REPLY to Mitzij - I would love to show you the paperwork. But on the internet - believe me I have let my heart and soul on this website. I know it would show - yes you should get the money, but sir that would be all. It would not promise me my money. But I will try. Can you help me! Are you a lawyer? I do not have money for lawyer or time for small claims court. But, I am letting everyone know from my lesson. (what ever that lesson is).
I'm not sure we'll have access to the Forum's e-mail, but thanks for trying. I just wanted to see the text of the paper you signed, to see who exactly is obligated to give you your money back: the service contract company, the dealer, or a third party. I'm not a lawyer, I just wanted to read the text (and give others the opportunity to). We can't really give you solid opinions unless we can read the whole story.
Your right - I do not have access - I did send it through edmunds.com and I don't think it went through. Nevertheless, I will say that I have read both documents through and through and it only says between dealer/contractholder. Not one word on anything regarding 3rd party. So these guys are something. That's all - will I ever trust a dealer - absolutely not. That is pretty scary seeing we all have to buy a car. Now isn't it. Thank you so much for all the opinions I have received. deblyn52 :sick:
My friend has now purchased his fully loaded (no DVD player) Lexus Hybrid and wants a 7/100 zero deductible Platinum warranty. Any good suggestions for a fair price? The dealership he bought it with quoted him $2,300. I think that's too much. Is it? Edmunds has always helped me find good deals and dealerships to buy my warranties.
A past poster on this forum said to go on-line and search toyota-lexus. Watch me age on my dial up as I go for that, but I'll give it a whirl. Thanks!!
Sorry! Even if I could recall them, we're not allowed to provide contact names, However, two of the three dealerships are in Iowa City, IA and Greenfield, MA. The third was in Virginia. Good luck!
Hi, I bought my Buick 5 years ago, and purchased a GMPP warranty- 6yr/75k miles/0 deductible. I am almost at the 75k. My question is, can I extend that warranty another 2 years/100k miles? (2/25). I dont want to pay a lot of money for this and have debated selling the car. At the dealership where I bought the car, the only thing they offered me was a 3rd party, not as inclusive warranty for about $1700. I could use that money towards a new car! The reason I would want to keep the car is it is paid off and running well at the moment. However, in the past I have had problems with this car, even getting a new(rebuilt?) transmission from Buick(GMPP) under the warranty and am leery of keeping this car without a decent warranty. I would like to keep this car another year or two, but if I can't extend the warranty, out it goes! I'm kicking myself for not buying the 7yr/100k warranty when I bought the car new(would have been an extra $200). Do you think I could have any recourse with GM at this time, extending the warranty for the above mentioned? I would be willing to pay around 5-7 hundred dollars for the priveledge. Right now I think the car is running well and externally the car looks great, I would have no problem selling it for the right price. If anyone has any info on how to extend and "extended warranty" please let me know. Thanks in advance!
I have an 2005 Armada SE with about 35,000 miles on it and am looking to maybe get an extended warrantee through Nissan. I am the original owner. I'd like to have the best service they offer, I guess that would be bumper to bumper. I'd prefer not to have a deductable, but would do so if the cost differential is outrageous.
I'd like to extend the warrantee to about 100,000 miles.
What kind of price am I looking at? Can I negotiate? Any ideas of where I can go to get this info if not here?
Not sure if it is worth while to purchase additional coverage. If you are willing to pay $500-$700 for this coverage, why not just save the money and pay for the repairs yourself out of pocket? there are very few repairs that will be covered at this point that will exceed $700. If the car is paid off, just sock away the monthly payment along with the $700 you were going to pay for the additional coverage for a down payment on a new car. This way if the transmission does go, you have a nice down payment toward another car. OR you can even decide to get it fixed.
You are in a nice situation. You have a car that is paid off with only 75k miles. Even with a rebuilt transmission, the car should easily get you over 100k miles. I would not be in such a hurry to ditch this car simply because the warranty is about to run out. You even say the car is running well and looks great.
I don't know your financial situation but if it were me, I would keep driving it for the next year or so and then re-visit this again. i wouldn't even worry about the extended warranty since the only large item that it will cover is the transmission and quite honestly the rebuilt transmission may not be covered if you were to extend your coverage. You would have to check the language of this warranty very carefully as there may be a clause about "original" parts.
BTW what kind of Buick do you have and what other problems have you had? One thing you can do is check on the Buick forum to see what others are having problems with. I do this with my Olds Intrigue.
