ostrich

My 04 TSX will be out of warranty after November, 2007. I know that there have been several threads about this, but I wonder who actually went ahead and got the extended warranty in the end? If you did, how much longer do you plan on keeping the TSX for?

I probably will keep it for another year or two, and then get a new car afterwards. Still debating whether I should get the extended warranty or not... what do you think?

Simba91102

M/T or Auto? How many miles on the car now? How many more do you expect to add? All should figure prominently in your decision. I bought the extended (6 yr./100K mile I think) when I bought the car new (an 05, now 2 1/2 years old). I Fully expected to put between 90K and 100K miles on the car in three years (but will probably end up being 70K in 3 years). Although Honda has great reliability, with many repairs easily reaching 4 figures, to me it was (and is) a no brainer. There's a recent thread concerning manual transmission problems that will illustrate my point. As a rule, I'm not an extended warranty fan, but when it comes to cars, I now feel that if the period of ownership is considerably longer (either in time or miles) than the standard warranty, it's a must have. It's too easy to all of a sudden be faced with a $4K or $5K repair bill that would otherwise be covered by an extended warranty.

Sclass88

I'm getting it. I plan to keep my TSX well into the 100-200,000 mile range. For me it's worth it, for those who are bored with the car, it isn't. To each his own.

DNvCross

my car was the last 2007 6MT the dealer had, and they were eager to move it, so they actually threw in the 7 year 100,000 mile warranty for free.

Hugely glad I have it, if for nothing more than the security. I am also coming from a passat, which was in the garage every other week costing me thousands of dollars in repairs yearly, and I really do not want a repeat of that

ostrich

Thanks, guys.

My TSX is an AT with navi, and I average about just under 12,000 miles per year. So I am just over 46,000 miles now, and the 4 year warranty will expire in just under a month's time.

I aim to keep this car for about 2 more years, so it will add another 24,000 miles or so (total just over 70,000 then).

The offer I get from my dealer is $1110 + tax for an additional 4 years/48,000 miles, whichever comes first. They won't do any deal for 2 or 3 additional years.

So what do you think?

HONgDA

iTrader: (1)

With navi the warranty is a good investment. I got the warranty for $900 when i bought my certified '04. I didn't get to use the warranty since my car was totaled. I get most of my money back though.

JLTSX07

I am totally on the fence about this issue. I've seriously considered it, but I am not sure if it's worth it or not. In fact, the last time I was in for service, the service manager asked me if I was going to get the extended warranty. I told her that I wasn't sure if it was worth it. I proceeded to ask her if the TSX's usually have a lot of expensive repairs such as the Navi Unit, etc. She said that she hasn't really had any problems with them at all. So, after talking to her, I am not so sure it's worth it, but I am totally open to suggestions. I have an 07 CGP TSX AT with Navi. I currently have 12k miles.

Thanks!

Jeff

SodaLuvr

With Honda/Acura vehicles, the sooner the better as far as purchasing an extended warranty. The more miles you rack on, the more expensive it becomes to purchase a policy. Not sure why.

CL9er

knowing what i'm gonna end up doing to the car.. all my waranties will be void..

Simba91102

That makes sense. The quote that ostrich got of $1100 for an extra 4 years or 48K miles sounds pretty reasonable since that's about what I paid for 6 yr/100K mile coverage when I bought my 05 new (his warranty would be for more time but about the same mileage). I'm pretty confident that from an actuarial point, warranty claims are most likely connected to mileage, hence the cost of an extended warranty would be directly related to the starting mileage. In this example, he's basically buying another 48K miles of coverage.

Check the AC thread (that's in pretty big letters right now) and that may help to move anyone on the fence (and the 04 horror stories continue.......).

Crackura

Well this has been the thread I've been needing to read all this time!

I got my '04 6mt with 31k on clock just before Labor Day. I hemmed and hawed about getting the extended warranty from the place I bought it from (not an Acura dealer), but I didn't even know at the time that I had an option of buying it from Acura.

So before May when my regular warranty is up (4 yrs) I thing I'm going to spring for the extended...though it looks like it may possibly be cheaper to buy it right now?

