ARTICLE: Extended Warranties. Yes or No?

[viper]

Originally Posted by dr fate

iam being serious when i bought my dicor a top man in prerana asked me sinc ehe knows what is my nature of buisness asked me to refrain explaining what i have suggested above,
the coverage of extended warranty is supported by tata and does not carry the very same meaning the word warranty carries for the first 20 months the extended warranty claims are cleared by a third party insurance company if if you want i will pm you the concerned party number and reffering me as a friend(under conditions of anonimity)he will explain the pro's and cons involved which will quell your doubts..

Hi Dr.Fate,

Am glad you share my opinion and can read through the fine print since you are from the same industry I believe. Can I request you to list down some of the vital parts which the extended warranty will ideally not cover.

Viper

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by F50

Team-BHP feels that the relatively small cost of purchasing an extended warranty will save you money in the long run. Say “yes” to an extended warranty.

Exactamundo. Albeit read the fine print that follows any extended warranty clause, just to be on the right side of legalese .

[hrag]

Originally Posted by dr fate

you have to sit and prove that you are not responsible for the major parts about to be replaced!!!that too to the guys supporting the warranty,that right a third party,please do visit your neighbourhood tata dealership for more details.

Please elaborate. My Indica LSi's A/C Condenser fan failed at 50,000 km and 35 months. As a result, the discharge hose conked and all the gas leaked out.

I had to pay for the gas but the A/C condenser fan and labour for the same was covered under the extended warranty (18 months beyond factory warranty of 18 months).

United India was the third party in my case but I didn't have to prove anything to them. Concorde Motors represented my case (if you can call it that) and dealt with them. I like to think that my case was made easier by the fact that my owners' manual had all the service dates and workshop seals in place. All services had been carried out on schedule and at Concorde Motors.

[yogi1771]

hi members is it worth going in for extended warranty if your running is very low

[mail4ajo]

I have always opted for extended warranty whether its for my car or my electrical appliances like Fridge or washing machine.

But what I can't digest is when a manufacturer like Maruti talks big about making quality and realiable cars, why can't they offer higher warranty period?? They currently offer 2 year or 40K kms as standard. If we need more, we need to shell out. Don't they have confidence that their cars will run trouble free for atleast 4 years?

If what we heard on Skoda and Merc are right, I would view it as "total lack of commitment to the Indian market." The values they boast about are drowned by this one fact. I would demand more care and service from Maruti for the peanuts I paid them for my Alto. Now I understand the plight of Merc and Skoda owners.

I was about to be conned by the dealer when he was offering 3rd year warranty for free. Actually the car price was quoted with 3rd warranty inbuilt. I ripped apart the dealer and ensured that I recieved a 4year - 80K kms warranty at no additional cost.

[dr fate]

[quote=hrag]Please elaborate. My Indica LSi's A/C Condenser fan failed at 50,000 km and 35 months. As a result, the discharge hose conked and all the gas leaked out.

There!you have an answer in your own question,

in your case the dealer presented your case to united india as a fit case and not a case where in its the user fault,

in case the dealer is not convinced or for some reason feels he should not oblige your claim you cannot demand a warranty replacement,it will not be a COMPANY(tata)obligation and i must add that you may be sharing a very good relationship with the dealers,

giving you a full pro's and cons would be a lengthy affair as we(jointly with VIPER)are not saying its a scam but it does not carry the same meaning and have different rules or fine print in which experience's can go either ways and i can give you plenty of examples of the negative ones.

[dr fate]

Originally Posted by viper

Hi Dr.Fate,

Am glad you share my opinion and can read through the fine print since you are from the same industry I believe. Can I request you to list down some of the vital parts which the extended warranty will ideally not cover.

Viper

yes viper the atmosphere has warmed up considerably on our answers and we have to do just that and i will do that in a few days,

further even the LCV section has a similar but a more trustworthy......now iam using the word because TATA supports it directly and it has a section in our DMS(dealer management software)which gives us a semblence of control over this concept and it is called AMC(annual maintanance contract)which will soon come over to the cars as well,

i will(time permiting)post both,

i have to inform that there are plenty of components in a vehicle which are dependent of 3rd party like power steering,FE pumps,alternators,abs etc etc which is fine when working but when something goes wrong we have to wait for weeks some time months to get a solution,

some of you may have faced it(read TATA crowd)here i have tried to give an example of where neither (say)tata nor us can do any thing but wait till this 'third'party goes through his own warranty proccedure with his own company but wait patiently.

[manveet]

Originally Posted by F50

Team-BHP feels that the relatively small cost of purchasing an extended warranty will save you money in the long run. Say “yes” to an extended warranty.

From what I understand, when you say relatively, you are considering the cost of warranty as a percentage of the cost of the car.

The above approach is incorrect.

Infact, the cost of the extended warranty should be weighed against the amount of money (you think) you are likely to spend during the same period without warranty.

For example, I own a the new generation Accord purchased in March 2004. In the past 2.5+ years, the car has only clocked some 18k odd kms. It's been over 7 months since the standard warranty expired and I have not subscribed to the extended warranty. I believe this to be a good decision.

Am I correct in making this assumption? If yes, please capture this perspective in your original advice. If not, kindly explain.

[madbullram]

manveet: You are correct to an extent. Even I did the same for my Santro as I do around 10k per year on my car.

But one more point I would put, its like insurance, accepted nothing will fail in 20K car after 3 yrs, BUT if something does fail, afterall its a machine, then this acts like an insurance. Again this depends on the fine print of the extended warranty.

I see it like an insurance, thought we are not 50 yrs old we still take medical insurance right? Its obvious we are not going to have heart surgery at 28 BUT that also happens lets say 1 in 1000, and fate be, if we are the one it saves us...So see it like an insurance, provided necessary things are covered.

[yogi1771]

hi members is it worth going in for this extended warranty given by ford for ford fiesta 1.6 http://rapidshare.com/files/2592942/...TAILS.xls.html
the amount of running in a year is around 10,000kms

[msandeep]

I have opted for 3rd and 4th year warranty for my santro car while buying itself.My running per year is around 10000 kms,and i will keep the car for four years and i thought worth going for extended warranty as it is peace of mind, if there are any part to be replace after the basis warranty is over.

[manveet]

Originally Posted by madbullram

I see it like an insurance, thought we are not 50 yrs old we still take medical insurance right?

Right. But for different reasons. I take it to save on tax

[madbullram]

Originally Posted by manveet

Right. But for different reasons. I take it to save on tax

but trust me it puts a smile when you see your hospital bill (touchwood you should never see one!)

[benbsb29]

I opted for an extended warranty on my ikon Flair (3 years unlimited kms) at a cost of 5K. I believe i made a right choice. Any inputs on the same?

Dint exactly go thru the fine print there...

[ST7677]

Does Honda offer extended warranties on Civic? If so the cost?

Yes Honda offers 2 years extended warranty for abuot 5k on CIVIC.