Ok, I went to my dealer for service on my 02 Chevy Trailblazer and I mentioned to him that I have the API Platinum Ext Warranty. He told me that API was being bought by another company and that they were not paying any claims and that I'd have to pay the dealer for the repairs and then submit the claim to API. After getting the diagnosis today and asking some more questions about API, I started to get suspicious of what the service advisor was telling me, so I did a Google search and found a brief post on another forum that API went bankrupt. Does anyone have any information about this? Thanks.
He told me that API was being bought by another company and that they were not paying any claims and that I'd have to pay the dealer for the repairs and then submit the claim to API.
Don't know if they are in BK or not but make sure you get prior apporval for the repair or if they are like mos after markets they can deny the claim. Call the phone number on your Service Contract and ask BEFORE they begin the work.
Did you buy the warranty from that dealer? If so, sometimes you can negotiate with the dealer and get them to pick up some of the costs. Welcome to the club, some of us had Warranty Gold when they went bankrupt.
Ok, API is not necessarily bankrupt, but they are out of business. I was able to get through to someone at their 800# and found out that their insurance company who backed the warranties is paying out claims to dealers, however, they are paying by check which many dealers won't accept. They are accepting claims filed by customers, but, of course, you have to pay the dealer out of pocket first.
I did buy the warranty from the dealership that I use for service. They were dishonest with me initially the other day saying that API was being bought out by another company and not paying claims. When I found out that the insurance company was indeed paying claims, but the dealer wouldn't accept their paymeny by check, I got pretty pissed and raised hell with the dealer. I got a sheepish phone call at about 7pm from my service advisor who said that he called API and as of today, they are paying claims. Coincidence, huh? Not. They've been paying claims, the dealer just didn't want to wait for their check.
I have to say that I've been pleased up to this point with the 7/100 ext warranty from API. It cost a pretty penny and I think I could have negoatiated the price down a little, but I've more than got my money out of it with no problem up until now with about 6k miles left on the warranty.
I am a former employee of API and it seems there is a lot of misinformation out there about what has happened with the company, and the ongoing scam.
API is a piece of a larger holding company, NServ Inc. Nserv is owned almost exclusively by James Hawk and his son, James Hawk Jr. Nserv consists of four companies, API (Automotive Professionals Inc), SRI (Service Resources Inc), BPI (Brokerage Professionals Inc) and IWS (Intercontinental Warranty Services).
API sells auto warranties through dealerships, IWS sells warranties through credit unions. These warranties are advertised as being backed by "major insurers". In fact, the vast majority of API's contracts, and ALL of the IWS contracts are backed by Marathon Financial, a risk retention group. It is critical that you understand this, in order to follow what they are trying to do.
Part of your warranty may have been the "GPR" or Guaranteed Price Refund. The GPR is a loser for the company... a real loser. And this has been known for over a year, actually closer to two years. Yet the company continued to sell GPR until 2/1/2007. And they shut down the business on 2/15/2007.
More importantly they continue to happily sell GPR through IWS today, along with those Marathon backed contracts through www.iwsgroup.com.
The way things are structured, the dealer sells you the warranty. There is a lot of fat in that price that you pay. A lot of fat. The dealer clips that off that top and hands over the rest to BPI. BPI skims some off the top, and then places some in an off shore account that is the "reserve" that is put in place for the dealer to pay claims. If the reserve goes negative... then the insurer has to pick up the tab.
BPI then sends the remainder to API as the price of the contract. Some of that money goes to the insurer as a premium for insuring the reserve account. The rest is API's profit. Then when you call to make a claim, you talk to SRI. And they charge a fee to handle that claim. That fee is paid by BPI who takes the fees back out of the reserve accounts.
All of these companies are in the same building... in the same room even.
Why it was setup that way became obvious when they pulled the rug on 2/15. It was incredible, cold hearted and cowardly what was done. They simply stopped answering the phones. But the setup prior to this was even more sickening. All through December and January they accepted GPR claims, and told customers their claim was approved and the checks were 'in the mail'. Right.
Then people had cars in for repair and were trying to call. Nothing. No message saying we're out of business. Nothing. Just a happy voice mail.
Thousands and thousands of voice mails came in. When the box got full -- they dumped them. I heard women crying on the phone, people begging for someone to call them back. Now keep in mind that the calls were coming into 'SRI' who continued to operate full tilt. They processed claims for Intercontinental Warranty Services and any API contract that wasn't backed by Marathon. But because it was known that Marathon would most likely not survive API's default, and couldn't pay the fee to SRI, they just acted like they didn't have to answer the phone.
All the same company. All the money goes into the same clowns pockets. The Hawks.
