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Old 03-03-2016, 08:20 AM   #1
msubobcats
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Question regarding extended warranties.

We are now 3 week owners of a new Cougar 5th Wheel. What do you all do about extended warranties? I know for the vast, VAST majority of these it is just a big money maker for the company. Our old 5th Wheel did not need one but it did not have any of the "fancy stuff" this new one has, it was a 91/92 model... I think the 5 year extended is $2000. I really do not think it is necessary but Patti is nervous about coverage... I would think the quality of the unit should be good enough to not need extra coverage...
I edited the cost of the policy. I had thought $1200 but was off a bit...
Thank you
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Old 03-03-2016, 10:26 AM   #2
chris199
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I went with one. Peace of mind.

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Old 03-03-2016, 11:42 AM   #3
Festus2
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An alternative to purchasing an extended warranty is to set aside "x" dollars per month or a lump sum equivalent to the warranty's cost and keep that money in a separate account for any repairs that may not be covered by the manufacturers' warranties.

In addition to Keystone's 1 year warranty, many of the major appliances in your RV already have a 2 or 3 year warranty.

If you are seriously purchasing an extended warranty, be sure to read all of the fine print before you buy. There is a long list of exclusions resulting in repairs that you think might be covered but in fact are not. Know what you are buying beforehand! Do not assume that everything will be covered!
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Old 03-03-2016, 12:27 PM   #4
cant_remember_ID
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I bought one too. I know what everyone says, but I think like you, there are so many things to go wrong. It gives me piece of mind. Cost of repair for an RV is ridiculous. I hit a tree and dented a lower back panel and tore the back wall a little, $8000 to fix it. Luckily insurance paid it.

Extended warranties are like insurance. A bunch of people pay in to a pot, not everyone will need to use the money from the pot. But when someone needs something fixed, it is likely more than that one person paid in. Unfortunately the warranty company is the house and keeps what's left.

I honestly hope I never need to use it, but I like knowing it's there.
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Old 03-03-2016, 01:41 PM   #5
sourdough
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I bought the Good Sam extended warranty. I have never bought extended warranties for anything in all the years that I've bought stuff because I view it as a waste of money; However, on the RV, with all of the expensive doo dads you can face a whopper of a bill all of a sudden. Hopefully the extended warranty will eliminate a large portion of that possibility. I guess I went crazy on this RV....bought 3yr. extended warranties on both the ACs from Dometic to go with the Good Sam policy. Guess I can't get enough of a good thing Peace of mind is all it's for (and not having to write a very large check).
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Old 03-03-2016, 04:20 PM   #6
BOWWOW
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5 years for $1200 . That's $20 a month. I think the Extended warranty company that I had ended up paying out over $17,000 in the 5 years that I owned my Fuzion. Fuel station switch and fuel pump, furnace, inverter / charger, refrigerator, axles springs and equalizers, generator parts, leaking roof, window fell out, water pump. I can't remember all of it. Here's the kicker, I traded it in back in Dec and bought a Class A diesel pusher. On Tuesday the new owner of that Fuzion got my phone # somehow off of some paper work and he called me wanting to know what is the deal with this thing, apparently he is in Missouri and the front axle came loose and fell off taking out the rear axle, fresh tank, gray tank, fuel tanks, and slide out mechanism. Totally wrecking everything from the front axle back. I told him to get a Carfax on it and good luck. Anyway I'm off in the bus for the first time for the weekend to do a shakedown trip. I hope it goes better than his.
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Old 03-03-2016, 05:38 PM   #7
sourdough
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bowwow - good luck on the maiden voyage; let us know.
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Old 03-04-2016, 06:28 AM   #8
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First, there are two types of warranties:
1) Inclusionary: Everything on <list> is included. If it's not on the list, it's not warrantied.
2) Exclusionary: Everything is warrantied, except things on <list>.

Generally #2 is a much better warranty.

I believe there are wholesale providers for selling these warranties online - you may want to do that rather than use the dealer...

At my local dealer, there is a list of warranty companies that they won't accept.


Typical pitfalls:
There are a lot of things on an RV. Generally the pull-behinds, the cost of systems is a lot less than it is on a diesel pusher. So be aware that your $200-$500 deductible will mean that you're going to pay full cost to replace that water pump and at least a significant portion of the cost for a new AC unit.

