Lincoln Aviator Extended Warranty from Ford

sconstan2 · December 2006

Hi. I just took my 03 Aviator in for a few issues. First, a rear window stopped functioning. Second, the liftgate button, to open the liftgate stopped working, third, the body moulding under the liftgate window had a vertical crack in it, and there was weather molding falling off on the right, passenger side of the vehicle. I also got an ABS light as well. All of this got me to the dealer quickly. All is still under warranty and service, as usual, was great at my local dealer. However, when I asked why these little things were happening, the service manager said that unfortunately, the car is getting into a mileage bracket (42K miles)when these types of things happen. He also said that everything that had happened to me was common on Aviators. He then said I should seriously consider the Ford PowerTrain extended warranty. He said that the Aviators were known to have valve problems at around 50K miles and that job alone was 3800 dollars. I guess my question is in two parts: First, if I plan on keeping the car, is the extended warranty a good idea (quoted 2100 dollars for three years, 85K miles) and does anyone know or can anyone confirm that indeed Aviators have valve problems around the 50K mile mark?

akirby · December 2006

It's not a valve job - it's a head replacement. The cost sounds about right. Had ours replaced under warranty about 18 months ago - it's a design defect but it only affects a small percentage of vehicles.

The powertrain warranty might be a good idea in this particular case but that sounds awfully high. I've seen bumper to bumper extended warranties for less than that. I'd check around and get a few quotes.

Is the 85K total mileage or is it 85K above and beyond the factory 50K mile warranty (135K)?

sconstan2 · December 2006

Thanks. I called the dealership and asked the guy who quoted me the price to explain it. He said that it was a bumper to bumper price (my fault) and that it would go up again after 45K miles. Also, it is 85K total miles, or 35K/3 years beyond the original 50. He quoted the Ford ESP program price.

akirby · December 2006

That's about right for a 3/35K additional warranty bumper to bumper.

Remember - even if you get the ext. warranty you could still have a failure at 86K miles and you're not covered.

If I could afford to pay $2K now then I would assume I could afford to pay $4K (worst case) if something did go wrong, and I'd keep the $2K in my pocket. But that's just me.

nvbanker · December 2006

First off, that price for the warranty is entirely NEGOTIABLE. Don't let them tell you it's fixed, the Dealer must pay so much for it, but it would be less than half that you were quoted, and the price does not go up as the mileage goes up. That must be a dealer policy. Check with other dealers, they may offer the same warranty to you for hundreds less, and it works anywhere, so no difference. I don't like the way this dealership is handling you at all.

Secondly, I agree with akirby completely. Get every possible thing fixed before you hit 50,000 miles, and pray, keep your money. A catastrophic failure is unlikely if you have maintained the car properly. Even if you have one, at $2100, you can handle the problem. If the car gets really trouble prone, you're gonna dump it anyway, right? I have occasionally purchased the Ford ESP warranty, and it is a very good one, if you need it. But honestly, I have only used it a couple of times on 1 car, of the 3 times I purchased it. The rest of the times, I wasted my money, although, if you buy another Ford product, they will rebate the pro-rated value of the unused warranty back to you on your trade in.

My feeling on the Aviator, and I'm quite familiar with them although I don't own one (wish I did, but the wife wanted a Mountaineer instead, I wanted the Aviator, she won, it's her car), is that with some maintenance, you can get 150,000 miles out of her. You may need one transmission rebuild in there somewhere, but not much else should go kerbluey on you. It's a good truck. :shades:

95neonsport · December 2006

See my #503 under Problems & Solutions. My local dealer also quoted a price of $2500 for the 7 year/ 100K miles with a $100 deductible. This is without any negotiating. The dealers makes a killing on these plans so I would bet there is some negotiating room. I am less concerned with the reliability of the power train than with the suite of electronics (nav, dvd, monitoring/diagonistics, etc.)

scootertrash · December 2006

Only buy a real "Ford" warranty. If you sell your truck before it's expired, you can get a prorated refund. Plus it's good at every Ford and LM dealer anywhere.

These guys have the best prices by far: www.fordwarrantys.com

bostoncigar · January 2010

Oh yeah.. it is called an engine rebuild. These engines have a design flaw that Ford won't live up to. I had to have my engine rebuilt at 52K. It costs $5500. I had to fight Ford to pick up the tab. They only picked up about 3/4ths of the cost. There is a TSB bulletin that details the problem. An extended warranty is worthwhile because you will have to rebuild this engine. Call around to dealers the last day of the month.. call the service manager the last day. They will sell it to you at a discount.. I bet.

kjm14 · June 2011

Okay, I have a question. I just purchased an '08 Expedition Eddie Bauer and I was considering getting the exteneded warrenty through Ford. However, the fine print says:

"I agree that proper maintenance of the above described vehicle in accordance with factory recommendations is a condition of coverage under this agreement."

Can I assume that if I don't follow the maintenance schedule exactly they will deny me? Some of these "scheduled maintenances" can get costly.

Thoughts?

Lincoln Aviator Extended Warranty from Ford

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles