After posting in here earlier, I cancelled the 7/100/0 deduct Zurich warranty bought at dealer for $1470 after sales tax on 08 CR-V EXL AWD. Bought 7/120/0 deduct HondaCare from Bernardi for $880 and put it on their 12 month payment plan for flat $24 bucks. About a week later, I got a letter from Bernardi with the warranty application enclosed.
Bernardi gave $30/off accesories with warranty purchase, so I got floor mats, cargo tray, and wheel locks for $205 with shipping included. They sent a link to UPS tracking which says they're to be delivered today. It took longer from MA to WA but worth it to save $$.
In the meantime, I ordered door moldings and touch up paint from HandA which also came with a UPS tracking email and arrived yesterday. I have to wait until it's warm enough to install them.
when Honda prevents the buyer from shopping around for the extended warranty it will make buying one that much harder to substantiate.
Are they saying you can only buy from the place you purchased your vehicle from? What if you bought your car used? What if you moved?
I don't think they will do this - it'd be about as prudent as telling people what dealership they can service their car.
If it's just the new car purchase where they are making this limitation, then my advice would be to hold off till you're near the end of your factory warranty.
I don't think Honda will stop you from buying the warranties from anyplace. What I've heard they are trying to do is to stop dealers like Bernardi from selling warranties online.
If that happens then the online dealer probably will not make enough bulk sales to sell at the very low margin he's been selling them at.
After April 1st, you could probably still call Bernardi if you knew about them from before, but who knows if they'll still sell it to you at the same price via a phone sale. They have to pay a guy to answer questions like is this a real deal and he'll have to listen to many people a day blabber about how they're not sure if they really need one. They'll probably sell far less than the web-site does on it's own. Currently somebody takes a little time to process whomever bought them online and they make good money from that.
By banning internet sales, Honda dealers are hoping that the really, really, cheap warranties will be a thing of the past...
I found what I thought was the best price for this combo at www.HondaAutomotiveParts.com. It is owned by Majestic Honda out of Lincoln, RI apparently. Here is a quick breakdown of my order:
Cargo Tray, Black $67.47 Mats, Black $88.44 ------------------------------------------------------- Subtotal $156.11 Tax $0.00 Shipping $15.87 (not sure if this varies by zipcode) Handling Charge $4.95 ------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL $176.93
This was coming up cheaper than HondaPartsDeals.com, but it is actually just over $6 more expensive than Bernardi ($170.98 after $25 discount) to my zipcode in Iowa. I priced it out before buying, but now it isn't the best deal. Wonder why the change. Maybe I entered the wrong zip before? I would just run the numbers at a few different sites. Some people have said that if you actually call the dealers that own the sites, they may give you a better deal also. Good luck.
Edit: I remembered why this was the cheapest. I had decided at that point that I probably wasn't going to get the warranty. So this was the best deal without the extra discount. Sorry for the confusion.
Similar experience, bought an 08 Odyssey, I showed them the price on the warranty from their website, they put their sheet away, and wrote "Internet Warranty Price" on the document. Didnt even argue it.
I just received a refund of the balance of a Honda Care I purchased in 2003. (7 years, 100K miles).
The internet dealer where I bought it from e-mailed me a form that they had signed. They told me to fill out the form and fax it to the Honda corporate office with the mileage verification form of the car that I traded in.
I faxed it on Feb 27th and today I had the refund check in the mailbox. So that's 9 days total turnaround time which I was very pleased with.
How did you get a refund? I made the mistake of buying my honda care policy while buying the car. But I am under 60 days right now. Should I get this policy refunded fully and apply for a new Honda care policy?
When I bought my Honda care policy, my dealer said I will get my money back when the policy expires? But I don't see this anywhere on the contract or anywhere online. Did he lie to me?
I made the mistake of buying my honda care policy while buying the car. But I am under 60 days right now. Should I get this policy refunded fully and apply for a new Honda care policy?
I am reading from my new Honda Care that I got for my new car. It says, if you want to cancel within the first 60 days, just return to your dealer and fill out a cancellation form and you'll get a full refund. After 60 days it's prorated.
Keep in mind that if you financed the vehicle and the Honda Care, they may send the refund to your financing company and not you.
I noticed that most of the people has purchased their warranty from Saccucci or Bernardi. Has anyone purchased from Hyannis Honda in MA? the website is https://www.hondacareextendedwarranty.com
They are offering 08 Pilot $0 deductible for $615 ($640 minus the $25 incentive at purchase). The $640 price is the same however they are giving the $25 incentive at purchase instead of to be used for parts.
I want just make sure is a reliable place to buy the warranty. I appreciate any feedback. Thanks.
The following was found on the Clark Howard Consumer web page.
Consumer Reports picks best new and used cars Consumer Reports' annual auto issue is out and Clark is giddy with excitement. The April '08 issue definitively says that extended warranties aren't worth the investment. Clark has historically been neutral on extended warranties for vehicles, but now he'll have to revise his opinion. Only 20% of people ever recoup the cost of the warranty vs. the cost of repairs over the lifetime of a vehicle. If you're buying a Mercedes, you'll have the best chance (about 40%) in that regard. Other vehicles where a warranty may be a smart move include Pontiacs, Jeeps, Chryslers, Buicks and Dodges.
In other news, there's a new champ when it comes to reliable small cars: Hyundai Elantra. Other top picks included the Honda Accord (family sedan); Toyota Prius (hybrid); Toyota Sienna (minivan); and Hyundai Santa Fe (SUV). American cars are getting more reliable, but they're not quite on par with the Japanese vehicles yet.
When it comes to the best used cars, they're all Japanese: Toyota's Prius, Highlander, RAV 4 (4 cylinder), Corrolla and Honda's Accord (4 cylinder). A new category this year was vehicles that are unloved, but good to own. This category was dominated by Korean vehicles such as the Kia Rondo and the MAZDA5.
"How did you get a refund? I made the mistake of buying my honda care policy while buying the car. But I am under 60 days right now. Should I get this policy refunded fully and apply for a new Honda care policy?"
I did the same thing, bought the policy when I bought the car, didn't know any better....after I found out how cheap I could get it, I went back to the dealer with the cheaper price, and asked them to either match it, or cancel it. They hemmed & hawed for a while, but finally canceled the policy, wrote up a new one for the cheaper price, and refunded me the difference. Go for it, you have the legal right to cancel and buy it cheaper for 60 days!!
Nice! I forgot that some dealers were offering the $25 off the warranty and not a parts site. I'm planning to now pick up the 7 year, 100,000 mile at right around $995. That gives me an allowance of 14,286 miles per year. Well within my comfortable range. I hope to drive less a year, but nice to have the cushion. Here is a table breaking down a number of factors for each warranty on an 08 Pilot once the $25 deduction is taken into consideration. Hope someone finds it useful.
I also plan to use my new CitiCashReturns card to get an additional 5% cash back. They have a sign-up bonus right now where you get 5% back on ALL purchases for the first three months. Check it out man!
Only 20% of people ever recoup the cost of the warranty vs. the cost of repairs over the lifetime of a vehicle. If you're buying a Mercedes, you'll have the best chance (about 40%) in that regard.
I was one of those 20% with couple of vehicles. I can tell you that I was very happy to have the coverage. One of the vehicles seemed to have a time clock in it that let all sorts of things happen in the 40-48 month period. I paid 0 out of pocket and it would have cost thousands. The second vehicle was not as bad but would have cost me more than the warranty. With the hourly cost for a mechanic at the dealership you can quickly eat up the cost. Bernardi Honda warranty at $815 for 72/120/0 is not that bad considering if they work on your car for a 8 hours you beat the wheel, and who knows the way things are going that could 4 hours work in 5 years! Funny thing is I recently had a Nissan Altima in the family that had just passed the warranty mark when I had to throw more than $2,000 into it because I did not buy the warranty, so who knows!!!.
My main argument for the 20% statistic is where did Consumer Reports get their information on the original price of the warranty? Did they use what most dealers offer at like $2000 or did they use what we can get on-line for half as much? I would think that could spring that 20% to more than 30% or even 40%, considering.
The report also doesn't break out the stat by each make and model. I'm assuming there are plenty more pieces of equipment that can fail on a 4X4 Pilot compared to a little Fit. The same can be said on hybrids. I'm sure something horribly expensive could break on a hybrid compared to a normal engine.
I'm willing to put down $1000 for 100,000 mile warranty. I'm sure something will break in that time. How much? Why? When? Where? Those are all variables you have to consider yourself. In 7 years the $1000 I put down today will most likely mean nothing. That is also to not mention that we've already saved thousands of dollars by reading posts on this site already. It could really be a wash at some point. Just my $0.02. I'm sure opinions vary widely from person to person. Cheers!
