I don't see many posts on this forum about buying an extended warranty for a 2004 TL. If you could post why or why you did not purchase an extended warranty, its length, and cost it will help others out.

 

I always do the extended warranty...There's too many moving parts on the new cars these days. I got the 7/100/no deductable extention...I believe it was $1500.

 

God help you if your navi/computer system crashes after your warranty expires. Don't forget---just about EVERYTHING on that car is controlled, somehow, through the computer (Navi, stereo, AC, etc).

That's the main reason I bought the 7/100,000.

 

NAV and AC is why I got mine. I've yet to have a car where the AC didn't fail after about 4 years and the cost was prohibitive to fix it for the little that I do.

Got 7yr/100K warranty for $1120. There's plenty of threads here that talk about the warranties and what people are paying for them.

 

I didn't get it because I leased the car. But IMO anyone who is planning to keep a car beyond the warranty period should have an extended warranty. Which extended warranty, and how much to pay, are questions worthy of debate. I used to own an Altima and got a third-party extended warranty that was much cheaper than Nissan's version - plus I could get repairs at any reputable shop of my choosing. You have to be careful with the third-party products, though, because you can get burned. Mine was from a very old and reputable company. I think it was called Ohio Fire or something like that.

 

I bought the 7yr/100k Acura Care for $1895 which is written by Honda and is fully refundable by dealer if not used after 7 years. It was a win win. It's traferable for $50 in case I sell my TL. Also refundable pro-rated if cancelled in between.

 

I never buy such warranties. If you can self insure, you are better off in the long run. Companies make money on such warranties. Sometimes you lose but more often you win.

 

Why buy it now ? Even if you want it you have up until 4yrs/ or 50,000 miles to buy it.

You are paying for a warranty that you cannot possibly use for 4yrs or 50k, not a great decision buying it when the car is new.

 

I looked at the site, which doesn't have a copy of the actual contract, but I couldn't find anything about a full refund if not used after 7 years.

This is hard for me to believe, that they would offer you insurance and give you all your money back if you never used it. Are you sure about this?

The price seems kind of high also. There were several threads on this a while back where people were paying around $1100, but they didn't say anything about getting a full refund. Maybe that is why it is more expensive.

 

Ron, I'm sure about this. I've a written receipt from the dealer. This all explanation was hot on the forum when I posted in Dec. I also tried to take the scanned copy of the dealer receipt to post it but it's on Pink paper with red ink and does not come out readable. BTW, the pro-rated refund is from Honda and full return if unused is from the dealer. I spent hour and half with the finance manager at the dealership to make sure this is the case before I bought it. I thought this is a win-win situation and that is the reason I bought it.

 

I recall the dealer sales pitch included something like, the extended warranty was fully refundable if not used during the manufacturers warranty period (4yr/50k), but only if the car was stolen or totaled. This way if your car is totaled before 50k you at least get the unused warranty back.

 

I only consider extended warranty on an American car and rarely then since I have not owned a car past the mfg warranty in many many years.

 

extended warranties are a complete waste of money. if you're really worried your car is going to break after 4 years, put the $1500 dollars (or what you paid for the extended) into a bank account now, and see if in years 5-7 you'll really need it and if you do, but it you do need it won't $1500 cover the repair?

this is how companies get rich.

 

Because when you buy it along with the car (like many other accessories), you stand a better chance of getting a good deal on both the warranty and the car itself. I paid $1,120 for the 7 year/100,000 mile warranty. I doubt very much I could have gotten that price if I bought it four years from now.

 

Yes, I suspect the $1,120 I paid for my extended warranty might very well cover any single repair during years 5-7. But don't forget, my warranty will cover all of them! (assuming they're warranty-eligible). As I said here earlier, that electronics/navi/computer system in our TL makes it very diffferent from most of the cars we've owned in the past. Add that to the "bleeding edge" element of a redesign model year, and the extended warranty makes good sense...at least to me.