Looks like it pays to read the forums! Just discovered Acurazine and so far I've been getting a great education on my car.

jswim99

I've said it many times before, and I'll say it again, the extended warranty issue is all a numbers game, and guess who wins? The warranty companies. The reason warranties get more expensive the longer you wait is really simple. Product failures typically occur with time in what's known as a "bathtub" distribution. Failures either happen right off the bat (ie, during the manufacturer's warranty), or much, much later. This curve looks like a bathtub, hence the name.

With an extended warranty, you're paying for warranty coverage in the flat spot of the bathtub--where there are typically very few problems. In the long run, if you own many cars over many years, and you always purchased the warranty, you will lose, and the warranty companies will win. For a single car, you might "get lucky" and have a significant repair that more than pays for the warranty you bought, but the odds are against it. The farther along you move in the bathtub before buying the warranty means you're getting into the rising edge of the long term problems, which is why it gets more expensive. This is also why you can't buy a 200000 mile warranty--it's not profitable.

Extended warranties are basically insurance that you pay for entirely up front. Personally, I only buy insurance for things where if something terrible happened I might not actually be able to pay--my house burns down, I cause a huge car accident, I get an awful disease. I guess it depends on your financial situation, but I don't ever want to be in a situation where I need insurance because if my transmission went out I'd go bankrupt.

I guess some people can rationalize buying a warranty because it gives them peace of mind, but know this: the warranty companies are making money, and chances are you won't need it. You already bought a Honda--probably the most reliable brand there is. If you're having nightmares about all the things that folks here had go wrong, keep in mind that you only hear the complaints. There are huge numbers of folks with very few problems. The solution to the problems with the 2004 TSX is to never ever, ever buy a 1st revision of any product (ie, the first model year of new body style). You definitely pay to be the cool kid on the block.

jlukja

I'm on the fence as well. The expensive A/C repairs have me worried. I'll be out-of-warranty on December 19 (only have 31K mi.) so I'm leaning towards paying the $1K to make my worries go away.

Simba91102

This is a well thought out "Devil's Advocate" position on this issue. I certainly won't argue with any of the talking points. To me, an extended is basically the "catastrophic insurance" that you speak of. That said, most if not all extended warranties are transferable at least once, and most if not all are refundable under certain conditions, either pro-rated (my WRX) or in full (the Acura if you keep it the length of the contract and don't use it). It also can be a strong selling point at resale (that doesn't mean you'll get any of your money back though). This is one of those debates that really has no clear resolution. There are those in favor, and those against; both with positions that are unlikely to be changed. I'll offer no argument on the profitability of the warranties companies themselves; like all insurance companies ("invisible bankers") they're huge cash machines. To anyone considering a warranty, beware of letting this fact color your decision too much though; you may bite your nose off to spite your face. An extended warranty isn't for everyone; many, if not most, would be smarter to defer on it. But some, (like me) that will pile on 75K to 100K miles in 3 years or less may benefit from the extra protection.

There are things in life that are fair, and things that are less so. An extended warranty may not be the best insurance deal out there, but I for one most likely won't go without it.

davidspalding

jswim99 makes good points, but don't discount too much the assurance and confidence you get from such a warranty. I've read many times that you should only finance a car for as long as the warranty holds. A 2004 model is probably running out, and even with the 12 month/12,000 mile addition of a CPO warranty, that won't cover several years of a typical loan.

When I was buying a 2006 CPO car, I first was negotiating for a 13 month old fleet vehicle with 17K miles. People shy away from fleet cars (see the "should I buy a loaner" thread for similar arguments), so I was definitely getting an extended "wrap" warranty to cover any repairs later as a result of rough use under its previous ownership. I ended up with a 15 month old privately owned car with 34,500 miles (again, a car that's clearly been driven a lot), and the wrap warranty covers everything that can go wrong (with a few exceptions) for the life of my loan. Unless my memory fails, the CPO warranty would cover it for 5 years from date of service (3/06 + 60 months = 3/2011) or 52,000 miles (at 18,000 per year, that would put me at CPO expiration in 11.3 months of ownership). In that circumstance, covering all the electronics, power doodads, etc, for another 5 years gives me enormous piece of mind. Worth it for (in my case) $1105 extra OTD moolah.

