Congrats! The dealer is steering you towards allstate because they likely make more money on allstate. Both policies will have wording requiring you to have performed the manufacturers required service to cover a component that is affected by those services. There is no way around that. Ask to see contracts for both and read them carefully. Approving a repair with a third party is much more difficult for a dealer than dealing with Honda internally for approval. Sometimes a third party contract will require independent verification of the problem. It is often the other way around with regards to rejecting coverage, Honda does not give an issue with approval, while the 3rd party insurer tries any way possible to get out of covering it.

To answer your coverage questions, request copies of both contracts to compare them.

Also, you do not have to buy a Hondacare policy from the selling dealer. You can purchase it from the dealer offering it cheapest. Take a look at the following site to get an idea of good pricing. Ask you dealer to match the price first.

Curry
Bernardi
Hyannis

Or you can just put the purchase amount in an interest bearing savings account. That way you can use it if you need or or keep it (plus interest) if you don't.

 

As an example, she said Allstate would be more forgiving than Hondacare and cover a failed wiper motor. Whereas, Hondacare might cite neglect on my part as I didnt remove the snow from the windshield first.

That's a stupid example she gave you. Total BS. How in the world would Honda know if you didn't remove snow first? She is obviously trying to sway you toward the Allstate extended warranty and I'd bet anything that the dealership makes more on that sale.

 

Thank you to both of you for your responses. I agree with your assessment that she was trying to make some additional cash off of us. While she didn't give us a quote for HondaCare, she gave us a "feeler" price of $1800 for Allstate.

Here are the prices I received for plan D82 which is the 8year 120K coverage:
Curry - $1495
Bernardi - $1595
Sacucci - $1295

Still debating the merits of purchasing an extended warranty as Honda America covered our last 2 known issues. Both cars were past the warranty period.

2006 Honda Civic - Cracked Engine Block - Reimbursed ~$4000
2002 Honda Odyssey - 3rd gear transmission switch ~ $400

It comes down to how much risk I want to take without the coverage.

 

Here are the prices I received for plan D82 which is the 8year 120K coverage:
Curry - $1495
Bernardi - $1595
Sacucci - $1295

Hyannis - $1270 Available Plans::Hyannis Honda Care

That's where I got mine. Quick, easy AND friendly. Received an email within 15 minutes of my payment with my HondaCare info including phone# and policy#to hold me over until I got my policy in the mail. Received official Honda documents a few weeks later.

 

You don't necessarily have to purchase one of the two plans offered by the dealership either.

There are plenty of 3rd party maintenance/warranty companies out there - some better than others (as far as coverage).

The advantage of a non-honda warranty is that you can take it to pretty much ANY ASE Certified shop (versus HondaCare, you need "permission" if a Honda Dealer isn't within towing distance). Honestly though - for most stuff, I'd rather put it in a Honda Dealer - if for nothing else than parts availability.

The newer cars have WAY MORE INTERACTIVE ELECTRONICS than the older ones. Everything talks to each other, through miles of wiring inside the car. Personally, I'm more concerned of the expense of parts/troubleshooting something like - the A/C System or NAV/Display System ($3,812 from our friendly parts discounters for a Non-Warranty NAV/Head unit). Throw the labor involved with diagnosing some of this stuff, and pulling the dashboard out (or pulling the center console to replace the expensive A/C condenser, including evac'ing and charging the A/C system) and you could well exceed the buy-in $$ for the contract.

Well, you get the idea. I HAVE all the service books for my '12 Pilot, I HAVE a shop with a lift I can do work at (and the resources of a 3rd Party/Non-Dealer Shop), and I'm STILL CONSIDERING an extended warranty/protection package.

Insurance (of any kind) is a GAMBLE (well, except life insurance, because EVERYONE DIES). you're betting $$ that your car IS going to have a MAJOR REPAIR during the course of the contract - and the insurance company is betting (and spreading the risk out over THOUSANDS of contacts) that you AREN'T. In the case of the ever-more-complex newer cars, the odds tip in the favor of US REQUIRING a repair that exceeds the cost of the contract.

OTOH - my '08 Element SC, had NO warranty claims - and in 4 years/120K miles - the only things I did were routine maintenance (tires, fluids, etc. - all done myself) and I replaced 2 sets of rotors/pads (which are normal wear) and the passenger window regulator - so on that car, I would have LOST THE BET on a contract (and I didn't have one).

My 05 Corvette, I had an $1,800 policy, where one repair that was covered cost $800, and a $4K transmission repair (at 89K miles) was denied because of the "power add ons" installed (supercharger - kinda difficult to hide one from an adjuster). I screamed LAWYER, and they refunded $1,400 of my premium. Didn't cover the REPAIR - but I almost felt good about it.