The HondaCare prices are adjusted for different models. A Civic or Fit has a lower priced HondaCare contract than a Pilot if they have lower claims.
The people who created these HondaCare policies have thought this through and have priced the wholesale price they charge the dealers at a level that they will come out ahead over the long run.
Just consider that you are paying the $1000 or whatever it costs to make yourself feel better if you are the type who will be stressed out at 36,001 miles losing sleep over what might go wrong.
The people who created these HondaCare policies have thought this through and have priced the wholesale price they charge the dealers at a level that they will come out ahead over the long run.
Yes, but even if Honda Care put a typical profit margin of 15% perhaps, that means the average user is still getting 85% value if they buy it near wholesale at one of the on-line sites.
And as joeyjoejoe points out that's far higher than the 20% Consumer Reports claims the average user gets in value.
That assumes they are cutting it that close with that slim margin you made up. However, if you are one to worry about it and take individual anecdotal experiences from people who say the warranty they bought had more than paid for itself, over the compiled stats of large numbers or people, it may be worth it for intangible "peace of mind."
I'm not sure where they get their statistics. Each seller of service contracts would keep records of sale price and $ paid out. To poll them would yield the best results. To poll customers would be hit or miss. Who wants to admit they didn't get their 'investment' back?
The number of people getting discounted (i.e. Bernardi.com) contracts is small compared to the number of people buying them at full price. I'm constantly amazed at the number of contracts (both aftermarket and OEM that come through here that people have paid $2500 or $3000 on. Yikers! Very few things are sold with a mere 15% profit margin-that would be silly. You can't pay your workers with that kind of profit!
In my experience (at a GM dealer-7 years), the number of people who buy contracts and then have zero claims is astounding. (what really kills me is the number who trade in a vehicle before the warranty is up-and they've bought a service contract for 7 years/100k miles) In the time I've been here, maybe 10 people have gotten close to or exceeded their purchase price. I've also had several people tell me they are thrilled by all their contract has paid for, only to find out everything they've had done was covered by warranty and not by their service contract. I pointed this out to a fellow once and he said 'oh well, it's still the best money I ever spent!' Okey dokey then!
Good info ---- so, what is your conclusion having dealt with GMs? Do you think a warranty purchased at close to whole-sale cost is worth the investment? [I have to admit, I have now owned three Honda Accords -- all with extended warranties -- all driven beyond their warranty period -- and I've never actually used the extended warranty ----- hmmm maybe I'm dumb. . . . .I just purchased another one for my 08 Accord :confuse: ]
It is not an "investment." Since you keep buying them despite not needing them, you have a high fear/anxiety factor for unexpected repairs and the warranty is just paying for peace of mind. If you had put the money for the last three extended warranties in the bank, you would now have all that money and could use it towards repairs if the next car is the one that has issues.
NO! I'm not a fan of the 'service contract', regardless of how much you pay for it. I don't like putting my money in other people's hands and hoping for a return. There is no guarantee of return with a service contract. You're buying 'peace of mind', which is something intangible that I rarely am willing to pay for. With an aftermarket service contract, you're not even really getting that, you get the illusion of 'peace of mind'.
I used to say I'd never buy a service contract, but I did think of a situation where I might. When my dear niece or nephew go off to college, if they have newer cars, I might be inclined to buy a GMPP Major Guard with 0 deductible. I might even buy the Smartcare oil change/tire rotation thing to encourage them to maintain their hotrods. Sort of prepaying for repairs/maintenance on their behalf.
That would only be if I couldn't come up with a cool graduation gift.
As my title suggests, some people might actually consider such an option. Most people would probably think of all the others things they could spend that money on in comparison to actually investing it. I have plenty of friends that would rather drop $1000 on a new TV or home audio system. My point, however random it may be, is that the importance of the disposable income can vary from person to person.
Am I any smarter than them for using my money on an extended warranty? No. Would someone actually investing the money and not touching it for the long term be considered smarter than me? Probably.
In my situation I would probably invest the money (equal to a portion of my tax refund or the upcoming economic stimulus) to use towards a house in a few years. If you consider that plan of earning around 5% on a CD, money market account, or high-yield savings account, that would yield me only $160 or so over three years. I'd rather be down $1,160 and have the 7 year, 100,000 mile warranty. Sorry for the random thought. Just a personal opinion.
I expected the usual mob here to pile on the fear that everyone should buy a warranty because they had reason to use one weather or not they can admit they are the minority and not the majority.
