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Acura Care Warranty or aftermarket?

Joined
19 February 2001
Messages
5,236
Location
Southern California
Just bought a 97-T with 10k miles and it has 11mos. left on the original warranty. (it was purchased 2-98) I called around a few local Acura dealers and got prices of 2500-2900 dollars for a 3yr. 36,000 mile bumper to bumper 0 deductible warranty. Has anyone had experience with this warranty or aftermarket ones as far as claims go? Would you buy one again? Is the Acura one negotiable? One NSX tech. at I'm not saying dealer said he would make the warranty pay for itself. First thing was the timing belt and waterpump before the warranty expired at 1100 dollars. What else could there be? Thanks in advance, John
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Warranties are NOT negotiable due to the fact that their prices are set by the FTC. A warranty is an insurance and all insurances are set by the FTC. (Federal Trade Commission) The quality of comprehensive vehicle service contracts (extended warranties) vary greatly. Try to choose one with a zero deducible. They are more expensive (usually by about $200) but worth it when it comes to claims. The Acura Care warranty is very good but expensive. There are other warranty companies with cheaper rates. Stay away from coverages offered by insurance companies (State Farm, Allstate, etc...) These warranties are cheap, but usually exclude seals, gaskets, clamps, etc... Be careful of the cheap ones as they normally omit the small stuff that gets expensive. All that being said, a warranty is not a bad idea although I don't have one on my 91 and have been fine without it. If you want to get one, make sure you get it before the factory warranty is over as the rates increase for a vehicle out of factory warranty. Check out U.S. Warranty Corp., they are the oldest in the country. They hold license #2 as the holder of license #1 is out of business. Get their platinum coverage w/ a $0 deductible. Good luck.

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Todd Arnold
http://www.geocities.com/nsxcessive/index.html

[This message has been edited by Nsxotic (edited 11 March 2001).]
 
First thing was the timing belt and waterpump before the warranty expired at 1100 dollars.

Does a warranty cover routine maintenance like the timing belt and water pump? I thought it was just for the cost of repairs.
 
I've had my NSX for ten and a half years, and while I've spent quite a bit on things that a warranty wouldn't cover (tires, scheduled maintenance, tires, brake pads, tires), I haven't spent anywhere near $2600 on repairs that would be covered under an extended warranty.

Companies make a lot of money on extended warranties. That means that they have the odds on their side. There are certainly a few people who get more benefit from the extended warranty than it costs. But there are a whole lot more that don't.

The peace of mind may be worth it to you. But I'm glad I never bought one.

$.02
 
Originally posted by Nsxotic:
Warranties are NOT negotiable due to the fact that their prices are set by the FTC.


I beg to differ, Warranties are negotiable,(at the dealer level)...the dealer marks them up, just like everything else. Even though the prices to the ins. Co. may be set you can negotiate with the dealer (assuming your acquiring from a dealer). This is how the F&I dept. makes their take.

Now, THAT being said, Because you bought your car priviate party I do not believe you have much of a platform to deal from. If the dealer is not making a profit on the sales end of the deal they wont want to give away a warranty at cost.

I DO agree that an extended warranty can make good sense. I manage a fleet with around 20 veh's and growing. (mostly Chevys) and perform all negociation purchsing and financing. Every time I have purchased an extended warranty it has more than paid for it's self. But then again thats on Chevys.

ANYTIME, as you know, I have a '91 thats out of warranty so some one else with a newer car would be more qualified to comment on payback for your particular circumstance.
 
I have to agree with that. My factory warranty is still in effect, so I have not bought one yet. But about a year ago, my factory warranty was about to expire on my Expedition. I found a guy on the web (I think he was out of KS??) who sold me a Ford Factory extended warranty for 10% above cost. That almost cut the prices in half that I had received from local dealers. Don't know for sure, but I'll bet there is some Acura dealer out there that is willing to wholesale them out.
 
Originally posted by ANYTIME:
I called around a few local Acura dealers and got prices of 2500-2900 dollars for a 3yr. 36,000 mile bumper to bumper 0 deductible warranty.

John,

I just went through searching for and buying an extended warranty for my 97 NSX. (The factory warranty runs out in a few more days!) Here's the scoop-

The factory extended warranty is very expensive for what you get. The pro is that if it's through Acura, you can keep taking your car to the dealer as if the factory warranty never expired. But, the cost is simply too high. That's $2500 for just 3 years. In that time frame you aren't likely to run up a $2500 bill. And 3 years from now you'll be out of warranty and the aftermarket warranties available for you then will be slim & with poor benefits.

