Ok, I admit it up front I am one of the suckers that always buys it when I buy a new car. I see it as cars are so darn complex now, it is not hard to hit the $2500 price of the warranty in the time I usually keep a car. And I usually keep them till they return to the earth. Back in 17 I bought a Honda Ridgeline. Nice car that I can toss crap in the back of if need to, and I need to quite often. The "real" truck rides like a hay wagon and gets shitty mileage, so the car/truck it is. Personally I think killing the Ranchero and El Camino was a big mistake. Why GM will not bring the Holden from Oz is past me.
Anyhoo, I buy it as I see $2500 a drop in the bucket of a $40k car.
A week or so ago the little dash comes up and says Transmission System Problem. Well that does not sound that bad, Figured a hay dumbass your tranny is going to blow like a Biden Nuclear Official. So I do what most do, keep driving it. Then I notice gas mileage going to hell. I generally get ~27.5mpg and we are down to 20mph. That is a bit of a hit. So I take it in.
Mr. FPG72 you are going to need a new torque converter. Ahh say again. And it is going to cost $4000 to install it. What I am getting a new transmission as well? Nope just to replace the torque converter if $4000. Ok I did not just fall off the turnip truck, but I did fall out of a PU a time or two. A torque converter don't cost that much. Well guess what Google says the torque converter costs $1900 and change.....what the hell, this computer controlled crap. And at a dealer I can see the labor being $2000 easy.
Well I bought an extended warranty from YOUR DEALERSHIP when I bought the car. I have the invoice from YOUR DEALERSHIP here where it says I paid for it, but I think the paperwork should be in the car, if not talk to your finance guy he should have record.
Calls back and says all is covered under warranty, and you don't even have to pay the $100 deductible as you brought it back to us. You should have your car Tuesday.
First time I used it on the Honda, and it paid for itself twice over in one repair.
There was a time when I was younger, and more able to move when I would have just picked the car up and done it myself, hell I have a shop with a lift A/C and heat, but I just don't want to screw with it. I will crawl under "toys" for "fun". But working on a daily driver is just not something I want to do anymore. I don't even change the oil on the car, or my wifes car. But packing wheel bearings and replacing an entire brake circuit on a 67 Fiat yea I will do that.....but do it at my pace. A month, a year.....don't care I will fiddle when I feel like it.
So in the end, if you are not handy, or just don't want to screw with it anymore, the price of that warranty might just be worth it. Easy to have a high $$ repair on a newer car today. And what do cars cost, north of $40k now vs. what the warranty costs?
Just something to think about.
And one last thing for fun google 17 Honda Ridgeline transmission for some horror stories. You don't know this kind of thing when you are buying a new car.
well , why not . I mean shit , can it really get any worse !
