ARTICLE: Extended Warranties. Yes or No?

[sandeep108]

AFAIK:
The extended warranty on any car is some sort of tri-partite arrangement with the dealer, mfr. and insurance co. It usually must be taken at the time of purchase or shortly thereafter or they may refuse.

Extended warranty - fine print must be read, but usually only exclusions are consumables, gas, oils, fluids, etc. and accidental damage. Coverage is mainly for mfg. defects.

It is essential to maintain/service the vehicle according to schedule, and only at same/authorised dealer otherwise they will void it.

Merc/Skoda does not give it.

Civic extended warranty (recently Honda have improved extended warranty terms on all models) can range from 5-10k depending on 1 year or 2 years. ST7677: I think it is 5k for 1 year 60k km and 9k for 2 years 80k km.

Maruti ranges from 3-9k depending on model and no. of years/km.

GM/Toyota anyway are mostly offering 3 years std.

[srasania]

Originally Posted by ST7677

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

You sure ?!..a year back I paid Rs8300 or something for 2 years extended warranty for my NHC CVT !!(total 4 years warranty)..
So,5k for 2 years additional warranty for a car like Civic sounds peanuts..and everyone should surely take it..
-sr

[alankarm@sancha]

8500 for extended warranty of 2 yrs. for Civic at Jaipur.

[viper]

Originally Posted by sandeep108

Extended warranty - fine print must be read, but usually only exclusions are consumables, gas, oils, fluids, etc. and accidental damage. Coverage is mainly for mfg. defects.

It is essential to maintain/service the vehicle according to schedule, and only at same/authorised dealer otherwise they will void it.

Hi,

Has anyone bothered to check which of the manufacturers cover vital parts that are likely to need replacement after approx 2-3 years owing to road conditions & driving styles. To the best of my knowledge parts like the following are not covered by most manufacturers I am not aware of one who does cover them.

1> Brake Pads, Liners & Discs/Rotors
2> Clutch & Pressure Plate
3> Suspension Bushes
4> Lower Arms, Tie Rod Ends
5> Shock Absorbers
6> Consumables as mentioned by Sandeep
7> Electronics Parts, Sensors etc.

Now IMO these are the most vital parts in a car that are likely to fail or deteriorate over a period of time and usage and if the above is not covered then it makes no sense going in for extended warranty. You have to be really unlucky for something to go wrong with your engine as if you have maintained the same well should last you a long time.

Viper

[ported_head]

Originally Posted by viper

To the best of my knowledge parts like the following are not covered by most manufacturers I am not aware of one who does cover them.

1> Brake Pads, Liners & Discs/Rotors
2> Clutch & Pressure Plate

Not covered as wear and tear items, so unless abnormal damage, won't be covered under warranty otherwise as well.

Originally Posted by viper

3> Suspension Bushes
4> Lower Arms, Tie Rod Ends
5> Shock Absorbers

7> Electronics Parts, Sensors etc.
Viper

All covered by Maruti Extended warranty. The only catch being, that the suspension components are not covered beyond 60,000 kms of use.

[viper]

Originally Posted by ported_head

Not covered as wear and tear items, so unless abnormal damage, won't be covered under warranty otherwise as well.

All covered by Maruti Extended warranty. The only catch being, that the suspension components are not covered beyond 60,000 kms of use.

Hi,

So is it worth it and what about the other manufacturers.

Viper

[GTO]

Hi,

So is it worth it and what about the other manufacturers.

Viper

Well, is insurance worth it? I have not made a single claim on any of my insurance policies in the last gazillion years. And I pay lakhs every year in premiums alone for my cars, home and office. Distant analogy but you can see the similarities. Yet, I am sure that most of us do opt for comprehensive versus thirdparty coverage, dont we?

Extended warranties are nothing but simple insurance covers against something that may go wrong in your car. And the odds of that happening against theft / accidental damage is probably the same. If not more.