 

Joganjani,
That might be true about the warranty being fully refunded but by law and thats what most dealers try to sell you and once you sign in fine print if you read says full refund valid only for upto 90 days after effective date. Usually nothing does go wrong in 3 months and after that you will not get money back. Its a catch 22 situation cuz i used to work in a dealership and know how it to be manipulated and another point is that if you have your 7500mile service and you bring it in at 7501 the extened warranty can and in most cases does get voided. Make sure you keep your receits and paperwork in a shoe box and even as little as rotating tires that gets neglected will terminate the extended warranty even if the tires were not rotated at 20000 miles but the problem occurs at 120,000 miles be it related or not related to the tires. Just an FYI

 

Every warranty I have seen excludes the Navi and the voice command systems.

 

Wrong. See details of the extended factory warranty at http://www.curryacuracare.com/cov.cfm
Under components covered, you'll find:

"ACCESSORIES
- Genuine Honda
Electronic/Audio
Accessories
- Factory-Installed
Navigational and
Security Systems"

 

I have only purchased an extended warranty one time. I usually trade a car off before the warranty expires. The extended warranty is just like any other insurance. If you never use it then it is a waste of money. I you have a major problem, then it may well be worth the cost.

I bought a 96 Chrysler Sebring Convertible new and purchased the 7/70,000 extended warranty because I was planning to keep the car. I still have the car and it has 68,000 miles, but the time limit has expired. The only problem I ever had was the A/C, which would have cost about $500. Seems like I remember the cost of the extended warranty was $1,200, so I lost.

 

I bought the extended warranty but changed it to 4yrs/100,000 miles. I changed it to 4 yrs. because of the fact I'll that many miles on it by then and was able to save money on it as a result. I paid a little over 400 dollars for it. These things are hugely negotiable.

 

So you lent your Dealer $1,120 for 4 yrs, and they may be charging you interest for your loan to them for an accessory you cannot use for 4 years ?

Not saying that is wrong but for me I would not give someone money for something I do not get in return (anytime soon).That is like going to a Dept store and giving them $1,120 for a suit and some shirts, maybe a pair of shoes but do not pick them up for 4yrs.

 

I got the 7yr/100,000 mile for $210. I too got it because I have had to use it in the past on my other Accord. Also, it is a GREAT selling point if you are outside of your factory warranty, that you can tell them it's under extended warranty for 7/100, gives them a piece of mind of buying a used car.

(yes I said $210, I griped at P.O.S. Honda for the quality of my car and they gave me a 6yr/75,000 free that I bumped to 7/100 for $210)

 

i didn't get the extended warranty because i was under the impression that i could get it anytime during the 4/50K mark. i drive about 120 miles everyday so the miles really rack up. its not so much teh 4 year mark but the 50K mark that i will hit soon. there have been posts about dealers selling the warranty for 1200 bucks so i might get that when the miles start to add up.

 

Two reasons why I never buy extended warranties:

1. Statistically speaking they're beneficial to the insurer, not the consumer. If this wasn't the case they wouldn't be sold. (kind of like Vegas, some people get lucky but all those lights on the strip aren't being powered by the winners...)

2. I've never owned a vehicle more than 4-5 years.

My 2cents.

 

All insurance is designed to provide a profit to the insurer. This can only occur if the vast majority of insureds make claims significantly lower than the premiums they paid. The fact that Acura probably makes a profit on their extended warranties is not a good reason to refuse to buy the product. The real question is what risk are you prepared to assume on your own without recourse to insurance. For things like a home, a cottage or third party liability for your home, car or cottage, the decision is pretty simple. Most people would not be able to replace their cottage or home if it burned to the ground. Therefore, insuring them makes a great deal of sense. The same is true of liability insurance.

