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Gold Plus Extended Warranty -- worth it?
Will be buying a new 2010 forester limited. Is the Gold Plus warranty worth it (I can get a 7yr/70K with 100 deductible for $875)?
I'm also considering a third-party warranty from WarrantyDirect instead - I read one online review that highly recommends this firm but I'm not certain. Anyone have any direct information?
I'm also not certain if I must purchase the gold plus right when i purchase the vehicle, or whether I can wait 3 years until the factory warranty runs out and then purchase it (or will it be much more expensive then?)
Thanks.
I'm also considering a third-party warranty from WarrantyDirect instead - I read one online review that highly recommends this firm but I'm not certain. Anyone have any direct information?
I'm also not certain if I must purchase the gold plus right when i purchase the vehicle, or whether I can wait 3 years until the factory warranty runs out and then purchase it (or will it be much more expensive then?)
Thanks.
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Bill
I got one for our 2002 and may do that again for our 09.
You get roadside assistance included, so we no longer have AAA. Plus it made it much easier to sell our 02 - the buyer said the warranty was the reason he chose our used vehicle to buy.
Would it be cheaper to buy it online than at the dealer, like the Honda Care warranty?
Any thing you do find on the web would be a specific dealer's site.
I think Subaru ought to do this, but they probably don't want to step on dealers' toes.
The funny thing is dealers make a profit on sales of Gold warranties, but Subaru does not. Subaru loses money, but they establish Good Will with customers and earn more loyalty.
marc - can you advise the dealer name and location? This Gold Plus price seems CHEAP
Is there a way to find the cheapest quote online re Subaru Gold Plus extended warranty?
> Would it be cheaper to buy it online than at the dealer...
There are websites of dealers that offer the warranty, like:
http://www.subaru.net/sales/contracts.php
http://www.subaruwrxparts.com
http://www.stevemoyersubaru.com
Different dealers both online and local will give you different prices. For the cheapest, you need to check them all, including your own dealer. The warranty is a sales item: the prices vary and are negotiable .
> for $875)?
That is the one I am looking at, and my dealer wanted $1100 for it.
It might be worth it if you have a moonroof and use it frequently. They often fail after the factory warranty and cost $1200 or so to fix.
7yr/100,000 - $100 ded is $1,200
pay in 10 payment by charge to credit card interest free.
http://www.subaru.net/sales/contracts.php
Thanks
My 40-some years experience buing new cars confirms the above.
I stick with what is recommended by studies done on this subject by reputable non-profit organizations.
In my 40-some years buying new (mostly Japanese) cars I never bought extended warranty and never had any problems.
Extended warranty (in my opinion) might make sense for US manufactured cars although their quality improved greatly lately.
When we bought our '09 Leggy, the dealer was 'stuck' at $2300 as the cheapest he could go for the extended warranty that Mastria has on their list at 1/3 the cost. That might be a good deal for many. I have always wondered if CU/CR, etc are looking at the list pricing on extended warranties when they argue against them. Over the years, I have bought several warranties on misc items (cars/fridges/washing machines), used some, not others. I think, overall, I'm way ahead, money wise, by utilizing the warranties. You just have to be judicious in your purchase. Not all items need/require an extended warranty. Also, as posted above, I've sold my last two vehicles with mileage left on the extended warranty and it has ALWAYS made a difference in how fast I make the sale and how much I get. Used car buyers love having it as part of the sale. JMHO.
What year and how many miles is your Forester, when will the right time be, and which length warranty do you plan to buy?
The genuine Subaru dealers (as of 2 years ago) are no longer allowed to advertise these extended warranty plans's prices so it helps to shop around.
There is a huge mark-up (minimum 100%) that dealers add to their costs.
If you buy it now (before your regular warranty expires) you may protect yourself from a price increase that may be in effect in the coming years.
My 2008 LL Bean Forester will have gone only 21, 000 miles in 3 years, garaged all the time and gently driven by a retired senior, with not one thing having gone wrong. In another 3 years the car will only have 42,000 miles. To pay $500 to $1000 to warrant such use seems a waste.
To make these warrantees worthwhile, you need to give the car hard and varied use, family and off-road stuff that will work everything hard, use all the switches and devices, etc, and with a daily commute that will at least use up the miles that were paid for.
So, are you recommending that I consider the extended warranty?
My other Subaru Forester (2005) with about 50,000 miles on it (that I gave to my son) has major auto transmission problems. He took it to 3 different authorized Subaru dealers (in California) and all 3 of them gave him 3 different possible causes and estimates, what it would take to fix it (averaging $ 2000 price to fix it).
Then he took it to our friend who has a transmission repair shop for the last 20 years and we ended up making an all-wheel drive only rear-wheel drive (paid him $ 700 for a 2 week diagnostic work).
He took the transmission apart, replaced some gears and solenoids and still could not get it working. So he simply made my son't Forester a 2 wheel (rear wheel) drive.
Subaru tech support that he contacted was of little help, replacement parts are not available and they suggested a brand new transmission. Refurbised transmissions are not available on either coast (West or East). Also, apparently there are 2 different auto transmission configurations; one for East and one for West Coast.
So there you have it. I am seriously thinking of getting an extended warranty for 6 years / 100 k now!
I don't know enough about you to recommend either way.
