Subaru Extended Warranties, Thoughts, Advice, Experiences??

I bought a new Legacy 2.5i Ltd wagon. I am considering the Subaru Extended warranty. Anyone with past experience with them? Your thoughts, suggestions, concerns etc. on them is appreciated. Can you buy these from any Subaru dealer? What price might I expect to pay for the Gold plan? How comprehensive is it? I do tend to keep cars a long time. I have an 1993, 98, 00 (other makes) and the new 05 Legacy. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Our extended warranty was purchased after we bought our GT in 97. It came in handy at 59K when the engine block cracked - new short block, no issues.

 

Along the same lines - has anyone tried a third party warranty company?

http://www.warrantydirect.com/

 

I have read a number of positive things about what they cover, but have not met anyone who has tried them out.

IMPORTANT EDIT: $250 SURCHARGE ON 80K AND 100K PLANS FOR TURBOS ON TOP OF THE PRICES LISTED BELOW

 

It's very comprehensive, basically the same coverage as the factory warranty but with wear & tear covered (causality, not maintenance), good everywhere after the factory waranty expires (not just the dealer), tire road hazard coverage for the original tires, and trip interrution allowance of up to $500.

 

I personally prefer to have the coverage rather than the money; others will prefer to have the money in their pocket and accept the risk of covering the repairs themselves. Both choices are good, pick the one that makes you happy. I have the Added Security on my own car, and I know lots of happy people who do not, and lots of happy people who do.

 

Since I no longer work for a Subaru Dealer (13.5 years F&I at one):

 

Dealer cost, zero deductible

4/60 Gold+ = 400

5/60 Gold+ = 450

6/60 Gold+ = 550

6/80 Gold+ = 790

6/100 Gold+ = 990

 

Make your best deal.

 

edit: Don't go with an outside the dealership third party coverage; there's no guarantee that they will do the work without you paying and then waiting for reimbursement. Many of those companies have a habit of trying to negotiate the repair bill after the work is done, and the service writer will hang up the phone and require you to pay and then file with your service contract company to get your money back. I got no horse in that race, but 20 years in car dealerships taught me some things.

 

Tom

From a financial perspective, if you want the extended warranty you should wait to buy it shortly before your bumper-to-bumper warranty expires at 3/36. Make "payments" to yourself and buy it later, since it adds very little to the bumper-to-bumper coverage but may help you out if you have a problem AFTER that. You can buy the warranty at its then-current price as long as you still have time/miles remaining in the original warranty.

 

If you have 35000 perfect, trouble-free miles you may decided that the amount of money you have banked away to buy the warranty would be enough to cover repairs for the rest of the time you own the car and just leave it there, or if you've had to have several items fixed under warranty you may decide that extending it works for you. Either way you'll have the money in the bank.

 

DKB

Thanks Tom. My dealer actually pushes a non-Subaru warranty. Probably more profit in it. I have heard of too many warranty companies that have gone belly-up not to mention the claims hassle. Subaru will be here six or seven years down the raod. I have actually had a hard time getting my dealer to quote a Subaru warranty price. He keeps trying to tell me the Subaru coverage is not that good but I think he is comparing the basic extended warranty to his outside warranty. I wrote to SOA and got a sample contract. Here is a quote from the sample.

 

"During the agreement we will pay the cost of any breakdown less your deductable except for the following. Scheduled maintenance services and parts described in the Subaru Warranty and Service booklet for your vehicle and other normal maintenance services and parts including engine tuneup, suspension allignment, wheel balancing, filters, luburcants, engine coolant fluids, wiper blades, belts, hoses, spark plugs, brake pads, linings and shoes, manual clutch assy. and recharging of the air cond. system unless in conjujction with the replacement of a covered AC part. Other parts not covered are glass, weatherstrips, lenses, sealed beams. light bulbs, tires, hard and soft trim, moldings, bright metal, upolstery, paint, exhaust, catalytic converter brake rotors and drums, shocks, battery, rust, wind noise, squeaks, rattles, cable or linkage adjustments. Accessories only covered if factory installed or approved."