[viper]

Originally Posted by GTO

Well, is insurance worth it? I have not made a single claim on any of my insurance policies in the last gazillion years. And I pay lakhs every year in premiums alone for my cars, home and office. Distant analogy but you can see the similarities. Yet, I am sure that most of us do opt for comprehensive versus thirdparty coverage, dont we?

Extended warranties are nothing but simple insurance covers against something that may go wrong in your car. And the odds of that happening against theft / accidental damage is probably the same. If not more.

Hi,

With all due respect if you already have insurance then why opt for additional insurance (in your own words it is a simple insurance). Please dont get me wrong. I have nothing against all who opt for the same but they should be aware of what they get covered under the same. It is mostly only the corporates and company registered cars who generally go in for comprehensive cover to avail of tax benfits. Also individuals who avail of loans on their car have to go in for full coverage to protect the financers.

Viper

[GTO]

With all due respect if you already have insurance then why opt for additional insurance (in your own words it is a simple insurance).

Cos one insurance is for theft and accidental damage. The second is for protection against failure of parts.

but they should be aware of what they get covered under the same.

Agreed. Thats why we have outlined in the article :

• What exactly is covered? Know what’s covered – and not covered – with the extended warranty you’re considering..... in addition to considering who is overwriting it. And so on.

[sandeep108]

IMO it is definitely worth it, especially if you intend to keep your car for 4-5 years. Today's cars are relatively well built and body, mechanics, etc. last easily for 6-7 years, if the car is used / maintained reasonably. But if something goes wrong (e.g. ikon ECMs) it becomes very expensive to replace and at at average of 5k per year max., is a sort of peace of mind insurance.

[viper]

Hi,

I fully agree with what you said my only point was that I have come across several guys/owners who assume that every thing is covered under extended warranty only to get a rude shock later on. For eg a close friends NHC has extended warranty. His car is now exactly 26 months old. His drivers side door lock barrell got spoilt(his key could not be inserted to lock/unlock). They asked him to change the entire lockset for Rs9500/- saying it is not covered under warranty.

Viper

[sandeep108]

Originally Posted by GTO

Well, is insurance worth it? I have not made a single claim on any of my insurance policies in the last gazillion years. And I pay lakhs every year in premiums alone for my cars, home and office. Distant analogy but you can see the similarities. Yet, I am sure that most of us do opt for comprehensive versus thirdparty coverage, dont we?

GTO, what you are asking is a huge subject of Risk Management. Usually the wider your spread of risk, it sort of pays to self-insure or pay lower premium with higher deductibles.

Today the NCB itself is a disincentive for claims. I have a NCB of 50% so for a premium of 22k, the claim must exceed 11k by a reasonable amount for me to even bother with the effort of a claim.

[GTO]

@viper : Yup. Even standard warranty does not cover everything. A person must obviously check what is covered and not on each policy.

@sandeep108 : Absolutely. I avoid minor claims and have full NCB on all my policies.

[alankarm@sancha]

Is it worthwihile to go in for an extended warranty on the Civic. I have an OHC also in which the only part replaced in 5 years has been a front shocker assembly, except for tyres and brake pads etc.

[dr fate]

One small example:

one dicor came in with Rh headlamp fault(it had sealing problems water was getting in)the warranty advisor said that was due to 90/100 conversion!!!!!lot of jokes later he was embarrased and said he will do some thing and get it replaced under warranty(possibly he may damage it or heart warp it)means workshop has direct control on the matter,

one indica(20 months old)comes in with a cracked exhaust problem it was also refered as driver fault,when matters became well..loud he was asked to deal directly with the service provider and they cannot guarantee the approval of claim as the person involved also has to be convinced,means no direct control,

as in one more layer of beauracracy,this is no a common phenomenon but i would say even the workshop has to be carefull as if they approve it and the service provider does not then its a direct loss,unlike warranty where if(not always)workshop can menuver its way into the claim,

there are instances where for goodwill cars are repaired in the guise of extended warranty when costs are not high and a certain jugglery is made to recover costs from both customers and service provider....this subject goes slightly deeper.