You can't buy a warranty for your current auto.

If you do buy another car keep in mind that most new autos come with a warranty so that "six year warranty" you pay for, really only gives you a couple extra years tacked onto the one that comes with the auto.

dilly -- I'm not sure what you're saying. I can buy a waranty, either from Jaguar or an independent agency. Not a bumper-to-bumper waranty, but the same extended coverage the car has had since the original 4-year manufacturer's waranty expired.

Jaguar offers a 2-year, $50 deductible waranty for $2697. This includes coverage to 100,000 miles -- VERY unlikely in our case! It also stipulates Jaguar parts.

I've also found something called 'EasyCare TotalCare'. Their 2-year, $50 deductible is $2749. Their 4-year, $50 deductible is $3779. We can add 12,000 miles per year under this coverage; it does not stipulate Jaguar parts.

After its original manufacturer's waranty expired, we could buy similar extended waranties for our previous car until it was nearly 10 years old.

Some waranties that are not issued by the dealer do not cover what they claim. You might talk to the dealer first, and they may help you out. Check Consumer's Guide or even call around to other dealers.

And some warranties aren't worth the paper they're written on!!!! JMO You need a very good lawyer to decipher what they are saying,and one without deep pockets.
Yup you guessed it,we've been burned by these worthless pieces of paper,so we no longer get anything extra,just what the original warranty covers,nothing else.
Kathi

Well, I have no opinion on whether you should or shouldn't, but those costs seem really high!

I drive like you do - my 3 year old car has only 10K miles. I did opt for the dealer's optional warranty on the battery system (my car is a hybrid), but that was 5 years additional for only around $300.

JMHO, but those prices seem like robbery.

Every thing I have read advises against an extended warranty. I did buy one on my current car because my husband was in a care home and I was doing a spend down so it was smart on my part. Have only needed it once and the repair cost was less than $100. It will take a lot of those repairs to make up for what I paid for it. I would never do it again.

Whenever I've purchased a new car and am offered to buy an extended warranty "just in case," I always ask that why, if this car is so great and reliable, would I need to buy an extended warranty? The salesman has already spent time telling me all the great things about the car (which I already knew because I did my homework first before ever stepping in a car lot), so why do I need an extended warranty? That question shuts them up every time.

Hmmm...it looks like some of you are mistaken. I'm not buying an extended waranty on a NEW car or a new-to-me used car.

I'm considering buying a waranty on our nearly-6-year-old car; we've put 17,000 miles on it. I'd like to continue driving it for another two to four years and not face any big repair bills.

Am I looking at this wrong? If I bought the EasyCare 4-year waranty I'd be spending under $1000 a year (plus any uncovered minor repairs) to keep driving a car we like.

Do y'all think I should 'go bare' (no waranty); trade this car in for a new car ($35,000 - $16,000 for this car)?

Perhaps there's a formula or guideline? Our current 2005 car is worth about $16,000. If I spend $2700 to buy a 2-year waranty, I then have $18,700 in the car -- but I have put off laying out $20,000 for a new car.

Thanks for trying to help!

BTW I agree that it's a waste to buy extended waranties for most NEW appliances, electronics or cars. I'm looking at this as 'health insurance' on our older car. LOL

Where is Clark Howard when you need him?

Sue

Here's Clark Howard on the subject

Here is a link that might be useful: extended warranties?

First, let's clear up one big misconception: There's no such thing as an "extended warranty" from anyone other than the original manufacturer. They warrant their products and nobody else does. Third parties sell service contracts wherein they specify conditions whereby they'll pay part of the cost of the repair under certain circumstances and if certain criteria are met to their satisfaction.

If you maintain your vehicle as it sounds, what can really go that wrong with it? Sure, things can happen, but geez, $1000-$2000 a year as an insurance for what, a $50 repair? $500 repair? $1000 repair? Even a $4000 repair seems unlikely and wouldn't justify the cost in my opinion.

There's a line where it's bad for a vehicle to not be driven. Many mechanics would prefer to give their mothers a two year old, high mileage vehicle than a 20 year old extremely low mileage vehicle.

And I agree with the caution that too many of the service contracts aren't worth 2¢. To me, way too many people are so indoctrinated by fearmongers that they prefer to pay $300 for insurance than to pay an annual $100 charge. That's my 2¢ worth, and worth slightly less perhaps.

I read the 'Clark Howard' link, but don't see that it applies to my situation. I'm not responding to some robo-caller. I initiated this by asking our Jaguar dealer to provide information about waranties.

cynic -- Would you change your opinion if I can verify that the extended waranty is from Jaguar? As I understand it it's a continuation of the 'Certified' waranty the car came with when we bought it with 2700 miles on it in June 2006. It's phrased as a 96-month Jaguar waranty. (Thanks for the heads-up on the EasyCare; we'll definitely skip that!)