About a week after the mess started the Illinois Dept of Insurance shows up. They setup an office and start auditing.
Oh... and Allstate Insurance is onsite, because they backed about 70,000 contracts starting mid 06. They were a real piece of work too... they actually convinced API to continue to sell contracts the same day they closed. Yep... you got it... we stop taking phone calls on claims and are stiffing people right and left... but you could still unknowingly by an API contract. In fact I am almost certain that Hoffman Honda had been rolled over to Allstate. So probably while you were standing there screaming about being screwed by API they were still selling API contracts. There were certainly other dealers all to happy to screw people as fast as they could.
So the Dept of Insurance is really an interesting bunch. They basically can't find their rear using both hands. And they do NOT want API to go under because then they get handed the bill. Do you really think the state of IL wants to send money out of state to pay claims???? Hardly. The DOI begins making the company take claims calls. But almost everything is still routed to vmail.
Allstate wanted the DOI to go away. They actually instructed the claims adjusters to tell callers that got through to call the IL DOI and complain because they are the reason their claims are not being paid. And Allstate has lots of pull in IL. Their offices are right there.
So its was obvious early on that if API went under that Marathon would be dragged under along with them. Marathon just didn't have the ability to survive the hit.
But IWS continued to sell Marathon backed contracts as fast as they could. Along with GPR.
Think about what is going on... there is incentive for all the players to limit the damage and keep everyone moving along. The IL DOI doesn't want to see API or Marathon go under. Allstate wants to continue to sell these very lucrative auto warranties. The Hawks want to continue to sell Marathon backed warranties through IWS.
But somebody has to pay the bill. And whose not in the group above? You. So guess who got screwed.
This was a well thought out plan that was put in place a long time ago. You see the GPR portion of the contract is not backed by the insurer. Yeah.. its the sole responsibility of API and IWS to pay that out. Marathon is in a bind... Allstate offers to buy out the 'good' accounts on the cheap (the ones with non-negative reserves) -- minus GPR of course. So GPR customers and customers who happened to be unlucky enough to buy from a dealer with a lousy claims history are now being stiffed. Easier to sweep that under the rug.
From the Hawks point of view all they want is to keep IWS afloat. Intercontinental Warranty Services can still remain profitable for a while and they can begin to setup the same scam or a variation for the state of Florida.
Whatever you are hearing when you call into API is most likely a lie. I have heard unbelievable things. The story can change daily. Your best bet is to avoid API and IWS and purchase a factory backed extended warranty if you REALLY think you need one. Personally I will never buy one again.
Does anyone out there know what a Honda dealer would charge for 10 year 100,000 mile ($0 deductible) bumper to bumper warranties on those two cars? I'm wondering if the hybrid's higher expected maintenance and repair costs are reflected in the warranty prices.
From this website: http://www.jayhondacare.com/Civic.htm I found the Civic warranty costs $885. But the Civic Hybrid warranty is $935. That is for an 8 year, 100,000 mile, $0 deductible warranty on a car 2006 or newer and with 6,000 miles or less. It is a HondaCare warranty. But I still wonder what a dealer would ask.
Does anyone out there know what a Honda dealer would charge for 10 year 100,000 mile ($0 deductible) bumper to bumper warranties on those two cars?
If you get an extended warranty (AKA service plan) you want to get factory backed HondaCare and not a 3rd party warranty. The is no such thing as a "bumper to bumper" HondaCare plan, it does cover a lot of stuff but does have a long list of exclusions. You should read the list of what is covered and was is not before making a purchase.
There is a separate thread here to talk about Honda Extended Warranties: Click here
I have found that either Saccucci or Bernardi offer the best prices, but it always pays to check for yourself before you buy. Right now Saccucci charges $940 for the longest term $0 deductible plan (8 yrs, 120k miles) for the hybrid and $890 for any other Civic - so not a lot of difference. One reason for the close price is that many of the hybrid components are covered from the factory by an 8 yr / 80k warranty. In some states the battery pack is covered up to 10 yrs/ 150k.
I have no idea what your local dealer would charge for this, the answer most likely is a lot more. You do not have to buy the HC plan at the time of the purchase and do not have to buy it from the dealer that sells you the car. Buy online and save lots or money, or print the online prices and get your dealer to match them.
Since the HC is not much different, what you have to calculate is how long it will take you to pay back the extra cost of the hybrid over a normal Civic. The hybrid may set you back $3k or more over an EX sedan - a lot more if your local dealer is having no trouble selling hybrids. You can't believe the EPA numbers on hybrids - even after the adjustment. You also have to consider your driving style, drive a hybrid as most folks drive and you will not get close to EPA numbers.
