Best Extended Warranty and From Where? 2008 Ford Expedition

jmcampo · 10-05-2009, 08:33 PM

New member to this site. We pjust purchased a used 2008 Ford Expedition Limited with 26,000 miles on it and pretty much every option available. With that said, I would like to protect our investment and my wallet as much as possible. I am looking for any information/insight on the best comprehensive extended warranty plan out there.

The dealer we purchased from was offering one called 5 Star for about $3000 and I was unwilling to pay that. I was looking at the Ford ESP and have quotes for the Premium Care for about $1250.

I am turning to you on the board to see if you have any input to help me make this decision. Any and all would be appreciated. Thank you very much.

RickMN · 10-05-2009, 09:01 PM

$1,250 is a good price but only if it covers the stuff you have in the vehicle.

Here's what to look for.

1) Read the fine print to see how they define defective. A liberal policy will define it as "any failure of the part to perform its designated function." They don't care whether is was defective or worn or just lousy design. But a lousy warranties define it as a factory defect--which rules out ordinary wear and tear.

2) Secondary expenses. For example: A good warranty will cover an A/C compressor that blows up AND the cost of refrigerant, new oil, flush old condenser, etc. A lousy warranty covers only the cost of the compressor and labor.

3) Beware of warranties that only cover the Powertrain. That means only the engine, transmission, transfer case and axles. It does NOT cover fuel injectors, computers, sensors, etc.

3) Diagnostics. A good warranty will cover the cost to "tear down" and determine the cause of the problem--in other words, diagnostic time. A lousy warranty only covers the actual repair. So they won't cover the cost to attach a scanner, for example.

4) Cool electronics. Since your vehicle is loaded, make sure the warranty specifically INCLUDES or doesn't specifically EXCLUDE items like heater/AC controller, memory seats, mirrors, etc.

5) Usual and customary labor charges: If you take a vehicle to the dealer, that should be considered usual and customary. Lousy warranty companies will argue with you over whose labor rates prevail. Trust me, you don't even want to get into that arguement.

The best person to ask is the service writer at your dealership or another dealership. They're the ones who have to call the warranty company and argue with them. They all have a "Black Book" of the worst warranty companies and the best ones.

So, don't shop by price. Shop by reading the fine print. Read the EXCLUSIONS first. Then read the definitions.

Just as an FYI. I bought a 6yr/100,000 $0 deductible warranty from Warranty Direct. Their fine print was incredible. They had all the right wording. BUT, they were absolutely horrible to deal with. I'm a tech, so I know the buzz words. Every single repair was a fight to the finish. I always won, but only after threatening to take them to court and by using the actual language of the warranty against them.

Every time they said, "oh, that's not covered" I'd ask them to show me EXACTLY where in the fine print that charge was excluded. Then they would say that it was "company policy." I told them I wasn't bound by their "company policy," that WE were both bound by the contract. I warned them that unless they could point to a specific clause in the warranty contract that I'd call the State Attorney General's Insurance Commissioner.

I ALWAYS had to talk to a supervisor before they'd pay.

I thought I had done my homework before buying. But afterwards I talked to the service writer and he said that this particular company was on their Black List.

theoldwizard · 10-05-2009, 09:17 PM

I always look at what is NOT covered.

I haven't bought an extended warranty on my last 3 cars. I did 4 cars ago, but only used it once. The dealers kind of "cheated" (business was slow) to cover a leaking power steering hose (hoses and belt are typically never covered) by saying the power steering pump was leaking and the hose was damaged as part of the replacement.

TBIRD430 · 10-06-2009, 07:55 AM

If your going to buy ANY extended service plans, only buy from the manufacturer of your vehicle! In your case, a Ford ESP is the only way to go. That said, there are usually 3-4 different levels of coverage. I don't know what Ford's "Premium Care" consists of so investigate it some...

Trust me on this one.

99Expy · 10-06-2009, 12:34 PM

Best advice is have a trusted local mechanic put it up on a lift and go over it end to end.
Figure on spending 150.00, about 2 hours worth (depending on where you live) money better spent then buying an extended warranty. I have purchased them in the past, but will never buy another one. Good luck, let us know what you decide to do.

phantom_smack · 10-06-2009, 01:04 PM

One covered major repair and the policy pays for itself.Stick with the manufaturers warranty only that way you know what is covered and it is honored at all flm dealerships.

Cuda_Jim · 10-06-2009, 01:45 PM

I just went though this for the first time with the purchase of an 05 Five Hundred, CVT AWD because the car will be too far away at college with my daughter plus the CVT and AWD might be finicky, otherwise I wouldn't even consider an after market warranty....I'll fix it myself.

First, research the car before purchase. ie Autocheck, CarFax ect. Then I had the dealer run an Oasis report.

Ask your lender if they recommend one. They are more likely to have good ones because they are partially involved, especially if it's credit union...a good choice IMO.

I researched all the after market warranty companies I could find. The BBB is a good source of info along with friends, family, co-workers and car forums (here).

Have them send a blank contract. If they don't...stay away. Read the contract or have an attorney look it over if it's full of legalese. The company I settled on had the least amount of fine print and 3 levels of coverage to chose from. The entire contract is written so most anyone can understand it.

RickMN · 10-06-2009, 05:20 PM

phantom is right, the mfgrs warranty is usually the best. I was telling you what to look for if you went with someone else. But you should know that the dealer's prices on extended warranties are NEGOTIABLE. Yeah, they'd like you to believe they're cast in stone. They're not. Let the dealer know you're shopping around and that you expect them to be competitive.

When my son bought his Toyota, the dealer started at $1,700 and ended up at $1,100--for a genuine Toyota warranty.

TBIRD430 · 10-07-2009, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phantom_smack

One covered major repair and the policy pays for itself.Stick with the manufaturers warranty only that way you know what is covered and it is honored at all flm dealerships.

PLUS, most OE manufacturers service plans are transferrable or you can even cash in the remaining balance if you 'get rid' of the vehicle later. If you are out of town when the vehicle needs repair work, you can drive to ANY Ford/Lincoln/Mercury dealer without any hassels. Usually towing, car rental, and even hotel stay is covered!!! Sorry I forgot to mention these points in my 1st post.

Trust us, you can't be an OE extended warranty.

-Jon

phantom_smack · 10-07-2009, 02:56 PM

Just a thought,which ever way you go make sure you keep maintence record(notebook or something similar) including reciepts.Having all yor services done at the dealership eliminates the need to do so because its all on your service record(keep the reciepts anyway)This always stops the argument of that the vehicle was or was not maintained.