Extended Warranty Recommendations

[rcieslak67]

We are in the process of buying a 2009 Holiday Rambler Scepter 42 tag. We would like to find a reputable extended warranty company

that any FMCA member has experience with or a recommendation.

[tbutler]

No recommendation other than to read the contract that you will sign carefully.  It will be written by lawyers and the company will abide by the exact language in the contract.  If you are uncertain about the language, consult your own lawyer.  If you call the company record any statements they make regarding plan features.  If it seems to be dismissing any of the language in the contract, they are lying to you and the company will still deny you coverage. 

There will be requirements for you to keep to maintenance schedules which means you not only have to get the work done on time based on manufacturers schedule but you also have to get and keep receipts to prove that you have followed the letter of the contract.  The receipt must specify exactly what was done, the mileage and the date service was completed.  Once they sell you a contract, their level of friendliness will decrease significantly.  They are on their side with a pack of lawyers and you are on your side in any claim for coverage. 

It has happened on occasion that these companies simply go out of business, bankrupt, leaving you holding a worthless piece of paper with no course of action except to write the contract off as a loss.  If you decide to get an extended warranty, make certain it is backed by a reputable stable parent company.

[wildebill308]

There are numerous post about insurance/warranty company's not many good ones. Many find it better to take the cost of the policy and self insure. That way you will have some money to make the repairs that the warranty company denies after they have taken your money.

Bill

[wayne77590]

I recently had a dilemma regarding ESP's. We lost our 2008 to the flood of Harvey and we were purchasing a new to us used 2015 MH.  The dealer put on a good sales pitch and we seriously considered it, and then I read the "limitations."  The 2008 had been covered by the GS ESP since we purchased it and it has been a good plan.  I called GS and started doing some comparisons and I have ended up keeping GS even at a little higher price.  Over the past 9 years GS ESP has helped us through some troubling scenarios.  Today I just finished talking to GS representative by the name of Christina.  She is a licensed agent for GS and very knowledgeable regarding ESPs.  If you are interest in the GS Pitch send me a PM and I'll give you the number and her extension.

I am not in business with Good Sam and here may be many more ESP's out there similar, better, or worse.    

[five]

14 hours ago, WILDEBILL308 said:

There are numerous post about insurance/warranty company's not many good ones. Many find it better to take the cost of the policy and self insure. That way you will have some money to make the repairs that the warranty company denies after they have taken your money.

Bill

Good advice.

[rpelatt]

We purchased an extended warranty from Wholesale Warranties https://wholesalewarranties.com/ . The plan we got is an exclusionary type which is more inclusive. So far, we have had to replace one of the roof AC's, the entry steps, the dash AC pump, a generator control panel, and a few other things. In each case my out of pocket was $200. While we have not saved the total amount paid for the policy, we certainly sleep better knowing that if something does go wrong we are not likely to experience a huge and unexpected expense.

[wildebill308]

36 minutes ago, rpelatt said:

We purchased an extended warranty from Wholesale Warranties https://wholesalewarranties.com/ . The plan we got is an exclusionary type which is more inclusive. So far, we have had to replace one of the roof AC's, the entry steps, the dash AC pump, a generator control panel, and a few other things. In each case my out of pocket was $200. While we have not saved the total amount paid for the policy, we certainly sleep better knowing that if something does go wrong we are not likely to experience a huge and unexpected expense.

How much did you pay for the warranty?

Bill

[rpelatt]

Around $7500. It was for 4 years or 50,000 miles. We are 2-1/2 years into it. One thing I can ad is that when the steps failed the company administering the warranty allowed only for a replacement step motor ($200). When it later turned out to be the entire step assembly ($1900.) they denied the claim saying it had to have been abuse. Rather than argue I called Wholesale Warranty and spoke to their warranty administer. He had me take pictures and send them directly to him, and he then called the administrating company and convinced them to honor the entire claim. So, in my opinion, it's not just which insurance plan you buy, but it is equally important who you buy it from.

[manholt]

I have no idea who has a Step Assembly that cost $1,900!  I haven't seen that in 50 years of owning Class A's!  But, let's say that now they have paid out $2,100 of your $7,500...Good luck on breaking even.

I self insure!  Always have and that account now has over $150,000 in it, + interest.