I searched for warranties for many days, I must have checked out 30 companies (many of which used the same insurance co).

The best I came up with (and what I bought) was www.warrantybynet.com

For around $1900 I got a $0 deductable, 6 year, 100,000 mile warranty. The 7yr/80,000mi warranty is about $100 cheaper.

With this warranty you get literally double the number of years, for $600+ less than what you were quoted by the dealer.

It's a "named exclusion" type contract (meaning, ALL parts are covered EXCEPT for parts that are specifically named as being excluded from the warranty). Excluded parts include things like clutch discs, brake pads, etc. It's all in plain english.

Further, *wear and tear* is covered. This means a part does not have to break to be covered by the warranty. This is a big thing and is not offered in most aftermarket warranties. If a part simply wears wrong, out of tolerances, etc, they'll cover replacement.

And, they'll let you go basically anywhere. I can go to NSX Modified if I want to for warranty work
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.

They seemed to have a good history & were well-enough backed as far as I can remember.

Anyways, if you're going to go with an extended warranty that's my advice. If you're only looking for a short time frame (3 years) before you sell the car, I agree with those who say keep your $$ and don't bother with the insurance.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Marc
 
The NSX is the first car that I do not have a warranty on, and so far all the maintanence has been the usual wear and tear. I previously bought my warranties through Stan Allan group. They advertise in the back of "Autoweek". The thing I liked about having an extended warranty is that they are usually transferrable, and because of that I was able to sell my cars alot easier.
 
Marc, and Dr. Lane...Great advice!

Marc, That sounds like an great deal!

Dr. Lane, I have seen the ads for Stan Alan in Auto Week and have wondered about the service. have you had a good experience with the warranty they provide?
 
Originally posted by Craig:
I have seen the ads for Stan Alan in Auto Week and have wondered about the service. have you had a good experience with the warranty they provide?

Stan Alan doesn't offer extended warranties anymore (I called them).

There's a different company now offering extended warranties in Autoweek, through Heritage. I checked them out too.

Good point re: transferability. Most extended warranties have a $25-50 charge to transfer the warranty to the new owner, makes selling the car a lot easier. Not that I have any plans to sell my NSX in the next 6 years!
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Marc
 
Oh, I know about Heritage, I used to buy Heritage extended warranties and even though I was always warned that they were not very good, I always had good luck with them.

I also thought I heard that they were now out of business or purchased by GMAC.
 
Craig, please do not argue with me on this one........but you are very wrong! Warranties can NOT be marked up by a dealership.....this is FRAUD!!!!! Also, tampering with a Federal Reserve..... As many know on this board, this is my expertise. F&I departments make their monies on the reserve set by the warranty co. ie. 40-50% of the cost of the warranty is retained by the dealership. Therefore, ANYtIME, follow my original advise... and please don't be swayed by misleading information... you can get a 0 deductible, 5 yr. warranty for around 14-1500..... private me if you would like more detailed info.

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Todd Arnold
NSXotic.gif

http://www.geocities.com/nsxcessive/index.html
 
Now, Now, dont get defensive, & your right lets not argue it's just not that important to me, but instead lets discuss it.

Explain how this is fraud.

What is fraudulent about offering a service and making a profit?

They are not misleading anyone in adding a "Mark up" or "Margin" or "Profit" OR whatever one wants to refer to it as, to a product they sell.

I have actually sat in an F&I office on many occasions and negotiated the purchase of many of these policys (GMCC & Heritage)at either cost or darn close to it. To further my position on this, I just got off the phone with my brother, the F&I Manager for a Chevy Dealership, his reply was and I quote "not only do we mark them up, but there is currently no cap or limit on what we can charge...It's negotiable."

Now, there is currently legislation in effect here in Ca. to put a limit on the mark up, but it has yet to go into effect.

It is my belief that unless the laws are different at the State Level where you are, The cost the consumer pays, for an extended service contract...from a dealership...for this product, is negotiable.

Pick up the phone and call a dealer, if they tell you they DONT mark them up AND they do, then THAT is fraud.
 
Originally posted by Nsxotic:
Craig, please do not argue with me on this one........but you are very wrong! Warranties can NOT be marked up by a dealership.....this is FRAUD!!!!!

I agree with Craig, dealers can & do markup the price on warranty, it's not called fraud, it's called capitalism. I was quoted on extended warranties by 2 different Acura dealers in Southern California, and each later dropped their price to try to make a sale.

