What is in the dealer's best interest re: extended warranty work??

[froggy47]

I've got the "Ryan" extended warranty - sold by my "fabulous" local Chevy dealer.\

Used it a couple of times, work was so so, they got paid so everybody's hunky dory, right?

But, say I drive in & need a new ZF tranny, mucho $$$$, does the dealer want to get pre authorized, fight w/ the ins co, do the work or is he really in the position of trying to tell me that either A: I don't really need a new tranny or B: I did something that disqualifies me from getting the ins. co to pay for it?

I know the warr co. is not just sitting around hoping that these repairs come along, that's a given.

Question is, where does the dealer sit in all this?

Come on, must be some dealer service managers that post to this forum, be a man & tell us what gives.

Thanks!

 

[Skant]

Insurance companies are in the conflict of interest business. You are paying them a lot of money to protect your car, and it's in their best interest to let your car rot. Especially when it gets expensive.

I bought an extended warranty once... and then cancelled it and got a refund after reading the contract very carefully and comparing it against the postings on CAC about what actually breaks on a Corvette. Basically, I looked at each posting about something that broke, and read the contract text to see if that would have been covered if it was my car.

My conclusion? The insurance company would have had an angle to deny every single one. Basically, I would have been relying on their good faith to pay out.

While it may look like the text of the contract is good protection... read it very carefully... they leave cleverly hidden ways out for themselves on everything. The only stuff that they'll cover iron clad is the stuff that never breaks. Anything that might break is listed with a host of exceptions that pretty much cover every failure case.

In the end, I realized that my insurance policy only covered all the ways my Corvette wouldn't fail. Anything beyond that would just be relying on the good will of the insurance company. Something they are not known for.


As for the dealer's position, I had a housemate who was a mechanic at a dealership. They were encouraged to find reasons for the work to be done out of warranty (in fact, they got yelled at if they didn't do it enough). The mechanics were paid quite a lot more for out of warranty work. They certainly did try harder to find reasons not to cover the big jobs under warranty. When he had 'good days' where he'd worked all day long on out of warranty repairs, he'd be all smiley and go out and buy a bunch of toys with all the money he made.


The whole system is designed to screw you. When it works out, it's because of the good will of people for whom it's not in their best interest to help you. Thank them for their kindness.

- Skant

 

[froggy47]

Thanks cd5. I figure it's a bet. I tend to keep my cars a long time. On this 96 (49k miles) I bet that more than $1,500 dollars worth of stuff will go south b4 the 3yr/36k miles passes.

So far (prices are what I would have to pay a dealer to do the repair - not DIY - GM parts direct type prices):

1) Horn $40.00
2) Radiator $500. - 600.
3) hvac controller $500 - 600.

so far the dealer/ins co has made money on me but one more run of the mill type repair - say a seat track or Bose or you name it and I'm even.

A biggy like a zf or opti/water pump or engine oil leak or ... I've won the bet.

Anyone else had good/bad results with Ryan (sold by GM dealers) warranty?

Thanks.