When I bought my '12 Focus a month ago, I opted for the extend warranty, which boosted the factory 3 year/36k mile bumper to bumper coverage to 6 year/80k miles. I don't think I have come across one person (that knows their share of automotive information) that has said extended warranties are worth it. Turns out I have 2 months from the date of purchase to get a 100% refund on it, so I'm trying to decide what I should do.

Some info about it:

Cost: $1400
Deductible: $100
Coverage: "Complete, 16 plus Benefits" which covers the following sections:
- Engine
- Turbocharger/Supercharger
- Transmission
- Transfer Case
- Drive Axle
- Steering
- Brakes
- Electrical
- Air Conditioner
- Front and Rear Suspension
- Enhanced Electrical
- Fuel Delivery
- Cooling

To be honest, I didn't know bumper to bumper warranties covered this much of the vehicle. So the question is, should I keep it?

Feel free to comment if you bought it, didn't buy it, think its a waste of money, etc. and why.

The way I look at it, if something is going to happen to a new vehicle it is going to happen within the first 36,000 miles in most cases. I personally have never gone with an extended warranty on any of my vehicles and never had any problems. But if you want to have peace of mind about things you could always go with the extended warranty.

The way I look at it, if something is going to happen to a new vehicle it is going to happen within the first 36,000 miles in most cases.

This is exactly what someone said at work. He recommended I take that $1400 and put it towards proper maintenance.

You WAY overpaid for the warranty. Cancel it and get your money back. 100% [headbang]
(you can rebuy it anytime later if you want)
I cancelled. (the dealer will send you a check, or reduce your loan if the payment was financed, and send you a copy)
You have ONE YEAR from date of purchase to buy the warranty for the same lower price. and SHOP AROUND. Ziegler Ford online sells the same Ford warranty for HALF what your dealer charges.(and one of all Ford dealers around me will match the Zeigler price.)

I bought the warranty from my dealer just because too zonked out to check it out first. But i cancelled and got 100% of my money back INCLUDING State sales tax IF it is cancelled in the 100% back period. Once past that, you cannot get tax back at all.

Now i am in the eleventh month,and trying myself to decide if i want to pay about $625 for the bumper to bumper 48,000mi seven years with same day loaner..
I just have not yet made up my mind.. I have about 6 weeks to decide.
I have the money.. so i am just not sure. (i am leaning to NOT buying it.)

The real reason warranties are sold is THEY MAKE MONEY. So the
average' warranty buyer uses less than they paid. and Ford makes money, on average.

The best reason to buy a warranty is if you can forsee money issues up ahead, and want to be free from worry. Then the warranty is a great way to have peace of mind that you will not get stuck with an expensive breakdown.. (you are really paying for the PEACE OF MIND, and not the chance repairs..) Most likely you WILL have use of the warranty, maybe half of what you paid.. Some little thing.. or. you might never need it at all.
If money will not be an issue, DO NOT buy the warranty.

If you have the auto tranny it might be worth $1400 alone and very few people have run their car to the 36k mile mark right now but the 2012 does seem to have above average issues than I'm used to with all my other cars I've owned and what I've seen on several import forums I frequent. With that said we didn't get it. lol

Those Ziegler Ford ESPs are very interesting. I'll have to compare the coverage of the one I have to those. Thanks for sharing that info.

on a new car no.

on a used car, yes. we bought extended warranties on both our Ford Explorer and Dodge Grand Caravan, both had 60k'ish miles, and both warranties paid for themselves several times over. We got the 100k mile warranty through our credit union, with $50 deductible.

on a new car no.

on a used car, yes. we bought extended warranties on both our Ford Explorer and Dodge Grand Caravan, both had 60k'ish miles, and both warranties paid for themselves several times over. We got the 100k mile warranty through our credit union, with $50 deductible.

I'm not sure I understand your reasoning. Are you saying the vehicle will be fine for the first 60k miles and then you'll need it? If both your extended warranties paid for themselves then it sounds like you would recommend it. Or is it that you don't know how the previous owners treated it?

