Do you have a current extended warranty on your RV? If so, are you happy you have it? If not, do you wish you had one?
If you haven’t been following along, we’ve recently added a new column to our Saturday newsletter called, “RV Warranty Questions.” Tony Barthel is a warranty expert, and he’s here to answer your questions. Check out these two articles if you have any questions or thoughts on extended warranties: Should I buy an extended warranty for my RV? And, What kind of extended warranty should I get?
We’ve clearly got warranties on our mind, so won’t you vote in the poll below and tell us if you have one for your RV or not? Thanks!
Bought the Beast from a private person. 10 year old Georgetown. It is bbc.co in great shape.
I bought a warranty from a third party before picking up the RV. Part of the warranty required an inspection. So when I did my delivery inspection, the experienced inspector from the warranty company was there to, verifying everything was good. I got the advantage of an experienced inspector, and a second set of eyes to see everything. I’ve had no problems since!
This is what a used RV MH dealer recommended to us he said we can have an inspector but recommended an warranty company that would send their own inspector.
My dealer has a lifetime warranty as long as I bring it in once a year for inspection. It cost around $170.00 but it covers just about everything, fridge, a/c, water heater, pumps, electric and such. I think it’s a great deal.
Thats a great deal
Yes and has been well worth the investment.
more than paid for itself
We purchased an extened warranty with the purchase of the camper. It has been worthless. Too many loop holes, inspections, etc. Getting the camper into the dealer takes forever. I have found it quicker and get better service from independent RV repair services. I feel I threw away the money on the extended warranty.
Yes. Warranty for life and we are extremely glad we got it. It has come in handy several times
The warranty has already paid for itself, so I kept a warranty as long as I own a RV. At over $200 an hour I can budget the warranty easier then an unexpected break down.
Yes, I have a warranty it’s called “fix it you’re self” best way there is
I purchased my Aliner used from an Aliner Dealer.#$%^&. Sam’s extended warranty is simply peace of mind.
Yes I do. Paid 9000 dollars for it on a 218,000 Thor motorhome. Waste of money. Very difficult to get them to cover anything.
No, have been able to fix everything myself so far.
Bought used from a private party.
Too costly and not worth the denial and aggravation when trying to claim coverage. Almost in the scam category. IMHO.
This is our first used rv. We bought an extended warranty and am glad for it. First time out we had issues. Warranty covered most of the cost. Don’t think I’d buy used without one.
Im my own extended warranty company. I have put away 10 percent of the motorhomes value and use it only for repairs. As I use it, I replace it and as the motorhome ages, I increase that 10 percent too. Works for me and rarely do I rip myself off.
Had one, but after 10 years, no longer offered coverage. Worked out ok for the 10 yrs, covered a refrigerator. It was mostly peace of mind because of the many things that could go wrong. To me it’s like most insurances
(except life :-)), you hope you never have to use it, but it’s there if you do.
Seems like extended warranties are all over the place. Some of the high-end RV mfrs partner with good companies. On the other end of the scale, it’s just a money-grabbing deal and they are not really planning to help you fix your RV.
I guess the only way to figure it out is research, research.
If you are in the middle of making a deal, you don’t have time for the research, and some dealers bank on that.
If it’s a product I can’t work on, like electronics, I might think about it.
As for the RV, I am an ASE certified technician, I would not let those buffoons at the dealer touch mine. I’ll take care of it, thanks.
Had Good Sam premium plan, expensive but worth it for possible major repairs. Bought the plan 10 years ago, but they canceled it last month due to the motorhome age. Now we’re thinking about selling it. Bummer.
I had extended warranties on our first 2 coaches and and probably broke even but paid $3,000 the first time and $4,400 the second.
This coach the dealer wanted $14,000 and the best I could get was $11,000 somewhere else.
We have a Winnebago Forza diesel with a 3 year warranty do a 5 or 7 extended one was only 2-4 years additional.
To use a warranty I would a significant engine, trans or generator expense to be worth it.
So I bought inexpensive warranties on each component separately including the freightliner chassis and spent est $4,000. I am self insuring minor things like air conditioners.
Buying an extended warranty was a stipulation of the bank that financed us. They felt since we are full time it was a way to protect their investment.
Extended warranty: Great value, always approve work needed and very pleasant to deal with. Main Slide motor replacement, transmission work, air conditioner fan and work, all approved easily and for the simple $100 deductible! It was required by the lender, was reasonably priced and so glad/happy we have it!!!
Not a chance.. This must be fake ad!
Would not own a new Class A without one. Cornerstone is fantastic paying for 4 times what the policy costs….
we’re on our 3rd MH since 1986 and have never had an extended warranty on any of them. we’ve always self-insured by setting aside $X per month into a bank account to be used for routine maint., non-warranty repairs and upgrades.
I was one of those who were made to believe, by my dealer, that this insurance was a must and should be purchased through them and not only done so during the purchase process but also to be included in my 20 year loan. Yep, they saw me coming.
NO, I did NOT “fall for” what I look at as a dealer scam of “Extended Warranty” (which is probably NOT an actual warranty but rather a “Service Contract”: there IS a difference), I chose to “self insure” ie, put money aside for possible needed repairs. LOTS of fine print and requirements that are easy to miss if you sign without CAREFULLY reading ALL terms. BEFORE you sign the Purchase Contract and hand over the check, any buyer (and especially “Newbie” RVers) should go over their prospective purchase CAREFULLY (and even pay for an INDEPENDENT PDI done by a PROFESSIONAL RV INSPECTOR) BEFORE accepting the RV. Once you hand the check over, you’ve lost ALL power and, are TOTALLY at the mercy of the dealer who is likely to be focused on his next target.
Forget Good Sam warranty. They will tell you EVERYTHING is a pre-existing condition. They are scam artists. Beware!!!
I really don’t like nor purchase extended warranty on anything, but I did for the motorhome. Generally I would set the money aside in a separate account for emergency repairs, etc rather than pay someone. But the repairs and complications of a big issue in the motorhome could be more than we want to deal with, and it mounts up really quickly. So, I took the reasonable gamble to cover odds and purchased it. The day you dont carry an umbrella ……it rains!
One point about evaluation the worth of the extended warranty that is often over looked is that you too often comparing apples and oranges on the cost versus benefit. Remember when you pay for repairs you are paying (most likely) the full street price i.e. $1000 however the authorized shop that is doing the repairs for the warranty provider is actually being paid a lower price for performing the repair work under their engagement agreement. This is similar to heath care where the insurance company has the ability to buy services at a lower rate. The difference in cost being charged can help tilt the decision toward purchasing the extended warranty.