With 12k miles per year at $4 per gallon, you might pay $1,371 for gas in the EX (using 35mpg and 12k miles per year to figure) and you might pay $960 in the hybrid (using 50mpg). If you save $411 per year and pay $3,000 more for the hybrid you will break even after 7.3 years or 87,591 miles. That is at $4 per gallon which is way high for TODAY.
At some point the battery will have to be replaced and that would cost more than you have likely saved over the life of the car. Resale value is another unknown - short term (under warranty) the hybrid might strong and be really strong as gas prices rise. Way down the road when out of warranty, it is likely it could be well under the EX since the needed repairs would be so high and we have no track record.
For these reasons most 3rd party banks are still not leasing hybrids.
Make the call for yourself, but the HC price will not be a factor.
Thanks for taking the time to post all of that info. It's truly amazing. I'm going to see if my dealer is still selling those API warranties, and if so, I'm going to report them to the state's AG's office for fraud.
This is the first time that I've bought an ext. warrantry and after negotiating a good price for my Trailblazer, I regretted not trying to negotiate the price of the API warranty. I just didn't realize how much "fat" was built into the price. Overall, based on the service history of my SUV, I've gotten more than my monies worth from the ext warranty. However, I got lucky. If I had bought it in the last few years and was just getting out of the factory warranty and into the ext. warranty period, I'd be screwed and out the money.
Next time, if I do buy an ext warranty, it will be a factory based warranty. It's funny how my dealer didn't even make me aware of the existence of a factory based warranty. All they did was push the API warranty on me. Thanks to your post, now I know why - they make alot of money on them. In the end, after my aggressive prodding, they accepted payment from APIs ins. company. I'm wondering if they even wind up getting paid, although I couldn't really care less. Thanks again for the info.
Next time, if I do buy an ext warranty, it will be a factory based warranty. It's funny how my dealer didn't even make me aware of the existence of a factory based warranty. All they did was push the API warranty on me.
They didn't tell you because it is a better contract for not that much more money. The only thing you can sell a AM service contract on is price. If you are looking at it from a value for dollar stand point the factory contract is better every time. cheaper is not always better
Are you sure you are with AAA and not AA? Which State are you in? I called my AAA auto club and they said they do not offer EW. Other people on this site confirm this info.
Yes AAA! Called their national headquarters in Heathrow Fl.They gave me an 800# to call. This is part of their "Member Care" program. At this number there is a provider with more that 1 warranty co. available. They said that they would recommend the co. that was had the best policy for my particular car as they could quote from more than 1 provider. The best time to buy a policy is before 12,000 mi. as after that price goes up and coverage goes down. My warranty co. is Interstate National Dealer Services. 800 942-0400 Have 7 yr'100,000 mi coverage 0 deducts. Including extra electronics coverage (my car is loaded with $15,000 of extras,mostly electronics)....$2909. This takes me to Jan 2014. As my car was 2 1/2 yrs old at the time I have an additional 5 1/2 yrs after MB warranty runs out. You also can get 12 months to pay at no interest. If you call ask them what they have in the way of promotions. I have to rely on AAA that they know what they are endorsing.
I agree with you Dwynne! Go with the OEM Factory warranty. There are too many horror stories of bankrupt warranty companies where people THINK they are getting a better deal by saving a few bucks!!! Not only that, half the shops won't even bother to honor those OTHER warranties. :sick:
I had very good luck collecting repair money both before and after the extended warranty company went bankrupt. The state has a fund set so claims can be paid even if insurance companies go bust. Two Ford dealers honored the warranty several times. I was never refused on a claim. Over $10,000 was paid out in total.
That's a good post,joe131; however, who wants to go thru that hassle. I have never heard of an OEM factory warranty going bankrupt and then having to go to the STATE to get repairs!!!!
No, no hassle. It was seamless from my side. The dealership knew how to file for payment. No effort needed on my part. The warranty was not OEM. It was from an aftermarket 3rd party company purchased at a credit union about a year after I bought the new car.
Consider yourself blessed (or very very lucky)... as there are too many horror stories on the net about bankrupt out of business "NON OEM" 3rd party warranties.
I bet you are right. A run of good luck does not usually last very long. I don't think I'll ever buy another 3rd party contract like that. If I feel the need I'll buy a manufacturer backed warranty next time. Some of the new car warranties are so good now I may not feel the need at all. I can just replace the car when the warranty is about over.
