I am quickly approaching the 36000 mile mark on my 2005 F350 XLT, Crew Cab, Short Bed, 6.0 engine, Torque Shift Trans w/ Tow Command...
I have a few brochures from my local Ford Dealership and am completely lost on what is the best way to go. I have never had a vehicle that costs so much to repair, or one that I felt intimidated to attempt a substantial repair project so frankly, it scares the heck out of me to be without an extended warranty.
Right now I am looking over the three options from Ford: Basic Care; Xtra Care; Premium Care.
Is it worth it to go for the Premium option, or is the Xtra more bang for the buck? Is the Basic Care worth a darn, or is it adequate??? I dunno, I think I need some help. I am not a rich man by any means, and I will be taking out a loan to fund this warranty. With all things considered, which option should I go with?
I have also heard that there are other plans around. What are they and are they better than going with Fords Plans. It seems that Ford would balk less at their own plan, but if I get a better deal with another one...... Arrg.
I would really appreciate any input from you guys. This is uncharted territory for me and my wife, and we don't have much time left to make a decision.
Thanks in advance, T

 

You know your own truck best. For me, no extended warranty. Never have and never will buy them. Oh, and never had a major problem either. Your truck can kind of give you a hint as to how it runs by how is ran. That's my opinion.

 

I guess I'm the other extreme. My first vehicle I said what a waste and didnt, after that, I always take the gamble. But then, since then, the gamble has been worthwhile or I wouldn't keep doing it.
PHWLEE is right, its your call, and you know your truck best. My most recent experience with warranty companies makes me want to say read the fine print (who does, right?) my work truck became "commercial" last year. Its always been commercial, but last year I finally complied and put the biz name and DOT#s on it. Well, when the warranty guy looked at my doors, that was that. This company doesn't warranty commercial trucks. So the issues were moot. Contract cancelled right there.
And I went back, huffing, and read the contract. Yup.

 

After seeing in our shop how aftermarket warranty plans work the only extended warranty I would even think about is the genuine Ford one. We've had lots of problems with aftermarket plans. Sometimes a truck will sit in the shop for days while they send out an adjuster to look at it. Other times they will cover the part that broke but nothing else. For instance.....an engine burns oil. The warranty company will pay for new rings but not for bearings or even the gaskets required to do the job.

 

oldfordsnstone,

Go to this thread to read about the FTE discount program for purchasing FORD ESP.
http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/46...arrantees.html

Also if i was buying one i would stick with the FORD ESP as it is backed by the manufacture and i have heard to many bad stories about aftermarket warranty companies going bankrutpt after sending all there money to offshore accounts.

Here is a link to some information on aftermarket warranties
www.carbuyingtips.com/warranty.htm

Hope this helps

 

Thanks guys, for all the great input. This all helps alot!

OK, blackhat, I sent an e-mail to Troy to start a quote request. Thanks for the tip. I missed that thread back in June.
T

 

i wouldn't own or pay that much for a truck i wouldn't trust to last over 36k miles without a major repair.

 

It wasn't until I read some of the horror stories on this forum that I considered that it was even a valid concern to have an ESP. I agree with you that we shouldn't need one, but is that reality? Please enlighten me if it is and I may not bother with the ESP. The consequences of not having one at this point would be devistating if one was needed given the cost of repairs, but the cost of an ESP is not exactly an easy egg to eat either.

 

well, when they offered me the plan, i looked at the costs (i forget how much) and i figured that the most expensive thing that will break would be the trannie, and i figure there is now way it will break before the plan would be up anyways.

everything else would be cheaper, and heck, i have full confidence, and most things that seem to go wrong are with the engine, which is covered by a warranty anyways.

other than that, the things i hear that go wrong are just little gremilins, half of which i wouldn't bother me anyways.

so as someone said, its a gamble......but i myself would side with not spending money on the warranty vs spending money on it and never needing it, then that is money down the drain.

 

olfordsnstone,

The purchase of an extended warranty is definitely a personal choice. One thing to consider is that the 6.0 PSD has a 5yr/100,000 mile warranty, most of the ESP do not exceed this. Read what is covered in the warranty manual that came with your truck from FMC and see if the 6.0 PSD warranty covers most of what you are worried about. The rest of the truck is pretty standard stuff that has been around for awhile. I agree with "bf250", the tranny is probably the biggest ticket item left to worry about other than 4-wheel drive components. So add the pluses and minus to you of having and ESP and not having one, then make your choice.

Also you stated in your first post that you would have to take a loan out to purchase the ESP if i am not mistaken. Another way to look at this is if a big ticket item (ie tranny) failed prematurely and you had to pay to have it repaired you could always take out the loan then.

So choose what is best to make you comfortable and be able to sleep nights.

Hope this helps