Alot of it depends on the car you drive. And if you use the Pilot for example and see just how well the Pilot rates in reliability (according to Consumer Reports data) you'll see that an extended warranty for this vehicle isn't a good bet.
So if you're a worry wart who can't sleep well without the warranty, then perhaps you should go for it.
I just bought a new Fit 3 days ago thinking I had done all the reasearch, but stupidly purchased the 7 year extended warrenty through the dealer. Now I'm kicking myself. It says I have 60 days to cancel the policy, but that I can only cancel the plan for "fraud, material misrepresentations or for non-payment of the Plan charge." I live in California. Does anyone have any experience with this? Do you know if I can cancel or am I just stuck? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
I also made the same mistake. Realized that the dealer had charged me three times the price available on the internet for an extended warranty. But in my case the dealer was not that cooperative so I took the cancellation form from then filled it out, got them to sign the dealer portion of the form and sent it in to Honda Care along with the original contract and copy of the application form within 60 days. Kept a copy of everything I sent and sent the documents by certified mail with return receipt for confirmed delivery. Got my check yesterday within 3 weeks for the full amount.
Well, if it's truly a Honda Care plan, and you only bought it 3 days ago, you haven't received the actual Honda Care documentation from the corporate office.
When you do, it says it will tell you that you do have a 60 day cancellation option, and your local dealer should not be able to override that.
You do have to cancel through the dealer and as the last poster described, you at least need to get them to sign the cancellation form, even if you send it straight to Honda Care.
Actually, it isn't the Honda Care policy. It is a third party policy through Zurich. I called today to try to cancel, but the finance manager is out until tomorrow. Any help is appreciated!
"Actually, it isn't the Honda Care policy. It is a third party policy through Zurich. "
Well, it would obviously be tougher to cancel if they have you signing something saying that you agreed to those terms. If however, they represented it as Honda Care when it wasn't, perhaps you can argue that was material misrepresentation. Did they have any Honda Care signs around or on their desk?
Does the warranty have any kind of pro-rate of unused time like Honda Care? Even if you had to pay a service fee for canceling, if they were able to pro-rate the majority of the amount, you might be able to cut your losses and get most of the money you spent refunded.
Also, there may be some sort of state laws that can protect you in CA. If they think that you're going to cause a big stink, they may just refund you so that you'll go away.
And don't go for that excuse about the finance manager being off. If you were buying a car today, you can believe they'd have a finance manager there.
Sounds like the dealership employees lie a lot and are pretty sleazy to sell a third party service contract with those terms and priced higher than HondaCare. People have to be more careful before signing papers or just leave without signing.
I have seen people post long complaints about catching dealerships in multiple lies and "mistakes" and still end up buying from them. Once you realize that you are at "one of those" dealerships, just leave instead of trying to see if you can outwit them to catch all their tricks.
Good post jet10000 --- I think you are onto something there. Even Honda doesn't allow a cancellation period out of the goodness of its heart . . .LOL! Rather, it likely doesn't want to customize its warranty contract in every state -- so it simply provides for a bail-out provision which complies with the most liberal bail-out requirement in any state in which it sells its warranty. Now, California may be one of the state's with the most customer-oriented bail-out requirement. [You know ... all those crazy, liberal, hippy legislators in California . . .. :P ]
What this means is that, if Honda has to do it, its very possible that your third-party contract also has to provide for such a bail-out period. Check carefully and, if necessary, you might want to check with a consumer-oriented private attorney -- or, better yet, the consumer protection division at the attorney general's office. The attorney general's office won't give you legal advice -- but they likely can point you in the right direction for determining what the law is.
Sounds like the dealership employees lie a lot and are pretty sleazy to sell a third party service contract with those terms and priced higher than HondaCare. The OP didn't say he'd been told it was Honda Care-he knew what he was buying. It's just that hindsight's 20-20 and he's realized that he should have shopped around.
Most service contracts sell for much higher prices than I've seen on this board for the discount HondaCare plans. It's not sleazy, it's business. (ok-that could be the same thing...;)) Most of the contracts I've seen were sold for between two and three grand.
People have to be more careful before signing papers or just leave without signing.
I agree, it was definitely hindsight for me-not necessarily having been lied to. I understand that the final extras (warranties, paint protectant, alarm systems) are how the dealership makes their money and I just didn't research it enough ahead of time.
Just wanted to update that I got a hold of the finance manager today and was able to cancel the warranty, no questions or hasseling. He faxed over the form for me to sign right away. I was pretty impressed as I was fearing a big fight! Now I'm completely happy with my car purchase.
