Extended warranty - yay or nay

[leslie]

I have declined an extended warranty after some Campliters told me that any problems would show up on delivery. After correcting those problems, Camplites are so well built that there won't be anything wrong after that.

I am wondering what percentage of Camplites has warranty problems as they exit the factory.

[charliem]

[font size="3"]I generally opt out of extended warranties. They are basically insurance policies stacked in favor of the issuing company. But like any other self insurance you have to be prepared for the occasional out of pocket expense. Over the long haul you'll be money ahead.

I have had only four warranty issues. Two, a loose wire on an AC socket, and window latches that did not engage, I fixed because I could and they were cheap. Another was a gray water venting problem that I thought could involve removing the gray tank. I took it to Camping World and they fixed it under warranty coverage from LL. The problem turned out to be a sewer vent under the kitchen sink. They replaced it and all is fine. The most recent problem was the failure of the microwave oven. LL emailed the forms and The Collins Company replaced the microwave with no questions asked. No shipping the old one back for evaluation. I just mailed the power cord and the serial number tag back at their expense. I reinstalled the oven myself and it seems to be fine. Time will tell.
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[tinkeringtechie]

I agree with Charlie. The only time I buy warranties (insurance) these days is for my smartphone. Never had to use it, but I've had enough close calls that I feel it's worth it for the first year at least.

[dhrvcenter]

I can give a little insight to the extended warranty.  You are right that the factory will cover just about everything for the first year.  However, even though the construction of the camplite is about indestructible, the components are not.  Fridge, AC, Water heater, etc.  These items do break and it is no fault of Livin Lite.  It is covered for the first year, but after the first year, you're on your own.  This is where the warranty can be helpful.  The fridge is about $1800, AC unit about $950, Water heater, $700, etc.  These would have to be paid out of pocket.  The warranty company usually cost about the same as one of these repairs.  

Most people finance the cost of warranty into the purchase.  It usually adds $15 a month or so to the loan.  The odds are definitely in favor of the warranty company.  That's why they're in business.  However, they do pay out for repairs.  Just like insurance companies on your house, car, etc.  

It's not for everyone, but it is a valuable tool to many people.  

[fasteddieb]

I never buy extended warranties. Have not for my entire adult life.

The logic, as espoused by Consumer Reports, is that for the most part components fail for two primary reasons:

1) Manufacturing defects (also known as infant mortality)

2) Wear

The first tend to occur within the manufacturers's warranty period.

The second tend to occur outside of the scope of most extended warranties, and policies may even have exclusions for common wear items - like brake pads or even seals.

So, extended warranties generally cover you for the time period you're least likely to need it.

Certainly there are myriad "extended warranty success stories" where the purchaser came out way ahead. But statistically those must be in the minority, or the extended warranty companies could not stay in business.

I figure over my life I have probably saved $10k or even more (probably much more all told) by never buying extended warranties. So if and when my horror story occurs, I'm still ahead money in the bank.

I guess the one time it makes sense is if one could not afford a major repair, but could afford the extended warranty premium. That's what insurance is for - to protect against losses not easily handled without it. I don't think that's most of us here.

[admin]

I personally would rather take the money I would have spent on a warranty and put it away. In essence I'd rather self insure vs giving the risk to someone else. Especially when you consider that the risk is rather low that a pay out will be needed. I feel like an extended warranty is really just a mental comfort, and its easy to rationalize an extra $10 or $20 per payment when you are already dropping a good amount of money on an RV.

My last experience with an extended warranty did not end well. I had purchased a new lawn tractor from Lowes. It was a decent model and from a trusted brand but I went ahead and added the extended warranty (aka service plan) into the finance cost. After the first year it started to lose power and eventually failed to start. I was rather happy at that point that I had the coverage since I didn't count on having to get service done on the tractor in only one year. I called the company and they arranged for someone to pick it up and diagnose the problem. They knew what they were doing because they expressly said user negligence and fuel related issues were not covered. I figured since I had been using the tractor throughout the winter it couldn't be fuel and I expressly said I wanted to be contacted prior to any work done so I didn't worry about that exclusion. To make a long story short, I don't hear from the repair shop for three weeks, then when pressed I'm told its ready and I owe almost two hundred dollars because they claimed it was bad gas. The repair shop help my property hostage after doing unauthorized repairs and the warranty company washed their hands of it saying it was fuel related. It was a mess and everyone involved kept passing the blame to someone else. In short even if a extended warranty provides some piece of mind, it often ends up being more of a headache than its worth.

-Sean

[funpilot]

I created a thread on another approach to a warranty that created similar concerns as in this thread:

http://livinlite.proboards.com/thread/267/warranty

Essentially, the argument was that the preventative services that needed to be performed to keep the warranty alive were too expensive as they had to be done by a licensed service center.  In my case, I have access to one that does  not rip me off so I will be doing it.

[charliem]

[quote source="/post/2226/thread" timestamp="1406900404" author="@admin"]My last experience with an extended warranty did not end well.
-Sean[/quote][font size="3"]This is not related to warranty, but to bad gas. I have a Honda generator built around 1995. It got to the point where every year I had to take it to the shop because it wouldn't start. Every year it was the same answer: bad gas, even though I put fresh stabilizer in the gas each year. Eventually I had to pay for a completely new carburetor because it was clogged. After reading and talking to others I believe the culprit was and is Ethanol gas. I now keep a small amount of Ethanol free gas on hand and will stock up as hurricane season approaches. Even though the books say it's OK, I really believe small engines can not handle Ethanol. This is consistent with many locals with small engine equipment and boats.