 

That is all it says for the Gold Plus Plan.

 

It sounds to me that unless it is normal maintenance items it is basiclly covered. Am I right?

I got the extended warranty with my 05 LGT wagon in December. It came in handy last week, when I needed to replace a tire that had blown. I was ready to pay big bucks for a lousy tire--I even tried to go somewhere other than the dealer, but no one had the correct tires in stock. Lucky thing too--turns out the extended warranty covers original tires. It cost me almost nothing!!!! 3 more tires, and the warranty will just about pay for itself.

I didn't get the warranty but I would just end up voiding it anyways in about 2 years.

We offered a third party coverage as well but not on Subarus, only on Chevrolet and used. The profit structure is similar, and the sales contests were close enough that it didn't make that much difference. There's nothing wrong with third party coverage if it's purchased at the dealership where you are going to get the car serviced; those are third party obligor programs where if the dealership fails you still have coverage. We preferred to use a third party provider (Universal Underwriters) instead of the GMPP, because they would cover more "grey area" claims. We had problems with third party coverages purchased from insurance companies (Geico) and outside solicitors (Guardian). Those are insurer/obligor plans; nothing wrong with them, except the way they try to negotiate claims which puts them in an adversarial relationship with those they are trying to cooperate with (customers and dealers). If you didn't pay a lot for the plan, they probably will be underfunded when it comes claim time.

 

Just about any third party service contract offered by a new car dealer is third party obligor and offered by a reputable company. Universal Underwriters is an arm of Zurich Financial Services, the largest insurance company in the world. The company that folded last year leaving everyone holding the bag (I can't remember the name; Warranty Gold?) was a dealer obligor/third party insured program, and the insurer was who actually went belly up, leaving the dealers (mostly used car dealers) as obligors. The Subaru Added Security is actually a third party obligor plan, not a manufacturer backed plan (the GM Protection Plan is backed by General Motors). The third party obligor in Subaru's case is Aon Corp.

 

It's probably more information than you want to know, right? LOL, sorry, it's fascinating stuff to me.

 

 

Tom

LOL, elGT, my original tires are sitting in the garage for sale...

 

 

Tom

Great info - I now will go with the Subaru extended warranty.

Wow - I knew that the warranty was a big money maker for the dealer (I used to work for AIADA.Org), but WOW. I tried to negotiate on the WRX and was told the dealer didn't budge off the list price.

 

We got money back after trading the car in, since we never used it (about 65% after 24 months and 33K miles). I feel better that the dealer probably took a hit on that - they were HORRIBLE to deal with (bait and switched the finance rate and delivered a car with a damaged exhaust which they subsequently blamed on us). They were even difficult in getting us the refund of the unused portion of the warranty.

I got the warranty for my last two Subarus ('98 LGT wagon and '02 WRX wagon) and didn't use them. The cars were dead-on reliable. So I didn't opt for the warranty with the new LGT. I have three years for something to blow up and if it doesn't by then, I just don't think it's going to. Cars are a lot like electronic gizmos in that if they don't break within the first six months, you're probably pretty golden.

 

Kevin

Mosca,

 

Is that source reliable for the extended warranty price??? Maybe I can get the 6/80 for $850?

Tom, certainly not more info than I wanted to know. You need information to make a sound choice. I did not realize the Subaru plan was a third party obligator plan. I have had experience with the General Motors Protection Plan and it has worked flawlessly.

 

In my case the other choice the dealer is offering is by JM&A Group, Fidelity Warranty Services, Inc. of Deerfield Beach, FL. Know anything about them?

 

Am I correct in assuming the Subaru Gold Plus Plan is one that covers everything that is not specifically excluded. (See my earlier post where I quoted the one and only paragraph of terms for the Subaru Gold plan.) The wording seemed to indicate that coverage was all inclusive with the exception of the stated items. Mainly normal wear and maintenance items.

