Hi All,

I just bought a 2012 F350, Diesel, Dually (Lariat). 7k miles. It's factory warranty will expire in 11 months (and Carmax gives me comprehenisive coverage for the first 30 days).

I have the option to buy an extended warranty, bumper-to-bumper that will take me to 60 months or 100,000 miles. Consumer reports says extended warranties are a bad gamble and most people don't get their money's worth. The dealers say diesels are expensive to repair, and its good to have the piece of mind.

Additionally, I expect to sell the vehicle in about 18 months or two years, and my dealer suggested the extended warranty would help resale value (it's transferable for $30). The warranty I'm looking at is $2,400, though I could get it cheaper if I go down to 75 k.

What do you all think? Good investment or throwing away money? Consumer reports advises taking the money you would spend on the extended warranty and putting it in an interest-earning account for rainy days with your vehicle. . . .

 

First of all welcome to FTE, I see both of your points. I did not purchase an extended warranty on my truck, I have a credit card with $12,000 limit and low interest just for the truck just in case. I also have a savings too that I can purchases stuff and repair if I want. But if you do purchase an extended warranty and make it transferable it will make your sale easier, since you are going to sell it within 18-24 months.

 

I agree that they are a bad investment. If you take that $2400 and run it through a paper shredder you could at least use it for packing material. If you have a major repair and don't have the money, go borrow the money and only then start making payments on it. I've never wasted my money on one and never will. It is a for-profit item for the dealer, so don't let them sucker you on it either.

 

I've had the extended before. Paid for itself in 2 trips for repairs. It was worth the money. I put one on the new truck as well and really hope it is a waste of money.
I find it funny that we wonder and complain about extended warranties but don't think twice about the insurance we carry on the same vehicles. I know that insurance is required but how many of us keep or put full coverage on even when the veh is paid off? Another waste of money but we still do it.

 

My business degree and experience tells me that if extended warranties were better for you than the ones who sell them, they wouldn't sell them. They have all the statistics (which are NEVER shared with you) that show that chances are extremely high that they will come out way ahead by a wide margin. They certainly don't push them so hard because they care about you and WANT to lose money on claims.

If you expect to need to have major repairs for something, you should seriously reconsider purchasing something which you can't trust to work.

 

Some good points made here. A lot depends on your personal financial situation and your personal risk tolerance. All of us are different. I have had extended warranties on the last two vehicles I bought and on the first one I broke even on the cost - the cost of the warranty was about $650 on a Toyota 4Runner and the replacement exhaust system when it rusted out just shy of 5 years was $700. I'd call that breakeven.

I now have the extended warranty on my 2013 F350. I keep my vehicles for 8-10 years and Vermont road salt and rough back roads are hard on vehicles. The risk of an expensive repair up here might be a bit higher than in snow and salt free Arizona.

Insurance is always a crap shoot - we have it to offset the risk of an expense we can't afford to cover out of our own finances. What makes sense will vary with each individual's situation.

 

I've purchased an extended warranty from Ford once in the past. I traded the truck 2 years later and the balance was refunded to me. Never did it again.
The only extended warranty I've purchased since then was Apple Care for a computer. But of course we're not talking the money you are for a vehicle extended warranty. I wound up using it about 3 days before it expired, so that one paid for itself. They generally don't, as others have posted.

 

You said the truck only has 7k miles AND you plan on selling it in 18months -2years AND the factory warranty is still good for 11 of those months ??


SAVE YOUR MONEY.

 

I got one for the 6.0 and it has more than paid for itself. On any vehicle I would do some research and decide whether it was worth it or not based on whether the common issues are major or minor. Also, factor in how long you want to keep the truck.

 

One other thing about the extended warranty. Don't ever pay full price. That price is negotiable. I've put one on three different vehicles including my bike and never paid full price. Also if you decide to get one pay cash up front. No sence paying interest on. If it's not needed its a bigger waste of money. And if you do need its cheaper than paying the interest on a credit card or loan( if it's a major repair).

 

Great point. Do a little checking on-line. I paid less than half the so called list price. I got a quote from an on-line Ford dealer who sells a ton of warranties over the internet, then took that price to my local dealer and said match it or lose the deal. They did. Clearly still some profit in it for them but not the crazy mark up they wanted at first.

 

When we buy a new car or truck there isn't anything in that dealership at that time that isn't negotiable including parts and labor.

 

Do you all think my being able to offer a warrant in eighteen months would make this truck easier to sell?

Annd are f350 diesels considered reliable with regard to longevity?

 

[QUOTE=OnSabbatical;15087673]Do you all think my being able to offer a warrant in eighteen months would make this truck easier to sell?

Personally, an extended warranty wouldn't make an ounce of difference in my decision on purchasing a used vehicle. You won't get the purchase price of the warranty back. You'll get a pretty good idea in the the next eleven months if the truck is a lemon or not. If it is unload it early. I'd skip the warranty. If this is an independent warranty company some of them are difficult to get reimbursement from.