Extended Warranty Coverage Yay or Nay

I think extended warranties are probably more important now than they used to be years ago. There was a time when you could keep the most expensive Mercedes-Benz for decades without having expensive repairs and maintenance. Nowadays, there are creature comforts that cost a ton of money to repair after a factory warranty expires. Think lane keeping assist, rear/side traffic alert, 360 degree cameras, navigation, bluetooth and all that goes with it, intelligent cruise control, etc, etc, etc. Even headlights are becoming very expensive to repair and/or replace.

It's not like it was during the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, etc. There's a computer for everything and technology is everywhere. If you're planning on keeping a vehicle for a long time - and it has high tech features - and those features are one of the reasons you purchased the vehicle - an extended warranty doesn't seem unreasonable to me.
 
I am still waiting for one of the thousands of readers of this forum to offer a testimonial that an extended warranty saved them more money in repairs than what they paid out up-front for the warranty. The silence speaks volumes.
 
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WNJeffers said:
I am still waiting for one of the thousands of readers of this forum to offer a testimonial that an extended warranty saved them more money in repairs than what they paid out up-front for the warranty. The silence speaks volumes.
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We have a total of 1,304 members - and 6 of them are here discussing extended warranties - including you and I. This is a relatively new community. It may make the most sense to refrain from gauging the value of extended warranties here until we have a larger community to pull data from.
 
seems most Sportage customers are on the Kia forum (which somehow I got banned from) rather than this Sportage forum?
 
EnonEye said:
seems most Sportage customers are on the Kia forum (which somehow I got banned from) rather than this Sportage forum?
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True. I started this community as I felt it was odd that no Sportage-specific forum existed on the internet. As if the Sportage isn’t worthy of that. So here we are. We’ll grow - though slowly…
 
Kia Sportage Forum said:
We have a total of 1,304 members - and 6 of them are here discussing extended warranties - including you and I. This is a relatively new community. It may make the most sense to refrain from gauging the value of extended warranties here until we have a larger community to pull data from.
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I would be curious to know how many of the 1,304 members have read this thread but have not posted a testimonial that an extended warranty saved them money. It may be wise to refrain from extolling the virtues of extended warranties in the absence of supporting evidence.

In my 75 years, I have never yet seen one scintilla of evidence that an extended warranty on any product saved someone money.

Wayne
 
WNJeffers said:
I would be curious to know how many of the 1,304 members have read this thread but have not posted a testimonial that an extended warranty saved them money. It may be wise to refrain from extolling the virtues of extended warranties in the absence of supporting evidence.

In my 75 years, I have never yet seen one scintilla of evidence that an extended warranty on any product saved someone money.

Wayne
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The topic has been viewed a total of 305 times, mostly by guests (non-members). Do keep in mind that for most of your life, cars didn't have high tech options like lane-keeping assist, which cost more to repair and/or replace than things like starters - which are simple replacements. These days, between diagnostic costs, parts costs, and complications that arise from so many things/features being connected - it's a very different ballgame than it was years ago.
 
We should simply agree to disagree on this. I clearly have a much better opinion of the long-term reliability of modern cars in general and Kia in particular.

Arguably, an extended warranty might have made more sense, not less, decades ago when cars and their parts were notoriously unreliable and short-lived.

Several times you have mentioned lane-keeping assist as a potential costly repair. The first thing I did when I got the car home from the dealer was research how to turn off lane-keeping assist. It was an annoyance. The roads around here are curvy and narrow and it was frequently activating when I was in my lane but the lane was so narrow that I was too close to one of the painted lines for its liking. I do not see why it is needed (or even legal.) If I get too old to keep the car in my lane, I will hand over the keys.

I have a similar attitude toward the need for most of the “technology” items on the car. The GPS in particular is worse than worthless most of the time.

Kia has a reputation as one of the top brands for powertrain reliability. They cover that for 10 years or 100,000 miles. After that I am happy to take my chances on necessary repairs. In all probability, the powertrain will be trouble-free for more than 200,000 miles.

But the fact remains that no one has brought forth evidence of extended warranty saving them money beyond the cost of the warranty. All I have seen is worry that problems could arise (maybe) and that an extended warranty would pay the cost of repairs (a doubtful proposition in itself) in excess of the thousands of dollars the warranty cost.

