Buck

Hey guys I recently saw an add for a company called US Fidelis. They supply "aftermarket" warranty for vehicles whos factory warranties may have expired. I have 77k miles on my 04 F150. Do you guys think something like that would be worth it? Anyone have any experience with aftermarket warranties like this?

Triton v8

Funny you should mention that. I get these freakin' phone calls and voicemails telling me to buy an extended warranty. My truck is covered until 100K so I don't know why the heck they're calling me.

Buck

Ya I have gotten those calls before. But the one I was talking about was actually a comercial on TV and I called them to get a qoute. Their best coverage ended up being roughly $170 a month interest free until the coverage was payed off at around $3k total cost. gave coverage up to 140k miles or 5 years (My truck has 77k on it so just about 63k more miles of coverage or 5 years whichever hit first) That was the top tier coverage they had lower cost lower coverage plans......Anyone think this would be worth while or take my chances and hope any thing that may go wrong will ultimately cost less than what the total coverage would cost....?

Triton v8

IMO I wouldn't do it. $170 a month sounds like it's going to cost more than fixing stuff as it breaks over time. I have seen commercials about the aftermarket warranty but to me they seem like a waste.

Buck

kinda what I was thinking. Im just kinda paranoid. I plan on keeping this truck for quite a while through thick and thin thats the only reason I was considering it.

Hokie_PhD

One word - NO

First most of these plans are much more expensive than anything you'd normally pay. Think of it. They're companies in business to MAKE money. In other words, charge more than then pay out in payments to shops plus their expenses.s

Second, do you really think they'd sell you a plan if your truck is likely to have problems the first 5 years?

If you're really worried about it, why not take the money and put it in the bank each month. At $179/month you'd have a nice savings and actually have the money when nothing goes wrong. And if it does go wrong, you'd just take the money out of the account. In other words, just keep paying in (just don't be tempted to use it for other things). Get into the habit and you'd be in good shape in the long run.

Triton v8

Exactly^^^^ Just save the $170 a month and IF something does go wrong, you'll have the money to fix it and you'll be happier because you're not throwing your money to some company thet you've never heard of. You work hard for your money so why give it to some scam company??

Buck

Well first off What would I "normally pay?" Are you talking about dealership warranties? If so Im certain those are a bigger waste of money than this would be. My truck is far more likely to have problems in the next five years (in five years its going to be 10 yrs old) and it already has 77k miles so the coverage I was talking about would give it coverage until 140k miles which I think is pretty good peace of mind. A factory warranty only covers the first few years and only the first what....60k miles? Please....I would think this is more worth it than a factory one. Plus I don't look at it as any different than purchasing a health insurance plan for yourself. Of course they are out to make money, like every other company, but they bank on the fact that nothing will go wrong, thats where they make their money, If something goes wrong they fix it.....if not thats money in their pocket....just like any other insurance plan.

And just FYI the monthly cost of $170ish was only to be paid for 18 months interest free...not over the whole five year coverage.....so basically you would pay &170 for 18 months then have coverage for five years....Or you could just pay the entire cost up front and be done with it....keep in mind that was the top tier coverage they had cheaper plans that covered less stuff. Im mostly worried about powertrain.

But your idea of putting the money in a seperate bank account is not a bad idea...

2008F150Fx4Iowa

I am personally against any/all extended warranty programs, as every one that I have seen provides very helpful "outs" for the warranty provider. Allowing them to not cover on a technicality and still leave you screwed and with less money in your pocket.

As my vehicles get older, I just put aside some money, and am prepared for what might go wrong, and I also take very good care to do regular service.

Hokie_PhD

That $3060 that you'd pay for the "insurance" seems like a ripoff to me. Like I said, put it in the bank. Likewise, as soon as you pay off the truck keep making payments to yourself. Keep the truck until the maintenance costs are more than a new truck payment. And if you do things right, if you do what I suggest, you'll keep the truck long enough to either pay cash for your next one, or have a big enough down payment that you can get out of the financing trap.

FYI, I'm currently working on this. My new truck is being partly paid for by a HUGE amount of equity put in. Ideally, I'll keep it for at least 10 years and be without a car payment in a couple of years, and further this.

The key is to make smart financial decisions and to avoid financing whenever you can. Now the exception is when things are 0% or very low interest, but that's another discussion.