I have not taken delivery of my new Titanium, but it is going to be ready this Monday for pick up. When I had gone to sign the pre-purchase papers, the dealer offered 5 years 150000 kms premium care (including road side assist) for $1800, which I agreed then. now after reading this thread, it seems that I am paying too much for the balance 2 years when the factory warranty will not be there. can I still cancel this extended warranty, which I had agreed earlier, but I have not yet taken the delivery of the vehicle? Should I ask them to cancel this extended warranty? The premium care package is displayed here: http://www.ford.ca/partsservice/pdf/new2012/ESP_PremiumBrochure_E.pdf

I have not taken delivery of my new Titanium, but it is going to be ready this Monday for pick up. When I had gone to sign the pre-purchase papers, the dealer offered 5 years 150000 kms premium care (including road side assist) for $1800, which I agreed then. now after reading this thread, it seems that I am paying too much for the balance 2 years when the factory warranty will not be there. can I still cancel this extended warranty, which I had agreed earlier, but I have not yet taken the delivery of the vehicle? Should I ask them to cancel this extended warranty? The premium care package is displayed here: http://www.ford.ca/partsservice/pdf/new2012/ESP_PremiumBrochure_E.pdf

Yes you can cancel the extended warranty ANYTIME in the first month and get100% of the money (and any tax) back.
If you have not picked up the car, but have signed the papers, you still can just cancel the extended warranty.
The dealer makes big $$$ on the warranty, and cannot refuse to cancel it. So you might just let it stay on the contract, and cancel it two weeks from pickup.

Cancelling it the day you pick up may cause you to sit for a few hours while they rewrite the paperwork. So IMO just take the car AND the warranty at pickup. they will be smiling.. Then cancel it a few weeks later. With the Ford warranty, they HAVE to refund your money 100%.

Added: my knowledge is for USA, i assume it is the same for your location, so you might double check it for your place of residence..

I'm not sure I understand your reasoning. Are you saying the vehicle will be fine for the first 60k miles and then you'll need it? If both your extended warranties paid for themselves then it sounds like you would recommend it. Or is it that you don't know how the previous owners treated it?

on the explorer, everything was fine till about 90k miles before stuff started breaking. It was the dealerships service managers wifes truck before we bought it, so all the maintenence info was known.

On the Caravan, we bought it knowing there was a rack and pinon leak and busted sway bar end links. Bought it, with the warranty, and took it to the dealer the next monday, paid for itself that day.

There are several companies out there that offer extended warranties. Just shop around and be sure you do your homework on them as well to make sure they are a reputable business with the BBB.

The way I look at it is that on average, people pay more for a warranty than they get out of it. So only buy one if you think you'd use it more than the average person, ie your driving style is very hard on the car or you like to nitpick every little thing on the car and take it in to be fixed.

I opted for the extended warranty, with my last focus I used the warranty i bought twice, and while it may not have paid for itself it was convient. I like the peice of mind my extended warranty goes to 83 months 100,000mi i think it was around $1985. I figure that with the newer cars and that everything is computer ran now, it would be a wise idea to go for it, seeing as there is no telling when something electronic will check out.

Im hoping i wont have to use it, Ive debated getting rid of it. But the peace of mind for me is enough for now. And if I dont happen to use it lesson learned, and I wont get it next time.

That's the thing about warranties...you never know you need it until you actually do need it. In most cases, most people will never need warranty work. So I generally opt out of the extended warranty. But like Skypilot said it is more of a peace of mind thing than anything else.

I have the extended warranty too, which I regret getting. Does anyone know if the warranty would be void or not if I made any mods to it? i.e. replace the intake, etc. ?! Thank you.

I have the extended warranty too, which I regret getting. Does anyone know if the warranty would be void or not if I made any mods to it? i.e. replace the intake, etc. ?! Thank you.

All depends on the fine print in the warranty, and what goes wrong with the car. Most likely if you put and intake and exhaust on the car and the radio dies then it will be covered. It all depends, just too many variables here.

I have the extended warranty too, which I regret getting. Does anyone know if the warranty would be void or not if I made any mods to it? i.e. replace the intake, etc. ?! Thank you.

They can hassle you about it if you modify anything on the engine, especially a tune. And they have a right to IMO. If the engine breaks and you have an intake or tune they can try to void the warranty on the engine, but not parts like the suspension, etc. They have to prove your meddling is what caused the failure. But it would still be a hassle. Some dealers will not bother you, others will. If you plan on doing a lot of modding an extended warranty might just get in the way of what you really want to do, and eat up mod money.

