grappler171

Hi all! I知 looking at a 2016 Sport Hybrid /w advance grey/black with 116,000 miles on it. I知 looking to pay $19,500 for the car. It was purchased and serviced at Napleton Acura, Elmhurst and later serviced at Advantage Acura, Naperville and seems to have been serviced well including the timing belt service done at 100,000 miles. 2 owners, but second one I assume was a dealer as it was sold at auction but in 3000 miles wasn稚 registered in WI before getting sold at auction again and coming back to Illinois.

I知 debating a bit with a 3rd party extended warranty through Endurance which is VERY expensive ($5400 over 30 months) 48mo/75,000 mile coverage. Includes hi tech coverage for electronics and all power train/hybrid drive components plus a lot more. Am I going too far adding a warranty? Or could this car become a money trap? Any advice would be appreciated.

andysinnh

With that level of mileage, I'd read the warranty fine print very closely to see what they would actually cover. Sometimes things like driveshafts are considered wear items, so if those joints wore out you'd still have to pay. Those $$ figures are pretty high for the extended warranty, and most would tell you to just bank that $$ and use it when (or if) you had a repair to make. Perhaps the most costly item you'd have to worry about is the hybrid battery. If that's not covered by this warranty, it's another reason just to bank the $$....

mrgold35

I agree with @andysinnh about reading the fine print. Some 3rd party warranties may or may not include:
- all scheduled maintenance must be performed at approved service centers with their parts/fluids (no shade tree mechanic)
- restrictions on which shops the warranty work can be performed
- reimbursement difficulties if your are "out of network" (pay first/reimburse second months later)
- deductibles or co-pay that need to met
- prior approval before any warranty claim
- the most expensive parts not being covered like EV battery, Krell audio system, dual wet clutches in 7DCT, etc...
- poor customer service
- can't drop the extended warranty for a prorated refund
- can't transfer extended warranty if you sell the RLX

hondamore

Extended warranties on new cars can be reasonably priced because they take into account that many of the new cars being warrantied will have no claims at all (especially with a reliable brand like Acura). With an 8 year old car, the likelihood of a claim is substantially higher and thus the cost of the extended warranty for an older vehicle can become prohibitively expensive. Factoring in the other possible "loop holes" in the coverage noted by andysinnh and mrgold35 and it becomes apparent that getting a "good deal" on an extended warranty for an older car is unlikely (ie. it is difficult to see a scenario where you get more out of the warranty than you spent buying it). Even if you're not getting a "deal", some people still feel better with the warranty in their pocket rather than risk the prospect of a large unexpected repair bill.

The other approach to take in this scenario is to just put $100 - 200 a month into a separate savings account and then use that money ONLY should you require any car repairs. The difficulty in this plan is being disciplined enough to continue to make those deposits and disciplined enough not to use that money for other purposes.

Good luck with your decision and enjoy your new Sport Hybrid.

grappler171

First off, thank you for the replies so far. I should receive the contract to look over tomorrow. I have 30 days to cancel without penalty, $50 fee to cancel after that. Im waiting to do anything until I know the details. Also I壇 like to negotiate a lower price.

What kind of scared me were two instances of people having failures recently with less than 100,000 miles. One guy had to replace his engine because of a rod bearing and then his krell subwoofer under warranty and a lady had to replace the A/C, starter, and radiator with only 60,000 miles on it. Hers wasn稚 a hybrid though. I know there will always be issues that arise with every vehicle, but this car has a LOT more technology than my 2011 RL and the potential costs are kind of scary. I know one persons issues won稚 necessarily be mine though. Have the vast majority of people had fairly trouble free experiences even up to 150,000 miles? I致e tried just going off reading the trouble posts here, but I know that痴 not the whole story. Thank you again for taking the time to reply here!

rlx015

Many will not agree with me on this one, but paying 25% of the car price to have a little bit of warranty is not worth it, and I would not do it... but I respect your decision when you decide to either get it or not...

grappler171

I agree. It痴 very expensive even for peace of mind. I received the actual contract this morning and while it covers a LOT, it IS limited. If I accept the contract it wouldn稚 be near the price they originally quoted me. I guarantee they have wiggle room, but even so. Ty

RLX-SH-Maybe

I really like my 2016 RLX-SH. And I usually would never consider an extended warranty - always thought they were generally scams......BUT......now I'm dealing with a folding driver side mirror that doesn't fold anymore and the cost is pretty astronomical to replace. The dealer wants a couple grand. Ordering the OEM part is about $1000. Do I take a shot on a mirror from a junkyard online for around $500? And if I take the mirror apart to replace one tiny screw, I'm not entirely sure I could put it back together.

Not saying the warranty is a guaranteed good deal, they probably have tons of exclusions, but I will consider it more seriously for my next car.

rlx015

There will likely always be an argument for each side, go with the warranty or not ...
To get this up front: when I got my Certified RLX I currently drive, even though it had certification, I opted to purchase an Acura Care warranty, and selected 5yr and up to 80,000 miles, which I paid under $1400. Given the mileage I am putting on a car, it will last me another 2.5-3 years.
Back to the warranty - I do agree, a warranty is great to have, and for a fraction of the car price, I would recommend getting it, if for nothing but the piece of mind that anything going bad will not cost you an arm and a leg. In my case, I paid car 36k back in June of 2021, and paid extra warranty under $1400...

This specific case is: the car price being just over 20k, while the warranty they want is over $5,000 - which is 25% of the car price - astronomically high... but no blame there, the older the car is, the extended warranty will cost more, so, no surprise there - this specific case? Way to expensive to consider a warranty at that price, plus the car... after all OTD will get him in the low 30s, for a car that dealers will not offer maybe even 16-17k if he tries to trade it in (given unforeseen life circumstances