Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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I can't find a Mitsubishi-backed service contract, however, new Mitsubishis come with a 5 year, 60,000 mile bumper to bumper limited warranty. At the rate you are going (1300 miles in 3 weeks), you'll run out of warranty sometime in your third year.
Are you sure you need a service contract? Or will you be pining for a new set of wheels in three years?
A deductible is the amount you pay each time you have a covered repair (plus tax). Your contract should show a box labeled "deductible", with your deductible marked.
Try calling the customer service number on your contract, see what they can do for you. Your deal is actually with Mercury Ins, not really with the dealer. The dealer is a middle-man.
Let me just say that I really appreciate you helping me out on this...
I already faxed a cancellation request to Mercury nsurance 2 weeks ago and they said that since the dealership still hasn't forwarded the payment yet, they cannot cancel my warranty just yet. They said just give them a call back from time to time to check for the status.
If Mercury hasn't received your contract yet, you could argue that the 30 days hasn't started yet.
Many dealers wait until they get a stack of contracts and then send them all at once.
I had one customer come in 3 months after they bought their Suburban (not from here). I had to contact their dealer and get them to fax the contract to their SC provider. That was a fun deal to explain. (so was the fact that the SCC wanted to send me an alternator for their truck 'from our warehouse' instead of using a GM part.
Does anyone in this forum have access to the warranty costs from Ford for the Expedition? Please let me know if you do. BTW, am not interested in 3rd party warranties, only Ford's.
Here was the reply:
"Who insures your warranties?
Our warranty protection involves 3 layers of consumer protection; the administrator, the insurer and the reinsurer. With Warranty Direct, you can be sure we’ll be here when you need us. As the consumer division of Interstate National Dealer Services, we administer our own claims, have 26 years of experience, have sold nearly 2 million vehicle service contracts and paid out over $500,000,000.00 in claims. The administrator is the company that pays your claims. We have been named to the Forbes Magazine list of the “Top 200 Companies” three times. Financial stability was the major factor considered by Forbes in naming companies to this prestigious list.
When it comes time to pay your claim, you can count on us. We are expert at reserving the proper amounts of money. With assets in excess of $165 million, you can be sure sufficient funds are available to pay your claim. In addition to our financial stability, all of our contracts are insured by National Service Contract Insurance Company (Financial Stability Rating of A, Exceptional).
For even greater protection, all Warranty Direct contracts are reinsured with Hannover Reinsurance Ltd., (A Excellent rating). Hannover has assets in excess of $5 billion and is one of the top five reinsurers in the world.
The combination of a financially strong administrator and two insurance companies make your investment in Warranty Direct completely safe. The key item to bear in mind, however, is the strength of the administrator. Simply put, if they fail, you’ll be “out of pocket” until the insurer reimburses you. You’ll be hard pressed to find an administrator with the financial stability and asset base that our parent company has."
So you see your statements about WD are incorrect.
They are insured by an A rated insurerer: National Service Contract Insurance Company (Financial Stability Rating of A, Exceptional).
Same with their re-insurer.
I am about 1/2 hour away from pulling the trigger on WD for my used 2005 GMC Colorado because the prices at GMPP are out of this world for this class 4 vehicle and WD looks like a great deal and a well backed company to me.
The number one thing I have learned in forums on the internet is that complaints about something are what you find rather than compliments because that is human nature to only post the bad stuff.
So, if you read forums looking for advice, you do need to take it all with a grain of salt.
Joe
They did several things that really were "not good"
- They continued to sell policies in states they were not licensed even after being told by the state not to.
- They continued to process automatic payments from people's bank accounts even after they stopped paying claims. This went on from June 2003 until they were forced by the bankruptcy court to stop.
- After people reported them to their credit card company that they were not processing claims and tried to deny the CC charges, WG stilled tried to convince the credit card company the charges were valid.
When a company faces liquidation in bankruptcy, they will do whatever legally they can get away with or the penalty for their actions isn't severe enough.
My advice if you are going to purchase WD, read AND UNDERSTAND the fine print very carefully before you sign. Good luck.
Who rates them with an 'A'?
BTW, that came from their website, not an Email. I'm not an idiot.
Please read Mikefm's post. Warranty Gold made the same claims Warranty Direct makes now. WG went under, leaving thousands of people holding useless contracts.
