Did You Purchase an Extended Warranty With Your Saturn?

[Charlie]

Did you purchase an extended warranty when you bought your Saturn?

Post any comments.

Thanks!
Charlie

[ellemenno]

Heck yeah. The standard warranty didn't even cover the life of my loan.

[eRic 02sc2]

yes! and it was worth it. i somehow managed to "break" a lot of things under warranty. so at the end of the warranty period it was like having a new car ;)

[cabo5150]

Yup,
The ext warranty paid for it self almost 2x (cost of repairs vs. cost of warranty) on my '97 sc2.
With all of the L issues discussed on the board I fiqured it was a good thing to have, plus with zero interest it was probably a wash (int saved vs. warranty cost).

[Spazie]

I bought both my Saturns used, and they were too old to have an available warranty option from the used car dealer. I didn't buy them from the Saturn dealer.

[Kevin94SL]

Used. No to the warrenty. However, the guy I bought it from is good about repairs. Labour rate is far below the average in the area.

[KatWoman]

I did not. I could have for $1600 but the car is 5 years old (bought it used) and for $1600 we could fix any problems ourselves.

[silverblueL200]

No, and I regret it...

[unkle bik]

Yes. Got the 7yr/100k no deductible warranty.
Since I got the GM supplier discount, I figured it was a wash, moneywise. The 0% financing was a plus, also.

After hearing some horror stories about steering racks & vibration, I guess I made the right move.

[BradJK]

11 months in and I've had 1/2 of my warranty purchase price in work done. Glad I bought it.

[SilverNickelQC]

Yes, i still have about 20k to see if it was worth it. I also got 0%, FWIW.

[swoker183]

sure did

[Bertillion]

I bought my first Ion with an extended warranty and totaled it a few months later. I didn't purchase one for my second Ion. You’re allowed to purchase an extended warranty anytime until the original 3yr/36,000 mile warranty runs out. The only difference may be in the price. I'm sure they raise the price every year or so. I did get a partial refund on the first warranty. I just thought this time that I would wait a while. If the car starts to give me trouble in the first time period I might buy an extended warranty. If not I will probably leave it up to fate.

[PAGuy77]

I haven't purchased an extended warranty as of yet. However, I do have the Car Care plan for 60K which started the date I drove the car off the lot. I will have to do some reading in the paper work and see if that covers anything extra after the intital warranty period of 3/36.

[TXVue04]

Nope, I had it on my last two cars and never used it. I didn't need a repair that was warranty covered until after the warranty had expired (years 8 and 10). So I will see how this one goes, and if it look like it will be problematic after year 1 I will be a warranty from saturnaccessories.com

[wlhawk]

On my first saturn I didn't get an extended warranty. On the last several saturns, I've got it. All of the saturns we've owned were trouble free, but I like having the coverage if I need it.

[youngbishop]

I did not purchase one with Saturn or the dealship, but I did get something with my insurance company. That is better then what was offered to me from Saturn and the dealship.

[David 93 SL2m]

I bought an extended warranty for my 1993 SL2 but nothing happened, so that was a few hundred dollars tossed into the trash can. At the time Saturn was still new and unproven in a sense, I was nervous, so I took the bait.

I did not get an extended warranty for my 2003 L200. To be more exact, I did not buy an extended warranty for any of my new vehicles after getting the one for my 1993 SL2.

[Hiddenlites]

I didn't get one for my Saturn since is was over nine years old when I bought it. I'm taking a wait and see approach with the Silverado.

[David 93 SL2m]

In my opinion extended warranties are just a way of getting people to pay in advance for future repair work that might never happen. If somebody really wanted an extended warranty then I have a good suggestion: open another savings account and deposit $25 per month into it starting at the time of the new car purchase. After 3 years the balance will have grown to $900. After 5 years the balance will have grown to $1,500. After 10 years it will have reached $3,000. Plus interest. Have a car repair after the basic warranty expires? Tap into this savings account. Have something catastrophic happen and/or buy a new vehicle? Withdraw the money from this savings account and use it as a downpayment on the next one. Actually I'd recommend increasing the monthly amount slightly each year as the vehicle ages since the odds of it having issues will begin rising.

When I was a young driver most car odometers had 5 digits. They went up to 99,999 miles and then "rolled over." It was not that common for a car to last over 100,000 miles. Often people would start getting nervous and sometimes start getting serious mechanical issues as the car went beyond 60,000 miles. New cars back then came with lame warranties, such as 4 months / 3,000 miles bumper to bumper and 1 year / 12,000 miles for the engine and transmission. Also new cars only came out in the fall each year. Usually the changes were rather small and a car model might have lasted 10 to 20 years before having a major redesign.

Today cars coming out all throughout the year and with much longer warranties, some as long as 10 years / 100,000 miles. Odometers have 6 digits and don't "roll over" until reaching 1 million miles. Cars are designed using computers and simulations and stuff. Some of the assembly such as welding and painting is done with robotics. I would guess that today's cars can go 250,000 miles before starting to have issues as long as basic maintenance is performed. Also the new cars coming out today get changes almost every year and the major redesigns are happening more often, typically every 3 or 4 years. As a result, many people move on to newer vehicles - leaving behind a very good car with much life still left in it. Since new cars are built very well and since most people replace their cars before reaching even 200,000 miles, I would not recommend buying an extended warranty.