So, for me - still looking for a policy that's cost effective, where I trust the vendor enough to "ante up". I may well get the HondaCare, just for the ability to have the full parts support of a dealership (though I'll probably end up fighting with them over my current add ons). Have a couple more thousand miles (until I hit 6K) to decide. But, due to the complexity of the vehicles systems and the parts costs - I'll probably "roll the dice" and get the HondaCare.

YMMV...

Rick

 

I picked up my pilot last week. Do you remember the specs of you policy? For example, is this price for a 8 yr/100,000 mile policy($100 deductible )?

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The quote from Hyannis was 1270 for 12yrs/120k miles $0 deductible. For $100 deductible it was $1165. I got the dealer to come within $25 of those quotes, & just decided to go with the dealer.


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I am sure the terms are 8 years, 120000 miles, 0 deductible for $1270., i didn't see any 12 year terms.

 

I used Sacucci as well and it was very easy and a great price. I used to use a Dealership in Salisbury MD, when I bought my 02 Odyssey, back in the day, but they don't wholesale warranties anymore. Never get the maintenance or warranty from the dealer on purchase day. You have 6months or 6000 miles now to decide to buy your warranty. It always used to be 12months or 12000miles, but times have changed. BTW, I had 220000 miles on my Odyssey before someone totaled it for me. It would have gone alot longer.

 

Sorry, yes I meant to say 8 yrs/120 k miles


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My local Honda dealer wanted $2100 for Hondacare for my '12 Touring 4WD. Instead went with Mercury Insurance MBI option for $800, $0 deductible, bumper to bumper. I have personal experience w/mercury MBI with my prior AMG, used it a few times and never had any problems with them. I have a contact that can quote if anyone's interested.

 

i'm on the verge of buying a 2012 touring awd and called the finance dept and they said 7yr/100k would be 2900 which i thought was crazy. can i get ur contact for this mbi? i'm guessing mbi offers coverage outside of CA?

 

When looking at warranties, be sure to read all the fine print. Some third party warranties allow for parts to be replaced with aftermarket or used parts and some allow for an issue to be corrected once during the warranty period. So if you have a drivetrain issue that gets repaired with a used part and have another issue later on, your out of luck. Of course not all warranties are like this, but I ended up going with a Honda Care warranty on my recently purchased 2009 EXL through Bernardi with a 12 month no interest payment plan.

 

HondCare has verbage that allows them to use aftermarket parts also: "Repairs and replacements will be made with new or remanufactured HONDA Genuine or AMERICAN HONDA authorized parts of like kind and quality". That would be the AH authorized parts OLK&Q.

 

Are these out of state Hondacare coverage NOT available for Californians?
I checked out Hyannis and Bernardi, and Calif is not an option on their drop down list.

 

Ca laws made it questionable for a while. Some have it on their drop down menus and some don't. Just call. FL is the only state where you have to buy an extended warranty from an in-state dealer.

 

If you are driving under 6000 miles a year, you might be better off buying your hondacare warranty just before you reach 36 months of ownership. You can get an extra 2 years of coverage at that time for approximately the same $ amount.

 

This touches on a question I have developed from reading through this thread. Perhaps there is a good answer out there that I've missed, so please point me in the right direction. Does anyone have insights on the cost comparisons of buying a Honda Care plan when the car is brand new vs. when it is close to 3 years old or close to 36,000 miles? I know I can request quotes for both, but I'd rather avoid giving them my contact info at this point so they don't start peppering me with sales inquires.

 

Waiting for this coverage is like waiting to buy life insurance. Just like you will never be any younger or healthier than you are today, your vehicle will never be any newer or have less miles on it than it is/does today. It is more often times than not, better to buy today, rather than tomorrow. Third parties get a negative reaction on this forum, however, consider this. If you purchase a HondaCare, and you are on the road where there is not a Honda dealership nearby, who will cover the claim? Honda certainly will not, because you are not at a Honda dealership. I get it, there are plenty of bad 3rd party companies out there, but do your due diligence. CNA National, Allstate, and Zurich are 3 companies I have personally worked with that truly take care of their customers. Also, look into cancellations at the end of your contract. Are claims taken into account? Meaning, I bought a policy for $2k but had $1500 in claims and when time/miles are factored in, I get a total refund of....$0. Factory contracts can operate this way, for that matter, 3rd party contracts can as well. Steer clear of those. The key is in the contract language on ANY contract. Find out if there is a waiting period for claims after you buy a contract or if it is truly day one coverage. Don't buy something that goes back to original in service date...why would you do that? Those days/miles are already gone. Yes it will be more, but when are you more likely to use the coverage, day 1 when the vehicle is shiny and new, or after it has seen 3 years or more of use? Shop around, call for rates, and compare apples to apples.