"Warranty Gold" Claims

chevyfanatic

What exactly is Warranty Spam? I've been in the car business, both retail and wholesale, for some time now and have never heard of "Warranty Spam". Is it perhaps that you have a vested interest in seeing that a company such as Warranty Gold falters? I'm just curious as to where these negative outbursts come from.

Henry

YES they will pay a claim. Sometimes with hassle sometimes without. Overall they are good but when they are bad they are REALLY BAD. The administrator is who gives you the hassel. The Warranty Gold representative has never hasseled me.

The problem is that the contracts that I brought were poorly written and is therefore open to interpretation. After a few DAYS they saw things my way, but not after hours of making the point. I have learned, that if you do not like the answer they give you. Call back in 10 minutes.

Henry

P.S. by THEY I mean the Administrator.

whitfilj

What type of plan do you have? Bumper to bumper exclusionary contract or one which lists what is covered? Also what types of issues did you have to argue about?

Thanks
Jim

PAman

For the last two weeks of June 2000, I was getting screaming emails saying "Beat the July 1 price increase!" Well guess what: After going to their site today, it quoted me the SAME PRICE for a warranty as it did in early June?!?

In addidtion, my request for a copy of the contract has resulted in an email without the contract attached. Hmmmm......

I'm begining to have STRONG doubts about this company.

Anyone from Warranty Gold care to respond??

chevyfanatic

Looks like there's a Sherlock Holmes in our Town Hall. I, too called Warranty Gold and the price has increased on their best plan, the Diamond. The Platinum Plan did not increase. I bet if you call and ask for a sample contract, you'll get it with no problem. They have been nothing but great to me.

PAman

I finally got a copy of the Warranty Gold contract, after three requests. I'm reviewing it now.

While doing so, I called what I consider the best independent shop in San Antonio -- Cambridge Auto. When asked which warranty company they have had the least hassles from, they said G.E. Capitol.

After going to their site, it looks like their best warranty would cover my vehicle (2000 chevy S10 pickup) for 6 years, 100,000 miles for $587 with a $50 deductible, and provides about the same coverage as the WG Diamond. this is about half the cost of the WG Diamond plan.

Anyone have any experience with a G.E. Capitol warranty?

dispatch1

I just checked their warranty and regardless of what's covered, it would cost me almost $1000 more than anyone else, and $600 more than my dealer quoted me. Good luck if you go with them.

hoofer

EXCLUSIONARY warranty where everything is covered unless specifically excluded. Don't be fooled by names like "bumper to bumper". They can make an impressive list of parts that hardly ever break.

I paid $1200 for a 7 yr / 100,000 mile WG exclusionary (think it is the Diamond - the most expensive plan) with a $0 deductible. Chrysler wanted $2200 for same with $100 deductible.

All this talk about Edmunds dropping their recommendation for WG is scaring me, but I'm committed now. Are there any details (e.g. press release) on why Edmunds dropped their support. I bought the car through their link to www.autobytel.com and bought the WG warranty largely on Edmunds' recommendation.

I hope that I never have to find out how good their claims process is. I'll let you know in about 2 years and 7 months when my 36/36 runs out.

best of luck

SPYDER98

I had the same feelings towards WG until my first claim. I get all my maintenance and warranty work done by the same dealership. I gave them my WG contract and phone number. They have me in their database. After 2 claims so far, I am extremely satisfied!! I leave my car in the morning, pick it up after work, no questions asked. The only thing I do is walk in, pick up my keys and paper work, then walk straight out.
I have owned my car for 2yrs and have accumulated 60k miles. I bought a 5yr/150k diamond, $0. deductable plan from them for $1400.
With my 30k miles average per year, WG fit me perfectly.

hoofer

I am going to do by best to do my duty with Proper Maintenance in the hope that I never have to file a claim with WG.

Glad to hear that not all is gloom and doom

Still would like to get more details on why Edmunds retracted support for WG.

best of luck

ilovefarming

I already asked Edmunds that very question about why they dropped WG. They gave me a song and dance, and never really answered the question. My guess is that they did not want to have all of their eggs in one basket, in case the "basket" develops a hole. So I think they are going to try to make more connections in the future. They mentioned the possibility that WG might be a future "partner." Who knows.

hoofer

I hope it wasn't due to solvency or customer service problems with WG.

Thanks for the info.

Hoofer

olegphil

I've received my claim money in good order.

kblaw

It appears that lots of people are having problems with WG.

