i like the extended warrantys, but i would opt for a g.m. factory extended waranty with a saab. in my experiance the factory extended warrantys are much better.

I'll take the flip side. IMO they are generally a waste of money. Warranty is a poor choice of terms. Insurance is more like it. How much is the insurance, and what exactly does it cover? What are the odds that you'll need whatever is covered, and how much would that repair cost if you just paid out of pocket? Seems like they generally don't cover anything that's likely to wear out. Will cover a major problem such as an engine spitting a rod out through the side of the pan or transmission failure. Everything is a gamble. To me these so called warranties are like paying for a major repair in advance when the majority of the time you'll never have had to pay anything at all. Now, if your Saab has some kind of major design problem, say if 90% of the trannys go bad at 60k miles for example, and the typical cost to repair exceeds the cost of the warranty, then you have something to think about. jmo

If you have an average maintenance/problem experience the extended warranty will cost you more than you receive. The Extended Warranty (all insurance) is structured to assue that the offer covers all expenses and returns a profit to the seller(s).

I agree with the posters who are against purchasing extended warranties through the dealers. However, I'd like to point out that GEICO offers a similar insurance through their Multi-risk auto policy. Here are the details, for comparison: $250 deductible, can be added after purchase up to one or two years (I believe), covers car until it has 90K miles, costs me less than $5/month for one car. I have had a claim under this coverage on a previous car and GEICO paid with no problem. I would definitely recommend this in lieu of the warranties that the dealers are pushing. Other auto insurers may have a similar policy, worth checking into. Steve

Thanks for the input i will check out Geico on Monday. Gm warranty is like $3400 and i can not see that. Thanks again.
Sandy

How about just set aside $3400, $2400, whatever, in an account dedicated for major repair should you need it, which odds are you won't unless you know already this model has a known weakness. If it does, I'd pick a different car anyway.

I would avoid Geico there for customers who simply need insurance because its the law.Like liability only insurance.As for full coverage and extended warranty coverage.I dought they would back the customer very well.But maybe thats just me? I like to know my agent and who im dealing with.

Also watch out for the online extended warranty trash.They suck you in then go broke.Then reamerge under a new name and continue the cycle.Several have came and gone the last few years.However there still out there just under a new name.

I use to get the extended plans.But they have went up drastically the last few years.I would rather trade cars more often then sock that kind on money into a what if program.

jd: FYI we've been with GEICO for 30 years and they've always treated us quite well. As I said, we did have a claim under the mechanical breakdown portion of the policy and they covered it with no problem. As they have with several other claims. But maybe that's just me. The mechanical breakdown coverage is $250 deductible, so it's not for every problem, more of a protection against major expenses. If you're buying a new car, you've already got warranty coverage for say 36,000 miles. Then the mechanical breakdown coverage covers until 90,000 miles. Regards, Steve

Well Daisy, it looks like you have gotten a pretty good response. First the best thing you can do with your money is deposit it into a CD, where it will grow for you, then should your car have a problem, you can use that CASH to address it. If your car does not have any breakdowns, then you still have the cash for whatever you want to use it for.

For those that purchase aftermarket extended warranties. They really should not be called a warranty, they are better called insurance. Many of them set limits on what they will pay for even covered repairs, which makes it uncomfortable for the repair shop to deal with. My pricing is what it is based on my needs to survive, and reinvest in my business. It does not become flexible because you paid someone else money for some type of an insurance policy. Our only solution is for you to pay full price for the repair, and your insurance company sends you what they are willing to, or should I say contractually obligated to pay. They don't pay diagnostics. They set limits on labor dollars per hour. They look for the lowest listed labor hours in a "guide" for the job. Lots of them shop parts prices on line, and even try to only pay the parts wholesale cost. Then they apply their deductable! I could go on and on, but IMO it's a rare occasion that a vehicle owner benefits from purchasing one of these "insurance policies".

