This car was purchased November of 2006 and has 39,000 miles.
I plan on keeping it for another 4 years or so.
Does anyone have information about extended warranties?
They are a waste of money. Put the amout that the extended warranty would have cost you in the bank in a “special” account and save it for if you need it. Why give it to some company before you even have a problem?
In addition to TSMB’s good advice, if you still want a warranty, only get one that’s backed by the manufacturer (Saab, in this case). There are many horror stories about worthless warranties bought from companies with flashy ads on the radio or TV. Avoid them. Of course Saab’s extended warranty will cost more.
Extended warranties won’t save you any money. They might give you some peace of mind, but at a high cost. In my opinion, the cost isn’t worth it.
Run away, very fast. A total waste of money.
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
You don’t buy a “WARRANTY” for an '06.
What you pay for is a car repair insurance policy.
Which, as all insurances, pays ONLY if A, B , or C occur and for all other events you’re s.o.l.
Why bother ?
You should already have an emergency repair fund for home and contents. Just call that the car fund too and all the money set aside is yours instead of the gamble you take with insurance ever paying out what you pay in.
For the SAAB 9-3 I think it is almost guaranteed you are going to have trouble and this trouble may come in the form that is best dealt with at the Dealership and the extra diagnostic capabilities the Dealership has. Now you don’t need an extended warranty to continue to use the Dealership but perhaps repeated trips to the Dealership would best be paid for with an extended warranty. I base my idea upon the premis your car is going to need more “odd” type work than normal. It all depends on how well for you the warrany you buy is written. This idea also is based upon the consideration that Dealership level support for your car will be available.
Put the money you would spend on the extended warranty in the bank and only use it for repairs (not maintenance). Then take me on a vacation with whatever is left over!