I've never seen a GMC Colorado. I've seen Chevrolet Colorados and GMC Canyons, but never a GMC Colorado.
Enjoy your Warranty Direct contract. Keep us updated on the claims process.
It is easy to get confused by multiple service contract companies, coverages, and limitations.
Have a wonderful day!!! :shades:
I can't figure why why Edmunds bother's paying for the server power to run this sub-forum or even has it.
All bazllion posts can be collapsed into a single statement "You won't find any recommendation here but one backed by a manufacturer"
Ask around some of the other car websites.
Useless.
Your frustration and hostility is misplaced. Just because you don't like the answers doesn't make them wrong. I think the beauty of this forum is that after 1,400 posts, there is one true fact: People with manufacturer based warranties don't get screwed. People buying others are playing a crap-shoot and may do OK or may get burned.
There will be anecdotes of people saying they got over $6,000 out of their warranty (doubtful) and others posting how the company refused to pay anything at all and challenged all expenses. I think the truth lies in between. I honestly think everyone here is trying to help with their "patent" answers.
I hope you find another web site with a lot of people who agree with you, so you feel better.
Sorry to burst your bubble zztop3, but you asked for advice, what you do with it is up to you. I wish you luck.
Car_man
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Car_man
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Smart Shopper / Prices Paid Forums
1. An extended warranty is not a warranty. it's a service contract.
2. There are many different types of service contracts, with different levels of coverage, time and mileage limitations.
3. Service contracts only pay for rentals if the trouble is a covered component, usually payment is limited by amount of work needing done (billed labor hours)
4. Many service contract companies go out of business, often leaving consumers holding the bag.
5. Most people who buy a service contract will not receive benefits to match the money they paid for the contract, much less exceed it. some contracts even state they will not pay out more than the amount paid for the contract.
6. A service contract company has control over: what they pay for, what parts they will pay for (this can include salvaged parts), when your car gets fixed (if they want to do an 'inspection', you could be in for a long wait), and, sometimes, where your car gets fixed. In short, they control your car and your wallet.
If you want to find a service contract you like. Print out contracts from various sites. Read them all, compare their coverages, financial stability, price, and claims processes. Find a shop that will accept your chosen contract (many won't deal with aftermarket SCCs). Buy your contract and have a good time with it.
If you want us to agree that Warranty Direct is the best, that ain't happenin'.
Thanks and I will enjoy it. I was bear bating you all because I was curious whether i could scare up someone who has used these people to see what their experience was but all I got was comparisons to Warranty Gold which was a well publicized mess.
I say bear bating because I have used Warranty Direct for 3 of my cars before this one as well as 2 of my family members.
Nothing but praise for them and I did have one vhicle with a torn up differential and another one with an automatic transmission that liked to not shift past 3rd gear.
All fixed and it was very simple.
My thing was that I was hoping to find a company that was as good as WD that would get me up to 120,000 miles but since I bought the 2005 Colorado used with 28,000 miles,the best I could do was 100,000 miles.
So this is now my fourth car that I now don't have to worry about anything for a long,long time.
It is a nice feeling knowing that if,for example, I start hearing the dreaded mysterious rattling sound from the transfer case (this one is 4wd) that I don't have to turn up the radio to ignore it:)
What you've just posted as well as your previous posts makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. You ramble on about trying to "scare" up someone to see what their experience was? What the heck does that mean?
how much WD paid for each claim
how much you paid for each contract
what your deductible was
did they use OEM parts to repair your vehicles?
so far we know you had a differential claim and a transmission claim (was it repaired or replaced?).
With your experience with them, what plan do you find best for 5 year/100K coverage and what deductible?
Thanks for your advice.
Remember the deductible is paid with each claim.
Generally, service contracts are a money-losing proposition for the consumer. Otherwise, there wouldn't be soooo many service contract companies begging for your money.
99 buick 3 year lease/gmpp to 50K miles..no claims
2002 buick 3 year lease/gmpp to 50K miles...no claims
2003 trailblazer 3 year lease/gmpp to 50K miles...no claims
2005 buick purchase/gmpp to 85K miles...who knows???
2006 ford 3 year lease...undecided
Basically, for less than $500 (via Black's in Penn.) i do not have to worry about fixing a car i do not own for the period btw 36 and 50K miles when i return the lease.
