RV Extended Warranties -- Recommendations?

[MystreBengals]

Would love to hear from some of you about which Ext Warranties are good, or at least not bad. Are they worth the expense for someone like me who is not a big DIY'er? (I don't mean to insinuate that I can do much, I am just not really good with my hands and I have some disabilities)

We have a 2009 Monaco Knight 41SKQ 20k miles, 4 slides, Cummins 360 ISC

I have done the search, read the previous threads on the similar topics.

I am still unsure of which companies are at least reputable, should I go with the exclusionary product or are their other choices.

I have never seen an answer to the question about wholesale warranties and what they offer.

Anyone have experience with: American Bankers Life Assurance Company of Florida. Notice there are 20 complaints with BBB, all but two appear "resolved" ... this is the company WholesaleWarranties.net sent the quote for..

5 years/50k for 3700.00 Appears to be an exclusionairy policy can add consequential damage for 395, Enhanced towing for 75, Tire/Wheel 7yrs for 449

The American Bankers Life company has a C+ rating, Wholesale Warranties has an A rating. (BBB)

[bldr110]

I have Extra-Ride and have used them many times with no complaints. They pay the service center over the phone,no hassels. It was highly recomended by PPL in Houston. It has definitely paid for itself.

[wolfe10]

My recommendation for researching any extended warranty is to do two things:

1. READ THE FINE PRINT.

2. Talk with the service manager of places you are likely to have service work done (or just a sampling of the larger RV, chassis and your engine manufacturer's dealerships in your area). Their recommendation on what companies pay promptly, don't look for loopholes to get out of paying each claim, etc. will be far more valuable than a small sample size of respondents here.

[bbnuttmann]

X2 on Extra Ride

[happytraveler]

Depending on your handiness, and type of coach. Most are a waste of money. That is if you are handy. But read the fine print.You are always charged for the tech to evaluate the problem, not covered by any or most that is $ 129.00 to start, and then many parts are not covered or some are but the service is not, or the service may be but the part is not. Be careful. I take care of my own Class A .

[TZScales]

I'll weigh in on this topic briefly. We have been using the same extended service plan for our RVs since 2008 and there have been some disappointments in terms of payment for items we thought should have been covered; however, we have been satisfied overall. As one poster conveyed, research the different plans and read the "fine print." Upon further analysis of the particular exclusionary items on the policy we have, we understand the innerworkings the longer we have the policy. In addition, most if not all, require the owner to maintain the RV according to a particular maintenance schedule. These receipts and/or documentation may be necessary in case an inspector requires proof of maintenance.

For us, it is insurance that is worth the risk. I do perform basic maintenance such as changing fuel filters, changing belts for engine and AC, annual maintenance on our aqua-hot heating system, changing both air and hydraulic filters and other minor upkeeps such as battery maintenance, etc.

I sure do not want to get caught with paying out of pocket for a major repair such as an injector pump replacement or either major transmission or other engine issues.

Best of luck in your decision making.

[sundancev]

We purchased our 39 foot Providence in August 2011 and now travel full time. We signed up for Good Sam extended warranty plan and did not use for a year. Two weeks after renewing for the second year, we had a Dometic Fridge failure with $2,000 in repairs. We elected to take the $2,000 and apply towards a new modern unit. Good Sam people could not have been easier to deal with. RV Dealer in Reno, Safari RV Repairs did not accept assignment of Good Sam so we had to pay and send in bill to Good Sam to collect. Good Sam was very prompt in remitting the funds to us as expected and agreed. Good Sam did not give us or Safari a hard time at all. Again they were superb to work with. Safari was a minor disappointment in they did not take assignment of Good Sam remittance, but they were so good about the repair/replacement of the refrigerator I cannot say enough good about them. We later met a couple in Santa Cruz who were from Northern California who told us they deal with Safari all the time in their California Store. We told them about our experience with Safari and they told us they had similar experiences. Safari is not cheap but they were worth every penny we paid. We consider ourselves to be "newbie" even though we have lived full time some 17 months and feel like we need the comfort of a Good Sam warranty. Not saying it is cheap even with $500 deductible, but as we found out, a $3,000 fridge plus installation is not cheap either. Short answer is we suggest you buy the warranty. G Paul Whorton

[surfcityauto]

I purchased a 2006 Revolution 3 years ago and chose the Good Sam warranty with a $250.00 deductible. It is money well spent! They have covered approximately 15K worth of repairs over the past 3 years and I have no complaints.