Some info about it:

Cost: $1400
Deductible: $100
Coverage: "Complete, 16 plus Benefits" which covers the following sections:
- Engine
- Turbocharger/Supercharger
- Transmission
- Transfer Case
- Drive Axle
- Steering
- Brakes
- Electrical
- Air Conditioner
- Front and Rear Suspension
- Enhanced Electrical
- Fuel Delivery
- Cooling

To be honest, I didn't know bumper to bumper warranties covered this much of the vehicle. So the question is, should I keep it?



If that's all they cover, then that's not a bumper to bumper warranty.

Bumper to bumper literally means everything on the vehicle, from bumper to bumper. Anything and everything, no exceptions.

Wish i bought extended warranty on my crappy Volkswagen

I bought a bumper to bumper extended warranty to 100k mles from the dealer on my '03 for $600. A 100k powertrain warranty was already included in that model year.

I think it was worth the money. I'd do it all over again for sure. Though I have heard that some dealerships charge way too much for warranties and you can sometimes get a better deal if you shop around.

SorryIf that's all they cover, then that's not a bumper to bumper warranty.

Bumper to bumper literally means everything on the vehicle, from bumper to bumper. Anything and everything, no exceptions.

That is absolutely not what bumper-to-bumper means! No seller/manufacturer in their right mind is going to cover wear-items... clutch friction materials, brake pads, pieces designed solely to wear are never covered. Those items do have a manufacturer warranty against defect, but when a brake pad is used, it supposed to disappear.

I work at a dealer (for the last ten+ years in some capaciity or another) as a technician, and some of the things you see coming in; you'll wish you had a better warranty! In the first 36k, you're not going to have the woes that come with a car with an older birthday. The damn things are engineered to be damn-near trouble free during the original mfg warranty period... once you get outside that point; different story.

An example: platinum spark plugs. They don't provide better spark, or hotter spark; the metal is really hard a nd durable and last longer than the 36k warranty. Many car mfgs switched to this to keep from having to cover the first major tune-up under warranty... and that's just with the spark plugs! If cars were made to be trouble-free forever, they'd sell fewer and make less fixing them... something is gonna wear out eventually no matter how well you maintain the car.

You're also only paying $35/month for that warranty if it was rolled into the financing. Keep it, maintain the vehicle as you were planning to, and just keep on truckin' knowing if a valve drops, the trans effs up, a module gets fried, etc; that you'll have to come out-of-pocket with a lot less!

Sorry to rant; but it's a subject close to my heart!

I have the extended warranty too, which I regret getting. Does anyone know if the warranty would be void or not if I made any mods to it? i.e. replace the intake, etc. ?! Thank you.

All depends on the fine print in the warranty, and what goes wrong with the car. Most likely if you put and intake and exhaust on the car and the radio dies then it will be covered. It all depends, just too many variables here.

X2^^^
It also depends on the relationship you establish with the dealership. If you're the guy that gets the services recommended to you by the service-writers (some ARE sheisty, but they really only suggest packages based on apparent wear and miles), if you've always been polite to the staff and agreeable; they may overlook some modding unless it's obvious the mod was directly responsible for the issue.

If you're a dick when you come in everytime, bitch and moan about getting ripped-off like you weren't the person putting all those miles on the car, and generally rude; they're probably gonna hammer you because of the mods.

A guy came in last week with a super duty turbo diesel that was modified: he had a Banks system on there. On his way to the beach the truck caught fire and burned up the padding on the firewall... the tech that looked at it has a diesel himself, and 20+ years experience, so he knew the Banks system was cranked up to 11 (so-to-speak) and the excess heat started the fire... a quick look at the computer told him the ECM had been reprogrammed 22 times: they could've told him to pay up or kick rocks, but service took care of it to avoid having to deal with an argument. There can be exceptions to every rule.

Based on all of this, I think I will be cancelling my extended warranty for now. The Zeigler Ford ESP's seem like the same exact thing for almost 50% less, so that is my leading option if I want to still be covered.

Was told this by my mechanic, if you have the DSP6 power shift trans GET the Extended Warranty, if you have the 5 speed trans don't get the Extended Warranty.