We’re all familiar with questions about a car’s extended warranty, but is having an extended warranty even worth purchasing? We want to preface our answer by clarifying that not all extended warranty companies are terrible, but there are some companies that give their industry a certain reputation. However, it’s completely up to you to decide what you think and whether or not an extended warranty suits your needs, so we want to ensure you have all the information you need to make this decision. First, let's dive into some of the different types of extended warranties.
The basic extended warranty (sometimes called bronze) package will be an extremely basic warranty. It will only have coverage up to a certain amount of money per hour paid out, as well as it generally will only cover half of the bill up to a maximum amount. Usually, it covers internally lubricated parts of the engine and transmission.
The plus extended warranty (or silver) package will include everything in the basic package with the addition of some filler options–there’s a good chance that the extra items listed in this level won’t fail during the warranty period.
The deluxe extended warranty (or gold) package is our recommendation for the best package to choose if you were to purchase one. This package will include all of the above, as well as some wearable items, such as suspension components that we know will eventually fail, hopefully in that warranty period.
But there’s a reason that thinking through the purchase of an extended warranty is important, so what is the biggest issue with these above warranties? When you purchase an aftermarket or extended warranty, the warranty company has a 90% chance that you will never have an issue with the items covered under your warranty. That basically means, they have a 90% chance of winning, and you have a 10% chance of winning. Sure, you may get some peace of mind in the event that you are able to use it, but are those odds that you want to take?
Check back next time as we dig further into these warranties.