I am a single retired women- should I consider purchasing an extended warantee on the new car I purchased?
No. Absolutely not.
Put the money the warranty would have cost into a new bank account and call it “my extra warranty expense fund”. Then, if you need it you’ll have it covered by a “warranty” and if not you can take a nice cruise.
Seriously, those extended warrantees are simply expensive insurance policies that are very rarely beneficial, except as a revenue generator for the salesman. You already have a warranty, and anything likely to go wrong is highly likely to happen well within the manufacturer’s warranty period. If you get past that without problems, your likelihood of having something go wrong within the extended period that would be covered by the extended warranty is extremely small. And chances are that the cost to fix it would be less than the amount that the warranty cost you.
Happy motoring. Enjoy your new car.
I agree with mountainbike.
The car that you bought is one of the most reliable models on the road. Instead of buying the extended warranty for your Impreza, be sure to maintain it at least as well as is specified in the maintenance booklet that is sitting in your glove compartment.
The car owner who reads and faithfully follows both the Owner’s Manual and the manufacturer’s maintenance schedule is pretty well assured of a long service life for his/her vehicle. And, the person who follows these booklets carefully will invariably spend less on the vehicle in the long run than the person who is careless about the operation and the maintenance of the vehicle.
Enjoy your new car!
They are insurance policies that you likely won’t collect the amount paid for.
However they leave a warm fuzzy feeling when car repairs come up especially if you income/funds are not great.
If you decide on one get on backed by Subaru itself not an independent company as they have this nasty habit of going out of business leaving you hanging with a worthless piece of paper.
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 peop;le 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
Tell the salesperson that if the car needs an extended warranty, then you don’t want the car and will shop a more reliable brand. Unless it’s a factory backed warranty, it’s not really worth it, and even if it is factory backed, it still might not be worth it
Put the money that you would spend on the warranty in the bank and save it for repairs (not maintenance) if you are concerned about unscheduled expenses on a fixed budget. If it would be part of the purchase price (e.g., financed), you will pay interest on it. You can make interest on it by putting the equivalent amount in the bank each month if you can’t afford a one-time investment. After the “warranty” expires, take a nice vacation with your nest egg.
Put the money that you would spend on the warranty in the bank and save it for repairs (not maintenance) if you are concerned about unscheduled expenses on a fixed budget. If it would be part of the purchase price (e.g., financed), you will pay interest on it. You can make interest on it by putting the equivalent amount in the bank each month if you can’t afford a one-time investment. After the “warranty” expires, take a nice vacation with your nest egg.