Hello All,

I just bought my truck, and I can get an extended bumper to bumper warranty for 125k miles/10 years for $5k. Dealer is giving me some time to think about. I had my last truck 15 years, so I plan to have this truck long term.

It though Smart Autocare, Anyone have any feedback?

I have always been told to stay away from them. From pretty much everyone. I however bought one when I purchased my 2006 truck in used in 2011. I think it was $2500.00 for 4 years unlimited mileage. At 42 Months after purchase, my carrier bearing seized while towing and broke the tail housing, driveshaft, put an 8"x8" hole in the floor, pierced gas tank and ripped out brake lines. I made a claim that was just over $8000.00 (dealer price), the warranty paid in full minus $225.00.

That being said I think I was extremely lucky that it was paid and I dont think I would be that lucky again.

Also I think the repairs could have been done myself or at a shop without crazy dealer pricing and the bill would have been alot closer to my initial purchase price of the warranty of $2500

I got it on my newest car. $2500 for 10 years or 100,000 miles...I can fix pretty much anything that goes wrong by I'm really not feeling it as much anymore. Many of the components are getting stupid expensive and those alone would outprice the cost of the warranty. So no brainer for me. Bumper to bumper, 100% covered....so no out of pocket either....and when it expires, if the cost is reasonable, I'll extend it if I keep the car.....just for the peace of mind.....

banjo, is it a Diesel truck? If so I'd say get it, the emissions stuff is troublesome and VERY expensive to fix...….but so is everything else on late model cars/trucks....

Yes its a 2019 3500hd,

Bumper to bumper is 3yr/36000
Powertrain is 5yr/100000
Emissions is 5yr=50000

Works out to about 500 a year, which to me should mean I should have any cost other then wear and tear and maintainance

I honestly think that unless you have the means and capacity to fix it yourself, plus the desire to do so, they are a good deal as long as the price isn't too crazy. One repair can easily cost several times the cost of the warranty these days.....and it's not like everybody has several thousand dollars just laying around with nothing to do.....

I would shop around for some extended warranty companies I bet you could find a better deal

I do have some calls in to other companies, awaiting pricing, Also getting him to provide me the coverage details so I can see what the fine print is.

He provided me a price sheet that shows the rates based on months and miles. Not sure if it is true, but he said that he was providing me employee discount, there was only 300 difference between 4 years and 10 years

I guess I think different. Last new one I got anything emissions was covered for 100k. Everything else 5yrs 50,000 mi. So with 5 vehicles I saved $12500 to $25000 by not buying extended warranties. That will cover about anything so I take the gamble. Never have had full coverage insurance either so how much have I saved on that in 65 years of driving? + I saved all that interest money on those auto loans.

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That will cover about anything so I take the gamble.

Some of the tallest buildings in any given major city are owned by insurance companies. While it's not something I pursue, I don't ever recall hearing of an insurance company going out of business. Of course it happens but it's not a regular occurrence. Back when I was commuting overseas I use to buy flight insurance to pacify the wife, but ultimately it was money wasted. So generally I practice self-insuring as much as possible. However, wanting protection from having to do it yourself (I sure understand that) has a lot of merit and the insurance would provide that. You have the funds so at your age, I say go for it.

Definitely read the fine print. When I bought my 1.5 year old truck in 2018, the dealer offered the extended warranty to me as "bumper to bumper, same coverage as the GM factory warranty, just like an extension". Lying wench, I looked in the brochure and it was powertrain coverage only. On top of that, it had a bunch of "easy-outs" for them, like you had to keep receipts for every single maintenance, and all had to be performed at dealer, or in accordance with their guidelines. I go overkill on maintaining my vehicles, change oil & all filters, service trans, diffs, etc. All at about half the recommended intervals. I keep a flap from every filter box, write the date, miles, vehicle model, and what oil I used. But I don't keep the receipts for the oil & filters. I'd be damned if I was going to pay almost $3K, and have them not cover a major expense because I didn't lube the door handles with graphite at 30K miles... (I have heard a lot of stories about these 3rd party warranty companies not paying for various trivial reasons). So do some research before you sign up.
Bill, keep this thought in mind, and maybe look at other options: Most of the plans these days are not truly bumper-to-bumper, most are powertrain only. And one big thing they often do not cover is electronics. If you can find one that does, it might be worth paying a bit more.
I have no inclination to tear into the dash on my truck, with all the displays, cameras, remote start, heated & cooled seats, collision avoidance, lane departure sensors, wifi routers, bluetooth, satellite communications, etc, I think a plan that would cover that part of it might be something to consider...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: FootbrakeJim,