[rpelatt]

Well, you haven't owned a Holiday Rambler  like mine then. That model step is no longer made (by Lippert) and the "replacement part number" cost $1300. But it also required some modifications that a local machine shop had to fabricate, taking the total up to $1900(including the labor). Don't know where you come up with $2100. but the real total is just under $5,000 that the warranty has paid out, and I still have around 18 months left of coverage. I'm not saying it's for everyone. The OP asked for suggestions and I responded with what worked for us. Glad you self insure, and glad you have an extra $150,000 laying around so you can cover anything that may go wrong in the future with yours. My main reason in buying was to cover the big things like an engine, or generator, which can jump into the 5 figure range very quickly, so having it cover what it has, has been more of a side benefit that has really paid off. Yes, I would do it again, but I am also the kind of guy that gets "agreed value" on my insurance policy, so I know exactly what I will get if the RV is totaled.

[manholt]

Extended Warranty and coach Insurance is two very different things!  Your figures $200 and $1,900 = $2,100.

[ispjs]

The issue/argument/debate of having an extended warranty vs. simply self insuring has probably been on every RV forum I have contributed to over the years.  We have went both ways with different RV's.  On our current coach we threw it in at the end of the deal and had to start to walk out the door to get it.  However the dealer gave in but would only give it to us at his cost, a $5,800 bumper to bumper for $1,800 so we took it.  Now we haven't used any of it and half way through the warranty period we are trading the coach.  We are getting $800 refunded.   Did I just waste $1,000?  Probably, but it was nice having the extra "insurance" policy just in case something went bad.

Now being in the process of trading we are faced with the same issue.  My tactic of going for a free one at the end of the deal didn't work so I will shop it out and make a decision later.  I certainly won't allow the selling dealer to make $3,000 or $4,000 profit from selling me one if I decide to go that route again.  

I have a buddy that lives in SW Florida just north of me.  He is just off the coast on a short salt water canal where he docks both of his boats.  He paid cash for his home and has never had regular home owners insurance.  Like Carl he simply has an extra fund where that money goes.  I'm sure he has some type of small liability policy but no protection against hurricanes and such.   It works for him, not an option for me.

[manholt]

Where the 2 of you get the idea that I don't have insurance, is beyond me!  All I said, is that I self insure for extended warranty...that was the OP's question. 

[ispjs]

Sorry Carl, I was saying my buddy kind of goes by the same theory when it comes to his home.  I didn't mean to indicate you didn't insure your home(s).  

[fagnaml]

I have a three year XtraRide Platinum extended warranty plan.  Thus far I've used XtraRide for dash A/C repairs (twice), replace worn track bars, replace bushings in sway bars, replace a slide out controller and replace a propane detector.   Each time I only had to pay the $100 deductible.  These repairs have me about 3/4 of the way to breaking even with the cost of the extended warranty plan.  XtraRide thus far has provided great service to me.

[manholt]

Mike.  Whatever works.  How much up front for how long?

[HAPPY HOBOS]

We purchased a 2004 Newmar Dutch Star in Feb of 2017 from a RV Dealer.  The dealer offered Extended coverage through a national RV Dealer program for $9,000 for three yeas up front.  And an exterior/interior finish protection plan for $1,500 that included the application of an exterior protective coating.

With an older coach built by a Manufacturer with a great reputation for servicing their older rigs we felt we had a good chance of using this Motor Home for 10 years with good reliability.  The Motor Home was in apparent excellent condition but had been in storage for some time, I think close to 24 months.

We really wanted to protect our self from unexpected huge repair costs, but  not with an up front outlay of cash.   (He who holds the cash holds the power)

We opted for the Good Sam ESP (Extended Service Plan) with a Monthly cost of $292.17 / Month.

And Good Sam Roadside Assistance Towing.

So Far we have used the services twice.

First was an engine problem, difficult to start, rough running and now power.  Had the rig towed to Dave's Truck Repair in Springfield MA.  They found the injector control switch faulty.  I had them do the Massachusetts State Inspection and asked them to do a through chassis inspection  including checking the tires.  Total invoice came to $4,316.77  Good Sam covered $2,774.44 leaving us $1,542.33.  With all the extra work done I am well pleased with the outcome.

Second was Roof Top Air not working well.  Dropped the rig off at Diamond RV in Hatfield MA a Newmar Dealer.  They found both Air conditioners were beyond the effective life and not worth repairing.  Good Sam covered all but $600.00 for the cost to install 2 new air conditioners.  In anticipation of this result I had contacted Newmar's technical support and they sent me good information on the proper replacement units including the required thermostat upgrade necessary for the newer units.  I shared that email with the Dealership when they suggested other units and thermostats.  Their Service Manager contacted Newmar directly and agreed to install the recommended units.