Oh by the way, the basic warranty that comes with a new car is not free. It is built into the price of the car. We pay for that "free" bumper to bumper warranty on the day of the purchase.

[DerDrache]

I got an extended warranty just because I financed for 5 years and didn't want there to ever be a point where I was paying on the car but it wasn't covered byy warranty. Like others, I got 0% interest so I didn't feel that bad about paying the extra money. Let it be known that while Saturn might not haggle on the pricing of the vehicle, the warranty's and gap protection are definately negotiable. I got a 6 year/100,000 mile plus gap protection for dirt cheap.

[NGFD14]

No, I bought the car used at 67000 kms. I checked the history and found that the car had gone trouble free. I have it a year now and only have had to pay for oil changes. It has been a very dependable and economical car.

[SL02Sport]

Originally posted by David 93 SL2m
In my opinion extended warranties are just a way of getting people to pay in advance for future repair work that might never happen.

I agree in theory, but for me, reality paints a different picture. I bought my first extended warranty (GM 6/100) back in '88 for $675. I had only a couple of minor problems with that car (I drove it for 120,000+ miles) but "got back" every dime I paid... a bad steering rack being the most expensive part replaced.

I bought a T'Bird in 1996, and *didn't* buy a warranty. By 97,000 miles, the engine had been leaking oil (rear main seal) for some time AND was beginning to show blue-smoke from the tailpipe. My choice was, spend a couple grand to repair/replace the engine (no way would it pass next emissions inspection!) or trade it.

So, two cars; one with, one without... in my experience, you're going to spend the money either way. When I got the Saturn, I got the warranty... but I agree that if you drive "normal" miles and trade every 3 years or so, they're not worth it.

[HiWire]

I got an extended warranty - 7 years, 160000 kilometers. From past experience, I expect to be using it, since I already had a repair a month after the 3-year bumper to bumper expired.

[Husker02GT]

wheres the 'should have' option?

[ricksLS1]

For the LS1 had many issue that were adresses under the regular warrabty. Did not purchase the extended warranty.Now at 66,000 miles and almost 4 years no out of warranty problems

For the VUE we got an extended warranty that if not used the price is refunded. It is 5yr 60,000 miles with API.. They have been around for 18 years. The dealer only sells API. At least the VTi is covered for 5 years 75,000 miles

Even if you do not have an extended warranty if you have a repair on something major write a letter. Many car companies will cover all or part of the repair.

[Hawaii Bob]

Dealer price was outrageous. I did order one directly from Warranty Direct. Anyone have any experience with this company?

[SaturnSid]

Nope, no need for it.

[ChgoBlues]

Yes, the last two new cars, 96 SC2 and 03 L300 I have purchased. Especially with the cost of parts for the L300, I wanted to have the coverage and with some of the potential issues, oil cooler leak for instance wanted to be sure I could keep my Saturn running.

[05VUE]

I haven't purchased an extended warranty as of yet. However, I do have the Car Care plan for 60K which started the date I drove the car off the lot. I will have to do some reading in the paper work and see if that covers anything extra after the intital warranty period of 3/36.


If you bought the "Car Care" plan, the it includes the extended warranty as well. I just bought a 2005 VUE with the 5 yr/60k mi Car Care plan and it not only covers ALL regularly scheduled maintenance for 5 years; but, it also extends the original "bumper to bumper" warranty out to 5 yr/60k mi as well. It also extends your Saturn Roadside Assistance to 5/60. It's like any insurance. If you don't get sick, then all your weekly health insurance premiums are wasted money as well. But, if you have a major illness, then you're okay. It can't hurt to have it.

[unkle bik]

Dealer price was outrageous. I did order one directly from Warranty Direct. Anyone have any experience with this company?

I must get at least 3 letters a month since I had my car trying to sell after-market warranties. They usually are used as kindling for the fireplace.

[Tethys]

As my previous Saturn was near expiration thanks to my stupidity (no coolant flush in time to prevent a blown head gasket), plus it needed a new (plastic!) radiator, I limped into my retailer to see what they could do. The finance manager took pity on me and offered an extended warranty to me at cost (5/75). The car I traded in had had a 5/60 on it.

To date, it's been nearly 15 months and I've added 20,643 miles to the odometer.

[01SC1blue]

good for the last guy but i bought a 2001 SC1 and i bought the extended warranty at 93,000kms and i had to fix in order
oil pan, axle seals, headgasket, wheel bearing, cyl head (cracked) camshaft, water pump, thermostat, EGR valve, and a few normal things like front pads and roters, rear drums and shoes, and now my clutch is going i paid 2500$ for the warranty and they covered over 7000$ of work
thank god for that warranty i got the only POS saturn out there but at least im ahead and everythings new but having had antifreeze in my engine im waiting for my main bearings to seize

[Elsongs]

I got my ION2 almost 2 weeks ago.
I don't know if it's part of the GM Employee Discount deal but my 5 year extended warranty was FREE (I had a choice of either free extended warranty or $1000 cash down). I'm sure the IOn's more reliable than my old SL2 was, but it was comforting to know I'm at least covered during the 5 years I'm financing my car.