Sure the Acura is one of the highest rated reliable cars on CR's ratings. But that risk assessment is worthless when something (non-power train) goes wrong after 15 months of ownership.

Your mileage may vary, and almost CERTAINLY will. Every car and driver are a wee bit different.

xjohnkdoex

iTrader: (2)

i bought the extended warranty up front when i got my 07.

i'm planning to drive this car into the ground.

n3ok318

iTrader: (1)

I am pretty confident this car will serve me well at least til 100k

So I did not purchase extended warranty.

If TSX gives me any trouble, then it means it's time for a new car.

I don't want to own a car with many troubles even with warranty.

jswim99

You bring up a good point. Having an extended warranty doesn't mean your car won't break down, or that you don't have to go to the dealer and deal with all the hassles of a broken vehicle. The only way to prevent this is to get a reliable vehicle. Depending on how valuable your time is, the extended warranty might not save you as much money as you think.

davidspalding

The equation that the Car Talk brothers once proposed is that any car that costs less annually for repairs than you would pay annually for a replacement car (in finance payments and additional insurance) is worth keeping.

With a $300/month payment, with a $250 increase in insurance/property tax, that amounts to $3850 and change. How many common repairs on a TSX run up to > $3500 ?

Luded

We bought a used 05 A/T with 30 k on it, that's pretty reasonable km's for a 2 yr old car. I got the extended warranty thrown in, and if they didnt' add it in I was prepared to walk away.

I see it more like having the added security for the issues that "may" occur later down the road. If we ever find ourselfs trading in the car or selling it privately I think it's an added bonus.

Peace of mind and some return if any when you sell the car. I know I wasn't going to buy the car without the extended warranty i'm sure there's other people out there that would do the same. The cost if we had to pay for it was around $1500 the same as a good set of new tires, so it's well worth getting if you have the chance.

club_euro2

How much should be a 8yr 120k warranty? would you buy one on a leased car? has anyone here bought out the lease? Thanks for your input.
Thanks,

Simba91102

Just one note on this; in my experience, an extended warranty is not transferable to a dealer (on a trade for instance).

Simba91102

Interesting point, but this assumes that buying a new car would be a strictly financial decision. This may actually be true for some, but speaking for myself, this is never the case (and fortunately for the car manufacturers, I'm pretty sure Im not alone).

davidspalding

Well, in their case I think it was all other factors being equal. Like ... trading in a 2004 TSX (out of warranty) for a 2007 TSX (in warranty).

ncinirator

Those 'extended' warranties are usually not from Acura, they are 3rd party warranties and the coverage is basic. But, still I guess its better than nothing.

davidspalding

There's a clear difference between an Acura warranty and a third party service contract (Performance Acura of Chapel Hill, part of the Hendrick Auto Group, has their own corporate service contract offering), and the savvy customer will not lay money on the barrel without knowing the difference.

peterjedi

1) In case the AC has a problem
2) The Navi
3) My door actuator is about to go (minor)

I got the Acura Warrantee. Something like 1,795 for 4 additional years and 48,000 or 50,000 miles. Interest free for one year based on 12 month payment plan with 10% on first payment. Initially they wanted 2,000, but I quoted this site for 1,795.

jswim99

Wait, you financed your warranty? Whoa.

peterjedi

They offered. I think this deal is available to everyone. Check with your Acura dealer.

davidspalding

Well, if you pay it off in 11.99 months, do you get it zero interest? I bought furniture that way, it's handy. Earn a little interest on the dough while you make min. payments on the loan -- they pay off in full before the back interest kicks in.

LuvMyTSX

I thought long and hard about it, but in the end decided against it because I already have the CPO warranty, and I don't plan on keeping the car past 7-8 years. Hopefully my AC and headunit will not go out again before I'm ready to trade.

club_euro2

I would get the warranty. I am in the same dilema, I have an 08 which i Leased, the residual is set at 18k, I have to decide by 6000 miles.

Simba91102

Confused here. Does this mean you plan to buy the car at lease end? (If that's the case, wouldn't it have been cheaper just to buy the car now?) Or did you not follow rule number one of leasing a car: never lease a car for longer (or more miles) than the warranty?