Extended Warranty

[1975]

Hi- has anyone bought an extended warranty with their Bolt? I bought a three year warranty beyond the factory three years for $2885 and thinking of canceling. We have an extended warranty on my wife's Toyota and in hindsight it was a waste of money. EV are different due to battery, the warranty is cancelable and full money back with 60 days.

Please let me know you if you bought one and why or why not? Thanks in advance.

 

[phil0909]

They offered me six years, unlimited miles for $1,300. Even their first offer was a lot less than $2,800. I didn't take it. I figured they know better than I do what their expected warranty costs would be.

 

[devbolt]

Technically you don't have to buy the extended warranty at purchase time. You have until the regular warranty period is up to decide to purchase. The risk you take is that the cost in 3-years or 36K miles might go up significantly. You can usually find the warranty available online for far cheaper than what the finance manage is offering it to you for.

Personally, I've never bought one and think they are a waste of money, but I know other people where it has saved their bacon multiple times. Some of it might be due to choice of vehicle/manufacturer as I've owned mostly Toyotas, and my friend has owned mostly VWs.

Given the 8-year/100K mile warranty on the battery and related electric drive components, I'm not sure it's really worth it to get unles there are some expensive components like the instrument cluster and Infotainment system that are likely to fail in 3 years. In which case I clearly bought the wrong car if those things easily fail. Maybe for $1500 it might be worth getting for peace of mind, but that's not a decision I have to make for another 2 years and 50 weeks/35850 miles.

 

[LeftieBiker]

You can shop for these warranties among dealers, and save a lot. I got a "four year new car warranty" that was actually one year after the factory warranty on my Leaf ended, but it only cost me about $550, and I'm paying it monthly, with zero interest, so if I turn my Leaf in before May, I can cancel the balance. I suggest you cancel the warranty you bought, and shop online for the same warranty from another Chevy dealer.

 

[Posatronic]

They offered me six years, unlimited miles for $1,300. Even their first offer was a lot less than $2,800. I didn't take it. I figured they know better than I do what their expected warranty costs would be.

Please let me know what insurance company that was for 1300$.

 

[phil0909]

Insurance company? The warranty was offered by my local Chevrolet dealer.

 

[SeanNelson]

You can shop for these warranties among dealers, and save a lot. I got a "four year new car warranty" that was actually one year after the factory warranty on my Leaf ended, but it only cost me about $550...

Yeah, you've got to be really careful to understand exactly what you're getting with these warranties that's actually over and above the standard manufacturer warranty. Anyone who thinks they need an extended warranty for the battery had better be darn sure that it gives them something substantially more than the 8 year warranty that comes from GM, otherwise it's just a waste of money.

 

[1975]

Thank you to everyone who reply to my question about the extended warranty. It's pretty clear in few circumstances does it make any sense to get one even on an electric vehicle.

 

[Wookie]

Also, comparing Toyota to GM when deciding whether or not to get an extended warranty isn't quite fair.

Yes, all cars can have issues, but Toyota's are far and away better build quality. That's why they've won best resale value for like 7 years in a row.

 

[Posatronic]

Insurance company? The warranty was offered by my local Chevrolet dealer.

They are offered by the dealer but they are all through an insurance companies.
Soooo again who is offering at 1300? That's is super cheap.

 

[phil0909]

Insurance company? The warranty was offered by my local Chevrolet dealer.

They are offered by the dealer but they are all through an insurance companies.
Soooo again who is offering at 1300? That's is super cheap.

Nonsense. California law explicitly authorizes dealer warranty service contracts without any participation by an admitted insurer. Some extended warranties are backed by admitted insurers, or by licensed Vehicle Service Contract Providers (VSCPs), but dealer direct contracts are perfectly legal and are not uncommon.

Soooo, there you go!

 

[devbolt]

Also, comparing Toyota to GM when deciding whether or not to get an extended warranty isn't quite fair.

Yes, all cars can have issues, but Toyota's are far and away better build quality. That's why they've won best resale value for like 7 years in a row.

Totally agree. I've owned 5 different Toyota's over the last 20 years and only once did I have any sort of problem, and that was quickly rectified. Meanwhile my Bolt already has a problem where the LCA/LKA system isn't working, despite the fact that the car sat in QC for 6 weeks before being shipped to me.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Also, comparing Toyota to GM when deciding whether or not to get an extended warranty isn't quite fair.