 

The advantage I see in the Subaru plan, even if it is a third party obligator, is that service can be obtained and any Subaru dealer. With the non Subaru plan I could be in the position of having to pay for repairs done away from the selling dealership and have to then attempt to get reimbursement after the fact. Could be riskier?? I don't really know not having any first hand experience with either plan.

Dealer cost, zero deductible

4/60 Gold+ = 400

5/60 Gold+ = 450

6/60 Gold+ = 550

6/80 Gold+ = 790

6/100 Gold+ = 990

 

 

Tom

 

Do you have dealer quotes for silver? how does a deductable change these quotes? I was told that above a certain milage they charge more for turbos?

 

Thanks!

Sheesh, I'm sick today, fever & headache, and I just erased a long answer.

 

The prices are accurate but I forgot the $250 surcharge for turbos on 80k and 100k plans; bad move when posting on a turbo forum!

 

I retired on Saturday, so I don't have access to the Classic plans, I know the Gold+ 0 deductible by heart. But, if you get the list price on one of those Gold+ plans, and compare it to cost, you should be able to figure out cost on all plans.

 

JM&A Warranty Services has the highest customer satisfaction of ALL service contracts, with Universal Underwriters second and GMPP third. The source is Automotive News, but I can't say which issue because I don't work at the dealer any more.

 

I'll tell you the truth, I very rarely discounted them. Rather, I sold the benefit, quoted the price, and if the customer said no I thanked them for listening and moved on. Half the people say yes if you do it that way. If a customer offered to buy it at a discount, I would pass it to the sales manager, if he wanted to discount it I did it (of course he always did).

 

 

Tom

No problem Mosca, get better.

 

Just as a reference I was quoted $475 / $100 deducatable for a 6yr/60k subaru warranty (I don't know if this is gold or silver).

 

The gold 6/60 for $550 sounds like a good deal, but that is cost. What, in your opinion, would be a fair price for that warranty if I were to make an offer?

 

thx

I would offer $600 and see if there's a counteroffer; if there isn't one, then PM me and I'll see if I can set you up.

 

Mods, is that OK? I don't profit from that any more.

 

Tom

Okay to hook someone up? Fine by me.

Our extended warranty was purchased after we bought our GT in 97. It came in handy at 59K when the engine block cracked - new short block, no issues.

 

Along the same lines - has anyone tried a third party warranty company?

http://www.warrantydirect.com/

 

I have read a number of positive things about what they cover, but have not met anyone who has tried them out.

 

I bought a warranty for a used motorhome from WarrantyDirect. I would use them again, as I remember them paying claims without any runaround. Just be sure to meet whatever requirements for refund of the unused portion in case you dispose of the vehicle early. Since this is new vehicle though, I'd go with an extended Subaru warranty.

I had an extended warranty on my 528i through Warranty Gold, which was working out quite well.... until they went belly up. Fortunately, I only had a few thousand miles left on the warranty, and the only thing I was out was the cost of one power window motor. Still, I'd be hesitant to do it again with something as big as a car (maybe for a big screen TV or something). I just shelled out some money to get the Subaru Gold 6/80 coverage when I bought my LGT...

The Subaru Added Security is actually a third party obligor plan, not a manufacturer backed plan (the GM Protection Plan is backed by General Motors). The third party obligor in Subaru's case is Aon Corp.............................Tom

 

I recently received, in the mail, an offer from Subaru to purchase the "Added Security" plan, and Subaru states that "Added Security is the only extended service contract backed by Subaru of America, Inc." Prices start at $550 for 6yr/60K.

I just received the same Added Security offer from Subaru.

That is the Classic $100 deductible plan. Cost on it is $275.

 

 

Tom

Boy, am I sorry for extended warranty when the head gasket blow about a month ago on my 98 LGT.