Extended Auto Warranties (1 Viewer)

[Johnny Angell]

As mentioned in another thread, we've bought a new Prius and now I've got NewCar Syndrome. I am excessively concerned about it not being a new car They offered us a series of warranties which we declined and the printout they gave us poorly describes what they cover.

Are there extended warranty companies out there that HTF members would recommend? Please pass on your ideas.

Because of NewCar Syndrome, there is one item on their list that interests me, the Ding Shield. $600 gets you unlimited repair of dents and dings for 60 months. That seems kinda pricy to me (but it is 5 years) and of course I have to decide for myself just how imporant a ding free car is. I don't know anymore about what is covered except for what I've written. I'd have to ask about scratches and just is something not a dent or ding but major damage and therefore probably not covered.

 

[ChristopherG]

I have never met an extended warranty for a car that wasn't a complete pain in the ass. Others will hopefully have something more useful for you.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Doesn't the Prius come with a warranty for a long period of time, at least for the batteries?

 

[Johnny Angell]

It has a 3 year bumper to bumper warranty and the battery is warrantied for 8 years. Now I'm wondering if that is some sort of pro-rated warranty. Don't regular car battery warranties pay less the longer the battery lasts? So if in the 7th year it fails, they just pay for 1/8 of the cost?

 

[Johnny Angell]

Google is your friend. I found Ding Shield. It only covers dings and dents up the size of their ID card (which is probably credit card sized) and they do not cover damaged paint. $600 is definitely too much for that.

 

[drobbins]

I have never been a fan of any extended warranty. Usually if there is a manufactures defect, it will show it's self with in the manufacturers warranty period. Especially if the model has been out for a few years. I work in the automotive industry and believe me most everything gets tested to death. Now if it is a first year for a model, then there may be issues that did not show up in the development phase.

With that being said, I have bought 2 extended warranties in my lifetime. The first was on a early 90s Dodge Caravan we bought used. The AC died a few years later and the warranty paid for it. If I remember correctly, we broke even between the cost of the warranty and what the Ac repair would have been. The second extended warranty was on a 2003 Altima we bought new. We still have the car with 109,000 miles on it. Both the manufacturers and extended warranty have expired and we never needed any repairs.