Wayne
 
Kia Sportage Forum said:
The topic has been viewed a total of 305 times, mostly by guests (non-members). Do keep in mind that for most of your life, cars didn't have high tech options like lane-keeping assist, which cost more to repair and/or replace than things like starters - which are simple replacements. These days, between diagnostic costs, parts costs, and complications that arise from so many things/features being connected - it's a very different ballgame than it was years ago.
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Sure, but the overall reliability of new cars has gone through the roof, compared to the older, "non-tech" cars. And as far as electronics are concerned, if they are faulty and are going to fail, they usually do very early on. Could they be "zapped" by an electrical charge somehow? Sure, but generally not likely, if you aren't fooling around with them. Some Kia dealers and/or finance dept sales people often try to scare people into paying for these extended warranties (aka ripoffs) buy claiming that the electronics are covered for less time than the rest of the car and that they are expensive to replace. This specific example is all over these forums, so seems to be a dealer's "go to" scare tactic for selling these worthless policies. These warranties cost THOUSANDS of dollars. That buys a lot of repairs, even if it is a display that needs to be replaced someday (and most probably after the extended warranty expires!)...
 
WNJeffers said:
We should simply agree to disagree on this. I clearly have a much better opinion of the long-term reliability of modern cars in general and Kia in particular.

Arguably, an extended warranty might have made more sense, not less, decades ago when cars and their parts were notoriously unreliable and short-lived.

Several times you have mentioned lane-keeping assist as a potential costly repair. The first thing I did when I got the car home from the dealer was research how to turn off lane-keeping assist. It was an annoyance. The roads around here are curvy and narrow and it was frequently activating when I was in my lane but the lane was so narrow that I was too close to one of the painted lines for its liking. I do not see why it is needed (or even legal.) If I get too old to keep the car in my lane, I will hand over the keys.

I have a similar attitude toward the need for most of the “technology” items on the car. The GPS in particular is worse than worthless most of the time.

Kia has a reputation as one of the top brands for powertrain reliability. They cover that for 10 years or 100,000 miles. After that I am happy to take my chances on necessary repairs. In all probability, the powertrain will be trouble-free for more than 200,000 miles.

But the fact remains that no one has brought forth evidence of extended warranty saving them money beyond the cost of the warranty. All I have seen is worry that problems could arise (maybe) and that an extended warranty would pay the cost of repairs (a doubtful proposition in itself) in excess of the thousands of dollars the warranty cost.

Wayne
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It's okay, we can certainly agree to disagree.

Is lane keeping assist always on in your Sportage? You actually have to turn it off? In most instances it's a feature you need to turn on/activate to use. For me, it's just a second pair of eyes in case something happens to distract me. If I were to get a really sharp pain in my chest and panic, it's nice to know that the car will stay in the lane as I slow down - or if I cannot slow down - slow down to a stop for me if need be.

In any event, having 6 people in a discussion and not having any of them demonstrate the value of an extended warranty isn't a whole lot to go on.
 
steveo said:
Sure, but the overall reliability of new cars has gone through the roof, compared to the older, "non-tech" cars. And as far as electronics are concerned, if they are faulty and are going to fail, they usually do very early on. Could they be "zapped" by an electrical charge somehow? Sure, but generally not likely, if you aren't fooling around with them. Some Kia dealers and/or finance dept sales people often try to scare people into paying for these extended warranties (aka ripoffs) buy claiming that the electronics are covered for less time than the rest of the car and that they are expensive to replace. This specific example is all over these forums, so seems to be a dealer's "go to" scare tactic for selling these worthless policies. These warranties cost THOUSANDS of dollars. That buys a lot of repairs, even if it is a display that needs to be replaced someday (and most probably after the extended warranty expires!)...
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I think extended warranties are best for people who plan on keeping their vehicle for a long time. Many of these new features don't have a long history so it's not easy to predict how they'll react as time goes on. But, yes, generally, cars have become more reliable.

When all is said and done, I don't criticize people for purchasing an extended warranty - or for casting it aside. People should do whatever makes them comfortable/happy.
 
Kia Sportage Forum said:
I think extended warranties are best for people who plan on keeping their vehicle for a long time. Many of these new features don't have a long history so it's not easy to predict how they'll react as time goes on. But, yes, generally, cars have become more reliable.

