Used legacy, should I buy extended warranty?

[ron2368]

This am I signed to buy a 06 legacy with 28k miles from a Subaru dealer.. It still has the b to b and powertrain standard warranties, though only 7k left on the bumper to bumper.

 

I was offered these dealer warranties they are: 60mo/75k for 1280 or a 60mo/100k for 1660. I was told they would start at purchase so it would be for example 60mo /103k ( the 28 plus 75k).

 

The mileage sounds great but this car is only going to be getting about 10k year max, so basing a warranty decision on the mileage seems wrong since in 5 years I may only add 50 k miles taking the car to 79k miles. That would still lie within the range of the orignal powertrain warranty. but not the bumper to bumper.

I would like any opinions if it is worth it to buy an extended in my case or just go with the base.

 

Thank you.

[ericem]

I would only be worried about the powertrain warrenty since those items would be the most expensive. The $1200 you spend for b to b is probably alot more then you will spend on small items that COULD possibly break.

[nipper]

Take the highest amount of money and put it in the bank and forget about it. You will do much better in the long run this way. The cars are fairly reliable, and this would cover almost anything out of the unusual for the life of the car.

 

If you DO buy the warrenty, ask to see the contract first and upfront. Alot of these warrenties are not worth the paper they are written on. Also be leary of the ones that give you your money back if you never make a claim. See what they define as a claim. Also this is just a free loan where you lost money.

 

 

Good luck.

 

nipper

[ron2368]

I am going to pass on it since the basic powertrain will cover.

 

The salesman said that since I got such a good price they would not be doing the 30k service for me. I read the thread on the 30 k and say thats fine with me I would rather handle it myself, I have a great mechanic and he can complete whatever I cant do myself.

 

Would the extended warranty be a good buy at 800 dollars? I know they would never agree to this bu may give it a try.

 

Will Subaru offer me a warranty trade up/ purchase at some point?

[Erik R]

I recently bought an '06 Leg. OBW. Low miles too (13k). I still went for the full warranty extension.....with my luck and you never know.....My Wife helped negotiate ; told the salesman the seats were too uncomfortable for a road trip. Probably covered the cost of the warranty or close.

It's your call, these cars aren't cheap, but my trade-in had 315k, so it was time to go. YMMV

 

I still have my '87 GL for everyday beat-around and commute duty (285k).

[otis]

there's always the anecdotal tale the salesguy will tell you where he knew of a guy who bought the extended warrenty and came across some catastrophic problem which would have cost him thousands of dollars. while there are certainly true tales like that, there seem to be MORE anecdotal stories where:

 

a) the extended warrenty company goes out of business

the warrenty company finds a way do deny your claim (I was told headgaskets are "wear" items, like brake pads, and therefore not covered)

c) nothing "catastophic" goes wrong within the first 7 yr/100k miles.

 

Here's my anecdotal tale. We bought a warrenty on our first subaru. we paid about $1000 and got about $200 worth of repairs. we would have gotten another $150 worth of repairs had the warrenty not expired the week before we were aware of the last problem.

[mellow65]

there are some decent warranty companys out there. and being an auto broker we had the displeasure of going through some sh*t ones. one denied a claim because the said the damage was preexisting. well no crap that's why you get a warranty because you just don't know. So we ended up buying that lady a new tranny.

 

But one thing to keep in mine, you can add warranty any time up to 1 mouth or 1000 miles left of your factory warranty. i always tell people when they are buying a new car to save their money and if they feel they still need it then to get it. because hell with as fast as people go through cars these days, they probably wont even own the car long enough to use the warranty and some companies wont refund your money or you really wont get that much more money selling it with the extended warranty.

[Erik R]

For me, I bought the extension on the Manufacturer's Warranty, not an extended warranty from a separate company.

If I still have the car after 7 years, I'm on my own.

 

I am not sure what warranty the original poster was offered, but Extending the coverage of the factory warranty seems fair enough.

But, that's my own opinion

[silverracerkh2005]

all you need is powertrain and it should come with the car.

[silverracerkh2005]

also, you asked about prices. when I bought mine I got a 3 year bumper to bumper for 1500. not sure if thats good or not but thought it might help.

[srs_49]

I am not a fan of extended warranties, for the simple reason that they are big money makers for the issuers. If the dealer/manufacturer/insurance co. is making upwards of 50% or more on these policies, doesn't that tell you something?

 

That said, if you really want one read the contract first, before handing over any money or signing any paperwork. Look closely at what items are excluded and also what the "deductible" (your out-of-pocket expense) is for any given repair. Also, ask what happens if you have to bring the car back in to fix the same problem again in a short time - do you have to pay another deductible?

 

Good luck!

[eagleb]

Nipper's solution makes the most sense, really the only reason people need insurance is because us americans are terrible at budgeting (just ask Mexico, somehow we owe them over $30 billion)

 

put that monthly warranty payment aside for repairs, hope you don't need it, then take a trip when the original warranty expires.