Vorcyon

I usually purchase an extended warranty and did so for my 2004. Purchased it at the same time I bought the car. Of course, I drive a lot of miles (23k a year), do very little in the way of modding, and usually run my cars into the ground before buying a new one.

If this doesn't describe you, an extended might not worth it.

In my opinion, once you decide to purchase one, do the following:

1. Shop around. Already mentioned several times here on this thread. It can save you quite a bit.

2. Purchase a Nissan extended warranty. There are lots of 3rd party warranty providers out there and not all of them will play nicely with your dealership.

3. Purchase the warranty that makes sense for you. You can usually specify how many years/how many miles you want the warranty to be good for. For example, if you put 10k miles a year on your ride, don't buy the 5 year/100k warranty. That's just throwing money away.

bb700092

The other day I was looking into some third party warranties. I know most of you will not recommend purchasing third party warranties. But this article that I came across seemed interesting: http://www.carbuyingtips.com/warranty.htm

I do not know whether the writer is an independent agent or not but he clearly rated some warranties as good and some as bad citing their pros and cons. He also stated some shortcomings of the dealers' extended warranties.

Has any of you tried extended warranty from WarrantyDirect.com or Nation Warranty Corporation (http://72.149.56.142/Quotes/?url=carbuyingtips)? Are they good, bad, scam?

Compusmurf

bb70092, you're following all the websites I went to. Geez, want me to give you the rest of my browsing history to view more info????

lol

bb700092

No. Please give me your conclusions, especially about WarrantyDirect.com

Compusmurf

Actually, you already have my end game conclusions. I got the Nissan Gold Preferred.

maximak1d

i was looking into this, i think warranties help in the long run

missjane

Tri-City Nissan in Tallmadge, Ohio. The finance girl I dealt with is no longer there, however. I sure did get quotes from one end of the spectrum to the other when I priced the warranty and this dealer was the lowest. Note, this ISN'T the dealer I bought my car from. I got the 6 yr/75,000 miles with $50 deductible, gold preferred for $752.

bb700092

The companies that offer extended warranty (and insurance) have very well-qualified statisticians working for them who determine the probability of something going wrong (or an accident in case of auto insurance) in a car from past data and reliability of the particular part. Since no company is there to help you or me but rather to help themselves make profit, they fix the price of the warranty in such a way that if they have a certain number of customers, they will SURELY make profit. Otherwise, they will not be in business.

Now suppose I decide not to purchase extended warranty. If I had purchased an extended warranty, I would have spent some principal (such as $2164 taking Gold Preferred for 7yrs/70k miles with zero deductible in FL as an example). I decide to invest the same principal in a high interest account/CD/bond/stock until my car is 3yrs/36k miles old and then transfer the principal+interest to a high-interest liquid account for the next four years. My goal is to spend that money on any parts+service covered by that warranty for the 7yrs/70k miles of which the first 3yrs/36k miles is already covered and powertrain is covered for 5yrs/60k miles.

Lets see what happens according to the statistical analysis of the company offering extended warranty, such as Nissan or any third-party. If I am unlucky, many things will go wrong in my car and I will end up spending a lot more than the principal+interest in 7yrs/70k miles. (However, if I see that happening, I always have the option to sell or trade my car and get out of the stranglehold.) If I am lucky, I will end up saving the entire principal+interest.

If I am neither lucky nor unlucky (which any person should feel he/she is), I will end up spending something. This something is ALWAYS going to be less than the principal+interest I have, otherwise the company offering extended warranty (or insurance) would not have been in business. So, instead of giving away my principal to the company by purchasing extended warranty, I feel it is a smart idea to invest the exact same principal for my parts+service repair. Since the price of extended warranty is not just any random number but a figure reached through careful analysis by experts taking a lot of important factors into consideration (most of which most common people are not even aware of), if I invest that particular figure and I am neither lucky nor unlucky, my parts and labor repairs will be more than covered for the duration of the warranty unless I abuse or not maintain my car properly.