My problem with most people who buy service contracts is that they rarely know what they've bought. Every man thinks he has a 'bumper to bumper extended warranty' and has nothing to worry about. There is no such thing as a 'bumper to bumper extended warranty'. You still have to do routine maintenance (and be able to Prove you did it).
There's no such thing as a free lunch. Most people think that's what a service contract is.
since gmpp policy is start the clock when u buy, the 2005 buick is really a 5yr9mo/83k policy.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, I got a 4 year/85,000 miles Mercury Platinum extended warranty, supposedly their highest coverage level. I think the warranty itself looks OK - although it sucks that it doesn't cover the convertible top - but my big question is, did they screw me on the price? This extended warranty cost $4,085. I can apparently cancel at any time (and switch to something else) with a prorated refund, I just want to know whether I was taken. I came in here and saw people buying extended warranties for half that, but they were for more common cars.
I also went to warrantdirect, but apparently they don't sell warranties in California for AMG cars.
till the last month of the mfrs. (GM) warranty
period THEN purchase it if your gonna keep the
vehicle. Then NO warranty overlap between the
free mfrs. warranty and the extended portion.
Thats the only bad part of buying a GMPP. Coverage
starts when you purchase it so it makes no advantage
buying from the initial purchase new.
The other downside with buying it "later" is a higher
cost. Compare Blacks prices then decide..........
.
If you've got the bucks to be able to afford the CLK55, you should have the bucks to fix it yourself.
.
Since all you'll get is a prorated refund, and you've already bought it, I'd just keep it.
As for prorated - heck, I'll get literally the full amount if I pull it now or in a week or even in a month - a week out of 4 years is very, very little taken off the top.
Anyhow, I called the local Mercedes dealership and asked for a comparable quote through their 3rd party warranty people (easycare), and it came to just over $5300 (4 years/100000 miles, the closest to the one I got). But I'm not sure how much they mark this thing up. Is it 30%? or 200%?
Argh! There's just no price guidance anywhere, not even ballpark figures I can look at.
Are you 100% sure? Did you read the fine print? Usually, there's fees due first, then a calendar calculation.
.
Maybe I live on the wrong side of the tracks, but to me, anyone who can afford a CLK55 souldn't be worrying about an ext. warranty, but that's only me. Good luck.
As for buying a service plan - actually, precisely BECAUSE the car is an AMG car, I want a service plan. To get an idea, a transmission job on this car runs over $3,000, replacing a wiring harness is about a quarter, and I don't even want to begin talking about the power train and electronics. Sure, I could afford the car (I found a really great deal for it), but I will quickly go bankrupt if something does go wrong. Remember, the car IS used. That's why I need a service plan in the first place.
That price sounded low, but with the low years (3 as opposed to 6 or 7), they would charge less.
We don't have pricing for service contract companies here, so we can't say if you've been screwed or not.
$4000 is a heckuvalot of money to give somebody so they might pay for repairs that may need done on your vehicle in the next few years.
Be sure to read your contract thoroughly.
The only question I'm asking is whether the cost of insurance was unusually high or not for this car. I just read the contract thoroughly and I have a 60 day grace period to pull out entirely for a full refund with only a $35 cancellation fee (plus the cost of getting a certified odometer reading, whatever that is).
I am procuring quotes from another seller of Mercury warranties to see if it was too high or not.
Many mechanical problems with cars are preventable. Do your routine maintenance, fix small troubles before they become big ones, and chances are good your car will be reliable for years.
Chances are also good that there is a line in your service contract allowing Mercury to require the use of aftermarket or salvaged parts if they so desire. Mercury would probably prefer to not pay for OEM Mercedes parts. There may also be a line restricting the amount of money they will lay out over the course of your contract.
You're really dealing with a third party.
(GMPP is related to GM, but they are separate) That company promises to pay for repairs your vehicle if it has a covered problem, for a set period of time or mileage limitation. That company has the right to choose: the repair facility, parts used, labor rate they will pay, whether or not a problem is covered. In short, they hold your purse-strings, spending money on your behalf if they want to. The good thing about a manufacturer-backed contract is you can complain to GM and GM will lean on GMPP to get stuff covered.
I don't like service contracts in general, but you are on the better track in looking at manufacturer-backed plans.
Car_man
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Again, I don't mean to interject, but I think this is what these forums are for. Good luck with whatever you decide!
Your transmission probably did not cost $3500, more likely, the service contract company paid for a reman one. (more like $1500)