flash gordon

My car is two years old now. Since it's a weekend car, I only put on about 2.5K a year. So I am contemplating of getting the Extended Service plan. I have the following two questions:

1. What is your experience with the Ford extended warranty?

2. I had the Infiniti extended warranty with my daily driver, Infiniti G35, which I bought it from a dealer. Can I shop around for the Ford extended plan at Ford dealers or do I have to buy it from Ford directly? Besides Ford, I really don't want to consider any third party plans.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Nuke

IMO, extended warranties are a great way for companies to make you part with your money. I've logged well over 1 million miles on over a dozen vehicles and had I bought ONE extended warranty I'd have lost money.

If you MUST bet that your car will suffer a serious failure of some sort, then take that money you would have spent on an extended warranty and put it in an interest bearing account. I'll put money down that by the time you get rid of the car, you'll still have most if not all of that money.

Ricardo

While I haven't experienced Ford's own extended warranty. My experience is that they are through a servicing company and not the brand itself. With that said, my experience is that most will not cover most repairs.
Examples I have from my previous car of how outstanding extended warranties are:
1. Had dash lights go out in the instrument panel gauges. Not covered. Reason~ The gauges worked and warranty does not cover bulbs. I had to drive at night and turn on my dome light to see my speed.
2. Clogged heater core. Not covered. The heater core worked just fine, the clog was caused by sludge; fluids aren't covered.
3. Engine overheating. Cause was thermostat. I paid 100% because thermostat isn't covered.
4. Went through 3 water pumps for gasket leaks. The leak was caused by warped water pumps but not covered because the water pumps worked just fine and the gasket was not covered. (yes they blamed the gasket).
5. Upper intake manifold leak, coolant in oil, oil in coolant, engine overheating...etc. etc. Caused by rotting gaskets, a known issue in GM 3.8 V6. I did all work myself because I didnt want to pay stealership for 100% because gaskets and fluids not covered. I saved $1100 doing it myself.

Hope that gives you an idea of the uphill battle for repair work with extended warranty. BTW, I paid $1300 for that worthless warranty.

Derf00

Nope, don't do it. I've owned 6 new cars with 4 of them having ESP or extended warranties...never once did I use them except for a couple of free rentals for items that were covered by something else (TSB or Recall items).

The last two new cars I've purchased do not have them and I don't miss them.

Mr. D

I agree! I never make out on them! The only time I would get one is when the car had been a lemon and I expect many more repairs!

"IF" you do get the policy shop it around and squeeze for the best price! Anything over the dealer's cost is just profit for the dealer! If buying a new car, get a low price for it as part of the purchase deal while you have some leverage!

FordService

Hello flash gordon,

We have great extended service plans. You can check the coverages here. Also, you can contact your Local Ford dealer (Sales or Finance Manager) or our ESP Sales Center at 1-888-252-3899 for more info.

Deysha

flash gordon

Thanks for all the feedbacks! I am hesitating getting the ESP for reasons some of you have mentioned. My main concern is due to very low mileage each year I drive, potential problem may not surface during the 3-year warranty as I only have about one more year to go. During the first year, the drive shaft bearings got burn up. ESP is like an insurance policy to me, you don't know when you need it. I still have some time to decide it. Thanks again, guys.

BrazenStang

I purchased the Ford extended warranty plan when I bought my car. It is a 2012 GT that I bought used with 29,500 miles on it. Obviously, our situations are different, but I thought I would share. The bank that gave me my loan actually knocked off a full percentage point on the financing offer. They went from 4.9% down to 3.9%. This did not change my payments at all after purchasing the ESP with the lower rate. It is nice to know that I have peace of mind should anything go wrong with the car... like burning oil. Yeah, that post will be up later today in the 5.0 V8 technical discussions.

Good luck with your decision!

FordService

You're very welcome, flash gordon!

Deysha

Nuke

I lay 10:1 odds that Ford won't repair your car if you bring it in for "burning oil", a.k.a. oil consumption, unless it looks like a bomb went off.