Buying an Extended Warranty from dealer out of state

[ktgerrr]

Brand new Subaru Crosstrek owner here, just purchased yesterday! Purchased the extended warranty at the recommendation of our mechanic. I was honestly not expecting to do it, so did zero research on pricing, etc before signing at the dealership.

 

After doing some searching of old threads on other Subie forums, I am still happy with my decision to have bought the warranty, but I am realizing I overpaid. But thanks to those forums, I also learned that the warranties are cancellable, you can buy from anywhere in the country, and there is quite the range in cost!

 

We got the gold plus 7 yr/ 100k/ $100 deductible for $2265. This morning I sent some emails and got quotes from a few different dealerships. The lowest from a well rated dealer across the country for the same SOA 7/100/100 gold plus extended warranty (not third party, etc) for $1255.

 

When I approached the dealership about this today, the finance manager said they could not come down on the price. Though he could not come up with any argument for why I should buy the same warranty from them for $1000+ more. He tried to tell me that I had to be "careful" about buying from an out-of-state dealer, because:

• I will find a great range of warranty prices no matter who we call. (Duh, that's apparent)

• Warranty services are not "as good" if you don't get work done at the dealership you bought the warranty at, so if I buy the warranty across the country then I would have to call them up when I need to get warranty work done. I reminded him that the day before they told us you can get warranty work done at ANY Subaru dealership, not just theirs. He agreed this was true, but had no other response.

• "Due to different regions in the country", it is best to get service done in the same place you buy your warranty from because that dealer can advocate better for the client. I asked him if that means if a client moves to our area from out of state, that they would not get the same service as I would if I kept my warranty with them. He said that wasn't what he meant, and basically repeated himself: Administrators(?) from the region you purchased your warranty in can "get better deals for the client in the event something is not covered by warranty" if you are getting service in that same region you bought your warranty. I told him it sounded like that means that not all clients are treated the same at their dealership, since it is not uncommon for people to move from area to area. He told me that wasn't what he was saying, and that I was twisting his words. But he could just not explain himself any better than this.

 

At this point he was trying to end the phone call with me, but was still refusing to come down on the price for the warranty or to provide any decent reason as to why I should keep my warranty with them. I confirmed that all I needed to do to cancel the extended warranty was to come in and change the paperwork, like I had read in this forum. He sounded surprised that I was even asking, and said yes. Maybe they will change their position on the price when we come in to actually cancel it, but probably not.

 

So:

 

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TL;DR

 

Has anyone had any experience with price shopping and actually purchasing an extended warranty from an out-of-state dealer? Do you have any feedback/tips? All the threads I could find referenced this as an option, but I didn't see anyone who had actually done it.

 

Does anyone have any experience with getting warranty work done after moving away from the area that they bought their vehicle/extended warranty? Any issues?

[MR_Loyale]

If the extended warranty is through Subaru, in state/out of state shouldn't matter. All the consumer groups generally recommend against getting an extended warranty though. Instead they say it pays just to take that money and keep it in an interest bearing account to cover any major repairs if needed. Please see the link below:

 

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2014/04/extended-warranties-for-cars-are-an-expensive-game/index.htm

 

 

The truth about warranty work, whether it is the original warranty or manufacturer extended warranty, is that no dealer likes doing that work because they get less compensation than they would if you paid for it out of pocket. And that dealer salesman is blowing smoke out his behind if he says you somehow will be treated special because you bought the warranty there. He will say anything to get you to buy it because he KNOWS in most cases you won't ever use it. And if four years down the road you do, no one at that dealership will even know your name. How could they possibly? In those four years or whatever, they will sell so many cars and stuff and the staff will change over so much that this fellow selling you (unless he owns the dealership)  will be off selling shoes or sailboats on the other side of the country. 

 

Subarus are in general very reliable so it is unlikely you will need the warranty beyond the original period. How long do you plan to keep this car? How long did you keep your last car? If you change cars frequently, an extended warranty is a complete waste. Sales people like playing on your fears. Ask them why they think their product is so shabby it will require an extended warranty.

 

 

If you are dead set on getting an extended warranty, never, ever, ever never never never get a third party warranty. If it isn't Subaru doing the warranty, run away. Third party warranties are a scam.

 

As you can tell, I have a pretty strong opinion on this matter. I bought my Subaru new in 1994 and still have it as my daily driver. I never needed an extended warranty. I never had a regular warranty claim either.  I will buy another new Subaru at some point and I will not buy any extended warranty. I will sleep soundly at night. Ahhhh. Life is good.

[ezapar]

Do you really plan to own your car more than 6 years?