I am looking at the 2014 Sports Hybrid. I pay cash for the car and usually keep them for a long time. My current ride is 10 years old with 121,000 miles on it.

One of the reasons I have had Acuras for the last 25 years is their reliability. That said the hybrid is extremely complex with so much technology (particularly the Advance model) it would seem to be a good bet to extended the initial warranty to 10 years, 120,000. One major item in say year 6, could easily make the it worth while.

Looking at the history on my '05 RL I probably wouldn't needed an extended warranty.

I would like any advice on how to try to negotiate a good price for an extended warranty. The first quote I have is $3,900 which seems very high.

Also, it appears the Sales Manager isn't involved in that negotiation (he says he is just passing along what the Finance Dept. is quoting). Is that correct or can I get the Sales Manager to weigh in for me to help make his sale?

Appreciate any advice from the knowledgeble readers of Acurazine.

Thanks in advance.

 

I believe you can buy the Acura extended warranty from any dealer so long as you purchase it within __ days (can't remember the duration) of buying the car. So you could close the deal on the car (lucky you!) and then shop the warranty around if you wanted. Good luck.

 

The quote of $3900 seems in the ballpark to my eye.

I happened upon a Lexus dealership a few months back and posed the same question regarding extended warranty and I'm pretty sure I was quoted around $3500 for 7 years on a Lexus LS600H with 140000KM (87000 miles) coverage.
I've never purchased an extended warranty before either, but was just curious because of the hybrid complexity.
Just my experience I don't know if that was a good/reasonable quote or gouging/"screw every last penny out of you that we can quote".

 

You can definitely shop the price on the extended coverage. In doing so, I would also suggest getting a quote for the eventuality of waiting until it's 48mo/48-49K miles price for comparison. It might make more sense to wait until you have to shell out the $$ later if the upcharge isn't too great.
I agree with the tech in this new model, I'd strongly consider long term AcuraCare.

 

Several vendors offer Acuracare at a lower price than your dealer is quoting. Tim at Acura of Peoria, Bernoulli Acura, others that don't come to mind immediately. Get other quotes, see if the dealer will price match, if not, go with the cheaper quote. Did this with multiple Acuras and saved a bundle. Good luck!

 

Others include Curry Acura, Hyannis Honda ( I know it's a Honda dealership but they do sell Acura Care).

You should be looking at 50% of the quoted prices for the same Acuracare from these dealerships.

 

I would definitely consider a warranty on this car - hybrid parts will be BIG money. Well worth the insurance this time around IMHO....

Chris

 

Have your salesman do the negotiation for you. 1. Get the best price for a warranty by phone and internet shopping. 2. Add that number to the price that you have on the car. 3. Tell the salesman that $XXX is what I will pay with a warranty for Y years and Z miles. Now the salesman has to go to the finance guy and do all of the work for you. It removes a lot of the BS from the process and puts the strain on them instead of you and tell him to get back to you when they have worked it out.

The other aspect is whether or not you need a warranty? When I bought my 05 RL it was common knowledge that SH-AWD was new, complex and expensive but it turned out to be bullet proof and the rest of the car was typical Honda so a warranty was a waste. The Hybrid will probably be the same and you can save thousands by not buying an extended warranty, besides, it comes with a warranty anyway, you are not getting anything extra for many years with the outlay of the warranty up front. If the car and its reputation is not very good then you should probably get rid of it while its in its regular warranty period and if that's the case then the extended warranty will be wasted.

 

I had planned to call the Finance Manager first and see what I can get him to do. I do have a much lower quote for the warranty from another dealer. I will ask them to match it. Should I take that info to the Sales Manager or call the Finance Manger directly? I would be interested in your take on that.

You are right about the reliability of the RL and the SHAWD. It was a big concern when I bought my '05 RL and it proved to be baseless. I did have to replace the hard drive in the nav system at around 80,000 miles and that would justify most of the cost of the warranty. Give some of the initial problems with the suspension and very complicated infotainment system, I fear potential issues there. the hybrid stuff I am not as worried about -- the basic hardware is not all that exotic today. The complicated stuff is software which is easier and cheaper to fix. Toyota has been making hybrids for a decade with little hardware issues.