Deductibles may be "per issue" or per service call - so watch that.

Typically these warranties are secondary coverage. So for the first year, they don't actually cover anything as the manufacturer warranty is primary and they won't cover things that the manufacturer *should* cover.

They often exclude things like "manufacturing defects".

I've run into warranties where the fine print has costs for parts fixed to specific market values and repair rates also fixed to some market value. Generally, those market values are bottom dollar prices found on the internet, excluding shipping. And market rates are - dollars per hour or actual hours allocated are often less than actual cost. So basically the full cost of parts isn't covered and often full labor isn't covered. Sometimes warranties don't cover the cost of the "service call" for mobile service.


These are essentially insurance policies. And you're gambling against the house. That's NOT to say that on an RV that has $17k worth of problems, you wouldn't come out way ahead...

I'm also NOT saying that an extended warranty isn't right for you.. I just want you to be aware of the pitfalls/fine print and be able to ask the right questions.
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Old 03-04-2016, 08:39 AM   #9
msubobcats
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And from talking to Patti, I have the amount wrong... It is $2000 for the policy...
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Old 03-04-2016, 10:14 AM   #10
bdaniel
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I avoid all extended warranties. $2000 will do a lot of repair work, especially if you are a little bit of a DIY kind of person. I replaced the cooling unit on a fridge about a decade ago and it was a piece of cake. I think the unit was $300-400 maybe a little more. But it was a bolt on repair. Take the fridge out, unbolt the old unit, bolt on the new one, put fridge back in hole, done. A dealer would have charged much more than that.

If an AC goes out, that is maybe $700. I have not checked but I am sure they are less than $1,000. Hot water heater, water pump, converter. They are all easy to replace. Water pump is maybe $50, converter maybe $200. Water heater maybe $500. My numbers are off, but you get the idea.

$2000 and just a little bit of skill with tools can do a lot of repairs.

My biggest fear is water damage and I doubt a warranty will cover that.
My thing with warranties is that you've already paid $2000. Then if there are deductibles and things partially covered you may be out more than $2500 before you get that $50 water pump replaced.

Just my opinion.

Bobby
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Old 03-06-2016, 06:40 PM   #11
Pmedic4
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Thumbs down Cautious on extended warranties

My personal experience with extended warranties has been less than satisfactory. Somehow or other, there always is someway the dealer finds some way to not cover the failing part(s).

Yes, it is piece of mind, and I currently have one, but out of probably 4, maybe 5? I have never had a claim paid. Either it wasn't a covered part, the repair was less than the deductible, or there wasn't a problem - great issue, but still cost me money for nothing wrong.

Worst issue, I had bought one extended warranty through a third party, mostly because I had heard that a dealer extended warranty knows what will fail, so bought a third part bumper-to-bumper from a company called Warranty Gold. Before I even got to out of the original warranty, the company went bankrupt, lost all my money. While sold by a company in Nebraska, and all information went through them, the actual policy was issued by a company in Bahamas. When they went under, there was no legal US basis for pursuing them for the lost money.
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Old 03-07-2016, 01:37 PM   #12
BOWWOW
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sourdough View Post
bowwow - good luck on the maiden voyage; let us know.
Well, the bus is great. Lots of room, self leveling is awesome. Lots of power. 8.7 MPG , My Duramax got 9.2 towing. The tight turning radius on this thing is crazy. Outside storage space is unbelievable. Sitting up high driving with a huge one piece windshield gives you a whole new outlook at what you are driving by. Not one issue to report.

My deductible on the Fuzion extended warranty was $100.
Same plan on the bus is $50 (unit of better quality) I was told.
Yes read the fine print. My work had to be done by an authorized service center listed in the contract. All of who had great reviews. The only trouble I had was with the dealer that I bought it from, but I only used them for the first year.
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2007.5 Silverado 3500 HD,DRW, LTZ red, afe II airbox w/ torque tube, transferflow 56 gal replacement tank,
banks speed brake, transgo jr shiftkit, aux trans cooler, b&w companion hitch.

2010 Fuzion FZ 302 has 12ply F-loads, Dexter ez-flex w/ wet bolts, 6 volt Deka GC 15 batteries, 1 gen battery, solarpanels, leds inside, replaced clear textured door glass with tinted, 87 gallons of loc-tite.
Decals removed.
AKA CONFUZION / PORH HONKY.
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