My car broke down out of state around 7pm on a Friday. After finally finding a service station that was still open then, and actually getting them to call Warranty Gold, they told me that all they got was a recording. I called WG myself to check, and sure enough, all I could get was a recording.

After going through prompt after prompt, I finally got a message that said to have the car repaired if it was an emergency, and specific directions on what to do to submit the claim to WG.

I followed their instructions exactly, and at first WG denied the claim because they said I didn't send in a receipt (which I had). I sent them another copy of the receipt and a few weeks later, I got a letter saying that the claim was denied due to lack of authorization.

Of course, there was no authorization, WG was closed. They couldn't give authorization. So you follow their instructions exactly, and they deny the claim.

Then they said that the only thing I could do, was to send a letter to some guy named Stan who seems to constitute the entire review board. Well, Stan must be pretty busy, because I still haven't heard back from him.

So now its about 3 months since I submitted the claim, and WG still has not paid out on it.

Has anyone out there actually been successful in recovering on a claim like this? If so, please give me some advice on how to get WG to keep up their end of the contract.

Thanks,
Keith

ggsteve

Too much hassle for too little service. The fan motor died on my 96 Chrysler. I convinced the owner of my repair shop to call WG. He is very busy here in the middle of vacation season but I explained that they have a special menu pick for the shop to quickly get through and authorized.

Well, it took more than 15 minutes of arguing for my busy shop owner to get an authorization and they won't pay for all his work. They will only pay 4 tenths of an hour diagnostic time and they won't pay for the fan if it's corroded on to the motor and they break it trying to remove it.

Further, it seems all future calls to actually get paid are not toll free.

I'm thinking of calling Mr Rossi but I don't know what good it will do since he's not the underwriter.

It's no wonder Edmunds dropped their endorsement. This is not the carefree, bumper to bumper, peace of mind coverage I was sold.

pamabirk

My first experience with Warranty Gold was bad. They did pay for the repairs but not until I called them repeatedly for 4 HOURS!!!! The repair shop called in the repair cost early so as to cut down the wait time for me. 4 HOURS LATER they still had not paid for the repair, therefor I had to wait!.
On July 19th, I had my car worked on again. Today is August 20th and I STILL HAVE NOT BEEN PAID!!!!
The shop told me while still on the phone with WG, that I should pay him and then FAX in the receipt to WG for payment otherwise I would have to wait several hours because they were backed up.I faxed the receipt in and after several phone calls and faxes, I STILL HAVE NOT BEEN PAID!!!!
THEY STILL OWE ME JUST UNDER $400.00!!!
I in NO WAY RECOMMEND WARRANTY GOLD!! THEIR SERVICE SUCKS!!!!

md2002

to answer all of this. Or will it be another one of those simple explantions about a large influx of calls on that day or that someone didn't do as they were supposed to on for the repair.

Oh well guess we won't know?

tronsr

THANKYOU AND ALL THE OTHER DISSATISFIED WARRANTY GOLD CUSTOMERS FOR WRITING IN TO TOWNHALL. I WAS JUST ABOUT READY TO GET PURCHASE WARRANTY GOLD AND NOW I KNOW BETTER AND WILL FOREGO THAT DECISION. THANKS AGAIN FOR SAVING NE ABOUT $800.00

chevyfanatic

For those who are curious, Warranty Gold apparently dropped Edmunds, not the other way around. Call the Travis County Courthouse in Austin, TX and find out why. I called and that was the answer I got.

md2002

What did you hear?

SPYDER98

I for one have had great experience with WG so far. I have had all my scheduled maintenance done and always get any service done at the dealer.
This way WG can't use the excuse, that I'm getting work done by an unqualified mechanic, so we won't pay for the repair.
I have put 2 claims in so far and have saved almost $700. I have a 5yr/150k mile, zero deductable, diamond plan that I purchased for $1300 over a year ago.
This plan fit me perfectly. I have owned my car for 2yrs, 1month and have 64k miles on it.

I have been a very happy customer so far :-D

gesm

We just purchased a 2000 E320 Mercedes and during the purchase process, we were offered the Mercedes extended 4 year warranty & the opportunity to purchase a paint protection policy.....Are these necessary,a good idea or a scam?

blane

gesm:

Both the extended warranty and paint protection policies are extremely high profit add-ons for a dealer (or any other extended warranty company) to be pushing. If you are not confident in how well Mercedes designs and builds ther vehicles you might want to consider such an investment.