Effective april 1st 2008 Honda has mandated that ALL honda care websites must be shut down or face expulsion from the program. The reason for this decision is that a few large and vocal dealers on the Advisory board complained that they were losing sales to the online sites. Honda has agreed with this position and ordered the shutdown. Simply put, this will result in no options of purchasing online.
But that would not stop customers from calling those dealers who were advertising on line and getting a quote and buying over the phone. If they try to mandate that you have to buy it from the same dealer that you bought the car from, then Honda HQ is in DEEP trouble. That would be a HUGE PR DISASTER.
But that would not stop customers from calling those dealers who were advertising on line and getting a quote and buying over the phone.
Yes, but chances are the dealers that offer the low prices on the internet now, will not be offering the same prices via phone. They are able to sell them at a low rate due to volume pricing. Plus, phone sales require a much higher overhead---paying somebody to answer the phone, answer all of the questions, listening to people hem & haw----the profit margin just won't be there at those rates.
bernardiwarranty.com still says that Honda MAY prevent them from doing it as of April 1st, but it doesn't have anything definite yet.
At a price higher than what is being offered online, I would definitely say no to Honda Care and take my chances.
True - class-action lawsuit already in the works. The policy allows for no loopholes. After three infractions the offending dealer loses the ability to administer Honda Care.
call your local honda dealer and ask for the business office. Ask them if they received a pamphlet on "Honda Care and Acura Care Vehicle Service Contract Internet Policy and Guidelines" effective April 1st 2008
I don't doubt that you are correct -- but can you verify how you learned this information. As you may have experienced yourself, not everything posted on a web forum is true . . . .
Comment -- if any of you work at dealerships who sell on-line HondaCare warranties - look carefully at your contracts with Honda (or whoever licenses the HondaCare warranty)- I wouldn't think that Honda can unilaterally decide to limit the ways in which its dealerships make sales. I would think, without knowing, that this is a matter of detailed contractual obligations. And, if the contracts aren't specific, I don't think Honda can just decide to construe them against innovative dealerships who are making more sales. Courts tend not to like to interpret contracts so as to permit monopolies and/or to discourage the transfer of information among consumers -- its directly contrary to an open market system -- contrary to our beloved capitalistic foundation and cuts at the throat of America. . . . . . By God people -- raise you voices -- this is an affront to the very fabric upon which America was built ----- hahahahha :P
have the memo in hand- class action lawsuit underway. i didnt say i agreed with the policy- in fact, its archaic and sets the auto industry back to the stone age. But what of the dealers that do join the lawsuit ? Hmmm. Do you think Honda keeps score in these skirmishes ? You bet they do.
Interesting and good point! Perhaps not worth it for dealerships who don't sell a lot of warranties via the web. I'll bet Succuci and Bernardi(sp?) are the first named plaintiffs. Absent very clear language in Honda's contract which really puts the screws to the dealerships, I'll bet the dealerships have a strong argument against Honda's ability to prevent them from making sales via the web (or at least advertising via the web). As you said, Honda is apparently trying to move themselves back into the stone age! Perhaps we'll see the end of the internet sales department soon??? :confuse:
Agreed- IF the dealerships push the issue im sure they can win in court..... but at what cost ? Manufacturers can make life miserable on dealers if they so choose.
True, but the consumers can make life difficult for Honda as well. When word really gets out about this, warranty sales will go down the tube. Might be a good story for USA Today to write about........
Comments
Bernardi gave $30/off accesories with warranty purchase, so I got floor mats, cargo tray, and wheel locks for $205 with shipping included. They sent a link to UPS tracking which says they're to be delivered today. It took longer from MA to WA but worth it to save $$.
In the meantime, I ordered door moldings and touch up paint from HandA which also came with a UPS tracking email and arrived yesterday. I have to wait until it's warm enough to install them.
So far so good with both Bernardi and HandA.
I'm looking to buy both the extended warranty (Bernardi) and the all season floor mats/cargo tray.
Where did you find a cheaper price on the mats/tray and how did the shipping costs play a factor?
Thanks so much,
Michael
Are they saying you can only buy from the place you purchased your vehicle from?
What if you bought your car used?
What if you moved?
I don't think they will do this - it'd be about as prudent as telling people what dealership they can service their car.
If it's just the new car purchase where they are making this limitation, then my advice would be to hold off till you're near the end of your factory warranty.
