that sold me the policy. It was then that I was told that the contract only covered claims until 50,000 TOTAL vehicle miles. The language was completely unclear on when the coverage began - I was certain that I was buying a warranty that would give me several extra years of coverage.
Anyway - I went to battle with the dealer and wrote up a nasty complaint to the BBB. The dealer ultimately contacted me and we worked something fair out - can't remember the exact details but the warranty company refused to help so it was just the dealer making the concessions to me in the spirit of customer service.
Since then, I haven't bought an extended warranty and would only do so very carefully.
Best of luck to him - I'm sure you're saving him $195. There really sounds like an absolutely miniscule likelihood of a covered event happening in the first 90 days anyway.
You're taking a gamble that what breaks on your car: A) costs more to fix than the warranty; and B) is covered by said warranty if it does break.
You're making this bet against a company with better information than you have, they do this for a living. I tend to stay away from them.