I will not hesitate to renew my policy.

PK

[Cookie]

We recently traded in our 1986 Honey for a 1999 Bounder with 30000 miles. The dealer wanted to sell us a service contract through a certain company, The price was $3800 for three years with a $200 deductible. I checked them out on the web at several sites, and they had nothing but a bad reputation. I didn't call the dealer back to take their offer, but they called me back and said they could lower the price to $3200. I said "no thank you". In the mean time I had done further research and found U.S. Warranty company and called and talked with them. They had NO bad comments on the web, and many good ones. I read the "fine print" and felt that it was a good deal. What I got from them was 4 years for $2800 with a $50 deductible. The payment was one-third down, and the rest in 12 equal monthly payments with no interest.

About three months after buying our coach, we had the failure of the right front leveling jack. We had it repaired at our local RV shop and they handled everything. U.S. covered everything the should have and in a very timely fashion. (they don't pay the sales tax incurred). The bill came to about $893. But the real shocker was that the deductible, instead of being $50, was $37.50. Yes, that is right, they lowered deductible. We were VERY happy campers.

Give them a look. No, I do not work for them .

[Ahrmless]

Extended warranties are always controversial. I got mine through American Guardian. We paid $3,000 for three years and had a $50 deductible. Over the three years we had the warranty we received over $12,000 in compensation. Overall we were pleased. Some things that were not covered were amazing. Our policy stated that all gauges were covered. Our temperature gauge quit working and the problem was the sender. I was told the gauge was covered but the sender was not. Who would have thunk it

There is one very strong argument for having the policy. That is the peace of mind it gives you when driving. It was worth every penny for the peace of mine it gave my wife while driving back and forth across the USA.

[abryant6]

I have had some experience with Good Sam's, extended warranty. First we had a microwave door that would not close on our 2001 Allegro. They authorized having the door repaired. This we attempted while on a trip to DC (incidentally do not use Reines RV in Virginia) only to find out that the part on an 11 year old microwave was on back-order and an indefinite delivery date, ie "discontinued"

Therefore the microwave could not be repaired but they would pay the repair allowance toward the purchase of a replacement. We elected to have this done at our home base in the Rio Grand Valley. Two months later when we were in Mission, TX and had our local RV repair facility (Bert Ogden RV) contact the warranty people could not find any record of our prior claim so they started with having it repaired, but there is no repair facility that will work on a 11 year old microwave in our area and they denied any payment. We caved in and bought one on our own at a cost of product and installation of $800.

Also beware and be aware that the Good Sam ESP sold by the dealers is not administered by the same company as the policy purchased directly from Good Sam and the two companies do not communicate or share information.

On a different situation with our Ford V-10 at a Ford Dealer GS warranty would not pay Fords nationally established charges for the alternator replacement, according to GS's established charges book it was 1.5 hours labor less and the alternator was 60% less than Ford's charges so with a $500 deductible they virtually paid next to nothing on the repair (by intent in my opinion). If you are going to be a warranty Co. you should at least acknowledge Ford's established prices on the most popular gas RV engine for over 15 years.

[trutone]

I have Extra-Ride and have used them many times with no complaints. They pay the service center over the phone,no hassels. It was highly recomended by PPL in Houston. It has definitely paid for itself.

I too have Xtra ride. Very happy with them.They are a subsidary of Protective Life Ins. Co.

[abundantamanda]

We paid a lot for an extended warranty thru the dealer. $100 deductible or $50 if we take it to the dealer we bought it from. It has paid for many very expensive repairs but as of yet we haven't gotten what we spent back and we probably won't because the warranty requires we take our RV into a shop. We can't have a tech come to our RV. That's a real problem for us since our home burned up and we are now full timers. We have several issues right now that need fixing but the shop is booking 6 weeks down the road and said they will need to have our home for 3 weeks or so. What are we supposed to do? Our toilet is broken (flapper wouldn't open). My husband got the flapper open and now it stays open. You can guess what that smells like. He is going to fix it himself which actually really bothers me because we spent so much on our extended warranty. We are just having to live with other issues. I don't know about you, but the idea of living in a motel for 3 weeks and having our home full of all of our belongings in the shop, is a tough pill for me to swallow, especially while trying to work and have a normal life. Even before we became full timers, our 2008 class A diesel broke down on a trip and we wound up in a motel for a few days. The warranty company also decides that certain things are "adjustments" and won't pay for that. Just something to take into account.