When all is said and done, I don't criticize people for purchasing an extended warranty - or for casting it aside. People should do whatever makes them comfortable/happy.
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The OP asked for pros & cons (i.e. opinions) on extended warranties. They are getting plenty. This is a good thing. Anyone being "critical" on here is just trying to save them money...
 
I was exhausted by the time I got to see 'the documents guy" on this purchase and had no interest in an extended warranty so I'm unable to say what that was being offered for. I would think like most extended warranties it would be offered somewhere in the 10% of the cost of the car so what? $3to4K. No, no ,no honey.
 
Kia Sportage Forum said:
It's okay, we can certainly agree to disagree.

Is lane keeping assist always on in your Sportage? You actually have to turn it off? In most instances it's a feature you need to turn on/activate to use. For me, it's just a second pair of eyes in case something happens to distract me. If I were to get a really sharp pain in my chest and panic, it's nice to know that the car will stay in the lane as I slow down - or if I cannot slow down - slow down to a stop for me if need be.

In any event, having 6 people in a discussion and not having any of them demonstrate the value of an extended warranty isn't a whole lot to go on.
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Kia Sportage Forum said:
I think extended warranties are best for people who plan on keeping their vehicle for a long time. Many of these new features don't have a long history so it's not easy to predict how they'll react as time goes on. But, yes, generally, cars have become more reliable.

When all is said and done, I don't criticize people for purchasing an extended warranty - or for casting it aside. People should do whatever makes them comfortable/happy.
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“Lane departure warning” (I think that is the correct term), not full lane keeping, was on when I picked up the car. I found the way to disable it and have not been bothered by it since.

Over 300 people had enough interest to view this discussion, yet not one has bothered to post a testimonial to having saved more than the cost because of repairs paid by an extended warranty, on a car or on any other product. I have heard numerous anecdotes of people having extended warranty claims denied, which inspires no confidence that claims would be paid, if the need should arise.

I keep vehicles longer than most. My last car, 20 trouble-free years, my pickup truck is 13 trouble-free years and counting. I think my shortest period of ownership was 13 years and I replaced that vehicle only because it no longer met my needs, not due to any reliability issues. My opinion based on experience and numerous reports of extended warranty companies finding any reason to deny coverage (provided they have not gone out of business in the interim) gives me every reason to believe that such warranties are a rip-off.

I am old enough to remember having to replace, belts, hoses, exhaust systems, shock absorbers, and tires every 2 years, plus changing oil and filters 4 times a year. This is not to mention adjusting valves or replacing valve adjusters, timing chains/gears, and an assortment of other parts on a routine basis. Today’s cars are blissfully low maintenance. I am happy to take my chances on paying to fix something in the unlikely event that I should need a repair.

Wayne
 
EnonEye said:
I was exhausted by the time I got to see 'the documents guy" on this purchase and had no interest in an extended warranty so I'm unable to say what that was being offered for. I would think like most extended warranties it would be offered somewhere in the 10% of the cost of the car so what? $3to4K. No, no ,no honey.
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If I were in that situation, my reply would be, " Are you telling me that this car is so lacking in reliability that I should expect to need to spend more than $4K for repairs not covered by your warranty?" Try it, just to see the reaction.

Wayne
 
EnonEye said:
I was exhausted by the time I got to see 'the documents guy" on this purchase and had no interest in an extended warranty so I'm unable to say what that was being offered for. I would think like most extended warranties it would be offered somewhere in the 10% of the cost of the car so what? $3to4K. No, no ,no honey.
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I laugh out loud now every time I shop on Amazon these days, because invariably an offer will pop up to purchase insurance on every kitchen spoon and doohickie I buy. Who the heck keeps buying this crap and encouraging these silly warranty companies? Too bad almost no one seems to get Personal Finance courses during their educational years! Should be required.

But then again, what would all the poor insurance companies do?
 
steveo said:
I laugh out loud now every time I shop on Amazon these days, because invariably an offer will pop up to purchase insurance on every kitchen spoon and doohickie I buy. Who the heck keeps buying this crap and encouraging these silly warranty companies? Too bad almost no one seems to get Personal Finance courses during their educational years! Should be required.

