Hi all - just joined today after spending 45 minutes researching questions about service contracts and extended warranties.

Bought a beautiful mint 06 RL (TECH w/o PAX, new tires) from an Acura dealer here in NY (57k miles/$18k) yesterday. The dealer is offering two service contracts (from Allstate): 5/60 "standard" coverage for $2209, and 3/36 "preferred" coverage for $2283.

I think these prices are VERY high, but my wife thinks we should get something. After looking through the threads I am a little worried about repair costs (NAV unit, radio, etc.), but, as someone pointed out, most people post problems with cars, not the fact that their car is problem-free. I will say that I have never seen such a tech-loaded car and am a little apprehensive about the long term reliability of so many electro-mechanical parts. (We keep cars a long time - a 2000 TL with 203k miles and a 1997 528i with 175k miles.) The TL has been excellent (except for the tranny) but is primitive compared to the RL. (The BMW is a money pit.)

Based on what I've read here, I'm willing to forget a service contract and trust in Honda reliability but I (and more importantly, my sweet wife) would love to get some confirmation on this. Also, can my regular mechanic service the RL or are there certain repairs which should preferably be done by a dealer? (I don't want someone learning the RL on my car!)

Thanks very much for any links/advice!

 

First of all, welcome to the forums, you've come to the right place. People here are great and the advice provided is very solid.

I can't comment on the warranties you mentioned as there's simply no details as to what they cover.

2006 is a much better choice than 2005, and should avoid most of the pitfalls for you.

As far as maintenance, you got your regular oil changes, differential oil changes and cabin and engine filters, that's really the basics until you hit 100k.

Some common issues are listed in other threads.

Bring us more info and I'm sure you will get a ton of responses.

 

Lol that might help wouldn't it! The standard and premier inclusions can be seen here:

https://www.allstatecarcare.com/docs/VSA.pdf

Thanks.

 

What is the deductible?

 

I hate warranties that spell out every single part...one miss and you're toast.

A common issue I read about is door handles and I don't feel like that issue would be covered.

Pretty sure you still have some power train warranty left, and that's generally the part that doesn't break if properly maintained.

I would look around for other warranties just to price around, having a warranty is great, but having a warranty that doesn't work when you need it...not so much.

 

I bought a an RL a few months ago from a Ford dealer in Texas, and bought an extended warranty through Ford.

It turns out it was worth it as it needed two motor mounts and the balljoints were loose (granted barely). I came to find out that the balljoints are part of the lower control arms and can't be replaced individually. They were $500 for each control arm, plus motor mounts and labor. I have a $100 deductible, the warranty covered the rest.

Thus far, the warranty has almost paid for itself.

 

The deductible is $100, but I'm not sure if that's per visit or per repair.

 

Thanks sj993. For comparison, what are the costs and duration of your warranty?

 

The warranty cost about $2800, and it's for 4years/48,000 miles. I had about 73K on the car when I bought it. I found it to be pretty expensive but I took some comfort in the fact it was provided by Ford and not a third party.

 

I myself hate buying extended warranties, especially at $2000+ and not AcuraCare. I know your car is probably too old to get AcuraCare, so that's out of the question. The 3rd party warranties have too many exclusions that make them so not worth it IMO.

I would make sure the car is inspected carefully and if everything checks out, I would pass on the warranty. $2000 will buy you one fairly major repair and several smaller ones. I have been a Honda/Acura owner for 25 years and I can tell you that in general, the things that break on their cars will not leave you stranded. They are merely convenience items or annoyances. The important thing is to make sure nothing is currently wrong or about to go wrong...

Just my 2 cents...

 

USAA insurance has a third party service contract by assurance. the same company that Verizon uses for their phones. its a 2/24k zero deductable for $1550. maybe assurance offers it outside of. USAA. just a thought.

 

Call or email Troy Dietrich of FD Warranty. He is a seller of extended warranties at internet prices. I got to know his name from a Lexus forum. He will give you a fair deal at below dealer prices and he will also tell you pretty straight what you are eligible for and what the advantages and disadvantages are. Many Lexus owners have dealt with him and everyone I know of has been satisfied. He sells warranties for all different makes of car and he also sells the Ford warranty that someone here wrote about. I know cos he quoted me on the Ford warranty.

 

I would follow Megatron's advice. Have the car thoroughly inspected. Motor mounts, suspension, transmission fluid drain/refill, rear differential drain/refill, etc. Read up on the propeller shaft/bearing whine and listen for it. Take the results, and make an informed decision.

There isn't much on this car that is beyond the scope of an experienced third party Honda mechanic. There are a few things that the dealer may be more versed in, but for 99% of the issues, it's just a Honda. (Really, the dealers don't get to work on a whole lot of RLs either since they didn't sell any and they are reliable.) $2k will cover all of the most common issues documented here and will cover more than one of a lot of them. I don't see it as a good investment because the risk of paying more than the warranty in repairs is very low, the warranty doesn't cover every part of the car, and the warranty expires. You keep your cars a long time. Say you pay $2k now, the warranty expires in 3-5 years, and the transmission explodes a week later. Take the $2k now, put it in a 6 month recurring CD, and when something happens, pay for it then.

 

 

Thanks to everyone who responded. It's been a long day trying to decide, but I am leaning towards the advice to pocket the money and spend as needed. I went over the contract in detail and found that the door handles and the NAVI unit weren't covered. (I verified this with the service department.) I followed oo7spy's good advice and listened for the propeller shaft/bearing whine and didn't hear it (at low speed). The car was made in July so perhaps there were some improvements. As Megatron said, that money will pay for a large repair and a few small ones, if needed.

With the 5/60 option the car would have only 117k on it - that's not high mileage for this car. I'll keep looking in this forum to see how these cars hold up - who knows, we might break our pattern and sell it at around 125k, but the way we are enjoying this car, I doubt it!

Thanks again, everyone.

 

There are quite a few members here with 150k+ and one that sold his to a nephew at 300k. Keep the maintenance up, and the car will run forever.

 

Just took my 05 with 125K on it to the mountains in PA this weekend and it performed very well and still does as my daily driver. I don't think you'll have anythign to worry about.