If that happens then the online dealer probably will not make enough bulk sales to sell at the very low margin he's been selling them at.
After April 1st, you could probably still call Bernardi if you knew about them from before, but who knows if they'll still sell it to you at the same price via a phone sale. They have to pay a guy to answer questions like is this a real deal and he'll have to listen to many people a day blabber about how they're not sure if they really need one. They'll probably sell far less than the web-site does on it's own. Currently somebody takes a little time to process whomever bought them online and they make good money from that.
By banning internet sales, Honda dealers are hoping that the really, really, cheap warranties will be a thing of the past...
Cargo Tray, Black $67.47
Mats, Black $88.44
-------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal $156.11
Tax $0.00
Shipping $15.87 (not sure if this varies by zipcode)
Handling Charge $4.95
-------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL $176.93
This was coming up cheaper than HondaPartsDeals.com, but it is actually just over $6 more expensive than Bernardi ($170.98 after $25 discount) to my zipcode in Iowa. I priced it out before buying, but now it isn't the best deal. Wonder why the change. Maybe I entered the wrong zip before? I would just run the numbers at a few different sites. Some people have said that if you actually call the dealers that own the sites, they may give you a better deal also. Good luck.
Edit: I remembered why this was the cheapest. I had decided at that point that I probably wasn't going to get the warranty. So this was the best deal without the extra discount. Sorry for the confusion.
The internet dealer where I bought it from e-mailed me a form that they had signed. They told me to fill out the form and fax it to the Honda corporate office with the mileage verification form of the car that I traded in.
I faxed it on Feb 27th and today I had the refund check in the mailbox. So that's 9 days total turnaround time which I was very pleased with.
Thanks
SG
SG
Verbal promises do not matter,
I am reading from my new Honda Care that I got for my new car. It says, if you want to cancel within the first 60 days, just return to your dealer and fill out a cancellation form and you'll get a full refund. After 60 days it's prorated.
Keep in mind that if you financed the vehicle and the Honda Care, they may send the refund to your financing company and not you.
They are offering 08 Pilot $0 deductible for $615 ($640 minus the $25 incentive at purchase). The $640 price is the same however they are giving the $25 incentive at purchase instead of to be used for parts.
I want just make sure is a reliable place to buy the warranty. I appreciate any feedback. Thanks.
Consumer Reports picks best new and used cars
Consumer Reports' annual auto issue is out and Clark is giddy with excitement. The April '08 issue definitively says that extended warranties aren't worth the investment. Clark has historically been neutral on extended warranties for vehicles, but now he'll have to revise his opinion. Only 20% of people ever recoup the cost of the warranty vs. the cost of repairs over the lifetime of a vehicle. If you're buying a Mercedes, you'll have the best chance (about 40%) in that regard. Other vehicles where a warranty may be a smart move include Pontiacs, Jeeps, Chryslers, Buicks and Dodges.
In other news, there's a new champ when it comes to reliable small cars: Hyundai Elantra. Other top picks included the Honda Accord (family sedan); Toyota Prius (hybrid); Toyota Sienna (minivan); and Hyundai Santa Fe (SUV). American cars are getting more reliable, but they're not quite on par with the Japanese vehicles yet.
When it comes to the best used cars, they're all Japanese: Toyota's Prius, Highlander, RAV 4 (4 cylinder), Corrolla and Honda's Accord (4 cylinder). A new category this year was vehicles that are unloved, but good to own. This category was dominated by Korean vehicles such as the Kia Rondo and the MAZDA5.
I did the same thing, bought the policy when I bought the car, didn't know any better....after I found out how cheap I could get it, I went back to the dealer with the cheaper price, and asked them to either match it, or cancel it. They hemmed & hawed for a while, but finally canceled the policy, wrote up a new one for the cheaper price, and refunded me the difference.
Go for it, you have the legal right to cancel and buy it cheaper for 60 days!!
Miles Cost Mile/Year Cost per mile Cost/month Cost/Year
60000 $390.00 12,000 $0.0065000000 $6.5000 $78.0000
80000 $555.00 16,000 $0.0069375000 $9.2500 $111.0000
100000 $670.00 20,000 $0.0067000000 $11.1667 $134.0000
80000 $615.00 13,333 $0.0076875000 $8.5417 $102.5000
100000 $810.00 16,667 $0.0081000000 $11.2500 $135.0000
120000 $910.00 20,000 $0.0075833333 $12.6389 $151.6667
80000 $700.00 11,429 $0.0087500000 $8.3333 $100.0000
100000 $995.00 14,286 $0.0099500000 $11.8452 $142.1429
120000 $1,095.00 17,143 $0.0091250000 $13.0357 $156.4286
100000 $1,075.00 12,500 $0.0107500000 $11.1979 $134.3750
120000 $1,170.00 15,000 $0.0097500000 $12.1875 $146.2500
I also plan to use my new CitiCashReturns card to get an additional 5% cash back. They have a sign-up bonus right now where you get 5% back on ALL purchases for the first three months. Check it out man!
