Extended Warranty Research

[tooberand]

I'm picking up my '04 XC70 today from an auto broker and called a couple of dealerships to find out their prices on Volvo extended warranties. The first dealership I called quoted me $3026 on the 7/70 TotalCare with $100/deductible. The next dealership I called quoted me $1572 on the exact same warranty! :eek:

Anyone else out there priced these warranties?

My other option is to go with a third party warranty by 1st Assured (1SourceAutoWarranty.com) that can go to 10/100 for $2664 (their 7/85 is $1764). I called the dealership service department where I will be taking my car for service and they said that this third-party company is "okay" to deal with. However, according to the third-party company I would have to take my car in for oil changes at 5,000 instead of the Volvo recommended 7,500 (however this is NOT a thread for the topic of oil changes ;) ).

[jkochis]

I check into that as well and the salesperson said why buy now, wait until main warranty almost over, then there is a $100 or so charge to check out car and then you can buy the extra. Which makes sense, why pay coverage when you already have it for 4yrs/50000. You can wait and get a better feel if you think you need it based on problems that occured during that time or if you sell or trade it in after 4yrs you payed for something you never used. I understand it may cover some items that could be questionable under factory warranty but most of those will not be an issue for the the time period of the factory warranty. I thought that was an intersting observation and was shocked that a saleperson who usually wants to make extra money on these items would suggest this.

[familyman]

things to think about:
1. NPV(net present value $): don't give them the cash now. Put it in the bank or some other investment and get the warranty when the other is up.
2. $1500 sounds about right, that was the quote from my dealer.
3. after 4 yrs you may determine the warranty is not worth it, just do a simple check of your model's issues and determine if any or some number of them have already occurred. the ones that have not: do they add up to $1500? and what is your tolerance for risk?
good luck,
FM

[Phrog]

Sill-Terhar (Volvo dealer in Broomfield, CO; just north
of Denver) quoted me $2466 US for the 7 year (that is, 3
years beyond the original warranty) extended warranty with a
$200 deductible. This is for a 2001 XC driven ~12k miles/year,
that now has ~37,000 miles. Factory warranty runs out 6/05.

Tooberand: Who supplied your $1572 quote?

[macgivy]

I was quoted $2,226 for the 7/75 Total Care ($100 deductible) for a 2001 V70. I believe the V70 coverage should be slightly less expensive than that for a XC70.

[Artz]

I'm shocked that the price quotes vary so much. Can anyone speculate as to why this is?

[Raynald]

I'm shocked that the price quotes vary so much. Can anyone speculate as to why this is?
Might be called the rip-off level... :rolleyes:

[tooberand]

The good quote I got was from McDonald Automotive on a brand new '04.

Does anyone know if/when/how the price starts going up on the warranties with the older the car gets?

[Tom H]

Extended warranties are high profit opportunities for dealerships. The true cost for 7/100,000 is probably around $1200.00. The going rate is whatever the market will bear. Keep looking and you'll find that $1500.00 to $1800.00 is the typical low rate.

The advantage of buying now is that the cost rises at each 15K mile interval. Also, if you don't normally have a lot of cash to lay out, buying it up front adds a small, app $20.00/mo. increase to your monthly payment instead of $2500.00 or so at the end of 4 years.

[AWD*V70XC]

Anyone else out there priced these warranties?

;) ).


Don't start me on that subject again, Any warranty is pure CRAP. The warranty will never cover what has gone in the period of cover. Save your money and put it towards the cost of a replacement part when it happens, this way you will be 'quids in' even after paying for the labor. See other posts where I have let rip on this subject, as the comments are very damaging for the owner (as always)

[budrichard]

Because I know that I will keep my Volvo's for a long time, i purchase the Volvo extended warrenty at the time of purchase. I tell the dealership that since they are making thier profit on the vehicle, I want the extended warrenty and other dealer installed items such as the skid plate, hitch, and block heater at dealer cost. For my 03XC is paid $1500 for the warrenty included in the purchase price of the vehicle. -Dick

[Snifferdude]

I purchased the 4/100k Totalcare $100 deductible warrenty for $2072 for a 03 XC70. You will be charged $215 if you purchase after 15 months or 15k miles. Make sure you know which plan you are getting quotes for. Volvo has a stated component plan and a total care plan. Also the dealer has to inspect the car before selling the plan. They charge $100 for this, but the dealer did not charge me and it took about 1 hour for the tech to check it over. Is a extended warranty really crap? Any extended warranty is an insurance policy, do you want to take a chance that whatever breaks after factory warranty is over you have the money to fix? When I see what it costs for routine maintenance I do not want an unexpected bill for some transmission or driveline repair. What is a peace of mind worth to you? Some people can drop $3000 for a repair and not care or sell the car at a great loss and just buy another.

[Phrog]

As familyman and others have commented, whether or not the
extended warranty is 'worth it' depends on risk preference and
expected future repair costs. So...any owners of 2001 XCs care
to help us out by reporting on repair (not maintenance) problems/
costs they've experienced in the 48k-100k mileage window? What
has gone wrong, and what has it cost you to make it right? Thanks.

