Extended Warranty in the U.S.

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kelmac

Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2018
Messages
10
Location
United States
Hello,

My husband and I are in the process of finalizing the purchase of two Mitsu Outlanders. I had done all of my research and comparison shopping on a $0.00 deductible, 10 year, 100K Mitsu warranty and knew what I was willing to pay, but this particular dealer doesn't sell them. They sell a Fidelity "JMA" warranty.

The MSRP on the Mitsu extended warranty is $2,500 but I've been quoted a price as low as $1,395. The finance guy at the dealership initially quoted me $2,500 on the Fidelity/JMA warranty; he quickly came down to $1,700 but stayed there. I was tempted to buy it at that price until he mentioned that it doesn't cover hybrid components.

If there is anyone from the U.S. here that is familiar with the EV/PHEV extended warranties and what they typically cover I would appreciate your input.

Thanks,

Kelmac
 
kelmac said:
Hello,

My husband and I are in the process of finalizing the purchase of two Mitsu Outlanders. I had done all of my research and comparison shopping on a $0.00 deductible, 10 year, 100K Mitsu warranty and knew what I was willing to pay, but this particular dealer doesn't sell them. They sell a Fidelity "JMA" warranty.

The MSRP on the Mitsu extended warranty is $2,500 but I've been quoted a price as low as $1,395. The finance guy at the dealership initially quoted me $2,500 on the Fidelity/JMA warranty; he quickly came down to $1,700 but stayed there. I was tempted to buy it at that price until he mentioned that it doesn't cover hybrid components.

If there is anyone from the U.S. here that is familiar with the EV/PHEV extended warranties and what they typically cover I would appreciate your input.

Thanks,

Kelmac

First of all, with all the improvements incoming for MY2019 ( http://www.myoutlanderphev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3755 ), are you sure you don't want to wait for it?

In regards to extended warranty, how much more coverage do you need beyond the standard 10 year/100,000 miles ( https://www.mitsubishicars.com/outlander-phev/2018#warranty ) for both phev components (hybrid components) and main-drive battery? I haven't seen too many extended warranties go beyond that, and if they do, there's so much fine print I'm not sure they will be worth it. Plus, are you sure you'll still have the vehicle past 10 years/100,000 miles?
 
Woodman411 said:
First of all, with all the improvements incoming for MY2019 ( http://www.myoutlanderphev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3755 ), are you sure you don't want to wait for it?

In regards to extended warranty, how much more coverage do you need beyond the standard 10 year/100,000 miles ( https://www.mitsubishicars.com/outlander-phev/2018#warranty ) for both phev components (hybrid components) and main-drive battery? I haven't seen too many extended warranties go beyond that, and if they do, there's so much fine print I'm not sure they will be worth it. Plus, are you sure you'll still have the vehicle past 10 years/100,000 miles?

Thanks for responding.

My understanding is that the changes in the 2019 U.S. version won't be as good, mostly a modest bump in battery size. Also, there are two significant tax credits, federal and state (up to $7,500 and $2,500 respectively) that we can use this year that may not be available next year and that we won't need next year. That plus the fact that I was able to negotiate a significant discount of approximately 15% and 20% on the GT and SEL respectively; probably partly because of the anticipated improvements.

Also, our primary family car is just too unreliable and I need at least one new car sooner rather than later.

Regarding how long we are likely to keep these cars, we've had the family car we traded in for about 13 years, and the older "commuter car" we still have for about 20 years. I'm hoping to keep these two for about 8 to 9 years, about a year or two before the end of the original warranty and the extended warranty.
 
greendwarf said:
Extended warranties for any products are a waste of money. :roll:

I respectfully disagree. I paid full price on a Subaru extended warranty back in 1999. The car developed "piston slap". According to my research, which led me to a blog with information from a former Subaru enginner, piston slap would probably reduce the longevity of the engine by about 10%. Which is a big deal for someone that hangs onto their cars (I still have that car almost 20 years later).

Subaru of America wasn't happy about it but ultimately they paid for a short engine block (I think it cost about $3,000, maybe more), in addition to a couple of other items, totalling about $3,500 - $4,000. Even though I drastically overpaid for the warranty at the time (I was young and naive and didn't know better) it more than paid for itself, probably several times over.

Thanks for the input,

kelmac
 
kelmac said:
Woodman411 said:
First of all, with all the improvements incoming for MY2019 ( http://www.myoutlanderphev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3755 ), are you sure you don't want to wait for it?

In regards to extended warranty, how much more coverage do you need beyond the standard 10 year/100,000 miles ( https://www.mitsubishicars.com/outlander-phev/2018#warranty ) for both phev components (hybrid components) and main-drive battery? I haven't seen too many extended warranties go beyond that, and if they do, there's so much fine print I'm not sure they will be worth it. Plus, are you sure you'll still have the vehicle past 10 years/100,000 miles?

Thanks for responding.

My understanding is that the changes in the 2019 U.S. version won't be as good, mostly a modest bump in battery size. Also, there are two significant tax credits, federal and state (up to $7,500 and $2,500 respectively) that we can use this year that may not be available next year and that we won't need next year. That plus the fact that I was able to negotiate a significant discount of approximately 15% and 20% on the GT and SEL respectively; probably partly because of the anticipated improvements.

Also, our primary family car is just too unreliable and I need at least one new car sooner rather than later.

Regarding how long we are likely to keep these cars, we've had the family car we traded in for about 13 years, and the older "commuter car" we still have for about 20 years. I'm hoping to keep these two for about 8 to 9 years, about a year or two before the end of the original warranty and the extended warranty.

Perhaps it will help taking a closer look at the link provided for MY2019. I've kept that link up-to-date, and provided 3 references to US dealers expecting the full updates. The modest bump in battery size also means the federal tax credit will increase from $5,836 to US $6,711 (not the max $7,500). The federal tax credit will still be there for 2019, since Mitsubishi's volume doesn't come anywhere near the 200,000 unit phase-out-limit, and so will the significant discounts at model-year-end-sale time and also because it's Mitsubishi, who are known in general to offer significant discounts. Anyway, I remember in 2011 at a Ford dealer, they offered an extended warranty that went up to 15 years and 150,000 miles, but it was very specific on what it covered. Chances are in that time-frame, it will be the main-drive lithium battery that will need replacement (between 10-15 years), and no guarantees any warranty will cover it unless there is total battery failure.
 
kelmac said:
greendwarf said:
Extended warranties for any products are a waste of money. :roll:

I respectfully disagree. I paid full price on a Subaru extended warranty back in 1999. The car developed "piston slap". According to my research, which led me to a blog with information from a former Subaru enginner, piston slap would probably reduce the longevity of the engine by about 10%. Which is a big deal for someone that hangs onto their cars (I still have that car almost 20 years later).

Subaru of America wasn't happy about it but ultimately they paid for a short engine block (I think it cost about $3,000, maybe more), in addition to a couple of other items, totalling about $3,500 - $4,000. Even though I drastically overpaid for the warranty at the time (I was young and naive and didn't know better) it more than paid for itself, probably several times over.

Thanks for the input,

kelmac

As with any form of insurance, the economics only work (i.e. providers make a profit) if for every punter "gaining", as above, there are many others never getting a penny back. Whilst "peace of mind" may be worth the expense for some people, it is only really valid for catastrophic events - life, fire, health etc. - which the above does not seem to be. Also without universal take up (as with life, fire, health etc.) the cost/benefit ratio is unlikely to be significant, which is why I stand by my original statement.

A recent example - the quote for an extended warranty on my washing machine was more than the cost of a new one, which I could collect on the day of the fault rather than wait a week for a repair! :lol:
 
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