Only 20% of people ever recoup the cost of the warranty vs. the cost of repairs over the lifetime of a vehicle. If you're buying a Mercedes, you'll have the best chance (about 40%) in that regard.
...bears repeating.
The report also doesn't break out the stat by each make and model. I'm assuming there are plenty more pieces of equipment that can fail on a 4X4 Pilot compared to a little Fit. The same can be said on hybrids. I'm sure something horribly expensive could break on a hybrid compared to a normal engine.
I'm willing to put down $1000 for 100,000 mile warranty. I'm sure something will break in that time. How much? Why? When? Where? Those are all variables you have to consider yourself. In 7 years the $1000 I put down today will most likely mean nothing. That is also to not mention that we've already saved thousands of dollars by reading posts on this site already. It could really be a wash at some point. Just my $0.02. I'm sure opinions vary widely from person to person. Cheers!
The people who created these HondaCare policies have thought this through and have priced the wholesale price they charge the dealers at a level that they will come out ahead over the long run.
Just consider that you are paying the $1000 or whatever it costs to make yourself feel better if you are the type who will be stressed out at 36,001 miles losing sleep over what might go wrong.
Yes, but even if Honda Care put a typical profit margin of 15% perhaps, that means the average user is still getting 85% value if they buy it near wholesale at one of the on-line sites.
And as joeyjoejoe points out that's far higher than the 20% Consumer Reports claims the average user gets in value.
However, if you are one to worry about it and take individual anecdotal experiences from people who say the warranty they bought had more than paid for itself, over the compiled stats of large numbers or people, it may be worth it for intangible "peace of mind."
The number of people getting discounted (i.e. Bernardi.com) contracts is small compared to the number of people buying them at full price. I'm constantly amazed at the number of contracts (both aftermarket and OEM that come through here that people have paid $2500 or $3000 on. Yikers! Very few things are sold with a mere 15% profit margin-that would be silly. You can't pay your workers with that kind of profit!
In my experience (at a GM dealer-7 years), the number of people who buy contracts and then have zero claims is astounding. (what really kills me is the number who trade in a vehicle before the warranty is up-and they've bought a service contract for 7 years/100k miles) In the time I've been here, maybe 10 people have gotten close to or exceeded their purchase price. I've also had several people tell me they are thrilled by all their contract has paid for, only to find out everything they've had done was covered by warranty and not by their service contract. I pointed this out to a fellow once and he said 'oh well, it's still the best money I ever spent!' Okey dokey then!
If you had put the money for the last three extended warranties in the bank, you would now have all that money and could use it towards repairs if the next car is the one that has issues.
I'm not a fan of the 'service contract', regardless of how much you pay for it. I don't like putting my money in other people's hands and hoping for a return. There is no guarantee of return with a service contract. You're buying 'peace of mind', which is something intangible that I rarely am willing to pay for. With an aftermarket service contract, you're not even really getting that, you get the illusion of 'peace of mind'.
I used to say I'd never buy a service contract, but I did think of a situation where I might.
When my dear niece or nephew go off to college, if they have newer cars, I might be inclined to buy a GMPP Major Guard with 0 deductible. I might even buy the Smartcare oil change/tire rotation thing to encourage them to maintain their hotrods. Sort of prepaying for repairs/maintenance on their behalf.
That would only be if I couldn't come up with a cool graduation gift.
Am I any smarter than them for using my money on an extended warranty? No. Would someone actually investing the money and not touching it for the long term be considered smarter than me? Probably.
In my situation I would probably invest the money (equal to a portion of my tax refund or the upcoming economic stimulus) to use towards a house in a few years. If you consider that plan of earning around 5% on a CD, money market account, or high-yield savings account, that would yield me only $160 or so over three years. I'd rather be down $1,160 and have the 7 year, 100,000 mile warranty. Sorry for the random thought. Just a personal opinion.