But then again, what would all the poor insurance companies do?
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The purpose of insurance companies and the companies that offer extended warranties is to maximize profits and minimize risks. It is not to provide a needed public service. Insurance companies are at least regulated by the states to insure some minimal level of integrity. I do not think the same applies to companies offering extended warranties.

Wayne
 
Brubaker said:
Have any of you purchased the extended warranty coverage. When we purchased our Hybrid two weeks ago, it took a ridiculous amount of time and we had to get going. We did everything before we even went to the dealership. We bought the car out of state and wanted to make sure everything was handled before we arrived. They had the car ready but still took over 5 hours on who knows what. I suspect it is a ploy to wear you down knowing you want to get out of there and in our case, we had a 200-mile drive to get home. We left so late we ended up staying in a hotel. (Arrived at the dealer at 3pm and they held up until 8:15).

They presented us with the ability to purchase an additional warranty to extend things beyond the 3 year 36,000 miles. The big item was the electronics since there are so many items on this car and they are only covered for 3 years.
The company they work with is Ally Auto. The Finance person took her time going through all this and the only thing I really saw was you can cancel within 60 days for a full refund. Figured we can sign to get out of there and look more closely at it later.

We will be cancelling but wanted to ask if anyone on the forum has purchased this and any pros cons?

Reading the contract in detail, it doesn't look like it provides for the electronics in the contract only powertrain items, which are covered for 10 years. This contract cost $1,873.

We also signed for a time and wheel with cosmetic damage addendum also with Ally. This one cost $510. My concern about the wheels is road rash. We have a 2017 Niro and 3 of the wheels have rash on the rims. This apparently is covered with the cosmetic damage level. Anyone buy this coverage and have any pros cons?

Appreciate any input.
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I
Brubaker said:
Have any of you purchased the extended warranty coverage. When we purchased our Hybrid two weeks ago, it took a ridiculous amount of time and we had to get going. We did everything before we even went to the dealership. We bought the car out of state and wanted to make sure everything was handled before we arrived. They had the car ready but still took over 5 hours on who knows what. I suspect it is a ploy to wear you down knowing you want to get out of there and in our case, we had a 200-mile drive to get home. We left so late we ended up staying in a hotel. (Arrived at the dealer at 3pm and they held up until 8:15).

They presented us with the ability to purchase an additional warranty to extend things beyond the 3 year 36,000 miles. The big item was the electronics since there are so many items on this car and they are only covered for 3 years.
The company they work with is Ally Auto. The Finance person took her time going through all this and the only thing I really saw was you can cancel within 60 days for a full refund. Figured we can sign to get out of there and look more closely at it later.

We will be cancelling but wanted to ask if anyone on the forum has purchased this and any pros cons?

Reading the contract in detail, it doesn't look like it provides for the electronics in the contract only powertrain items, which are covered for 10 years. This contract cost $1,873.

We also signed for a time and wheel with cosmetic damage addendum also with Ally. This one cost $510. My concern about the wheels is road rash. We have a 2017 Niro and 3 of the wheels have rash on the rims. This apparently is covered with the cosmetic damage level. Anyone buy this coverage and have any pros cons?

Appreciate any input.
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i just picked up new 2025 Sportage Hybrid this week. I declined the 3 different packages (extended warranty, something about wheels/tires, something about etching/stolen car replacement coverage) the finance person offered to me.

I do plan to purchase extended warranty from a Kia dealership after I shop best price. This can be done after car purchase.

- I did not buy it for my 1990 Nissan 240 SX but wish I did after costly repairs.
- I did not buy it for my 1999 Toyota Camry and had no regrets
- I did buy it for my 2007 Toyota Odyssey and it more than paid for itself
- I did buy it for my 2010 Toyota Highlander and it more than paid for itself

My reasons:
- I tend to keep my car for a long time (7+ years).
- These new cars have more and more gadgets.
- I bought it for my last 2 new car purchases and glad I did
 
I got the tier that covered the electronics. Honestly, I think that's the most important with cars these days. There are so many CPUs that pretty much control everything. Now with a hybrid, it might be beneficial to get extended on the power train just to make sure everything is covered there. Hybrids are expensive to service and you really can work on them yourself like a normal setup.
 
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