Extended Warranties on a Superduty

[yankeerider]

In 2007 I purchased my current truck, a 2008 V10 F250. I did not purchase the extended warranty. Over the past 10 years, it has been in the shop only 3 times:

Once was for a dirty vapor recovery hose that made refueling painfully slow. This was 100% covered under the emissions system warranty.
The second time was for the air conditioning not working after about 5 years. The condenser was replaced due to a leak. The warranty had expired, and my cost was about $600. The third time was due to pulsing in the brakes and occasional rear brakes dragging. My cost was about $500. So, in my case, I was ahead by not purchasing the extended warranty.

 

[ericm979]

The difference between extended warranty and collision insurance is that your collision liability is potentially very large (i.e crash into a bus full of people or cause a multi vehicle collision) while the cost of fixing a broken vehicle is bounded by the value of the vehicle.

 

[Fallon]

The difference between extended warranty and collision insurance is that your collision liability is potentially very large (i.e crash into a bus full of people or cause a multi vehicle collision) while the cost of fixing a broken vehicle is bounded by the value of the vehicle.

Yup, that's the point I was trying to make. And realistically any vehicle under a warranty, extended or not, won't get totaled by a component failing , even if it was the whole probably engine or tranny. Something catastrophic like a crash, fire or flood would be required to destroy the whole vehicle. And those would be covered by insurance, not a warranty.

 

[HCJtractor]

All true. I'll admit I am somewhat paranoid because (contrary to advice give to me on this forum), I just bought an 08 F 250. I've read so many horror stories about the 6.4 diesel, and how it's a ticking time bomb. When offered the warranty, and after reading the fine print, I decided to purchase it. I suppose having it gives me some justification for buying a vehicle despite advice not to. In my mind, my reasoning is sound. This '08 is pristine, with under 8,000 miles. Its basically new in regard to wear and esthetics. Being a extended cab short bed, it drives so much better than my old beaten up '06 F350 crew cab long bed.
I'm giving up some payload, but that doesn't bother me. I have 3 trailers of various sizes if I need to haul heavy, which I rarely do. I reason that I was more likely to have mechanical breakdowns of various components on a '06 with 234,000 miles than an '08 with 7,800. So my reasoning is that if the naysayers are right, and my 6.4 self destructs tomorrow, maybe I'll get some coverage. Many said I should have gotten a 6.7 instead, but the cheapest ones I could find were $12,000 more, and all had much higher mileage. Frankly, I hope I lose this $1300 bet, because that would mean I had no breakdowns. But surely in 8 years, I expect to get some money from the insurance company, reducing my loss. But one thing was for sure..any problem with my '06 would have been out of pocket, and any 6.7 would have made me $12,000 poorer, and most likely out of warranty as well. I guess time will tell if I made the right decision. My problem now is that this truck is so perfect and pretty, I almost hate to use it like I did with my dinged up '06. (which I still have) Hmmm, maybe I'll keep them both! Can one have too many trucks or tractors?

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[ning]

All true. I'll admit I am somewhat paranoid because (contrary to advice give to me on this forum), I just bought an 08 F 250. I've read so many horror stories about the 6.4 diesel, and how it's a ticking time bomb.

Buying a ticking time bomb, I'd be tempted to buy the extended warrantee - and I don't buy the things any more.
I'd be concerned about a 3rd party warrantee actually paying out. I got one in '05 when I bought a BMW motorcycle, and 3 years later it wouldn't pay for a clutch failing at 15,000 miles... because, of course, clutches are wear items (15k is ridiculous for a clutch failing!). Lots of things are wear items, and none of them will be covered. Nothing else happened to the bike (yet, still have it) so I don't know if the warrantee would've gotten out of paying for other failures.

I don't know anyone who's ever had an extended warrantee pay on anything substantial - that's not to say it wouldn't, but warrantees are definitely major profit makers for everyone involved. Dealers usually get half, and then the extended warrantee company gets the rest - and still makes a profit after paying out... if they pay out - you do the math, they can't be paying much, so how much is it worth it to get one for your 6.4?

You could just get it, and decide it's part of the cost of having the truck, and have some peace of mind.
Of course, if the 6.4 is a ticking time bomb, you should probably still set something aside occasionally to cover it in case the extended warrantee doesn't - and if they do cover the explosion, you can spend it on something else!

 

[screamin400]

Check to see if that warranty supplies new or used parts and if they ship in the parts. This can be timely. Many replace used with used. Check on who the insurance co is that covers it. Check to see if you have to pay up front and then get reimbursed. Check how many hours of labor before given a rental car. Check to see who tows to the shop. See if you can take it further to someone you know and trust over wherever it broke down. Ask your local mechanics at ford if they have ever heard of the warranty co and see how they paid out. They have nothing to offer so they should be truthful. Ask them if they honor it. Check to see if seals and gaskets are covered. They may start a major failure and the co may not want to replace due to claim starting from a non covered part. I have seen some pay great and some not pay at all. Google will be your friend.

 

[Tractorable]

I'm generally not a fan of extended warranties but with the 6.4 it'd be wise to get some coverage.

 

[CincyFlyer]

The difference between extended warranty and collision insurance is that your collision liability is potentially very large (i.e crash into a bus full of people or cause a multi vehicle collision) while the cost of fixing a broken vehicle is bounded by the value of the vehicle.

Note that in the car insurance world, "collision" and "liability" are two separate things. The "collision" fixes your car, the "liability" fixes their car, and covers any injuries.

 

[N2DFire]

I have always been on the side of avoiding those things at all cost - until I bought my current truck a 2015 RAM 1500. I also bought (from a different dealer w/ a better price) the Lifetime "Maximum Care" warranty w/ $100 deductible.

So why the change of heart?
My "old truck" is a 1997 Toyota Tacoma - Owned it since it came off the hauler in Oct '96. It currently has over 332K miles on it and is now my Fathers "putt around" vehicle - except when I need it because the RAM is in the shop.

I drive about 60-70 miles a day to work and put roughly 23K plus per year on there (The RAM has over 46K since May 2015). Due to an upcoming change in work location I may be doing as much as 100mi/day with-in the next couple years.

The Tacoma is pretty simple. 2 power windows, 2 power locks, and a manual 5 speed trans.
The new RAM has more computers / multiplexers than a cruise missile, 7 power locks, 4 power windows, 2 power mirrors, electronic 8 speed transmission, etc. That's a TON more stuff to break, burn out, or go bad over the expected life (my expectation not theirs LOL)


How's it working so far?
So - just two weeks ago today, I went out to go to work & the RAM wouldn't start. Turns out it was the ignition module (the actual one in the dash the key fob fits in) I have no idea how much that would have cost w/o the extended warranty (cheapest one I found on e-bay was $150, plus you still have to get it to the dealer somehow for programming to work with your keys even if you did replace it yourself).

What I do know is that they towed it from my house to the nearest dealer, diagnosed & fix that issue, replaced BOTH power lock solenoids in my RAMBOXes (which had failed a few weeks prior), performed a warranty recall software update, and changed the oil & filter for less than $150 out of my pocket.

Could I have done all that for less than the 2 grand I paid for the warranty - sure. But at only a little over 2 years old - I've got plenty of time left to make the rest of that cost back.


Bottom line - you have to decide based on how you're going to use it and how long you plan to keep it if this is a good deal for you or not. Based on my previous vehicle, I plan to keep this RAM for a long time so it was worth it to me and so far seems to be paying for itself.