[OBS66]

Avoid ACC warranty we have had nothing but bad with the company to the point that we asked for a refund and the owner said he would refund our money that was over a month ago and still have not received it. Will be filing civil suit. Research research research.

[medico]

I have quotes from WW, Good Sam and ACC Warranty. By far the best quote on my coach was from ACC Warranty. They are A+ rated by BBB. I found all good reviews.

Their Premier Extended warranty includes Roadside Assistance. Unlimited towing (this is needed with my coach because it needs to be lowboy towed), unlimited tire protection, trip interruption, etc. and the best exclusionary package I have seen.

I guess I disagree with the last poster. I have seen bad reports from all companies mentioned here. When I use an independent source to look for reviews, I see nothing but 4 or 5s which is the best they can get.

I guess my decision will be to even bother with an Extended Service Plan, or bank the money and take my chances. None of these plans is inexpensive.

Don't know what else to say.

[Mexiconina]

We bought our first MH a year ago and got Good Sam Ext Warranty. It is expensive, has a $500 deductible and hasn't yet covered any issues we've had (but we haven't had major issues, thank goodness). Time to renew so I'm looking for an alternative. Looked up American Guardian but was a bit put off by a very unfavorable blog from 2010 about AG not giving pre-authorization and then denying claims. Anybody have experience in this regard . . . the one mention of AG in this thread was very favorable.

[Mexiconina]

I'm looking for US Warranty which has been mentioned favorably . . . can't find it online. Any further information about how to get in touch? Thanks,

[Mexiconina]

TZScales -- mind sharing which insurance company you use?

[Curmudgeon2]

Be extremely leery of GOOD SAM extended warranty.

They would not replace the entire leaky hot water heater, only the tank. Even when two unrelated RV repairmen refused to replace the tank with all the old gas and electric controls. They said it was not safe and they would not be responsible or liable. To repair the problem correctly I would be responsible for the difference between a new unit and the tank only, nearly five hundred dollars. Also, I was unable to relocate to a directed repair facility because my awning was damaged in a storm and could not be retracted. So I was informed that the mobile RV service charge was not covered either. So they would not make proper repairs even though it was a serious safety issue told me volumes about their penny-pinching mind set and I canceled my policy. Then they added the insult to injury, they charge a $50 cancellation fee.

Out come? Found a new hot water heater online for less than my deductible, so with the mobile RV repair service call fee, and their cancellation fee it about a wash.

Will be following this forum for any bonified suggestions for a replacement policy. Thank you.

[jlandon13399]

We purchased a Cornerstone extended warranty from Lazy Days last May when we purchased our rig. Had a slide issue which was cosmetic and not covered. Now I have a blown rod seal in my front leveling cylinder. Will wait to see if it is covered. I did check out Good Sam and they were about $400 per year more than the Cornerstone policy with a $500 deductible.

[MAxWedge]

Anyone have a suggestion on who is the best companiy for an older bus conversion?

Ive been shopping on the internet but the prices are all over the place.

In the first 2 months I probable could have already purchased 2 complete extended warranties. This thing is worse than a Sea Ray for repair costs!

Thanks

JR

[NorthernDriver]

My extended warranty requires me to change the Oil and Filters EVERY 4 months or 4000 kms or its void. $$$ thrown down the toilet!

Be sure to get ALL the info. I hate slimy salesmen.

[deenad]

There was one case where a couple had a transmission failure, the insurance company asked for all service reports. The people were 750 miles past due on one ENGINE oil change so the company denied any payment for the transmission.

We've put money in the bank to self insure and have saved enough to pay for all maintenance and repairs over the 12 years we've had our present rig.

The insurance company (they are not, by most state laws, a "warranty" as only the manufacturer can offer a warranty) is betting you won't need repairs, you are betting you do and the insurance company wouldn't be in business for very long if they pay out more than they take in.

Besides, if the salesman thinks you need a high priced policy to protect against repairs do you really want something that they think will fall apart under you?

Consumer Reports recommends not buying them.

[five]

We researched a number of companies offering extended warranties. For the amount of money they wanted, with a deductible, we opted not to get one. The premium they wanted would pay for lots of repairs.

[jmac1947]

In December of 2013 I purchased the 3 year extended warranty Protrek policy through Wholesale Warranties after researching and getting quotes from several extended warranty companies. I had my first claim in January of this year and my experience with them went very well. I highly recommend Wholesale Warranties.