Foot Note: I will never bring the Motor Home back to Diamond RV.  We had an appointment before dropping off the rig, after two weeks they finally diagnosed the problem and contacted Good Sam to get the approval to proceed.  Good Sam made the approval with-in 24 hours of being contacted, this included the time required to have a GS representative physically go to the dealership and review the diagnosis.  We picked up the rig as it was going to take 7 to 10 days to have the parts shipped in.  The Service Rep. said he would call us to confirm the arrival of the parts and schedule the installation with an estimate of two hours to actually swap out the two Air Conditioners.  I made a check call to the Service Rep. as I had not heard from them by the 11th day.  After checking he discovered the parts were in and we scheduled the appointment for the following morning.  We dropped the rig off at 9:30 A.M. the next morning.  Two weeks later after I made the follow-up calls The Service Rep told me that they had not started the work yet.  He promised to have the rig ready by Thursday at the end of the day.  At his point I did not believe a word that came out of his mouth.  We drove to the Dealer on Thursday and arrived at 3:30 P.M.  The service rep. did not recognize us when we sat in front of his desk.  It was actually a little comical when we told him who we were.  The look on his face was pure panic, he excused him self and went out to the shop to (check on the progress).   The next person we saw was the Service Manager full of apologies and telling us that he had assigned 3 tech's to the job and authorized overtime to get the work done if necessary.  When the harried Service Rep. came back to his desk I told him we were going up the road to Yankee Candle's Flagship Store and asked him to give us a call when the rig was ready.  (I hadn't taken the DW to Yankee Candle in more than 15 years and now we don't need to go back for another 15.)  The Service Rep. called us at 5:00 PM to tell us the rig was ready.  Gee 2 hours after they actually stared the swap.  We picked up the rig, the next day I got up on the roof and took a look at the install.  I found two small old screw holes under the front of one of the units that were exposed and not protected from water intrusion.  I grabbed my calking gun and roof seal and did the best I could to seal them.  They should have been dealt with before the new units were bolted down.  Several weeks later when we got to a campground with 50 amp service we tested both units.  The front air worked well on both cooling and heat pump.  The rear air worked on cooling but when we switched to heat pump their was a loud clunk as the unit started.  Obviously the units had not been thoroughly tested after installation.  The good news is that both units are working ok and as expected.  I'm a little nervous about what that clunk was and we will have it checked out when we can get to a RV repair facility that has a good reputation.

Lesson learned some RV Dealers are just sales operations with a ragtag service capability and some are well organized and serious about being in the service side of the business also.  In hind sight the difference is obvious.

 

Still HAPPY HOBOS

[wildebill308]

Why didn't you test the new AC units before leaving the dealer? The loud clunk as the unit started could have ben the valve in the unit changing from AC to heat pump or vice versa. Has it done  it again? 

Bill

[manholt]

Nice coach!  Is the trailer your toad?

[wayne77590]

If you had problems with a Dealer or Repair facility that GS has authorized you need to inform GS of the problems you encountered. It may save some one the from the same "not good" service you received.

[ispjs]

When it was all said and done I bought another Cornerstone extended warranty.  It was a slightly different program than with my used gas coach.  I didn't want extra coverage to duplicate the engine to 60,000 miles but wanted more coverage after the Newmar warranty ran out.   So I got the Cornerstone one that excludes the diesel but covers most of the rest of the coach.  It was barely over $3,000 for 5 years, which in reality is only 4 years because of the Newmar warranty.  I guess I'm willing to basically buy $750 worth of insurance a year against having to replace an air conditioner, residential frig, Oasis, or any number of coach items.   It is a gamble one way or another. 

[ispjs]

Just checked the old paperwork for the Cornerstone extended warranty on my traded coach.  It was a pretty good deal at 5 years for just over $1,700 that included the engine/tranny plus coach.  Since we only had it for just about 1.5 years there should be well over $1,000 coming back from it.  So I guess another way to look at it is having the protection on my old coach cost me around $20 some dollars a month.   Cornerstone (USA Travel Care) can be pretty reasonable if the dealer doesn't try to make 100% to 150% off the deal.