You should ask for a copy of each document and read the small print very carefully at your leisure. You will probably find many, many exclusions that the policies won't pay for.

explorer21

Chevy Fanatic, I contacted the Travis County Court in Texas and was told that there were no records at all pertaining to Edmunds and Warranty Gold. Please respond as to what you found out and any additional info you can give me.

Thanks!

Explorer

ggsteve

OK, I have finally completed my first experience with WG actually paying a claim. I detailed earlier the hassle that they gave my shop owner when he called in the claim (post 249).

Well it turns out that when they replaced the burned out fan motor that it wouldn't shut off. Apparently a sensor was bad and ran the motor constantly until it died.

My shop called Warranty Gold back and at first they refused to pay anymore on the claim for my shop's "misdiagnosis". After arguing some, my shop owner convinced WG that they couldn't anticipate the sensor problem until the motor was replaced. WG relented, and paid the rest of the claim, but not without giving my friendly mechanic a hassle.

In short, after a fight, WG paid about $500 of a $575 bill. I guess it could have been worse.

iknowcars

I have had several contracts with warranty gold and I have never had any kind of problem. I am very pleased and tell all of my friends that they are the best warranty company on the net. Just check the better buisness bureau.

tbone01

I just purchased a Ford and was told by the finance person that the warranty she was offering me was the only one backed by Ford. Is this True??? I told her that I would prefer to shop on the internet first, before making a decision. She looked at me with a sort of "are you kidding me" look, and then sarcastically said "who would be fixing your car, the internet." Please tell me your feelings on this. Also, what are really my options? Please advise.....

CarMan@Edmunds

Tbone01, it is in the best interest of the person who you spoke with at the dealership to convince you to purchase a warranty from them because they will receive some sort of commission if you do so. This is why they discouraged you from shopping around. Having said that, they were telling you the truth when they said that there is only one extended warranty that is officially backed by Ford Motor Company. Use the following link to visit the official Web site for Ford's ESP: Ford Motor Company Extended Warranty Page. This site will provide you with a great deal of information on their plan and will even allow you to purchase a policy on-line if you want to do so.

If you decide that the Ford plan is not for you, there are lots of other independent companies out there that provide consumers with extended warranties, like 1Source Auto Warranty for instance. These third party warranty providers are often able to provide consumers an extended warranty for less money than an official manufacturer-backed policy would cost.

If I was in your shoes, I personally would probably go with the official Ford extended warranty if I was going to get an ESP. I would go with the manufacturer-backed policy because I my opinion it is much safer to go with a company that will often stand behind its product and work with you to keep you as a loyal customer rather than a random company. If you choose the Ford ESP, remember that the price is negotiable. Shop around at a couple of different dealerships and get a quote from their official Web site to make sure that you are getting a good deal on the level of coverage that you need.

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

vandeano

I have a 97 GMC Suburban 4x4 w/ 49,000 miles with transmission problems.
I will be taking it into a shop today, and I will post the kind of service I receive with Warranty Gold.

CarMan@Edmunds

Thanks for offering to share your experience with Warranty Gold, vandeano. There's nothing like a pool of real world experiences to help consumers make their decision about which policy to choose if they want one. I'm looking forward to hearing how everything turns out.

Car_Man
Smart Shoppers / FWI Co-Host

SPYDER98

Me too..I too hope to hear how your experience goes with them. I have gone through 2 claims with WG so far without any hassle. Both were for simple repairs though. Lets see how they handle your transmission case..

jed1894

Why not send the contract! I've called and got the quote and was ready to buy the warranty. But since I asked for a copy of the contract from them prior to paying, I haven't heard from them.

I've emailed Mr. Rossi and the salesman I talked to on the telephone, but noting yet.

I have since decided not to buy the two warranties I had planned to purchase because of their reluctance to send the contract.

For those of you with your contracts, what's the big deal? Anything in them scary?

jed1894

I have been told by the salesman that a contract was being mailed.....I'll post if I get it. I'll also try to post the contract itself here....if I can figure out how to work my scanner.

jed1894

I posted the above comment without proper research and/or thought. I was in error.

The salesman for WarrantyGold responded to my request quickly and I will have the contract tonight when I check my email.

Toni, if you're there, I'm sorry for the mix-up. I appreciate your prompt attention. I also got your telephone message. For those of you who don't know, Toni called my house and made sure that I was satisfied and offered to Fed-X the contract to me.

Based on the quick response from WarrantyGold, I have changed my mind and will probably buy an extended warranty. I have to make my decision of what type I need first.

Once again, thanks for calling Toni, and I'm sorry for the above post.

