Extended Warranties
- Thread starter Fieldtrip
- Start date
C Nash
Senior Member
Extended Warranties
Congratulations on your new 33v David :approve: . I don't really like the extended warranties
. If you put back the monies you spend, and this is a big if with most of us, on the extended policies I think in most cases you would come out ahead in the end. Just to much small print in the warrenty and problems getting them handled in a lot of places. Most will only cover the major drive line components. Decision only you can make. AJMO Good luck and enjoy the new Suncruiser
Congratulations on your new 33v David :approve: . I don't really like the extended warranties
. If you put back the monies you spend, and this is a big if with most of us, on the extended policies I think in most cases you would come out ahead in the end. Just to much small print in the warrenty and problems getting them handled in a lot of places. Most will only cover the major drive line components. Decision only you can make. AJMO Good luck and enjoy the new Suncruiser Extended Warranties
One advantage of an extended warrenty is that if you break down in lower Podunk, you have a better chance of not getting gouged for repairs. The trick is that many of the Extended Warrenty companies are 'here today, gone tomorrow' and/or 'everything is covered, except the stuff which breaks a lot'. You have to read the fine print, and more importantly, understand it, which requires a bit of knowlege about RVs and what tends to break.
Every single extended warrenty has a bit of rip off built in, as they all duplicate coverage during the factory warrenty.
Extended Warranties from the dealer are horrendously overpriced. I have gotten them down close to 50% off what they first asked, which means that the markup is astronomical. I'd say that dealer companies (at least from dealerships which have been around for a while) are probably in the middle reliablility and coverage wise. There are almost certainly better companies, cheaper, but you have to do your homework. The first question is 'what do they cover and what do they not cover?'. Read the contract. The next question is 'will they still be around when I need to file a claim?'. A good indication of this is their capitilization plan. If they put a large, fixed percentage of all premiums into a trust to pay repairs, then their chances of going bankrupt is rather lower than one which just 'wings it'. Finally, 'how much of a hassle is it to file a claim?' This is perhaps the hardest to analyze, unless you can find someone who has done it, or perhaps the BBB, etc.
I don't know any good companies for RVs yet (the one from the dealer for my trailer was so cheap and there is not as much which can go wrong with a trailer, so that it was not worth finding a better one), but I did find one company through the internet (from the site which helped me get a good price on the truck, so I trusted their recommendation) which seems to be top notch for my new truck. They cover everything except maintenance items and the price was nice. So there may be the equivalent available for RVs. If I needed one (got a motorhome), I'd start with Good Sam club or equivalent and see if they have recommendations (I think they may have their own emergency service plan, which is the most useful part).
After all, if your problems only occur in, or can be put up with until you return to, your home area, you have the 'home turf' advantage, in that you can get to know the local shops, can shop around for parts and/or labor costs, and if you wish, even do some repairs yourself.
One advantage of an extended warrenty is that if you break down in lower Podunk, you have a better chance of not getting gouged for repairs. The trick is that many of the Extended Warrenty companies are 'here today, gone tomorrow' and/or 'everything is covered, except the stuff which breaks a lot'. You have to read the fine print, and more importantly, understand it, which requires a bit of knowlege about RVs and what tends to break.
Every single extended warrenty has a bit of rip off built in, as they all duplicate coverage during the factory warrenty.
Extended Warranties from the dealer are horrendously overpriced. I have gotten them down close to 50% off what they first asked, which means that the markup is astronomical. I'd say that dealer companies (at least from dealerships which have been around for a while) are probably in the middle reliablility and coverage wise. There are almost certainly better companies, cheaper, but you have to do your homework. The first question is 'what do they cover and what do they not cover?'. Read the contract. The next question is 'will they still be around when I need to file a claim?'. A good indication of this is their capitilization plan. If they put a large, fixed percentage of all premiums into a trust to pay repairs, then their chances of going bankrupt is rather lower than one which just 'wings it'. Finally, 'how much of a hassle is it to file a claim?' This is perhaps the hardest to analyze, unless you can find someone who has done it, or perhaps the BBB, etc.
I don't know any good companies for RVs yet (the one from the dealer for my trailer was so cheap and there is not as much which can go wrong with a trailer, so that it was not worth finding a better one), but I did find one company through the internet (from the site which helped me get a good price on the truck, so I trusted their recommendation) which seems to be top notch for my new truck. They cover everything except maintenance items and the price was nice. So there may be the equivalent available for RVs. If I needed one (got a motorhome), I'd start with Good Sam club or equivalent and see if they have recommendations (I think they may have their own emergency service plan, which is the most useful part).
After all, if your problems only occur in, or can be put up with until you return to, your home area, you have the 'home turf' advantage, in that you can get to know the local shops, can shop around for parts and/or labor costs, and if you wish, even do some repairs yourself.
Kirk
Senior Member
Extended Warranties
Hertig is right about one thing, Good Sam does indeed sell their own emergency road service. And Camping World does also and both are owned by Affinity Enterprises. They both seem to have a pretty fair reputation, but that isn't always true. If you are going to buy an extended warranty, there are a few things to remember. First of all, extended warranties are not warranties at all, but are really a health insurance policy for the RV. And like any insurance, you will really be happier if you never need it. But they are a for profit business and they do make a good profit, but they can be good if you understand what you are getting. Remember that all of the policies only cover the items that are listed as covered, and not one thing more. And one major reason for such a wide variation in price is the fact that coverages and deductables vary widely. Deductables can range from as low as $25 to as high as several hundred. And with the lower priced policies you will find that the list of covered items will be very short. And the rules about getting things repaired also varies. The cheapest policies cover very little and make it very difficult to get covered items paid for. And if the service is bad, you will have a great difficulty in finding a service shop that is willing to work with them. If the repair shop has to spend long periods on hold, they won't be very happy about using them. Better warranties will use a credit card to pay for repairs. Poor ones will want to send a check.
If you choose to buy one, get a copy of the contract and read all of it before you sign and pay for it. These policies can be helpful, but you must be very careful. It was stated in Motorhome Magazine that extended warranties are the #1 source of RV complaints.
Hertig is right about one thing, Good Sam does indeed sell their own emergency road service. And Camping World does also and both are owned by Affinity Enterprises. They both seem to have a pretty fair reputation, but that isn't always true. If you are going to buy an extended warranty, there are a few things to remember. First of all, extended warranties are not warranties at all, but are really a health insurance policy for the RV. And like any insurance, you will really be happier if you never need it. But they are a for profit business and they do make a good profit, but they can be good if you understand what you are getting. Remember that all of the policies only cover the items that are listed as covered, and not one thing more. And one major reason for such a wide variation in price is the fact that coverages and deductables vary widely. Deductables can range from as low as $25 to as high as several hundred. And with the lower priced policies you will find that the list of covered items will be very short. And the rules about getting things repaired also varies. The cheapest policies cover very little and make it very difficult to get covered items paid for. And if the service is bad, you will have a great difficulty in finding a service shop that is willing to work with them. If the repair shop has to spend long periods on hold, they won't be very happy about using them. Better warranties will use a credit card to pay for repairs. Poor ones will want to send a check.
If you choose to buy one, get a copy of the contract and read all of it before you sign and pay for it. These policies can be helpful, but you must be very careful. It was stated in Motorhome Magazine that extended warranties are the #1 source of RV complaints.