 

Although I do agree extended AcuraCare is a prudent choice, I honestly believe waiting until you're close to the end of the 48mo/50K new warranty is a better idea unless the up charge exceeds 10%.
I'm certain one of the referenced dealers can provide the numbers albeit unknown should Acura increase prices over the next few years.
This is my personal opinion but, that would be my approach...

 

I agree with this. Acura's approach is a little different from GM's. With GM, an extended warranty costs significantly more the closer you come to expiration of the bumper-to-bumper warranty, so there is incentive to purchase early in the car's life with you. I purchased a warranty on my V wagon, since I have apparently become a car collector and will be keeping it for a long while. Had I waited until I reached the end of B2B at 50k miles or four years, the cost would have been over 1.5 times the cost purchased new. In fact, the price increases start 12 months after the in service date of the car.

Now whether you REQUIRE an extended warranty on a Honda product is another story altogether......I've got three in my garage without a warranty....but with all the high tech of the sport hybrid, I'd certainly lean toward a warranty.

 

The other way to look at extended warranties is to self-insure. That is, instead of paying out the $3000 -$4000 to your dealer, you set it aside in an investment account. If you average a 10% return on your investment, at the end of 8 years you have roughly $6000 to $8000 to spend on repairs not covered by your manufacturers warranty. If your Acura is rock-solid and trouble free as usual, you just let the investment continue on as the "self-funded" extended warranty on your next vehicle.

Of course this makes the assumption that you can get a 10% return (not really that difficult as part of a larger portfolio) and you have some creative ways to avoid a huge tax hit on the profits each year. Of course this swings both ways and if you average 20% ROI, you could have $10-$14000+ at year 7 or eight and be well on your way to paying for your next car. It also makes the assumption that you have quick access to the cash if and when you need it for an unforseen repair job.

While I admit being nervous about a new car with a lot of new technology, I have always avoided extended warranties and seen them as nothing more than the dealers way of maximizing their profits on the sale. I believe the fact that they can be found for vastly reduced prices from the "full list" price certainly suggests that a lot of the fee for the extended warranty is just gravy for the salesman and also suggests that the manufacturer has done the statistical analysis of the likelihood for repairs and think that they will make a nice profit on your cash before they have to pay back some of it in repairs. So, who not make that profit yourself???

Then again, if you suffer a huge breakdown the day after your warranty runs out, you'll be cursing my name forever. (side note: I have had success with Honda/Acura getting them to pay for out of warranty repairs. I was told they paid because I was pretty close to the warranty expiration date (6 months) AND because I have a long history of buying Honda/Acura products. Wife's '07 MDX had a glitch with the adjustable shocks and they paid all of the parts and half of the labour to repair it)

 

I still haven't decided about the warranty but can confirm that there is a huge difference in price. My first quote from the dealer I am likely to buy the car from is $3500 for the 8 yr 120,000 mile factory warranty with 0 deductible. Another dealer offered the same thing for $2200. If the local dealer matches the price then I'll probably get it. If not I don't know whether I want to deal with two separate dealers to get the warranty (the low price warranty quote is from a dealer that is at least an hours drive )

 

8 yr, 120000mile? A new car comes with a warranty so the outlay is worthless until your, already paid for, warranty expires. If the wheels are going to fall off then they probably will within the already paid for warranty. We are not talking Chevy here, we are talking Honda.

 

I'm just guessing here and others with experience in warranties can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the Acuracare warranty you buy from any Acura dealership is valid at that AND any other Acura dealership. That is, the warranty you are buying is from Acura and not the dealership making it fully transferable/valid at ANY Acura dealership. So you can buy your car from your local dealership, buy the warranty from the other dealership with the better price and still have all your service done at your local dealership.

All of that said, I believe that when you inform your local dealer of your intent to buy the warranty from the other dealership, they will match the price. Once they realize that they aren't going to make any profit from the warranty sale, they will likely accept the small profit to be made from selling it at the lower price.