Yes, all cars can have issues, but Toyota's are far and away better build quality. That's why they've won best resale value for like 7 years in a row.

Totally agree. I've owned 5 different Toyota's over the last 20 years and only once did I have any sort of problem, and that was quickly rectified. Meanwhile my Bolt already has a problem where the LCA/LKA system isn't working, despite the fact that the car sat in QC for 6 weeks before being shipped to me.

When the Camry was redesigned in the mid Aughts, the word went down from headquarters that they wanted 1/3 fewer parts in the automatic transmissions, to save on cost. The Toyota engineers complied, and for a few years Toyota was being shipped back alarming numbers of automatic transmissions that wouldn't work properly. That was the point at which the Camry stopped being known for high quality. A friend of mine had a 2008 Camry, IIRC, and the repair costs were so high he scrapped it. The Corolla somehow escaped unscathed, and the Prius, with its own sub-department within the company, kept the reputation for quality up, but I wouldn't even consider buying a Camry from them even now. Of course, with the "Hitler Mustache" nose they are slapping on all their cars these days, I'm have to wear blinders to buy any Toyota...

 

[Nagorak]

Personally I think things like "warranties" are usually a rip off. Even with insurance I prefer to go for a higher deductible and "self insure" as much as reasonably possible. The way I see it, the companies wouldn't be offering these things if they didn't stand to make money on them. If I end up with a car that has a serious problem, I'll just cough up the money for it at that time. Over the course of decades I expect I'll come out ahead.

 

[SeanNelson]

When the Camry was redesigned in the mid Aughts, the word went down from headquarters that they wanted 1/3 fewer parts in the automatic transmissions, to save on cost. The Toyota engineers complied, and for a few years Toyota was being shipped back alarming numbers of automatic transmissions that wouldn't work properly. That was the point at which the Camry stopped being known for high quality. A friend of mine had a 2008 Camry, IIRC, and the repair costs were so high he scrapped it. The Corolla somehow escaped unscathed, and the Prius, with its own sub-department within the company, kept the reputation for quality up, but I wouldn't even consider buying a Camry from them even now.

So I just checked the Consumer Reports reliability stats for the Camry, and while older models are generally less reliable (of course more things go wrong as a car ages) the ratings for both "Transmission Minor" and "Transmission Major" issues have a solid "Much better than average" rating straight through from 2007 (the earliest data available) to 2017.

Since the reliability ratings come from surveys of people who actually own these cars, and since the sample size is so large compared to any other available data, they're pretty much my bible for this kind of information. They're certainly far more trustworthy than anecdotal evidence on the Internet, IMHO.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Since the reliability ratings come from surveys of people who actually own these cars, and since the sample size is so large compared to any other available data, they're pretty much my bible for this kind of information. They're certainly far more trustworthy than anecdotal evidence on the Internet, IMHO.

I understand. I was active in the alt-autos.toyota.camry newsgroup for about a decade, though (we had a '95 Camry for that long, and a terrible '95 Camry wagon for a while) and the transmission issue was real enough. This would have been roughly 2005 or 2006. My friend had a 2007, I think. So maybe they got All Better in 2008, but the car was unimpressive by then in most respects, and I wouldn't want to see how they fared 10 years later, as even our '95 LE was having major fuel system issues by then.

 

[Posatronic]

Insurance company? The warranty was offered by my local Chevrolet dealer.

They are offered by the dealer but they are all through an insurance companies.
Soooo again who is offering at 1300? That's is super cheap.

Nonsense. California law explicitly authorizes dealer warranty service contracts without any participation by an admitted insurer. Some extended warranties are backed by admitted insurers, or by licensed Vehicle Service Contract Providers (VSCPs), but dealer direct contracts are perfectly legal and are not uncommon.

Soooo, there you go!

Soooo no you never answered the question. And yes most are through insurance companies because it's easier. Didn't ever say it was legal or illegal.

 

[phil0909]

Soooo no you never answered the question. And yes most are through insurance companies because it's easier. Didn't ever say it was legal or illegal.

Most is not all. Do you understand the difference?

In fact, I did answer your question, promptly and clearly. You just refused to accept the answer, erroneously insisting there must be an insurance company, There's no point in answering questions for someone who won't listen to the answer.

 

[1975]

Thank you all for posting replies to my question. I submitted the cancellation and as long as it's within 60 days it is ok. Expect 6-8 weeks to get credit back.