Banjo, there is a huge profit for selling dealership on these polices , I would shop around and negotiate with the dealer for best pricing if you decide you need one... Markup is over 65%.... In our dealership seems ridicules. We sell them in the deal to make the sale go though ( bargaining tool ) these are huge profit market makers in sales departments sometimes making more than the profit on the sale of the vehicle.....

Pretty sure I read somewhere that, on average, of every dollar collected in premiums by extended warranty companies, only 15 cents is ever paid out in claims. And based on what I've witnessed you have to fight like it's life and death to get them to pay any claim.


https://www.consumerreports.or...an-expensive-gamble/

The article is also interesting in that it lists BMW and Mercedes as generally unreliable compared to other vehicles.

Lastly, if the finance guy at the dealership is giving you the hard sell on a $5,000 extended warranty, ask him if he thinks you're likely have $5,000 worth of trouble with this vehicle, and if so, maybe you should think about a different manufacturer

So you’re saying that for $5000 the upgrade is this ??

Bumper to bumper is 3yr/36000 upgrade to 161,000 10 yr
Powertrain is 5yr/100000 upgrade to 225,000 10 yr
Emissions is 5yr=50000 upgrade to 175,000 10 yr

In all the above I added 125,000 miles to the standard warranty. Is this how it works ??

Only had one extended warranty and it was on a 96 Z/28 w/6spd. They did put a new rear end in it when it burned up a gear due to pinion leak.Pretty sure the time or two hindered that it hit 160 mph plus had nothing to do with it. LMAO.

They also ended up replacing the posi unit which ended up being they guy doing work did not use the posi lube spec.d. Anyone need a good posi unit out of 1996 z/28,only driven to church on sundays.

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Originally posted by markemark:
So you’re saying that for $5000 the upgrade is this ??

Bumper to bumper is 3yr/36000 upgrade to 161,000 10 yr
Powertrain is 5yr/100000 upgrade to 225,000 10 yr
Emissions is 5yr=50000 upgrade to 175,000 10 yr

In all the above I added 125,000 miles to the standard warranty. Is this how it works ??

No they extend bumper to bumper out to 125k, 10 years. Which ever comes first. The more I look at this, the more I think its a waste of money.

My truck was flawless through the regular warranty and also through the extended warranty. I called and talked to my friend who owns the dealership. He said why do you want to spend another 2500 bucks since you haven’t touched the thing? So, I didn’t. The next week we are headed to Pomona for the Winternationals and the transmission goes out. 6100 bucks later we’re on the road again.

If you have GEICO, look into their Mechanical Breakdown coverage. It is very reasonable $5-$7 a month and covers a lot of repair for a $250 deductible. I think it goes for 7 or 8 years and 100,000 miles. Not a bad deal for minimal monthly outlay.

quote:

Originally posted by banjo:

quote:

Originally posted by markemark:
So you’re saying that for $5000 the upgrade is this ??

Bumper to bumper is 3yr/36000 upgrade to 161,000 10 yr
Powertrain is 5yr/100000 upgrade to 225,000 10 yr
Emissions is 5yr=50000 upgrade to 175,000 10 yr

In all the above I added 125,000 miles to the standard warranty. Is this how it works ??

No they extend bumper to bumper out to 125k, 10 years. Which ever comes first. The more I look at this, the more I think its a waste of money.

X2.....

Banjo-How many miles are on it? Does it have a goose neck or fifth wheel in it. Also I would call USAA up and ask them about warranty coverage. How many miles a year will you use it? I have been a used car dealer for over 30 yrs. I have some experience in this stuff.