It's been most useful to get information here and on the GardenWeb forums for "Cars" and "Household Finance". It appears that it's unlikely we'll face a big repair on any 'waranty-covered' problem. We can afford to pay a bill as it comes along. If a major problem occurs, we'll face doing the repair or trading the car on something newer.

I budget depreciation. This car zero's out this year. I was pressuring myself because I know that once this Jaguar coverage lapses, we can't buy the Jag waranty.

Does anything I've written in this post change anyone's opinion about NOT buying even the Jaguar waranty?

Thanks, all!

I also keep my cars for a long time and maintain them regularly. This is the BEST insurance against costly repairs. Having said that, sometimes things do break.

Extended warranties are insurance and, like most insurance, are written in such a way as to avoid payout in most cases. IMHO, purchasing another policy to cover against repairs that you DON'T expect is throwing money down the drain. You're out the $$ for purchasing the policy. If you have repairs, you have to first make sure they are covered by the policy and then you're subject to a deductible. If the repair is not covered, your out both the $$ for the policy AND the $$ for the repair. Not a good place to be.

Here's what I would do. If you have the cash to pay for the warranty, open a separate bank account just for repair "insurance" and start it out with the funds you would have used for the extended warranty. Add $100 to it every month for the next couple years (or more, depending on your financial position). That will give you about $5,200 to cover any major repairs you might face, which is probably more than what the extended warranty would cover. If you don't incur any expenses, you've got some extra cash for a down payment on your next car.

It's not likely that your vehicle will have any repairs in the next couple of years but you can protect yourself by being fiscally smart.

Thanks, dees_1. If the warranty covered required maintenance I'd give it more thought. (The periodic check-ups that the warranty requires the owner to do at such-and-such intervals -- and regular maintenance we do anyway.)

Those bumper-to-bumper new car warranties DO cover that -- for up to five years. Still, not enough incentive for me to pay out $20-30K on a new set of wheels!

We can afford the potential bills. I'm glad I checked on GardenWeb before I went ahead and bought 'protection' for problems I probably won't even face!

Chisue, I might feel better if it was from Jag rather than a 3rd party but I really have to agree with dees_1's suggestion. Again, things CAN break down even on well-maintained vehicles. But, with all the usual loopholes often in these warranties, to say nothing of service contracts, it's still iffy.

Just a side comment: A friend has a Subaru Outback, purchased new and he maintained it quite well. Not mechanically inclined so into a shop for any service. At 30,000 miles he was required to spend $3500.00 for essentially a tuneup. Had he not spent that, they'd void his warranty. And the items covered by the "tuneup" could have been done at a normal shop for probably 1/4th or less but it was specific that it had to be done at a Subaru dealer, where they could control the price. Lesson: Thoroughly read that contract! It's legally binding. I compared my buddy's situation to the situation now with printers. Sell the printer cheap and charge the daylights out of you for ink! And void a warranty if you used after-market ink.

Here's a fact and don't take my word for it since it's easily verified: Service contracts are very high profit items. They make big money for these places. The vast majority of people are getting ripped off and few recover what it actually costs. With that in mind, I have big problems with any service contract. I have a position that you go for the best value on most things and if it costs less up front and should break down, you can replace it. If you have a large investment in something, it's hard to *not* repair it, no matter the cost. Case in point: A $2000 washer breaks down - estimated cost to repair $700. If a $300 washer broke down and it costs $500 to fix, buy a new one (or better yet a used one). And yes, occasionally I'll buy something that's not the best value because I prefer it. Keep in mind if you should total the car, (and an old vehicle value is lower so...) you would not be able to collect the cost of the service contract. If you have that money in a bank account, you have that money "reimbursed" to you. Just something else to ponder.

Given the amount of miles you put on, I'd say buy what you like and drive it rather than economize. I'm not saying get a different vehicle.

My experience with vehicles is that if you have good luck from the start and maintain it reasonably well odds are in your favor. Insurance of any kind when not being abused is seldom a payoff mode but especially so with service contracts. Again, remember the profit margin. Had you been having troubles with it, even nitpicky things that nickle and dime you, then I'd consider a contract.

So, I guess after all that, to answer your question, I might not be as hard-pressed against it, but I still wouldn't buy it for myself. I usually think it's better to keep my money in my pocket as long as possible!

cynic -- Thanks for getting back to me on this. My plan now is to get the car serviced before the current warranty expires in December. They can do whatever major 'checkup' will be due next year while it's under warranty. Then...we'll skip buying the Jaguar or any other extended warranty/insurance and see what comes.

Your clothes washer example fits me! When we built in 2001 I rejected the expensive, heavily advertised front loader and bought a Frigidaire, realizing I could buy THREE Frigidaires for only a little more. Yes, I am on #2 Frigidaire, but it was actually cheaper than the original one and is running just fine. (I'm pretty sure the first one wore out because a house-sitter had overloaded it.)