I expected the usual mob here to pile on the fear that everyone should buy a warranty because they had reason to use one weather or not they can admit they are the minority and not the majority.
Alot of it depends on the car you drive. And if you use the Pilot for example and see just how well the Pilot rates in reliability (according to Consumer Reports data) you'll see that an extended warranty for this vehicle isn't a good bet.
So if you're a worry wart who can't sleep well without the warranty, then perhaps you should go for it.
When you do, it says it will tell you that you do have a 60 day cancellation option, and your local dealer should not be able to override that.
(See page 4 of this sample contract)
http://www.myhondawarranty.com/Honda_Care_Warranty_Sample.pdf
You do have to cancel through the dealer and as the last poster described, you at least need to get them to sign the cancellation form, even if you send it straight to Honda Care.
Well, it would obviously be tougher to cancel if they have you signing something saying that you agreed to those terms. If however, they represented it as Honda Care when it wasn't, perhaps you can argue that was material misrepresentation. Did they have any Honda Care signs around or on their desk?
Does the warranty have any kind of pro-rate of unused time like Honda Care? Even if you had to pay a service fee for canceling, if they were able to pro-rate the majority of the amount, you might be able to cut your losses and get most of the money you spent refunded.
Also, there may be some sort of state laws that can protect you in CA. If they think that you're going to cause a big stink, they may just refund you so that you'll go away.
And don't go for that excuse about the finance manager being off. If you were buying a car today, you can believe they'd have a finance manager there.
People have to be more careful before signing papers or just leave without signing.
I have seen people post long complaints about catching dealerships in multiple lies and "mistakes" and still end up buying from them. Once you realize that you are at "one of those" dealerships, just leave instead of trying to see if you can outwit them to catch all their tricks.
What this means is that, if Honda has to do it, its very possible that your third-party contract also has to provide for such a bail-out period. Check carefully and, if necessary, you might want to check with a consumer-oriented private attorney -- or, better yet, the consumer protection division at the attorney general's office. The attorney general's office won't give you legal advice -- but they likely can point you in the right direction for determining what the law is.
The OP didn't say he'd been told it was Honda Care-he knew what he was buying. It's just that hindsight's 20-20 and he's realized that he should have shopped around.
Most service contracts sell for much higher prices than I've seen on this board for the discount HondaCare plans. It's not sleazy, it's business. (ok-that could be the same thing...;)) Most of the contracts I've seen were sold for between two and three grand.
People have to be more careful before signing papers or just leave without signing.
You got that right.
Just wanted to update that I got a hold of the finance manager today and was able to cancel the warranty, no questions or hasseling. He faxed over the form for me to sign right away. I was pretty impressed as I was fearing a big fight! Now I'm completely happy with my car purchase.
Effective april 1st 2008 Honda has mandated that ALL honda care websites must be shut down or face expulsion from the program. The reason for this decision is that a few large and vocal dealers on the Advisory board complained that they were losing sales to the online sites. Honda has agreed with this position and ordered the shutdown. Simply put, this will result in no options of purchasing online.
Yes, but chances are the dealers that offer the low prices on the internet now, will not be offering the same prices via phone. They are able to sell them at a low rate due to volume pricing. Plus, phone sales require a much higher overhead---paying somebody to answer the phone, answer all of the questions, listening to people hem & haw----the profit margin just won't be there at those rates.
bernardiwarranty.com still says that Honda MAY prevent them from doing it as of April 1st, but it doesn't have anything definite yet.
At a price higher than what is being offered online, I would definitely say no to Honda Care and take my chances.
I don't doubt that you are correct -- but can you verify how you learned this information. As you may have experienced yourself, not everything posted on a web forum is true . . . .
Comment -- if any of you work at dealerships who sell on-line HondaCare warranties - look carefully at your contracts with Honda (or whoever licenses the HondaCare warranty)- I wouldn't think that Honda can unilaterally decide to limit the ways in which its dealerships make sales. I would think, without knowing, that this is a matter of detailed contractual obligations. And, if the contracts aren't specific, I don't think Honda can just decide to construe them against innovative dealerships who are making more sales. Courts tend not to like to interpret contracts so as to permit monopolies and/or to discourage the transfer of information among consumers -- its directly contrary to an open market system -- contrary to our beloved capitalistic foundation and cuts at the throat of America. . . . . . By God people -- raise you voices -- this is an affront to the very fabric upon which America was built ----- hahahahha :P
But -- kinda!
Thanks for making your post!! Good info!