The cost benefit analysis for an extended warranty is not as clear cut. First, unlike a house of cottage, the car is a depreciating asset. Second, in most cases the car will not be totally lost if there is a manufacturing defect. You will only need to pay something to repair part of the vehicle. If we were to assume that you are paying for the warranty over 3 years (since it extends the original warranty from 4 to 7 years), then the cost is about $33.00 per month. In fact, it is somewhat higher because the warranty is actually completely paid for before it actually takes effect (I am in Canada so I am not too familiar with the American warranty but, in fact, the extended warranty probably doesn't kick in for the powertrain until sometime after 4 years which really decreases the value of the warranty and increases its real cost). For many people, whose budgets cannot stand a $2 or $3000 hit for a major repair, this is good insurance to buy. They can handle the $33 per month, or whatever it costs them to finance the warranty over the course of a lease or the term of the financing, without difficulty and it provides them with peace of mind regarding the car. It may also make selling the car a little easier but the buyer of a used car is not going to pay enough extra, if any, to allow them to recoup the cost of the extended warranty.

For someone who a $3,000 hit would only be an annoyance, it may make little sense to buy the warranty. Over the long haul such a person would be ahead of the game by never buying such warranties and just absorbing the cost of out of warranty repairs.

Unfortunately, most of use do not have the data to determine whether the cost of the warranty is justified. If we knew that the average cost of repairing manufacturing defects in years 4 to 7 of ownership was only $850, then we might skip the warranty. However, if the information we had indicated that 15% of a particular model of car required repairs that cost in excess of $3,000 in years 4 to 7, then we might very well want to buy the warranty. One can get some idea of repair histories from Consumers' Reports but the information really is not sufficient to judge these issues.

One thing that 04 TL owners should keep in mind is that their cars are from the first year of a new model. It may be that the long term repair costs for the 04 TL will be similar to other Acura products but this may not be the case. Given how extensive the changes were to this car and the relatively new electronics in this model, I believe that an extended warranty may make more sense for the 04 TL than for other new cars.

Finally, the refundable warranty has value even if they dealer has your money for 7 years. If you don't need the insurance, then all you paid for it is the cost of borrowing $1200 for 7 years. Of course, even if you use it for a minor repair, you lose the ability to get your money back. Assuming that it is possible under the terms of the warranty, you may be ahead of the game to pay for a small repair out of you own pocket to preserve your claims free statust (sounds like auto insurance doesn't it). This type of refundable premium is also seen in a number of so-called dread disease policies.

BTW, in Canada the so-called bumper to bumper warranty is only 3 years. The initial extended warranty is for four years (it adds road hazard tire coverage as well) and at the end of the four years you have the option of buying additional coverage.

 

I went with Consumer Reports recommendation not to buy one, even though I was glad I had one with my 540 and my vette. I am betting on the vaunted Acura quality. My 91 Honda has been extremely reliable.

 

Nice post, smoore.

Buying insurance is a way of dealing with risk. Different people have different risk tolerances and might assess the risks and benefits of a particular purchase differently. It seems a lot of people in this thread have little or no interest in extended warranties.

Good thread, all!

 

Extended warranties are a waste of money. You did the research and bought a reliable car, why would you bump up the dealers profit margin by buying an extended warranty?
Most problems will surface during the first 12 months of ownership. I keep my cars 10-years on average, and haven't bought an extended warranty or ever felt I needed one. I've owned Dodge, Ford, Mazda, and Honda. Never have I had regret. You'll find lots of gloom and doomers, but just how often does a computer go bellie-up or a tranny drop? It's not like you're buying a chevy or a BMW. Acura is reliable. Relax, save your money and enjoy the ride.

 

I got the extented 7 year, 100,000 mile with 0 Deductible for:
$1,120.00 no sales tax added.

I drive about 20K a year and with all the electronics like the Navi
and voice recognition not to mention all the other electronic goodies, like the a/c I needed piece of mind. I think it like insurance.

Fear No Trout

 

I thought that it's standard nationwide that the warranty is 7% of the MSRP?

How are people getting such low rates for the extended warranty?

 

Please expand on 0 deductible. What does that mean?

 

Some of the extended warranties particularyly one's that are purchased on a previously owned vehicle that offers extended warranties have $50.00 or $100.00 deductible every time you bring in your car for warranty work. http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/newre...eply&p=984468#


If you purchase a new car extended warranty, make sure there is no deductible.


Cory