Published: August 8th, 2024
Last week I asked if you guys had any extended-warranty horror stories after we brought you this story about CarChex.
Most of you guys had avoided buying these products or have had good experiences with them, but a few of you had a rougher go.
Take commenter Eve65688363 who said this: "In 2018 I purchased a 2015 Honda Odyssey and purchased the extended warranty, I used it once for a battery replacement; a couple of years ago the alternator shot craps. I had the van towed to the repair shop, when I called to report the claim, the company asked for the vehicle's milage-it was about 112,000 miles and I was told the warranty expired at 100,000 miles. No more extended warranties for me."
Only 2,000 miles short and not honored? Oof.
Then there's this from Syke, taking me back to my service-desk days: "I'm retired from (but still work part-time, three mornings a week - retirement is boring) for a Honda/Yamaha/Can-Am/Sea Doo store, handing the warranty and recall paperwork for those lines. Plus, we also carry Kayo motocrossers & ATV's (China) and Hisun ATV's and side by sides (Vietnam). Sales pushes an aftermarket warranty package by McGraw which is both profitable for the company and the bane of my work existence. McGraw isn't a rip-off, they actually cover the repairs. The hoops I have to jump thru, however, is often mind boggling. All claims have to be pre-approved, before the mechanic even takes a wrench to the unit. No pre-approval, no coverage. Period. And McGraw will be demanding prior service receipts. Do your own oil changes? That's tantamount to not servicing the unit at all, is customer abuse, and will almost certainly get the claim refused. They only want to see receipts from a paid repair facility. Next is what's actually covered. Basic rule is: If oil doesn't touch the part, it's not eligible for coverage. A frame piece snaps from metal fatigue (no sign of customer abuse)? Not covered. The list of what they consider 'consumables' is what most of you would think of, plus a whole lot of other stuff. Basically, it's good for handling a major failure in the engine and transmission of the unit, and nothing else. Assuming the customer can prove to them that he takes pristine care of the unit. And in the end, where a Honda/Yamaha, etc. warranty claim is three pages long and usually settled within 48 hours after filing, my McGraw packet is usually 1/4" thick, has started 2-4 days before the mechanic tears into the unit, and is only settled a couple of weeks after the final filing (done when the customer picks up). If this is what one of the 'honest' outfits does, I can only image what the telemarketer-driven places are like."
Yeah, that's long, but an in-depth look. And a reminder of headaches I endured.
We'll close with this one from Lou_BC: "My only nightmare warranty claim was with Suzuki Motorcycles. My bike came with a 5 year unlimited mileage warranty. I lost an entire riding season. They wanted proof of servicing. I submitted all of my receipts. They then tried to say that it was insufficient proof. The dealer where I bought the bike (different than where repairs were done) said that all I needed wear receipts and to follow scheduled maintenance. The repairing dealership then said I had screwed up on maintenance. A Suzuki Engineer got involved and said that the oil filter seal or how it seated had zero effect on the engine failure or engine oil pressure. Suzuki then tried to get me to agree to pay for labour and they'd pay for parts. I was so frustrated that I said, okay. A different adjuster took over and process started all over again. Finally Suzuki said they'd pay the full cost of parts and labour. Some of the parts got lost during shipping. The dealer then had to get permission to use aftermarket gaskets. It was finally fixed but the dealer screwed up the carburetor when they decided to do a clean up and adjustment of settings."
Missed your chance to vent last week? You can do so below.
[Image: bangoland/Shutterstock.com]
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Tim Healey
Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.
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