# Buyer beware! **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [March 21, 2017, 2:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/buyer-beware/101907 "2017-03-21T14:04:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2017, 2:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/buyer-beware/101907/1 "2017-03-21T14:04:16Z")
**…these extended warranties were even more worthless than they usually are:** > **[Large N.J. car dealer sold customers fake warranties, suit alleges](https://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2017/03/car_owners_were_duped_into_buying_fake_warranties.html#incart_river_home)** > > Richard Catena and Richard Catena Auto Wholesalers Inc. employees duped customers who purchased vehicles at the business to also buy warranties that did not exist, said Susan Chana Lask, who is representing the clients named in the suit. 😠 ---
**Author:** ![common-sense-answer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/common-sense-answer/32/716_2.png) [@common-sense-answer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/common-sense-answer)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2017, 3:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/buyer-beware/101907/2 "2017-03-21T15:14:45Z")
One more reason to avoid “aftermarket” warranty policies. Even the ones that do exist can be problematic and a waste of money. _ **CSA** _ ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2017, 4:10pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/buyer-beware/101907/3 "2017-03-21T16:10:46Z")
> [@common\_sense\_answer](#): > > One more reason to avoid “aftermarket” warranty policies. Even the ones that do exist can be problematic and a waste of money. Yup! One would think that the folks who had the mega-bucks to spend on these used luxo-barges would have heard of the frequent extended warranty scams, but…apparently not! ---
**Author:** ![Triedaq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Triedaq](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Triedaq)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2017, 4:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/buyer-beware/101907/4 "2017-03-21T16:14:08Z")
I get a call every week about purchasing a warranty for my 2011 Sienna. I bought the car in the spring of 2010 just after the 2011 Sienna hit the showroom. At present, my odometer is at the 90,000 mile mark. No reputable company is going to insure a 7 year old vehicle with 90,000 miles against problems. IMHO the best warranty on a used car is an inspection by a good mechanic. Things may go wrong with a car that passes this inspection, but it does improve the odds. In ---
**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2017, 7:26pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/buyer-beware/101907/5 "2017-03-21T19:26:08Z")
coworker bought a newer Lincoln and got the extended warranty. dealer replaced the torque conv and valve body for a tran shifting/shudder issue. I am sure if dealer said it may or may not fix issue that coworker would not have paid out of pocket for repair. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2017, 7:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/buyer-beware/101907/6 "2017-03-21T19:58:31Z")
Yeah I still remember that St. Louis company that went belly up and left everyone without recourse. I got a call to put a warranty on my 20 year old Riviera with 500,000 miles. I said thank you thank you, I was about to junk it and she just hung up. ---
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2017, 11:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/buyer-beware/101907/7 "2017-03-21T23:21:22Z")
I think that St. Louis company was Fidelis or U.S. Fidelis; something like that. Ex-NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace was doing a lot of commercials for them; at least until the truth emerged. Then he headed for the tall grass to distance himself from them. They even stiffed him for over half a million. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 1:24pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/buyer-beware/101907/8 "2017-03-22T13:24:27Z")
> [@ok4450](#): > > I think that St. Louis company was Fidelis or U.S. Fidelis; something like that. I can’t give you a precise timeline, but I recall hearing their radio commercials at some point over the past few months. So, these scammers may have re-emerged ---
**Author:** ![missileman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/missileman/32/1366_2.png) [@missileman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/missileman)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 1:34pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/buyer-beware/101907/9 "2017-03-22T13:34:37Z")
I will go so far as to say that most aftermarket extended warranties might as well be fake. They are both expensive and useless. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 1:37pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/buyer-beware/101907/10 "2017-03-22T13:37:41Z")
