Aftermarket Warranty

[JackDunaway]

About 3 weeks ago I bought my first 1984 'vette from a dealership in Dallas, and along with it an aftermarket warranty. Of course, the sales rep was trying to sell and make a profit, so he hyped up the usefulness of the warranty. I would never have bought his spiel under most circumstances, but I looked through the contract and talked with him for 20 minutes with a battery of questions before I realized that it seemed like a legitimate deal.

For $1500, the warranty will cover the entire drivetrain, a/c, electrical components, roadside assistance, towing and up to 65.00/hr labor for 4 yrs/unlimited miles. The company is C.A.R.S., Complete Auto Repair Services. Each claim filed requires a $100 deductable. (If you ask, I'll give a detailed description of all the covered components.)

On this car in particular, it ran, but I didn't expect it to for 4 years. It covers the power seats, power windows, and power locks too, all which are getting very decrepit. Plus, with a crossfire engine and tranny that have never been rebuilt with 130K on them...

That's $1500+ in problems right there easily. The warranty is totally independent of mileage or condition of the car after the initial acceptance. As the contract states, "Under the limited warranty, C.A.R.S. will oversee the repair or replacement of any covered component that is found to be defective beyond the manufacturer specifications, including the failures resulting from normal wear and tear." They honor repairs done by any qualified mechanic, which in my case is the local Chevy dealership.

This upcoming Monday, August 16, I'm taking the car in to have the engine worked on/rebuilt. It's losing compression, dies when you wind it up over 3k and let off quickly, and has a very distinct smell of a lot of unburnt fuel in the exhaust. This will be a big test of the warranty, because it lists everything that I think could be wrong with it (minus your tune-up items and few other various "maintenance" parts).

Has anybody had exposure to this warranty company or any other aftermarket warranty? Please let me know if it worked for you or really was too good to be true. If it doesn't work for me, I'm going after that dealership...

 

[Ken]

I moved this to the C4 General Discussion forum in hopes of you receiving more response.

 

[redc4corvette]

I have the GE warranty and I use to work for kelly blue book warranty company.

So far I have used my warrant for a starter and water pump motor mounts fuel pump and I am ahead of the dollars at this time.
I think it is worth it, but read it and make sure it covers what you want call the company do not rely on where you bought the warranty to tell you the truth.:eyerole

 

[WhalePirot]

I checked out a few aftermarket warranties. Very, very few passed the stink test. I truly hope yours is okay. Rule 1-10 is: they make money by taking yours and NOT spending theirs! Also, dealers mark up the cost of these quite a lot, but don't necessarily operate under them.

There are two issues, First is the contract fine print. They are much better at finding exceptions as to why they should NOT pay for your repair than any of us are at getting them to pay for it.

Second is the financial viability of the company behind the warranty. Recently, a well known and reputable national warranty company bailed out to the Caribbean, leaving policy holders without.

I have also heard of folks having their cars torn down at a shop, having the warranty company find a reason to not pay {see above} (like wear) and have the dealer impound the car for nonpayment, when the owner could not afford the cost of the teardown and reassembly!

I truly, truly hope none of this comes your way, but be wary and ask a LOT of questions before any 'warranty' work starts.

 

[tnovot]

"This upcoming Monday, August 16, I'm taking the car in to have the engine worked on/rebuilt. It's losing compression, dies when you wind it up over 3k and let off quickly, and has a very distinct smell of a lot of unburnt fuel in the exhaust. This will be a big test of the warranty, because it lists everything that I think could be wrong with it (minus your tune-up items and few other various "maintenance" parts)."

I am not familiar with this particular company but have had personal experience with a few and have heard about others. You might want to check with the warranty company BEFORE you take it in for engine rebuild that you expect the warranty to cover.
RedC4 is definitely right, the warranty company and NOT the person who sold you the contract has the final word. And, of course, they are in business to make money, not help you fix up your car. Like Whale says, there is usually plenty of fine print.
Most of these warranties cover engine components if and when they fail (such as a spun bearing or broken piston/rod) but not just from normal wear. If a failed engine IS covered, many times they will only pay for a rebuilt engine or short block from a company they have a relationship with rather than bearing the high cost of a dealer rebuild.
Good luck; I hope I'm wrong but my bet is you are going to needs lots of it.
Terry

 

[bradfordsvettes]

a lot of companies will not pay for wear and tear only a failure. some companies can find more loop holes than others the factory warranty is the best but not generaly available on older or high mileage cars :cry steve