 

I googled Acura Care and discovered that the vehicle service contract also includes:
- Extensive Component Coverage
- Guaranteed Service
- Rental Car Reimbursement
- Roadside Assistance
- Interest free payment plan
- Transferable coverage
- Commercial use coverage
- Concierge Emergency Service
- Trip Interruption Benefit
- Personalized Travel Plan

I'm not sure what many of those actually entail, but the point is that the Acura Care seems to offer more than just service repair costs. Just FYI.

 

Thanks for the list of things. I should carefully investigate the list to know what I am buying but my understanding is that the Extended Warranty just adds miles and time to the standard Acura warranty that come with the car, i.e. all of those items are part of what comes with the car. The Extended Warranty does not add new coverages, only how long those coverages are in effect.

Is that correct?

 

MF,

You're sorta mixing AcuraCare plans. Those listed by hondamore ARE part of the new car warranty and are included with any warranty extension up to 8yrs/120K miles.
Acura ALSO offers **service plans** that will cover routine maintenance. I never fully researched their service plans cuz they really didn't look like a bargain.
I got a free 3 yr **service plan** when we bought our Accord but, it really only covers oil changes.

 

Sorry, my bad.

 

Have you done the deed yet, Malibu?

 

Very close. Just too busy at work this week to finalize the deal. Also, working to justify the small trunk to the wife. She won't be much Of a driver of the Sports Hybrid but keeps making snide comments like "nice car but why buy a car so comfortable for 4 adults when you can't fit their luggage in the trunk???"

She is right but dam the car is a great ride.......and who cares if we have to put the fourth suitcase in the middle of the back seat between the the two women who are relegated to the back seat on a trip???? Isn't that why Acura made the back seat bigger anyway?

 

Isn't that annoying?

You can justify the range and the small fuel tank, because it is 30 mpg and has the same range as the regular RLX.

But you keep staring at the trunk and wondering.

 

"Pack light, honey!"

 

"...or don't pack at all. We'll buy what we need when we get there."

 

I agree....replace normal underwear for a thong *lol*

 

weather, we were NOT referring to YOUR packing list.

Now may I have a rusty screwdriver to gouge out my mind's eye?

 

^^ lmao!!

 

Sorry, but I have to throw in a quick post about going "Sport Hybrid Commando".

 

^^^

 

I just located an accessory for the small trunk syndrome.....Did Acura go back in time??? They tried hard to keep it a secret that this expensive exclusive ride has no butt for extra luggage....

 

I wonder if the spare tire option will fit in the SH trunk floor.

 

NSX concept.....$$$$$ no travel "just drive it like a sport car".....Ever see folks traveling long trips in an NSX????

 

My salesman told me you could get the optional spare tire but "it was expensive". I think the cutout which holds the tire repair kit is the same size as in the regular RLX [it is the same kit for hybrid or non hybrid]. The difference is the back of the trunk where the electric motors and motor unit [dual clutch etc.] reside.

 

I suppose the good news with the SH-RLX trunk size is that the part of the trunk that is "lost" relative to the regular RLX is the least accessible part way in the back. That area is hard to reach and, in the winter time when there is salt and sand on the road, you get your pants dirty against the bumper trying to reach anything back there.

I will miss the pass through though, perfect for hockey sticks (OK,OK, I know how that fulfills the stereotype that many Americans have of Canadians, but the pass through in my RL has seen many a hockey stick in it's day)

 

You know...I didn't look at the passthrough.

I know there's not supposed to be a passthrough, so what does the hatch behind the rear arm cushion do?

0_o

I wonder if I can resist getting dressed and going out there and looking...until tomorrow.

 

I will check. Perhaps access to the dual clutch, electric motors that are behind the seat.

 

Perhaps access to the switch to turn off the little red light in the overhead console??

Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

Turns out it's just to get to a manual trunk release.

 

That's where you fill the electricity.

 

^ super-unleaded electricity.