Yes there is a reinsurer. I checked with MB re an extended warranty before I bought this one and was told there was NO factory EW. Only when you buy the car can you buy one and the price was VERY HIGH for a short time. Only an aftermarket through the dealer and the price on that was MUCH higher and for a SHORTER time. I plan to keep this car indefinately so this was my best alternative after I checked out many other sources. So far no problems with the car----it will soon be 3 yrs old. Great car!
Could anybody point to good place to buy the Toyota Extended Warranty? We just bought a RAV4 in California and are looking at getting an extended warranty on it. Thanks!
What you want is called "Toyota Extra Care" and can be purchased from any Toyota dealer. While I can point you at several CHEAP online HondaCare dealers, I can't tell you the best place to buy for a Toyota or Scion.
Google up Toyota Extra Care and start getting quotes. One that came up for me is this link and they want $1,055 for a $0 deductible platinum 7yr/100k mile plan.
I would only get the premium, as you don't want to pay all that money and later have them tell you some key engine part is needed and is not covered. The site I linked (and many others) show was is covered with each plan - premium covers the cat, exhaust gaskets, air valves, etc that the lesser plans do not.
When you find the best place, report back - I have a Scion xB and might want to buy coverage for it at some point
I'm an ex Chrysler Corp. employee and I worked in the service side of a regional office. I saw and heard the complaints of how dealers sold, or people picked up extended warranties that were not OEM backed warranties. Many many times I heard of the companies going BK and there was nothing that could be done, or it was such a hassle to get a claim paid that people just gave up. YES OEM contracts will cost more in many cases, but that's what you get in return for a stable company that will always be there to fulfill the agreement. Shop the Internet and do a search for whatever make your car is (example: honda extended warranties) - many times you'll find a real dealer that is selling the exact OEM warranty over the Internet at a steep discount. They mark up the warranty a few $$ over cost and sell tons of them. It's a simple volume business for them, just a paperwork process and a stamp. You'll be glad you did the research and have an OEM backed contract years from now.
I have a 2004 Jaguar X-Type, 24,000 miles. What extended warranty plan would you recommend? Do you know of any "honest" extended warranty companies? Reading through this forum, I just don't know who to trust.
As a start you should get the name of the plan Jaguar sells at their dealerships. Either go to the Jag website, or contact you local dealer and ask them about the coverage plan that is backed by Jaguar - they all 'names' i.e. Honda Care is the factory backed Honda plan. If the dealer is close to you stop in and get a brochure and read what options are available - 'silver' 'gold' 'platinum' - look at the time/mileage that you figure you'll keep the car, and then select the deductible. I ALWAYS recommend the $0 deductible. There is usually a very minimum up-charge for the $0 deduct vs. the $50 or $100 deduct. If you have a $100 you are more apt not to bring you car in when you hear a noise or something acting a little different, you know you'll owe them $100 is the repair is over $101. With a $0 deduct, ever creak, noise, or driving performance issue is something you won't hesitate to bring it in and have checked out. THE FACTORY BACKED WARRANTY IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO.
Dennis, I was on a RAV4 owners website- www.rav4world.com and there is an active thread on Toyota extended warranties in the "4.3 general Forum". Anyhow, lot of people have bought extended warranty (Platinum Plan) from Toyota of Greenfield in Greenfield, MA. 7 yrs/100 K miles for $805 with 0 deductible. Since I cannot post the contact info here, anyone interested can check out the above website and the thread or do a search on that site.
Thanks, I got your info before and got this quote:
I am currently offering the Toyota Platinum 7 yr / 100,000 mile Extra Care plan w/ $0 deductible for $745.00 on the Scion xB, which is the longest plan available in both years and mileage.
I have not really started looking, since with Toyota/Scion you have until the base warranty runs out to buy one - so I have a while to go. Compared to a similar HondaCare plan for a Fit or a Civic this seems a decent price.
I have a C55 running out of factory warranty in 6000 miles. I got into a crappy balloon loan and can't get out in one piece for another 2.25 years. I expect to put 70K miles on the car by then. I am really thinking about an extended warranty, but the dealer priced it at almost $6000!!! Is there a decent aftermarket add on warranty available, or do I simply hope and pray for 2 more years sans breakdowns? Thanks, Adam
Have similar situation. I bought a warranty through AAA. Have not needed to use it so I can not give any experience;but I am trusting that AAA would not be using them if they were bad news. Good luck.
What is the name of the company providing the coverage and how much did it cost? I am really stressing over the possibility of a huge repair bill for engine or tranny work in the next couple of years. Thanks, Adam
Comments
A past poster on this forum said to go on-line and search toyota-lexus. Watch me age on my dial up as I go for that, but I'll give it a whirl. Thanks!!
