Extended Warranty

[mikec03]

I just bought an extended warranty on my 2014 outback.   For $500, I bought the Classic warranty to cover 7 years 70K miles with $100 deductible.  This basically extends the power train warranty [5 yr 60K miles] for two years, so the net cost is $250/yr.  I did get a second quote from another dealer which was about double.

 

I'm posting this for the interest of people who might be thinking of and wondering about the cost of an extended warranty. I live in the midwest.

[Dj7291993]

In my experience as a technician, those aren't usually worth it. They tend to have a lot of ways of getting out of paying for things. Then even the things they do pay for, they don't cover as much as you'd think. Like on a Mini Cooper we had brought into our shop that ended up needing an engine. They payed for the engine after a couple of weeks of red tape, but they didn't pay for any fluids (oil, coolant), or anything they considered a maint. item, like spark plugs, water pump, ect.

 

I many times when we deal with them, they don't cover diagnosis, and they often find a way out all together. The higher tear ones should be better, but the cost starts to seem less worth it.

 

To give you some idea, part of the reason the Mini took long was because the warranty company had to submit it to their insurance.

[mikec03]

Yes Dj, I agree-they usually are not worth it.  I never bought an extended warranty before.  However for $250/y, I think its a good insurance policy given that I have some oil consumption already and there have been some reported CVT failures. The warranty if from Subaru Corp so I don't think that there will be any problem collecting on it. 

[coryl]

What most people don't realize is that you can negotiate extended warranty price as you can with most things. I bought my 4 year extended warranty with buy-back feature for $1800 when the listed price was $3500. This was the top tier warranty that covered pretty much everything minus maintenance items. 

The only problem with a buy-back warranty is that it plays with your head on when you should use it. With a buy-back warranty you get back the majority of $'s if you don't use it so you start to pay for small items and then the closer the warranty gets to the end you start to debate on the slightly more expensive items because you've already paid for the smaller ones. Just use the warranty is my advice for next time. lol.

 

I think you did well for $500 for the additional years...peace of mind is worth something.