One of them even showed me their cost and what their markup was on top of that.

Marc
 
This is the last I'll say.... You CAN NOT 'mark up' a warranty... It is an insurance!!!!!!!! This is my business. I have 21 stores and have over 75 F&I mgrs. in my company. Let's just say that I hope your brother doesn't apply. The only factors that will make a warranty's price fluctuate are: 1.) The warranty company (they all have different prices because they can show at least one piece of it's content as different from another, therefore the FTC sets a different price and the COMPANIES all 'mark them up' accordingly) 2.) the term/miles covered 3.) type of coverage (ie. platinum/gold etc.) 4.) amount of deductible (less is more)
Anyway, the profit is built in.... trust me.
btw, IT IS FRAUD JUST AS AN INSURANCE COMPANY CAN NOT 'MARK UP' THEIR RATES FOR EQUAL COVERAGE.
 
Originally posted by Nsxotic:
This is the last I'll say.... You CAN NOT 'mark up' a warranty...

Sounds like you are fixating on the words "mark up" and getting caught up on semantics instead of looking at what we're saying.

Uh, fine, the dealers don't "mark up" their warranties. They all start with the same retail price, a price which is ABOVE THEIR COST (to the rest of us, that's called a markup). And then after they start us all at this 1 price, they MARK THEM DOWN.

Bottom line: The car dealers CAN and DO change their price, or I wouldn't have multiple reputable Acura dealers negotiating an extended warranty price to try to get my business.

Marc
 
Originally posted by Nsxotic:
Let's just say that I hope your brother doesn't apply.

NSXOTIC,
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was that necessary? This seems to mean a lot to you...We have a difference of opinion thats ok, but your comments and approach are abraisive. I routinely see you slam other posts and this is the second occasion you have been insulting to me. If you see a post from me and dont like it leave it alone or respond with more tact and grace.

As for my brother, He happens to be a professional with 20 years in the dealership business.

Finally,
We all know that one is able to sit across the desk from an F&I rep at a dealership and negotiate the price of an extended warranty, it's no secret. To discuss the mechanics of the dealers profit and what exact term that profit is given is symantics. Like I said before don't call it a "mark up" and call it a "profit" if you need to. The original point is that IT'S NEGOTIABLE!!!
 
oh boy, I didn't mean to sound insulting... And I don't routinely slam posts.... If a dealership marks up a warranty, they have committed a Federal crime and can/will go to prison... I've seen F&I mgrs. taken away for much less... I will copy the warranty laws (Federal, not state) if you'd like and post them here if this goes on....
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This is just getting silly. By the way, Speeddemon, what the stores may be doing to you is actually decreasing the price for you and paying the difference themself to earn your business, thus only keeping their 50% profit margin less the amount they discount... This is also illegal by definition of an 'in-house' rebate, but it's so borderline that they can get away with it.... Bottom line is this, you may be right, Craig, that it is happening, but if someone who knows the laws can ever prove that a dealership marked up a warranty from the price set by the FTC, they'd have some big bucks coming their way. This is called the Magnusson-Moss Act. Sorry for my tone if it came across crass again, but I am very right on this. I hope that no one thinks bad of me trying to help others with information... I thought that was the reason for these boards. Take care. I certainly don't speak out if I don't know the answer for sure...
 
Wow, didn't mean to start a debate. I expect there to be different opinions regarding types of extended warranties since many of you have used a variety of companies. I respect the feedback that experienced car owners have to offer, and I just wanted to get an idea of what would be the best value of extended warranties. Maybe it's not needed, but I think it brings a piece of mind to an owner of this type of vehicle. I was mistaken
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on what the tech said at Acura. He told me that he would replace the water pump before the ext. warranty expired and at that time replace the timing belt only charging me for the belt, while it was apart. (same tear down for both) Hope this clarifies any miscommunication on my part. John
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Get the extended warranty. You could have your car for 1 day and have a problem. Sure these are great cars, but they do break and the repair costs are high. If you don't use it so what! You pay for car insurance all year long with the intent of not having to use it. It's the same thing (except for it's not required by law. ha, ha ). The fact that you are thinking about it means it will bring you peace of mind having it.

My $0.02
 
autoservicecontracts.com will warrenty the car for around 2500 bucks for 4 years or 50k miles. the beauty is if you dont use the warrenty they will refund you the full amount you paid minus a 95 dollar admin. fee. not to bad if you ask me, and of course if they really do what they say!!!!
 
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