5). I Currently have a GMPP on my vehicle, can I purchase more GMPP coverage ?
If your current GMPP plan has a minimum of three (3) months “AND” 3,000 miles remaining you can purchase additional GMPP coverage.
I'd like to extend the warrantee to about 100,000 miles.
What kind of price am I looking at? Can I negotiate? Any ideas of where I can go to get this info if not here?
Thanks in advance for any help...
You are in a nice situation. You have a car that is paid off with only 75k miles. Even with a rebuilt transmission, the car should easily get you over 100k miles. I would not be in such a hurry to ditch this car simply because the warranty is about to run out. You even say the car is running well and looks great.
I don't know your financial situation but if it were me, I would keep driving it for the next year or so and then re-visit this again. i wouldn't even worry about the extended warranty since the only large item that it will cover is the transmission and quite honestly the rebuilt transmission may not be covered if you were to extend your coverage. You would have to check the language of this warranty very carefully as there may be a clause about "original" parts.
BTW what kind of Buick do you have and what other problems have you had? One thing you can do is check on the Buick forum to see what others are having problems with. I do this with my Olds Intrigue.
Don't know if they are in BK or not but make sure you get prior apporval for the repair or if they are like mos after markets they can deny the claim. Call the phone number on your Service Contract and ask BEFORE they begin the work.
Ok, API is not necessarily bankrupt, but they are out of business. I was able to get through to someone at their 800# and found out that their insurance company who backed the warranties is paying out claims to dealers, however, they are paying by check which many dealers won't accept. They are accepting claims filed by customers, but, of course, you have to pay the dealer out of pocket first.
I did buy the warranty from the dealership that I use for service. They were dishonest with me initially the other day saying that API was being bought out by another company and not paying claims. When I found out that the insurance company was indeed paying claims, but the dealer wouldn't accept their paymeny by check, I got pretty pissed and raised hell with the dealer. I got a sheepish phone call at about 7pm from my service advisor who said that he called API and as of today, they are paying claims. Coincidence, huh? Not. They've been paying claims, the dealer just didn't want to wait for their check.
I have to say that I've been pleased up to this point with the 7/100 ext warranty from API. It cost a pretty penny and I think I could have negoatiated the price down a little, but I've more than got my money out of it with no problem up until now with about 6k miles left on the warranty.
API is a piece of a larger holding company, NServ Inc. Nserv is owned almost exclusively by James Hawk and his son, James Hawk Jr. Nserv consists of four companies, API (Automotive Professionals Inc), SRI (Service Resources Inc), BPI (Brokerage Professionals Inc) and IWS (Intercontinental Warranty Services).
API sells auto warranties through dealerships, IWS sells warranties through credit unions. These warranties are advertised as being backed by "major insurers". In fact, the vast majority of API's contracts, and ALL of the IWS contracts are backed by Marathon Financial, a risk retention group. It is critical that you understand this, in order to follow what they are trying to do.
Part of your warranty may have been the "GPR" or Guaranteed Price Refund. The GPR is a loser for the company... a real loser. And this has been known for over a year, actually closer to two years. Yet the company continued to sell GPR until 2/1/2007. And they shut down the business on 2/15/2007.
More importantly they continue to happily sell GPR through IWS today, along with those Marathon backed contracts through www.iwsgroup.com.
The way things are structured, the dealer sells you the warranty. There is a lot of fat in that price that you pay. A lot of fat. The dealer clips that off that top and hands over the rest to BPI. BPI skims some off the top, and then places some in an off shore account that is the "reserve" that is put in place for the dealer to pay claims. If the reserve goes negative... then the insurer has to pick up the tab.
BPI then sends the remainder to API as the price of the contract. Some of that money goes to the insurer as a premium for insuring the reserve account. The rest is API's profit. Then when you call to make a claim, you talk to SRI. And they charge a fee to handle that claim. That fee is paid by BPI who takes the fees back out of the reserve accounts.
All of these companies are in the same building... in the same room even.
Why it was setup that way became obvious when they pulled the rug on 2/15. It was incredible, cold hearted and cowardly what was done. They simply stopped answering the phones. But the setup prior to this was even more sickening. All through December and January they accepted GPR claims, and told customers their claim was approved and the checks were 'in the mail'. Right.
Then people had cars in for repair and were trying to call. Nothing. No message saying we're out of business. Nothing. Just a happy voice mail.