On one hand, if you will only put a few thousand gentle miles on the car during the term of the warranty, the premium cannot be worthwhile.
On the other hand, if you can give the car hard use for all the miles in the contract, there is a better chance the premium will be worthwhile.
The difference would be if you do most of your driving in the city or highway and in what climate do you live in.
If you do mostly highway driving in mild climates then it's not worth it, in my opinion.
If you plan to keep the car "forever" and/or if you drive in either extreme hot or extreme cold climates, I would get it.
Remember my earlier post, generally speaking it's not worth it (according to leading consumer research companies) but anyway you toss it, it's an "insurance".
Same thing with healthcare insurance. Do you expect to get sick?
In my own scenario (and my recent experience) since I plan to keep the car "forever" - I am getting it (6 years 100 K Gold Plan). Subaru USA has a 10 months installment plan so it's not such a shock on your budget.
We have about 15,500 on the car now after ten months of ownership, but typical annual totals are about 15,000.
I am sorry if I was misunderstood. I was not talking about gentle driving, I was talking about gentle use.
I am old, retired, and the only driver and occupant of the car. When not being driven, it spends its life in the garage out of sun and weather. It does not commute. It does not carry kids or pets or cargo. It does not go in snow or off pavement. It only goes 7,000 miles per year. I don't yank the windows to open or close the doors, or run the sunroof every day. Many of the controls are rarely used. The leather is still smelling new, the underside is clean, and the car will have the same newness when it is 6 years old with only 42,000 miles. It is not worth buying an extended warranty.
On the other hand, some cars are left out in the weather, commuted long distances every day, often driven by several drivers, perhaps by aggressive young drivers, and may carry kids, pets, cargo, and perhaps be used in snow, gravel roads, or off road. These cars are going to accumulate the miles and use and wear that make an extended warranty worthwhile.
We drive few miles (3 cars, only 2 drivers) so for us a 7/70 warranty would be less than a grand, and you get roadside assistance for the 4 years beyond the OEM warranty.
Thanx, Don!
You don't have to buy this warranty from the dealer that sold you the car.
Don Mastria Subaru can get you the same warranty for close to half the price, depending on length of coverage and deductible chosen.
1) If used but less than 3 years / 36K is the the eligible for the the new car extended warranty?
2) I assume Subaru is like Toyota and offers something like a Genuine Subaru plan that is essentially bumper to bumper with a zero deductible. Can you tell me what denominations they come in. Ex: I bought a similar Toyota warranty for my Camry and it a 7/75 warranty. What would best fit Pop would be a 7/75 as well. To be honest they will put less than 5K a year on the car. HE WILL WANT A WARRANTY..no need to debate the fact that he likely would not need one!
3) What is a good price for this warranty. Its common place for them to offer the Toyota warranty for $1200 at the time of purchase. I then by it online from another dealer for $630...or the dealer I am buying the car from matches the price. I have done this after the fact on my last two Toyotas.
4) Are their known dealers out there who will just sell the warranty at a reasonable price? Ie, they know I made my purchase somewhere but just sell me the extended warranty. Please let me know who. If you need a Toyota contact, I can give you one...blashemy --- I know!
To be honest, I buy cars via email...hate to negotiate...that will not work in this case and is complicated more if he buys used. I feel I can determine a fair price for his purchase using Edmunds and other resourses but the warranty is always a bit trickier.
THANKS!!!!!
Make sure you verify those miles if you buy the car from a private party.
You can do that by going to CarFax or any authorized Subaru Dealer and give them the VIN number.
The rest someone else can answer.
Just make sure that your car was brought into service under 36 months ago! A 2007 or 2008 model could likely have an in-service date of more than 36 months.
I've priced warranties and indeed Toyota's are DIRT CHEAP. I can cover the Sienna for 7/100 for around $700. For our Subie it's a bit more, but still under a grand.
Go price, say, a Range Rover 7/100 warranty. Try not to pass out.
While they cooperate on some things, I'm pretty sure the warranty depts are completely seperate.
To be honest, until the Toyobaru sports coupe arrives, there hasn't really been much sharing at all.
Subaru is so successful that other companies have bought a "stake" in it. But no company has bought the 51% required to control it.
GM bought 20% of Subaru in 2005 but sold it all in 2008 to Toyota.
Toyota's purchase in 2008 gave it less than 17% of what Subaru had become.
Toyota has no ability, or desire, to screw up its wise investment in Subaru by diluting that brand or its unique engineering.
Being involved with SAAB R&D in Trolhattan for many years I know that GM bought "stake" in Subaru in order to have access to Subaru's "platform" that takes years to develop. Subsequently, SAAB has been building certain models on Subaru platforms.
When GM saw the end of the tunnel (with SAAB) they unloaded the "stake" to Toyota.
All that makes sense and is not surprising and quite common in the automotive industry.
The Saabaru, which was only made for 2 years...
"The Saab 9-2X is an automobile that was sold by Saab in the mid-2000s, but built in Japan at the Ota-Gunma plant by Fuji Heavy Industries and based on the Subaru Impreza with a modified body, suspension, and interior. Because of this, the 9-2X earned the nickname "Saabaru"... Starting in July 2004, for the 2005 model year...... The dissolution of the GM/Subaru relationship in 2005 spelled the end of this model. Production ended with the 2006 model year, and there was no return of the 9-2X for 2007."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_9-2X
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