One of the reasons people purchase a Honda/Toyota/Nissan is their reliability while one of the reasons people purchase a Hyundai is their low price. I could have purchased a Hyundai Azera and got the same features and options as a Maxima and would have paid $5k less. I could have then bought an extended warranty with $2k for 7yrs/70k miles to protect my Azera. Still I would have saved $3k. So, if I have already paid $5k more for buying a more reliable car, why would I spend $2k more in extended warranty on it? Doesn't that contradict the basic definition of reliability?

Compusmurf

BB700092,

It was made by a human, therefore, shi# can and will happen.... And it always seems to happen mostly when you don't have the $ to pay for it.

bb700092

All cars are made by humans but within them there are brands that are more reliable than others. You seem to be damn sure that shi# "will" happen and mostly when you won't have the $ to pay for it. To me, this is just extreme pessimism.

bb700092

Here is something that might be of interest to people visiting this post. A member of this forum, Killah Kane, writes about his power lumbar support (borrowed from http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=538250).

He has the Nissan Gold Preferred extended warranty with zero deductible -- the best extended warranty offered by Nissan. It seems to me that these warranties are such a rip-off. They cover everything except those that either go wrong frequently or cost a lot to repair.

chris1

I have also been trying to find someone with experience using online warranty companies.

I have read a few websites and understand some are scams...but WarrantyDirect and another one claim to have warranties that cover a lot of parts/breakdowns and cheaper.

Anyone with info or experience with 3rd party warranties I would like to hear what you have to say.

I dont like knowing that I could possibly have my car being held hostage at a garage while the warranty company and garage sort things out. But, I dont want to pay $1000 for something and have every claim denied.

Any help would be great

Archamedis

Usually you can beat the dealer up on the warranty. They get incredible incentives from Nissan for selling them, so they will practicaly give them away just to get the sale. In fact they seem more interested in selling the warranty than the car itself. For example when I bought my '04 the extended warranty was going to add an additional $38/month to my car payment, but I haggled it down to just costing me an additional $1/month. Almost free!

Compusmurf

BB700092, Honestly, I've never owned an item in my whole life that something didn't eventually break or wear out at some point. I agree some brands are more reliable than others, but it's still a working, moving machine, therefore, YES, I do expect someday, sometime, something will break, fail or need replacing. Here's hoping my extended warranty just happens to cover that item. Hopefully, it being a Nissan, I have reduced the possiblity of major issues, but things will happen. Personally, I hope to never have to use it, but I feel better knowing it's there and it's just an added safety net. Pessimist? no, Realist, yes.

bb700092

I have nothing to add. Its just your point of view which is different from mine. But I think I have already given substantial evidence of the benefit/drawback of purchasing a warranty in my previous posts in this thread. It might help for anyone to look at this decision of purchasing an extended warranty from the warranty provider's point of view and realize for once how they make profit.

I find the idea of selling a product called "mental peace" to earn money so fascinating. Kudos to the person who came up with it. Whatever happens, there will never be lack of customers for this product in this world.

Compusmurf

lol, life insurance = death insurance, but death insurance doesn't sound as nice.... There's lots of "mental peace" type of products out there. wasn't arguing, just stating my opinion.

xoomer.com

iTrader: (19)

Stick with OEM so that the dealer can not swing out of fixing stuff by blaming the 3rd party. YOu can get 75k GOLD PREFERRED for anywhere from 750-850 dolares.

pedigree

good info here. I will need to shop around when buying my max to get a good extended warranty

Torchcorvette

For 40+ years of buying cars, appliances, TVs, electronics, etc. I have never bought an extended warranty. Over the years I estimate that I've saved $20-$30,000.
Add to that the annual savings of buying high ($1,000) collision and comprehensive deductibles instead of $250 or $500 on three cars.

That would come to an unspent bankroll of probably $40,000. give or take...more than enough to repair or replace appliances, electronics, and even major car items out of pocket.

Extended warranties are good for the dealers who sell them and get to keep a large piece of the fee as commission money. If they are good for the dealer, they generally are not good for the consumer.