John

winb

I just spoke with a fellow at 1Source, an Edmunds affiliate. I wanted coverage for a used BMW. They only offer it from date car went into service, NOT from date of purchase of contract. He was, however, quite helpful and referred me to the following URL which might help folks who are looking for information on this subject: http://www.autowarrantyreviews.org

I've been checking that site and see, as the 1Source fellow told me, that both Warranty Direct and Warranty Gold are a ways down the list and are not among the top rated warranty providers.

To give credit to 1Source for their help, I'd also like to say that the guy said that they would soon be changing their policies so that they would offer extended coverage from date of purchase of contract, not date car was in service. Said he expected this change within about one month.

This warranty shopping is one of the most time-consuming and exasperating things I've undertaken in quite a while.

Best wishes...

jed1894

Toni.... I got the contract. Thanks again.

For those of you who care, the contract (WarrantyGold) is simple to read and understand.

John

SPYDER98

Warranty gold was tied for 6th in the top ten list.
You also did not mention that there were about 55 other companies in the complete list.
The reason WG is on the bottom half of the list is because the warranty companies tied for 6th with WG are ahead of them in the alphabet.
Hmmmmm 6th place out of 55 companies aint too bad now is it?

SPYDER98

Last Sat. night, the turbo seized in my car. I had no boost at all and it felt like it had about 50hp.
So I took it in to the dealer first thing monday morning, without an appointment. Service manager said they might get to it today, if not, tommorow.
Well..by noon I had gotton the call from the manager and found out my turbo was indeed dead and it needed to be replaced. I asked him what the total would be, he said $1600. I was shocked!
He then told me, he had already called WG and they approved the repair. He already had a turbo on order for me.
I just picked up my car today, and all I had to do was take my keys. The total bill came out to $1650. WG covered the entire repair bill without any hassle. :-D
Brand new turbo, gaskets/seals and oil lines.
I am once again very satisfied, as WG has now saved me almost $2400 in repairs.

The policy has been worth every penny to me and then some.

I'm a happy WG customer! :-D

lobsterman

had a bad alternator on my 97 olds aurora last week. had it towed to dealer and there was no problem at all. paid claim and service manager said it was a pleasure dealing with WG.

trusss

FIRST OF ALL, HOW MUCH DID WARRANTY GOLD PAY YOU TO SAY ALL THIS ((((((NONSENSE))))))). YOU HAVE A SYDER 98, AND YOUR CAR WAS ONLY 2 YEARS OLD OR LESS, I DOUBT THAT YOUR CAR MILEADGE HAS EXISTED 70,000 MILES. UNDER MITSUBISHI WARRENTY, YOUR TURBO IS FULLY COVERED AS LONG AS YOU ARE WITHIN 7 YEARS OR 70,000 MILES WHICHEVER OCCUR FIRST. IF YOU HAVE A DEFECTIVE TURBO, IT WILL BE REPAIRED OR REPLACED BY MMSA( MITSUBISHI MOTORS SALES OF AMERICA, INC). I HAVE MY TURBO REPLACED BY MMSA FREE OF CHARGE THOUGH I HAVE WG.
SECOND OF ALL, WARRANTY GOLD IS STRONGLY ((((((((NOT RECOMMEMDED)))))). THEY ARE NOT WHO THEY CLAIM TO BE. UNLESS IF YOU WANNA DRAIN YOUR MONEY TO THE RIVER.

SPYDER98

HA HA!
You caught me...I'm am Tony in disguise!
j/k

SPYDER98

I'll gladly go through the hassle of scanning my 3 invoices, in which I had my car serviced at the same mitsu dealer OF AMERICA and warranty gold repaired the bill. It has the year, the mileage, VIN # and specifics on exactly what was repaired.
I could post them here.
The bumper to bumper warranty, is only for 3yrs/36k miles which ever comes first.
the mitsu powertrain warranty is for 5yrs/60k miles.
Back in the early 90's I believe mitsu offered a 7r/70k mile powertrain warranty. I least I know for a fact the 1990 eagle talon had one like that.
They must of changed it in the mid 90's.

Also, I purchased a 5yr/150k mile diamond plan, with no deductable from WG.
I average roughly 30k miles a year. My car is 2yrs and 4months old. I currently have 70,500 miles on the car. This policy fit me perfectly and I chose them because of there reputation and great price. I believe I paid $1400 for the policy.

Give me a break..
I don't work for WG. I'm am defending them because I have had 3 great experiences with them.
I even turned one of my friends at work into buying a 5yr/150k mile policy for his 323 bmw. WG sent me a check for 50 bucks!

they are for real, not matter what you negative people out there say!

jed1894

Why do you say WarrantyGold is not recommended? What are you basing your post on?