I now return control of this thread to normally scheduled programming.
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[fasteddieb]

[quote source="/post/2227/thread" timestamp="1406901674" author="@funpilot"]Essentially, the argument was that the preventative services that needed to be performed to keep the warranty alive were too expensive as they had to be done by a licensed service center.[/quote]Pretty sure that's illegal. I can come up with the name of the act that precludes it when I get home.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson–Moss_Warranty_Act

Gotta love Google: [a href=""]http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson–Moss_Warranty_Act[/a]

[funpilot]

[quote source="/post/2229/thread" timestamp="1406911515" author="@fasteddieb"][quote source="/post/2227/thread" timestamp="1406901674" author="@funpilot"]Essentially, the argument was that the preventative services that needed to be performed to keep the warranty alive were too expensive as they had to be done by a licensed service center.[/quote]Pretty sure that's illegal. I can come up with the name of the act that precludes it when I get home.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson–Moss_Warranty_Act

Gotta love Google: [a href=""]http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson–Moss_Warranty_Act[/a] [/quote][p]I really hope you are right. Here is a link to the FAQs that state the requirement:[/p][p]
[/p][p][a href="http://www.rvwarrantyforever.com/Default.aspx?PageID=75"]http://www.rvwarrantyforever.com/Default.aspx?PageID=75[/a][/p][p]
[/p][p] 
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[tinkeringtechie]

[quote source="/post/2230/thread" timestamp="1406912040" author="@funpilot"][quote source="/post/2229/thread" timestamp="1406911515" author="@fasteddieb"]Pretty sure that's illegal. I can come up with the name of the act that precludes it when I get home.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson–Moss_Warranty_Act

Gotta love Google: [a href=""]http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson–Moss_Warranty_Act[/a] [/quote][p]I really hope you are right. Here is a link to the FAQs that state the requirement:[/p][p]
[/p][p][a href="http://www.rvwarrantyforever.com/Default.aspx?PageID=75"]http://www.rvwarrantyforever.com/Default.aspx?PageID=75[/a][/p][p]
[/p][p] 
[/p][/quote]I wonder what it would take for my garage to become a "professional repair facility".

[funpilot]

I actually asked that and they said the business must be licensed and have proof they are in the RV repair business.  Does not have to be a dealer.  

[tinkeringtechie]

[quote source="/post/2232/thread" timestamp="1406912555" author="@funpilot"]I actually asked that and they said the business must be licensed and have proof they are in the RV repair business.  Does not have to be a dealer.  [/quote]So any business license would do?

[pinstriper]

[quote source="/post/2228/thread" timestamp="1406908560" author="@charliem"][quote source="/post/2226/thread" timestamp="1406900404" author="@admin"]My last experience with an extended warranty did not end well.
-Sean[/quote][font size="3"]This is not related to warranty, but to bad gas. I have a Honda generator built around 1995. It got to the point where every year I had to take it to the shop because it wouldn't start. Every year it was the same answer: bad gas, even though I put fresh stabilizer in the gas each year. Eventually I had to pay for a completely new carburetor because it was clogged. After reading and talking to others I believe the culprit was and is Ethanol gas. I now keep a small amount of Ethanol free gas on hand and will stock up as hurricane season approaches. Even though the books say it's OK, I really believe small engines can not handle Ethanol. This is consistent with many locals with small engine equipment and boats.

I now return control of this thread to normally scheduled programming.
[/font][/quote][p]I dunno a lot about this, but I'm pretty sure I saw TWO kinds of stabilizer the last time I was in HD: one for ethanol gas and one for straight.[/p][p]
[/p][p]I run all my 2-strokes on premixed fuel, comes in a 2-quart can at HD. Has the right stabilizer and the correct oil mix ratio. Spendy, but I go through so little of it that I don't care. I've taken cans that have sat in my garage for 2 years and works fine. I've let it sit in the chainsaw over the winter, starts right up.[/p][p]
[/p][p]The only 4 strokes I have other than the cars are a riding lawn mower and a generator. I run the generator dry after use, and I keep 5 gallons of gas station gas on hand for the lawn mower, that I can throw in the generator in an emergency. If I haven't used it in 60-90 days, I top off the lawn mower and cars, then replace. So I always have fresh for that.[/p][p]
[/p][p]I don't trust myself to mix the correct ratios of stabilizer and risk letting it sit in an engine. I mean, its easy to mix, but I'd rather just use my scheme of always fresh and avoid the problem altogether.[/p][p]
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[funpilot]

[quote source="/post/2233/thread" timestamp="1406912668" author="@tinkeringtechie"][quote source="/post/2232/thread" timestamp="1406912555" author="@funpilot"]I actually asked that and they said the business must be licensed and have proof they are in the RV repair business.  Does not have to be a dealer.  [/quote]So any business license would do?[/quote]I would just call them and ask. Remember, it has to come from a dealer that paid for this coverage.  I do know it applies to both new and used RVs/trailers, just that it had to come from a participating dealer.  You do not have to go back to them to get the service.