Gilmo

Voted "No" b/c the question asked if I would buy ext warr on a new and I don't normally. I did however buy ext warr from my bank on my used Max just cuz I didn't know the history of the car and just wanted to have some peace of mind.

xoomer.com

iTrader: (19)

Well wouldn't exactly agree here. I paid $860 for my 75K Gold and already had my AC compressor and low side hose replaced and the total (not out of my packet) was somewhere in the $1200s. I can safely say it paid for itself and a half.

bb700092

You need to realize that your case is an exception and not the rule. If everyone started having cases like yours, the extended warranty companies would be out of business in a few days.

So, its good that you have already got more than what you spent but that does not mean everyone should purchase extended warranty assuming your case will happen to them simply because it won't.

xoomer.com

iTrader: (19)

Agreed, I am just happy that it paid itself off already and will again this week. (driver side axle)

bb700092

Lol... what year is you car and how many miles on it? I have to agree that you made a smart choice by getting the extended warranty.

I think a rule of thumb is if something major goes wrong within the first 3yrs/36k miles (i.e. till the manufacturer's warranty is valid), one should get the extended warranty.

xoomer.com

iTrader: (19)

04 at 54K miles.

Head pretty major parts changed during first 3/36 changed including but not limited to steering column, head unit, amp, axle, lumbar support, blower (not the turbo one), warped rotors and more. Under my extended warranty I had belts replaced, motor mount, ac compressor and now I am going in for another axle and possibly timing belt tensioner.

Bernard

bb700092

Was your car a lemon?

Did you buy it new or used?

Did you do any mods?

Did you drive in the race tracks?

Did you do your oil changes every three months?

I really never heard so many problems in a Nissan Maxima or Altima.

xoomer.com

iTrader: (19)

Bought it brand spanking new at around 10 miles. Things just happened. My tech advisor told me that he has seen some real problematic ones in the area and mine doesn't even come close. I trust this guy, he has taken good care of me. Problem is that things like the blower and steering wheel column were kind of DOA. Head unit is a common problem and axles seem to go regularly especially the passenger side one. Hand around the forum and you'll see what is common and what is not.

bb700092

Its true that there are some people in this forum with problems. But there are also some people in this forum with absolutely no problems. For example, Ramberg has 83K miles on his 04 which is pretty heavy driving but no problems. Chernmax has 36K on his 04 and a hell lot of mods but zero issues. There are more examples.

More importantly, most people join this forum either because they want to mod or because they have a problem. So this forum (like any other car forum) is biased with people having problems with their car.

What we do not hear in this forum are the voices of thousands of Maxima owners who are not members of this forum and are happy with their cars. If most people started having problems with their Maxima, Maxima sales will go down and you will have the reports everywhere. Just like the reliability ratings of the V6 Toyota Camry has gone down below average and we see the news all over. Here it is for anyone who hasn't seen it yet:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...,1940904.story

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...lines-business

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...SS01/710170385

bb700092

Here are a few very important pieces of information for people interested in Nissan extended warranty for their car. Normally these are written in fine print and you will have to go through numerous pages to discover them. Dealers will never tell you these since that will hamper their sales.

1. If you purchase a Nissan car (Maxima or any other) brand new from a dealer, your car will be considered "new" for 12 months/12,000 miles (whichever comes earlier). What that means is you can purchase a Nissan extended warranty any time within that time period and you will get exactly the same price and coverage as you would get if you purchase the same on the day of purchasing the car.

2. Once the first 12 months/12,000 miles are over, the price for purchasing the same extended warranty will go up by $75.

3. Once your car is out of manufacturer's warranty (i.e. more than 36 months/36,000 miles old), you will not be able to purchase the warranty for new cars. Your car is then treated as a "used" car. The Nissan extended warranty for "used" cars has less coverage than that for new cars. So if you plan to keep your car for a long time and plan on eventually purchasing a warranty, it is better to do so within the first 12 months/12,000 miles.