> [@missileman](#): > > I will go so far as to say that most aftermarket extended warranties might as well be fake. They are both expensive and useless. I agree the aftermarket extended warranties are both expensive and useless…I also don’t think the manufacturer extended warranties are worth anything. You’re buying an extended warranty for the time period the vehicle will have the fewest problems. ---
**Author:** ![87\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/8/f14d63/32.png) [@87\_Ranger](https://community.cartalk.com/u/87_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2017, 7:35am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/buyer-beware/101907/11 "2017-04-29T07:35:00Z")
As they say there are exceptions to every rule. For a hilarious example of this do a google search on “Range Rover and the Carmax warranty” and watch the video. ---
**Author:** ![JoeMario](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3bc359/32.png) [@JoeMario](https://community.cartalk.com/u/JoeMario)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2017, 9:49am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/buyer-beware/101907/12 "2017-04-29T09:49:01Z")
> [@87\_Ranger](#): > > As they say there are exceptions to every rule. For a hilarious example of this do a google search on “Range Rover and the Carmax warranty” and watch the video. All those videos and posts are from one person - Doug DeMuro. When one person makes numerous posts and videos repeating the same message about how great Carmax’s extended warranty is, I can’t help but get suspicious. ---
**Author:** ![bloody\_knuckles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@bloody\_knuckles](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bloody_knuckles)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2017, 12:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/buyer-beware/101907/13 "2017-04-29T12:09:18Z")
I have never bought any extended warranty for a vehicle. The thousands of dollars saved over the years has been way more than I ever spent on warranty eligible repairs that I paid out of pocket. Cars are generally pretty reliable these days and, if properly maintained, any good quality vehicle will not require any major repairs in the first 100,000 miles. If you bank the money you would have spent on the warranty and do your regular maintenance you will typically come out way ahead. The real killer is for people who finance vehicles and put the warranty into the financing. Even at 0% interest your principal is artificially high creating a higher chance of being “upside down” on your loan for most of the loan term. Total your car and you find that the warranty now has you owing money on your crushed vehicle. Ugh!!! ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/buyer-beware/101907/14 "2017-04-29T16:00:56Z")
My work phone is getting a lot of calls, pre recorded spam from the warranty dept or something similar. If your car is 2003 or newer and less than 150,000 miles etc. I held once being bored and wanting to hear the offer, after 30 seconds hung up. Now I get a new robocall, you recently called about your car warranty. I have bought new car maker extended warranties, about a grand for an extra 4 years and 40,000 miles. Sure I lost money but I considered it a reasonable insurance expense. ---
**Author:** ![87\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/8/f14d63/32.png) [@87\_Ranger](https://community.cartalk.com/u/87_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2017, 7:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/buyer-beware/101907/15 "2017-04-29T19:40:55Z")
Yeah, i don’t know anything about the guy other than watching the video. But if it’s as he states then my hat is off to Carmax for doing right by the guy. I’ve dealt with Carmax 3 times, once to sell a car to them & twice i have bought a car from them CR listed both cars as being reliable so there was no reason to buy the extended warranty. I never have bought an extended warranty on any purchase. The one & only time it would have paid off is when a 2 year old washing machine bit the dust The repair guy said replacing the transmission would be almost the price of a new washer. Considering the money i haven’nt wasted on extended warranties over the years i’m way ahead of the game. ---
**Author:** ![oldtimer-11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e79b87/32.png) [@oldtimer-11](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldtimer-11)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2017, 12:59am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/buyer-beware/101907/16 "2017-04-30T00:59:49Z")
If I was selling extended warranties to people and expected to stand behind them, I would never sell one on a Land Rover. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 9:36pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/buyer-beware/101907/17 "2017-05-01T21:36:12Z")
I would, and it would be the best deal of the day for me. I’d get half the proceeds, and that is likely quite a lot considering how often those Rovers break down and how expensive they are to fix. If you are looking at it from the insurance company’s perspective, it would still be a good deal. The insurers use an actuary to determine how much to charge. The extended warranty for a Land Rover will be a lot more than for a Corolla. Those guys never lose. Only the Rover owner does.