Are extended car warranties worth it?

[karne]

We are buying a new car for commuting-a Honda Fit.  We are debating buying the extended warranty, only because my DH currently drives over 30K miles per year.  We've never bought the extended warranty before, but I don't drive nearly as much, so we've not needed it.  Edmunds, etc. seem to advise against this, but I would love to know if it makes sense for high mileage drivers.

FWIW, we expect the mileage to decrease at some point, but probably not this year,

[zacharysmom]

mine has saved me several times i had it. the deductable was 100 each time but the repairs it paid for were 900,1000 and about1100 (two computers and fuel pump)  but as the car was a gift  i m not sure of the cost of the warrenty itself. for me knowing the cost of repairs while paying payments would be a good thing in my book  and driving that much  does wear on cars  at that time i was commuting 40 miles twice a day at that time

[my2girlz]

We got one with our odyssey since it has tons of electrical (power everything). We've used it 2x in the past 3 years and we broke even so far. We plan to drive it for at least 2 more years and that's when the warranty runs out (100k miles/10 yr).

[karne]

Thanks for the replies.  I have since found out that our insurance company offers essentially the same warranty, for half of the cost, which may be a good option for us.

[nolansmummy]

We always get the extended warranty because i have horrible luck with cars- Last car needed a 3k dollar headlight problem fixed about six months after we got the car- cost us 100$ and the warranty totally paid for itself with that one repair.

[AndrewsMother]

I would never purchase a new or used car without purchasing an extended warranty, but that is because I do not have an unlimited supply of available money to pay for repairs.  If you know that you can afford to replace the engine, transmission, fuel pump or anything else made by man could fail at any moment, then you might not want an extended warranty.  If something goes wrong and you would have to spend your emergency fund and maybe more, then get the warranty.

I have health insurance that I might not ever need, and IMO an extended warranty for the car is just as important.

[CameronsMama]

I would read the fine print before you decide for sure. Many warranties that aren't throught hte manufacturer directly have a LOT of things that aren't covered, and you have to look super close to find that out. DH is a mechanic (Honda, actually) and we have 2 Hondas. When we bought out Pilot we got the extended warranty. DH could fix our car for free, but he says the warranty is worth it for the cost of parts alone.  So yeah, I say extended warranties are worth it :)

[karne]

Originally Posted by AndrewsMother 

I would never purchase a new or used car without purchasing an extended warranty, but that is because I do not have an unlimited supply of available money to pay for repairs.  If you know that you can afford to replace the engine, transmission, fuel pump or anything else made by man could fail at any moment, then you might not want an extended warranty.  If something goes wrong and you would have to spend your emergency fund and maybe more, then get the warranty.

I have health insurance that I might not ever need, and IMO an extended warranty for the car is just as important.

I agree.  The problem is that the extended warranty doesn't seem to cover the big stuff, ie moving parts, transmission.  Honda has a lifetime or 100,000 mile power train warranty provided you do 5K oil changes at the particular dealership we're buying from.  That's something we do regularly, so that's fine for us.

I don't know why the information is so conflicted about these warranties.  We generally buy solid cars, known for going the distance, and drive them for as long as they will safely run, usually upwards of 200K miles.  For the most part, any issues we've run into with our cars has come somewhere between 125-200K.  I don't know if we're just lucky, or take care of the cars, but the big expenses seem to be brakes (not covered by warranty), and then routine types of service.  I have honestly never had a big repair on my cars prior to 100K.  Hoping I'm not jinxing myself here!

[AndrewsMother]

Yes, only purchase the MFG warranty.  My Honda warranties covered drive train, electrical components and transmission, even on pre-owned cars!

[HappyMommy2]

the "millionaire next door" recommends against those extra warranties that are offered with everything nowdays.