4. If you purchase a Nissan extended warranty and want to cancel it, you can do so. If you cancel it within the first 60 days of purchasing it, you will get a full refund (including tax) except a $50 processing fee, provided that you have not made any warranty claims during that period.

I will continue to add more information to this post.

xoomer.com

iTrader: (19)

No doubt in that. My brother has an 05 and the only thing that was changed was the passenger side axle.

I joined to mod but people with similar problems help great deal in recognizing problems that otherwise may go as "maybe it should be like that". We got some great people here and for that I am thankful.

BOTTOM LINE: Would I buy an extended warranty again? I would.

bb700092

Would you buy a Maxima again?

xoomer.com

iTrader: (19)

Based solely on reliability probably no. If the new one comes out as promised looking like the CLS, I would re-think, only because not all had problems. I have couple of years of payment left and at that time my GF would probably drive it with me looking at 2-door infinity, BMW or Audi.

xoomer.com

iTrader: (19)

Just though you should see this. Its like a bad dream

http://www.carsurvey.org/viewcomments_review_97573.html

bb700092

Wow, that is scary! And, I totally agree with the facts that Nissan dealers are worthless (I am yet to see an exception) and Nissan Customer Service is worse than absent.

Wasn't 2004 the first year of the sixth gen maxima? It is always risky to purchase any car at the start of a generation.

Don't take this personally but many people abuse their cars. They do not treat their cars as specified in the manual. For example, one of the people in the link you provided wrote the following:

"I didn't use original suggested fluid, but Mobil fully synthetic ATF that is compatible with almost all types of trans. fluids. I didn't realize it would make much of a difference, but was very panic when the transmission didn't kick in gear at the red light - that was when I used typical conventional trans fluid"

He is honest enough to say that but most people aren't. When something goes wrong, we tend to blame the car and deny to look at our own faults.

Also, you can find instances of such junk cars in all car companies, even in high end ones like BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, etc. Car buying is a matter of luck, just like a computer or TV, and not everyone is lucky enough to have a problem-free car for a considerable period of time.

But I haven't said anything that Nissan (or any other extended warranty provider for that matter) doesn't know. They know all of these and have come up with the prices of the different extended warranties after considering that. Since they are making a profit, it simply shows that if we invest the same money ourselves, we will eventually turn out to have more than enough for our car repairs unless our luck is too bad.

As for myself, if my maxima turns out to be problematic, I will never purchase any car made by Nissan in future. My maxima purchase was almost entirely motivated by my experience with the Altima that I had before. To be honest, if I were you, I wouldn't purchase a maxima again and would always be on the lookout to sell or trade off my maxima rather than run it on extended warranties and visit the dealer for something every month.

bb700092

It has been quite some time since anyone posted to this thread. I see some new 07-08 owners in the forum. Would like to know whether they purchased extended warranties with their max or not.

AllBlackMax

Geico offers 100k mile coverage for any mechanical damage; hind sight I should have did that. I have 70k miles right now and am totally exposed. If something happens to my car I'm SOL.

bb700092

What kind of coverage does Geico provide? How much is the premium?

The mileage is 100k, what is the time limit -- 7 yrs or 10 yrs?

Do you have a link to this coverage? I could not locate it at geico.com.

AllBlackMax

Call them up. I just spoke with them 30 minutes ago. Of course I'm not eligable now cause my car how so many miles and is 4 years old but. I don't think there's a year limit, just mileage. Like I said it covers all mechanical failures. It's in addition to comp and collision. Not sure how much it is though. Give them a call and let us know.

ams165

Just purchased an 04 max with 53k along with an extended warranty from the lexus/nissan dealer. I paid around 1,800 with no deductable. Good until 113,000 or 4 years. I do quite a bit of driving for my job and I dont want to worry about $ repair bills.

I am very happy that i got the extendo....

carcraze28

Still no news about anyone signing up for Warranty Direct.....my car has 30k miles, so i am desperately shopping for some xtended warranty. And Warranty Direct seems like a good deal..maybe i should be the first to sign and find out...hahahaa