The reason I ask.....WG is rated real high 5 or 6 out of about 50 or so other companies. I don't have a WG warranty, nor do I work for them. However, I will be buying two (2) ext. warr. within 6-8 months.

Thanks....John

pfennig

I'm looking to buy an extended warranty and leaning to warranty gold. Any suggestions?

greenehouse

Having used extended warranties in the past, I can honestly say that they are definitely worth the price. You just have to be careful about wording such as if a bumper to bumper warranty is really that. If it is, then that company will cover EVERYTHING except what they specifically list as not covered. Also, some companies start the policy the day the car was put into service rather than the date of the warranty purchase. This could mean that a 7 year plan would actually be only 4 years. Also a zero deductible policy is almost always worth it.

After a tremendous amount of research (including downloading at least 200 pages of information from various warranty companies and talk groups such as this one, I believe that Warrany Gold (as least the Diamond Plan) is the best value. I just purchased this policy for a 1998 Mercury Grand Marquis for $1254 and it does include (as does most) roadside assistance, locking keys in car, etc.

I have called them several times and every time I found them very friendly and unlike some of the previous responses I've read, their entire contract is posted on their web page and I was able to download it with no trouble. As to all of the previous comments, I downloaded all 278 of them and just for the fun of it (and to satisfy a curiosity) after reading them, I will post the total number of positive and negative ones. Remember every company will have both.

jed1894

Very good. I'll be waiting. I'm also leaning towards WG for my warranty when the factory warranty expires.

John

rick_j

I've been all over looking at the various extended warranty sites and found three of particular interest: warrantydirect, warrantygold and warrantybynet.

I'd be interested on feedback from consumers or the company representatives on these or other warranty companies. If you have good web sites for reviewing or comparing warranties that would be great also.

I'm looking to buy an extended warranty by Dec 00.

Thanks...Rick

bottomfeeder99

Nice discussion. We bought a used '93 Toyota MR2 (NA engine) 2 1/2 years ago in very good shape with about 40,000+ miles on it. Since we wanted to keep it for a long time and put some money into fixing it up since the purchase price was very good, we wanted to get an extended warranty to cover the mechanicals.

I found out about WarrantyGold and did a LOT of research into their contract, coverage, etc. I looked over every contract detail and had several voice and e-mail exhanges with the WG sales staff. They were always very forthcoming with info, promptly answered my questions professionally, and even sent me the contract text by return e-mail. The only thing I found in the contract that WASN'T covered were the flip-up headlights the MR2 happens to have. Everything else is IN THERE!

We bought the 36 month/36,000 mile contract during one of their frequent promotions. We've had 2 occasions to use the coverage since then. The first was last year to diagnose an ornery intermittant brake light. A short was found in the wiring at the Toyota dealer and the $95 bill was covered 100% by WG. All we had to do was sign and pick up the car. Dealer service mgr said it was very pleasant to deal with WG and he was very impressed.

Recently in September, 2000, we noticed some nasty blue smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe on cold morning start-ups. Took it to the same Toyota dealer and the valve guides & seals needed to be replaced. Work came to about $950. Again, WG handled the claim with no problems other than some technical issues getting the correct authorization code transmitted to the dealer. Again, all we had to do was sign the invoice and pick up the keys. WG has provided us excellent protection for a reasonable price. :-D

For what it's worth, I was a 3rd generation auto mechanic (my grandfather, father, and 4 uncles were lifetime mechanics who ran their own shops), I ran a Goodyear service center for 6 years, and know my way 'round cars. I'm HIGHLY suspicious of the sharks in the auto-repair biz and still do most of my own work because of that. However, for the things I don't have time or inclination to fix on my own, I've found some reliable, trustworthy mechanics and a most EXCELLENT warranty program - WarrantyGold. They've proven their worth to me and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone.

Thanks for the opportunity to post here. Regards.

skeptic4

I am shopping for a warranty and after reading some of these posts and noticing the highly suspicious claims set forth by supposed 'customers' (who are so blissfully happy with this place) and also the sales reps. from this Warranty Gold place, I have decided to drop WG from my list.

Why? Because I feel like I am reading a bad infomercial from these supposed 'customers' (no offense, it is just my experience that people will GENERALLY warn others away from a business as opposed to spouting off about their merits)and because WG is directly involved with this message board. They also are not highly recommended by other independent evaluators.

Thanks for the help - now I know what place to stay away from!