Vehicle Protection Plans

[rudymadethis]

I'm patiently waiting for my new Golf TDI to come in March. Placed in the order last week. Anyways, I was looking at the Vehicle Protection Plans that VW offers and was wondering if anybody knew which ones were best? Or atleast know how it works in term of payments, longevity, etc?

I'm sorry if I'm a noob, but this is my first brand new car purchase and I don't know what's worth it or just a waste of dough. Any input and suggestions would be awesome! Thanks!

 

[MostroDiesel]

Extended warranties are seldom worth the money. Having said that (or typed it), try searching this forum for a number of informative discussions on the subject. That should get you going in right direction.

March is coming fast!

 

[Ideliver]

I have a Toyota extended warranty on my 2010 jsw . That was what my dealer recomended

 

[picard]

On average, they will have to be not worth the $ because of overhead costs, profit of the ins company, etc.
The question of whether it's worth it for you, personally, can only be answered by you, personally. It's about peace of mind and how worried you are about having a problem down the road.
If you decide to buy a warranty, make sure it covers things that are likely to have problems.

That said, I, personally, would not buy an extended warranty.

 

[halfast3]

We bought a 7yr/100k mi extended warranty for our '01 when it was new (at a cost of ~$700 IIRC) and ended up having more repairs performed than the cost of the policy. It was looking like that wasn't going to be the case until we had the car inspected at 99k miles and found a few items which tipped the balance in our favor.

We have yet to decide whether we'll get one for the '11 or not...

 

[ToeBall]

I cringe when I have to turn my car over to most dealers for warranty work now. Wrong oil, wrong bolts, don't know Diesels, etc. I don't want to think about paying extra to have to do that more often.

 

[rameye]

I have a Toyota extended warranty on my 2010 jsw . That was what my dealer recomended

How does that work??

 

[Jackiechan005]

Try Geico, they have an extended warranty (7yr/100,000 miles) that's much more cost effective for a fraction of the price.

 

[halfast3]

I cringe when I have to turn my car over to most dealers for warranty work now. Wrong oil, wrong bolts, don't know Diesels, etc. I don't want to think about paying extra to have to do that more often.

Read the fine print. Many, if not most, policies allow the work to be performed by independent shops. The only time our '01 saw the dealership was for warranty work during the original warranty period.

 

[Joe_Meehan]

Well any car can have major expensive repairs.

The profit to the salesman and company is usually over 50%. So for every $1,000 you spend the insurance company has less than $500 to pay for repairs or they will loose money, something insurance companies do not do. Some people will get nothing back and some will get a lot more than they pay. Most will get far less. In addition you need to keep in mind that the insurer has worded it to eliminate as many expensive things as they can.

Remember that the seller is out to make money and they get to write the rules and set the price. They are not going to sell them at a loss so one way or another they are going to have you pay more than they will pay out.

Would you gamble with a car dealer who gets to set all the rules and knows all the odds?

Your decision has to do with the value of the piece of mind it gives you. If that is worth the cost then buy it. Don't expect it to cover everything however, most are written to keep cost down and exempt what they know will cost them money.

Good Luck

 

[PaxTDI]

Extended warranties are seldom worth the money. Having said that (or typed it), try searching this forum for a number of informative discussions on the subject. That should get you going in right direction.
March is coming fast!

I visited a car enthusiast last year who recently retired after selling his extended warranty business. From the looks of his farm property and huge building full of SCCA race cars, I would reason that extended warranties make the under writers a lot of money. That said, VW's may specifically be worthwhile. On my next TDI, I will think this over very carefully. If you do your own repairs it's probably not a good investment. Otherwise, only takes a few issues before repair bills run-up especially if you're out of warranty.

 

[Joe_Meehan]

I visited a car enthusiast last year who recently retired after selling his extended warranty business. From the looks of his farm property and huge building full of SCCA race cars, I would reason that extended warranties make the under writers a lot of money. That said, VW's may specifically be worthwhile. On my next TDI, I will think this over very carefully. If you do your own repairs it's probably not a good investment. Otherwise, only takes a few issues before repair bills run-up especially if you're out of warranty.

Well while it appears that VW may have more repairs than some other cars, but I don't believe it is as big a different than most people think. So far I have not been able to find what I would consider a valid data set. While I would take exception to several items, the one that they all seem to miss is the fact that owners are not randomly selected. For example I am sure that on average there will be a difference on how the typical Cadillac owner cars for their car or responds to questionnaires about their car.

You are right about how much profit is includes in every such policy. Most of the total cost is going to profit the seller and underwriter.

 

[aja8888]

Once upon a time, new car dealers made their profits from selling cars. Now they rake in huge profits (and I mean huge) from the following:

Financing

Extended repair insurance policies

The service department

Aftermarket options for cars (window etching, rustproofing, Scotch guard,etc).

(All of the above from a friend who is a Finance Manager at a local Ford dealership who just bought a 50-acre horse ranch north of Houston)

 

[ryCar]

Try Geico, they have an extended warranty (7yr/100,000 miles) that's much more cost effective for a fraction of the price.

+1 It's called Mechanical Breakdown Insurance (MBI). It's a couple bucks a months--actually included with all new car policies. Seems legit and flexible because you can get service anywhere.

I ditched my VW Platinum Plan when I found out I already had this plan.

Check it out!

 

[South Coast Guy]

These are not really extended warranty plans which can only be offered by the dealer/manufacturer. They are prepaid service plans. They are not insurance. If they were, the state's insurance regulations would apply ending all the nonsense about not covering problems and not making payments. And the price for the plans would be published and rates approved by the insurance commissioner.