Date: Mon, 04 Mar 2002 05:07:01 GMT From: scrowenopsamink.net (Steve Crowe) Subject: Re: Looking for recommendation on extended warranty plans
On Sun, 03 Mar 2002 22:36:09 GMT, "Ed Korsberg" <nobodynopsamere.net> wrote: >I have a 2000 9-5 SE and am planning to keep the car for many years. >I once looked into 3rd party extended warranty plans and sort of >narrowed in on 1SourceAutoWarranty.com > >I am looking for recommendations on extended warranty plans >in general and specially any news on 1SourceAutoWarranty.com. >Saab's are expensive to repair and these service plans are not >cheap either. I have never purchased an extended warranty plan >before and am cautious about putting big money down on this >if in fact it does not pay for itself. > >I look forward to your comments and suggestions. >Thanks. > > Ed, I work on Saabs at a dealership. From my point of view, there are a couple of things to watch out for when buying an extended warranty. 1. Who is going to work on the car and for how much? Extended warranty companys work a lot like medical insurance. They pay a "usual and custom" amount for a particular repair. Typically, I bring in a car and check it out for the customer's complaints. I then write up an estimate based on our normal shop fees for a particular repair. The service writer then attempts contact the warranty company and get approval for the work. Most of the time, our price is more than the company's "usual and custom" amount. At this point, the customer is contacted and told about the difference and that he/she will have to pay the difference if they want the work done at our shop. Sometimes the difference is not a lot, sometimes it is a lot. The only exception at our shop is if we sold the warranty. Our contract with the warranty company states that we must do the repair at their rate. You need to talk to your regular repair facility and find out what their policy is. You might be suprised. I have heard of some Indies not dealing with them because of the royal PIA of trying to get approval. 2. What is the approval process? After the warranty company is contacted, one of several things may occur: A. They approve the repair for X amount of dollars. B. They required that you fax them ALL of you maintance records before they approve the repair. C. They send an adjuster to inspect the car before they approve the repair. D. They require tear down of the engine/trans/top/whatever and then send an adjuster to inspect the car. If they decline the repair, you owe for the tear down and you will need a large box for all the parts and a tow truck to get the car home. 3. Beware of the term, "Like Kind and Quality". In laymans terms, this means USED parts. I have seen extended warranty companys send USED engines, tramsmissions, SIDs, ECUs, Tonneau motors, you name it. I had one customer's car for over a month while the extended warranty company sent one bad or wrong tonneau motor and SID after the other. 4. What will they repair? If you have a broken ring in the #1 cylinder, than that is all most of the warranty companys will pay for. The rings in the other 3 cylinder are not broken now, so they are reused. Not all experiences I have seen are bad. Sometimes the customer really comes out ahead. Bottom line ask the questions up front and avoid the nasty suprises at repair time. Good luck, Steve Crowe ASE CMAT/:L1, Saab Master Tech Harpers Ferry, WV scrowenopsamink.net
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