[Art]

So...any owners of 2001 XCs care
to help us out by reporting on repair (not maintenance) problems/
costs they've experienced in the 48k-100k mileage window? What
has gone wrong, and what has it cost you to make it right? Thanks

As owner of a MY ‘01, I can only provide data based on my own personal experience. Other than having the MAF sensor replaced on warranty at 35,000 km, the car has really displayed no other signs of imminent problems. There have been a handful of relatively minor repair issues over the years, but all were either covered by the 12 month adjustment or general warranty period.

We now have logged some 100,000 km and the car is still a pleasure to drive. :)

FWIW, there were three items that were fixed shortly before/after the 77,000 km (48K mile) mark and all were resolved within the warranty period. Build date of the car was 12/00.

Rt. Front stabilizer link
Glove box frame
Side bumper bracket

That said, the rear driver side door lock actuator now appears to be giving me some problems. Something else to keep in mind. :rolleyes:

Hope that helps. :)

[Desertxc]

I have a 01 built in jan.01. It now has nearly 60k on it. I recently had to have caps for front struts and springs replaced 300 Dollars and the upper motor mount replaced 200 dollars. The question is would these items be covered under any of these extended warrantys or would these be maintenance items not covered? I did not by a extended warranty as I agree they are a waste of money.

[AWD*V70XC]

What has gone wrong, and what has it cost you to make it right?

As a 01 owner with a full (or so I thought) warranty I have had replaced

1. A new radiator (due to leak and losing pressure/fluid)
2. New driver door lock
3. New indicator lens on both sides of the car ( not replaced, stuck in with glue now)
4. New exhaust, rear section
5. Three vidas updates
6. Engine mount rubber going (not replaced yet)

Sway bars looking dodgy at the moment
ABS module gone, but living with it at present

None of the above was covered by the warranty and so far has costed me about GB£1500 (the 'extended warranty' never covered any of the above parts, hence my 'rip-off' comment)

[Snifferdude]

I checked Volvo's web site for what items are covered under the 2 plans. The cheaper of the 2, the stated component plan covers the radiator. This is right from Volvo: I left out some of the sections.

Here is a listing of the exact parts covered by the VIP Stated Component Coverage Plan:

1. ENGINE: All internal, lubricated parts. Cylinder Block, Cylinder Head(s), Harmonic Balancer, Timing Chain, Timing Belt, Balance Shaft Belt, Gears, Pulleys, Guides and Tensioners,* Oil Pump, Intake and Exhaust Manifold, Diesel Engine Vacuum Pump and Engine Mounts. The following parts are covered only if damaged by the FAILURE of an internal, lubricated part: Cylinder Barrels, Timing Chain Cover, Valve Covers, Oil Pan and Rotor Housing.

11. COOLING SYSTEM: Water Pump, Radiator, Fan, Viscous Drive, Clutch and Motor, Condensor Fan, Cooling Fan Thermal Switch and Thermostat.

The door lock is covered, the motor mount is covered. The exhaust is not, not sure about the updates, but if they are to fix a trouble they should be covered.

Not sure what plan you have AWD*V70XC, but is it a Volvo sold plan? If it is sounds like the dealer tried to screw you over and they did. With any contract you need to read and understand your rights and coverages

[AWD*V70XC]

Thanks for the research but I have had all the peprwork out with volvo and my parts were not covered in that (warranty)year. Mayby the next year but if the fault is already reported to them or they report it to you, you can only claim in that year. My misfortune was at the time of trouble it was not covered in that years warranty.

Volvo are very clever what and when they cover things. Think about it when have they ever had to dip into their pockets for your misfortune, right.

During my last year of comprehensive warranty, my replacement parts cost me GB£1500+, if I had kept quite about them and they did not notice them I would have got away with them in the next years warranty which BTW would only have cost me £800.

You win some and lose some, they might have got my warranty money and parts last year but this year they got nothing from me, so far!

[wgriswold]

I have always thought that extended warranty policies are a bad deal. Volvo knows the expected cost of repairs to a large number of their cars over the period of the extended warranty. They add the costs of supporting the program and a profit and then sell it to us. If it is a good deal for us, they lose money and go out of business. The question is can you afford the cost of a major repair, or would it ruin you. I can't afford to replace the whole car, so I have collision insurance. I can afford even expensive repairs and so do not buy extended warranties. Over time I am convinced that this strategy will save money.

[AWD*V70XC]

I agree with some of your comments wgriswold and as for the Volvo insurance I cannot fault it, free glass, free drivers, free replacement, free hotels and all for a price comparable to other insurance companies.

As for the warranty, I have just forked out twice as much in one years replacements for what the warranty did not cover. Even after all the abuse of assault courses that I have taken the car over I do take care of it, I think I am going to look at replacing some things myself like the engine rubber. BTW I am looking at replacing it shortly, and I will get a newer one with some original warranty on it so that I don't keep having these problems, I am a lot wiser now!!!