Thousands and thousands of voice mails came in. When the box got full -- they dumped them. I heard women crying on the phone, people begging for someone to call them back. Now keep in mind that the calls were coming into 'SRI' who continued to operate full tilt. They processed claims for Intercontinental Warranty Services and any API contract that wasn't backed by Marathon. But because it was known that Marathon would most likely not survive API's default, and couldn't pay the fee to SRI, they just acted like they didn't have to answer the phone.
All the same company. All the money goes into the same clowns pockets. The Hawks.
About a week after the mess started the Illinois Dept of Insurance shows up. They setup an office and start auditing.
Oh... and Allstate Insurance is onsite, because they backed about 70,000 contracts starting mid 06. They were a real piece of work too... they actually convinced API to continue to sell contracts the same day they closed. Yep... you got it... we stop taking phone calls on claims and are stiffing people right and left... but you could still unknowingly by an API contract. In fact I am almost certain that Hoffman Honda had been rolled over to Allstate. So probably while you were standing there screaming about being screwed by API they were still selling API contracts. There were certainly other dealers all to happy to screw people as fast as they could.
So the Dept of Insurance is really an interesting bunch. They basically can't find their rear using both hands. And they do NOT want API to go under because then they get handed the bill. Do you really think the state of IL wants to send money out of state to pay claims???? Hardly. The DOI begins making the company take claims calls. But almost everything is still routed to vmail.
Allstate wanted the DOI to go away. They actually instructed the claims adjusters to tell callers that got through to call the IL DOI and complain because they are the reason their claims are not being paid. And Allstate has lots of pull in IL. Their offices are right there.
next......
But IWS continued to sell Marathon backed contracts as fast as they could. Along with GPR.
Think about what is going on... there is incentive for all the players to limit the damage and keep everyone moving along. The IL DOI doesn't want to see API or Marathon go under. Allstate wants to continue to sell these very lucrative auto warranties. The Hawks want to continue to sell Marathon backed warranties through IWS.
But somebody has to pay the bill. And whose not in the group above? You. So guess who got screwed.
This was a well thought out plan that was put in place a long time ago. You see the GPR portion of the contract is not backed by the insurer. Yeah.. its the sole responsibility of API and IWS to pay that out. Marathon is in a bind... Allstate offers to buy out the 'good' accounts on the cheap (the ones with non-negative reserves) -- minus GPR of course. So GPR customers and customers who happened to be unlucky enough to buy from a dealer with a lousy claims history are now being stiffed. Easier to sweep that under the rug.
From the Hawks point of view all they want is to keep IWS afloat. Intercontinental Warranty Services can still remain profitable for a while and they can begin to setup the same scam or a variation for the state of Florida.
Whatever you are hearing when you call into API is most likely a lie. I have heard unbelievable things. The story can change daily. Your best bet is to avoid API and IWS and purchase a factory backed extended warranty if you REALLY think you need one. Personally I will never buy one again.
I'm wondering if the hybrid's higher expected maintenance and repair costs are reflected in the warranty prices.
Isn't the maintanence interval on all hybrids every 10K miles?
I found the Civic warranty costs $885.
But the Civic Hybrid warranty is $935.
That is for an 8 year, 100,000 mile, $0 deductible warranty on a car 2006 or newer and with 6,000 miles or less.
It is a HondaCare warranty.
But I still wonder what a dealer would ask.
If you get an extended warranty (AKA service plan) you want to get factory backed HondaCare and not a 3rd party warranty. The is no such thing as a "bumper to bumper" HondaCare plan, it does cover a lot of stuff but does have a long list of exclusions. You should read the list of what is covered and was is not before making a purchase.
There is a separate thread here to talk about Honda Extended Warranties: Click here
I have found that either Saccucci or Bernardi offer the best prices, but it always pays to check for yourself before you buy. Right now Saccucci charges $940 for the longest term $0 deductible plan (8 yrs, 120k miles) for the hybrid and $890 for any other Civic - so not a lot of difference. One reason for the close price is that many of the hybrid components are covered from the factory by an 8 yr / 80k warranty. In some states the battery pack is covered up to 10 yrs/ 150k.
I have no idea what your local dealer would charge for this, the answer most likely is a lot more. You do not have to buy the HC plan at the time of the purchase and do not have to buy it from the dealer that sells you the car. Buy online and save lots or money, or print the online prices and get your dealer to match them.
Since the HC is not much different, what you have to calculate is how long it will take you to pay back the extra cost of the hybrid over a normal Civic. The hybrid may set you back $3k or more over an EX sedan - a lot more if your local dealer is having no trouble selling hybrids. You can't believe the EPA numbers on hybrids - even after the adjustment. You also have to consider your driving style, drive a hybrid as most folks drive and you will not get close to EPA numbers.
