I have a Saturn 2007 Outlook and am wondering if buying an extended warranty from GM is a good idea or bad since they may be going under or the Saturn line may be discontinued. Is it a good idea to have an extended warranty on a car that may no longer be manufactured or not?
Most of us recommend against buying an extended waranty even if the company will be in business and the car in production. It’s really very expensive insurance. Put the money it costs in the bank and use it to repair anything that goes wrong outsied the regular warranty . You will be better off!.
If you read the fine print as to what is covered and not covered, you will be surprised that it excludes wear items and a number of other things, and basically covers those items that usually don’t break.
I bought a new Toyota last year anbd turned down the warranty, since it covered only those items which last a very long time.
We bought a 2003 Olds after the demise of the marque was announced. There have been no problems getting parts. Most of the parts on the car are used on other models from GM, so they will still be available. I don’t think that GM will shut down entirely, unless the elected representatives from the deep South have their way.
Buying an extended warranty is almost NEVER a good deal, regardless of brand. These things are profit generators, and are more favorable to the seller than the buyer.
Take the money you would spend on the extended warranty and put it in the bank, where it will earn interest. DO NOT touch the money unless your Saturn has a major problem. Not brakes, not tires, not anything that can be considered normal maintenance, use the money only a MAJOR problem. Odds are there won’t be one.
If a major problem comes along, you will have money with which to pay for a repair. If a major problem never comes along, you will still have the money!
If you give your money to the Saturn dealer, he will deposit it in HIS bank. Where would you rather have the money?
It is an insurance policy, my ford ranger never used it, $750 to me was a pretty good bet for 3 extra years and 40k miles we lost. Voyager and windstar definitely more bucks 1075 or so and 50 dollar deductible on ford, saved us money and still have warrenty left to go. It is like all insurance, a gamble against predefined odds. Do ya feel lucky today punk, well do ya?
Speaking from the mechanics end GMPP (I believe that is who you are refering to) was no worse than factory warranty in regards to how they paid the mechanic,approvals were dependant upon knowing how to work the system (this kind of knowledge is necessary in many fields).
In my experience the number one reason for denial of extended warranty coverage was a policy that was expired.
Well any car can have major expensive repairs.
The profit to the salesman and company is usually over 50%. So for every $1,000 you spend the insurance company has less than $500 to pay for repairs or they will loose money, something insurance companies do not do. Some people will get nothing back and some will get a lot more than they pay. Most will get far less. In addition you need to keep in mind that the insurer has worded it to eliminate as many expensive things as they can.
Remember that the seller is out to make money and they get to write the rules and set the price. They are not going to sell them at a loss so one way or another they are going to have you pay more than they will pay out.
Would you gamble with a car dealer who gets to set all the rules and knows all the odds?
Your decision has to do with the value of the piece of mind it gives you. If that is worth the cost then buy it. Don't expect it to cover everything however, most are written to keep cost down and exempt what they know will cost them money.
Good Luck
Where Saturns used to be more “stand alone” they are more now from the GM parts bin and will have other models with the same mechanics…that’s why they may be discontinued. My neighbor buys an extended warranty on his plow trucks because of the hard use they get.
Otherwise…that’s what will keep GM in business; if enough people buy them, it’s like charging thousands more for the car…I take the money and put it into a car repair fund; maybe a CD you can roll over as needed. If you don’t need it, you have the money and GM goes out of business.