Extended Warranty?

[frogwalking]

With all the grief and concern expressed over possible catastropic fuel pump failure, what is the general consesus concerning the extended warranty offered by local VW dealers? I know it is not a VW product, but actually backed by Fidelity warranty Services, but the fact that it is marketed as the "VW Drive Easy Program" might be of some comfort. I normally ignore such offers as they are seldom a good deal, but then, I used to drive a Honda, which is absolutely uninspiring, but is nothing if not reliable. I have not even pursued this enough to find out the cost.

Does anyone have any experience with these folks?

Thanks,

Frog

[chittychittybangbang]

I have not heard good things about any extended warranty because they usually have gotcha terms. Something like every service has to be documented, they cover this but not that, this is considered normal wear. Do not listen to the salesman because they will lie straight to your face, you have to read the fine print on this one. Sometimes it works out.

Personally, I think the money + interest would be better put towards an all purpose emergency fund. If you don't use it, great, spend it on a vacation.

[YMZ]

Well, VWoA does have a history of blaming catastrophic failures on the customer and refusing warranty coverage. There's no reason to suspect that the same won't hold true with the extended warranty...

As well, you may be locked into having all your service performed at a VW dealership... something which may not be in your best interest...

Good luck trying to make a choice...

Yuri

[golfTDI1]

My opinion: I have a blanket policy on this subject formed through years of empirical data...I don't buy extended warranties on cars. Doesn't matter what car, who is offering it, what price it is. I don't care, I do not spend this money. I'll take the loss if things really get that bad. I don't even want to know abt it, when I bought my golf they told me abt it and I didn't even pay attention when he mentioned the price. It could have been bumper to bumper, lifetime for 5 bucks. A warranty ties you to dealer or whoever. I don't want to feel obligated that I have to bring it to a certain entity if there is a problem. I want to be free to do whats best for the car and my wallet.

[the67beast]

I bought the 6yr 100,000 mile warranty and it ran me around $1,700... I've heard of others getting it for as low as $1,400.

I read the document and its approx 6 pages.. doesn't tie you to a specific dealer, doesn't state all maintenance records must be kept etc. However, since my first 3 (10K,20K,30K) are all free those will be done @ the VW dealership. After that, ill just keep records to be safe. Not that big of an issue, when its every 10K. The way I see it, is the extra warranty (which I have read is licensed by VW to Fidelity in USA) for $30 a month IMO is worth it. I am now covered for up to a year after the car is paid off.

Last thing I want is a huge mechanical failure while i am still paying for the car. 36K warranty would last me 2.5 years... no thanks!

Anyway, just my 2 cents.

[TDI-CHICK]

Hi everyone...did you get an extended warranty through Fidelity? I have read such bad things about these folks that I think it might be worth it to simply stash funds in a bank account for the eventuality. Such a tough decision. Your thoughts?

[chrissbu]

Rather than invest in the extended warranty, I'm going to try the Mechanical Breakdown Insurance offered through Geico. They quoted me $15/6-months, which I can renew for up to 7 years/100k miles. $250 deductible, with the only exclusions I can see being they typical wear items (which are excluded from nearly every other warranty anyhow). So we'll see how this goes...hopefully I'll never have to use it.

[Daniel L]

Originally Posted by chrissbu

Rather than invest in the extended warranty, I'm going to try the Mechanical Breakdown Insurance offered through Geico. They quoted me $15/6-months, which I can renew for up to 7 years/100k miles. $250 deductible, with the only exclusions I can see being they typical wear items (which are excluded from nearly every other warranty anyhow). So we'll see how this goes...hopefully I'll never have to use it.

That's strange. Geico quoted me $37 for 6 months.

[frogwalking]

I got a copy of the actual warranty from the dealer. Some notes included are that they may use original manufacturersupplied parts, parts from other manufactuers, or used parts to repair your car. They also do not have to repair it unless the car is disabled and inoperable. I told them that I did not want this product.