I called Geico and they only insure new cars up to 17000 miles which you can extend at that point for a fee.My car is a 2003 so it lets me out. I will just pay for any breakdowns myself as you are all right it will be cheaper if i do this. But the Geico i will keep in mind for future car buying.

Maybe Geico needs to have different comericals?Perhaps a few happy customers telling there stories?Rather then talking reptiles with an Australian accent and insulted cavemen?

They should mention they have been in business for years and what they will do for there customer in times of need after an accident.

Maybe im wrong but when I have an insurance claim.I prefere to call my local agent.Who knows me by name and not a number.Rather then calling a 800 number and listing to music and waiting to see who will answer the phone after I play the push this button game.

i wouldnt pay 3400.00 for the g.m. warranty, i paid 1000.00 for a 3 yr g.m. warranty, on my suzuki, that took over when the original 3/36 ran out. didnt think that was bad. i used it twice to cover the a.c. compressor, and the radiator.

Companies don't sell extended warranties to lose money, they sell them to make money. That means on average the person who buys them loses. They are a gamble just like Las Vegas. You might win on occasion, but in the long run you lose. If you NEVER buy them you should end up money ahead in the long run. $3400 for an extended warranty??? I wouldn't even consider that. I've been driving 40 years and have NEVER had a car repair that even approached that. That would have to be a major drive train failure of some sort. Most serious problems will be sorted out in the standard warranty range. A lot of things that can go wrong after that aren't even covered under extended warranty and you have to make a case to collect. On average, extended warranties are a big waste of money. Avoid them. The odds are definitely against you.

I've purchased 3 new cars. A '74 duster that I drove 140k+ miles. Aside from a couple of mufflers, brake pads and shoes, a battery, and a few sets of tires and spark plugs, I never had to pay for any repair. A '93 ford tempo, same story, but I did pay a shop $200 to replace a power steering hose at around 120K miles and 11 years old. A '98 Dodge durango that now has around 90k miles on it. Brake pads, one set of tires, a $24 backup light switch at around 50k, and a $20 speed sensor that went bad @ 70k miles or so. Aside from the $20 speed sensor and backup light switch that I replaced myself in about 1/2 hr each, none of that stuff would have been covered. Probably would have been past time for the other stuff too without extending the 'warranty'. If there was a deductable at all, those things wouldn't have been covered anyway. In my case, whatever money I would have spent on an extended'warranty', whether it be $100, $1000, or $3000, would have just been money taken out of my pocket and placed into someone elses without getting anything in return. I Bet my experience typical. Thankfully I didn't take the bait.

I'm driving a '95 Taurus with 230,000 miles. Replaced normal stuff like brakes, tires, belts, alternator. None would be covered by extended warranty. Don't think I've EVER had a repair where extended warranty would have paid off in my entire life. They don't cover normal wear stuff and things like water pumps, alternators, power steering pumps, etc. I rebuilt a transmission on a '87 T-bird I bought new but it was covered by the "standard" warranty.

I only bought ONE extended warranty in my life and that was on a TV about 25 years ago. The salesman was determined he was going to sell me an extended warranty. Must have been something extra going into HIS pocket if he sold those. Started out at $100 or so. He kept saying he would lower the price of the TV if I bought the extended warranty. I told him unless he lowered the price of the TV the same amount of the extended warranty that I wasn't interested. He finally did just that so I got it for free. And I collected on it too. What a coincidence that the only time I had an opportunity to collect on an extended warranty, I actually had one. What luck. But the repair was only about $100 anyway, so all it did was neutralize the cost of the warranty.

Geico's MBI is an insurance product which is significantly different than a warranty. Warranties only cover a few things. Insurance covers you for multiple things which is why it's was called multi risk years ago.

The exclusions are rust and deliberate misuse of the vehicle. It covers up to 100,000 or 7 years but you must be the original purchaser of the vehicle and it must be both under 17k and purchased less than 17 months ago. In most states it also reduces your glass deductible to $50.00.