With 12k miles per year at $4 per gallon, you might pay $1,371 for gas in the EX (using 35mpg and 12k miles per year to figure) and you might pay $960 in the hybrid (using 50mpg). If you save $411 per year and pay $3,000 more for the hybrid you will break even after 7.3 years or 87,591 miles. That is at $4 per gallon which is way high for TODAY.
At some point the battery will have to be replaced and that would cost more than you have likely saved over the life of the car. Resale value is another unknown - short term (under warranty) the hybrid might strong and be really strong as gas prices rise. Way down the road when out of warranty, it is likely it could be well under the EX since the needed repairs would be so high and we have no track record.
For these reasons most 3rd party banks are still not leasing hybrids.
Make the call for yourself, but the HC price will not be a factor.
Dennis
Thanks for taking the time to post all of that info. It's truly amazing. I'm going to see if my dealer is still selling those API warranties, and if so, I'm going to report them to the state's AG's office for fraud.
This is the first time that I've bought an ext. warrantry and after negotiating a good price for my Trailblazer, I regretted not trying to negotiate the price of the API warranty. I just didn't realize how much "fat" was built into the price. Overall, based on the service history of my SUV, I've gotten more than my monies worth from the ext warranty. However, I got lucky. If I had bought it in the last few years and was just getting out of the factory warranty and into the ext. warranty period, I'd be screwed and out the money.
Next time, if I do buy an ext warranty, it will be a factory based warranty. It's funny how my dealer didn't even make me aware of the existence of a factory based warranty. All they did was push the API warranty on me. Thanks to your post, now I know why - they make alot of money on them. In the end, after my aggressive prodding, they accepted payment from APIs ins. company. I'm wondering if they even wind up getting paid, although I couldn't really care less. Thanks again for the info.
They didn't tell you because it is a better contract for not that much more money. The only thing you can sell a AM service contract on is price. If you are looking at it from a value for dollar stand point the factory contract is better every time. cheaper is not always better
I called my AAA auto club and they said they do not offer EW. Other people on this site confirm this info.
The best time to buy a policy is before 12,000 mi. as after that price goes up and coverage goes down.
My warranty co. is Interstate National Dealer Services. 800 942-0400 Have 7 yr'100,000 mi coverage 0 deducts. Including extra electronics coverage (my car is loaded with $15,000 of extras,mostly electronics)....$2909. This takes me to Jan 2014. As my car was 2 1/2 yrs old at the time I have an additional 5 1/2 yrs after MB warranty runs out.
You also can get 12 months to pay at no interest. If you call ask them what they have in the way of promotions.
I have to rely on AAA that they know what they are endorsing.
If not, stay away - far, far away.
Dennis
Two Ford dealers honored the warranty several times. I was never refused on a claim.
Over $10,000 was paid out in total.
The warranty was not OEM. It was from an aftermarket 3rd party company purchased at a credit union about a year after I bought the new car.
Some of the new car warranties are so good now I may not feel the need at all. I can just replace the car when the warranty is about over.
I plan to keep this car indefinately so this was my best alternative after I checked out many other sources. So far no problems with the car----it will soon be 3 yrs old.
Great car!
Google up Toyota Extra Care and start getting quotes. One that came up for me is this link and they want $1,055 for a $0 deductible platinum 7yr/100k mile plan.
I would only get the premium, as you don't want to pay all that money and later have them tell you some key engine part is needed and is not covered. The site I linked (and many others) show was is covered with each plan - premium covers the cat, exhaust gaskets, air valves, etc that the lesser plans do not.
When you find the best place, report back - I have a Scion xB and might want to buy coverage for it at some point
Dennis
I was on a RAV4 owners website- www.rav4world.com and there is an active thread on Toyota extended warranties in the "4.3 general Forum". Anyhow, lot of people have bought extended warranty (Platinum Plan) from Toyota of Greenfield in Greenfield, MA. 7 yrs/100 K miles for $805 with 0 deductible.
Since I cannot post the contact info here, anyone interested can check out the above website and the thread or do a search on that site.
I am currently offering the Toyota Platinum 7 yr / 100,000 mile Extra Care plan w/ $0 deductible for $745.00 on the Scion xB, which is the longest plan available in both years and mileage.
I have not really started looking, since with Toyota/Scion you have until the base warranty runs out to buy one - so I have a while to go. Compared to a similar HondaCare plan for a Fit or a Civic this seems a decent price.
Dennis