Just bought a used Pilot, should I buy this warranty?

[Davin]

Greetings, I just bought a 2006 EXL 2WD with 70K miles on it. The vehicle appears to have been kept in excellent condition. The Mercedes dealer that tool it in offered me a 3 year 36K mile warranty for $1400. They said the company that underwrites the policy (EasyCare) is the same that underwrites Honda and Acura so in a sense it is like a Certified Honda, only via Mercedes. The warranty covers everything you would assume, powertrain, A/C, etc.
The thing is though that one of the reasons I went with the Pilot is because they are supposed to be better than average on reliability. Do you guys think this is a good deal or am I wasting my money? I have till tomorrow to decide. Thanks.

[deanmcneill]

You didn't mention how much you were paying for the Pilot. I always think of an extended warranty in terms of % of the vehicle cost, a 20% increase for 3 years of warranty (if it covers a LOT) would seem fair to me. The other way to look at it is that's $500 per year. Not a bad insurance.... but you really need to be sure what it covers. And, if I'm not mistaken, there's a fair chunk of commission on those extended warranty's so there might be some room to negotiate on the price.

[Davin]

Originally Posted by deanmcneill

You didn't mention how much you were paying for the Pilot. I always think of an extended warranty in terms of % of the vehicle cost, a 20% increase for 3 years of warranty (if it covers a LOT) would seem fair to me. The other way to look at it is that's $500 per year. Not a bad insurance.... but you really need to be sure what it covers. And, if I'm not mistaken, there's a fair chunk of commission on those extended warranty's so there might be some room to negotiate on the price.

Thanks for the reply, it does cover a lot. I paid $15,988 for the vehicle so that puts $1400 at around 11% I believe.

[deanmcneill]

11% increase in price for some peace of mind is probably a good insurance. If three years down the road you haven't used it, then you can kick yourself.

I had a 2007, just took it back after lease ended... it was absolutely bulletproof for about 55,000 miles.

[megatron]

I would NOT buy that warranty for one simple reason. It is NOT Honda Care. Even if what they say about the same underwriters is true (and I'm not so certain that it is), it is not the same as Honda Care. The dealers won't honor it no questions asked like they do with Honda Care and you may have to haggle with the warranty company on repairs at a Honda dealer due to cost. They may want you to go to a third party shop or just refuse to pay for whatever the dealer says you need.

This sounds no different than any other 3rd party extended warranty out there. They sell it to pad their profits and you are left with the headache when you want to use it.

Unfortunately, after the factory warranty is up, you can't buy Honda Care even if you wanted to, unless it's a Certified pre-owned at a Honda dealer, so I would save the money and keep it for future repairs!

That's my take on this... I would PASS!

[xGS]

Put the $1,400 in the bank and use it to to pay for the timing belt replacement that will be due in 1-2 years or at 105,000 miles.

[mclairmo]

DO NOT GET IT. Waste of money. If you do need it, shop around, you can get it much cheaper through a bank or credit union. It's just like any other insurance product. Shop around, I know people who have bought similar warranties for $400.