Extended warranty or not?

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Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Bill Hamilton (Bhamilton) on Monday, July 23, 2001 - 05:13 am: Edit

I'm at the point where I need to consider the extended warranty on my 1999 LR Disco Series II. I'm nearing the 49K mark. My options are as follows through the dealership:

12 month/25K extension for $2645
24 month/50K extension for $3785

I'm nearing the end of the 2nd year of a 3 year lease and plan to buy the vehicle.

I'm curious to find out what other Disco. owners have opted to do. Everyone at the dealership strongy recommends the extension due to the high cost of potential problems down the road (@$83 per hour shop rate + part costs). Hearing that I questioned them about the long term reliability of the vehicle and told them if they felt that strongly about the extension perhaps I've made the wrong choice in vehicles...???

The examples that they gave me of what could potentially happen are sticky valves (13 hours of labor), and engine reseal or mounts (15-20 hours of labor). I'm faithful about oil changes every 3-4K and don't drive the vehicle off-road...so should I have to worry about these problems...?

Any advice from someone other than the dealer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

BH

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Wes Legaspi (Wes) on Monday, July 23, 2001 - 06:58 am: Edit

www.roverguy.com

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By gp (Garrett) on Monday, July 23, 2001 - 07:49 am: Edit

ouch!! those are high as hell prices there buddy. just like wes says.......check out rover guy. that or hal moses with auto advantage. mine was $1700 for 4 years.

PS: do you get a free oven mit with those?

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Will on Monday, July 23, 2001 - 01:17 pm: Edit

I have a roverguy warranty and I have had 3 major repairs done.

1. rebuilt tranny and rebuilt tcase
2. all head gaskets and seals replaced
3. 2 new brake calipers

Little stuff they covered,
new door actuator, driveline flange, swivel ball repair, 2 new abs sensors

Well worth the 1800.00 I paid.


Will

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Bill Hamilton (Bhamilton) on Tuesday, July 24, 2001 - 05:48 am: Edit

Hey Will,

Can you tell me a little more about the Roverguy warranty. Where do you get your service taken care of, etc.

Thanks,

BH

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By gp (Garrett) on Tuesday, July 24, 2001 - 09:58 am: Edit

you can get service at any licensed mechanic. first you have to have the truck checked out and all that. (before they actual give you a contract) you can take it to a dealer, local yocal, or whomever you like. some you pay a deductable around $50/$100 and some you don't. (they are more $ of course) the warranty company has the hourly times for various parts on your truck and then multiplies that by your shops hourly rate.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By L_Tilly on Tuesday, July 24, 2001 - 04:08 pm: Edit

Do these warranty companies usually care where you take it? I have a Buyers Choice and am thinking I'm going to need to have some things checked out which I cannot do easily myself (or which might be expensive)...after all, that's what I bought the warranty for in the first place, and I want to get my $ worth! I have had bad experiences with two local mechanics due to their lack of Rover experience. My preference at this point is to give the local dealership a shot at the things I can't do myself but they'll probably be at the top of the rates for this area.

L_Tilly lnctilly@mediaone.net
96 Disco "Beowulf" - NH, USA

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By gp (Garrett) on Wednesday, July 25, 2001 - 02:24 am: Edit

i have the buyers choice and it does not matter where you take it as long as it an state approved facility. could be the exxon down the street or your local dealer. but first you have take it to a mechanic and have them go over the check list that buyers choice will fax you. this is a precaution for them, so that there are no pre-existing conditions. yeah.....like this is really going to do it. i would take it to the dealer for this beacause they understand the rovers leak in some areas and your local joe may not. therefore he may not 'pass' your truck for the warranty. the yocal may see this as an opportunity to make you get something fixed in order to get you your warranty. email directly if you have any other questions about buyers choice.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By L_Tilly on Wednesday, July 25, 2001 - 05:20 am: Edit

Garrett,
I was going to mail you directly, but I'm working remotely (away from my own email) today. Anyway, I got the warranty when I bought the vehicle from a local (non-Rover) dealer back in November '00, and they did an inspection of the truck at that time.

That dealer has already submitted two claims for some work they did on the truck for me (although each resulted in other problems...which is why they are never touching my truck again!), so I don't think I need to have another verification done.

I'll try calling B.C. this week and get a pre-approval for the next job and then talk to the dealer in Bedford, NH. I have to go in there early next month anyway for a corrosion warranty claim inspection, and may try to schedule this at the same time. If I understand correctly, the B.C. process is this:
1. I get a pre-approval claim number from B.C. for the problem.
2. I get the work done at a certified shop of my choice. I pay for the entire process at that time.
3. I submit to B.C. for a reimbursement of the work minus my deductible.
4. B.C. happily sends me a check.
5. Everyone is happy, world peace ensues, and rainbows shine down upon us all.

Have I missed anything? Are there any tricks you've learned to make the claim process go smoothly or quickly? How long have you had to wait for reimbursements? If you want to reply to me off-list, that's fine. I'll check it tonight or tomorrow.

L_Tilly lnctilly@mediaone.net
96 Disco "Beowulf" - NH, USA

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By gp (Garrett) on Wednesday, July 25, 2001 - 05:39 am: Edit

that all sounds about right. but i don't remember seeing any rainbows, but plenty of sunshine lately. once i saw some midgets with balloons!!! that was cool.

i have only had to file one claim with them so far and that was fine of course.

i liked my API warranty a little better since they paid my service place directly minus the deductible.

i think one key is to find a service place that is on your side. also find a place that is working on schedule with the time that is allowed by the warranty company. my local guy was going over the limited time and i was having to pick up the tab for that.

i am waiting for my valves to start giving me problems so i can hopefully have the top end of my engine rebuilt. convincing my local shop to have this as a claim would be pretty easy. "did you hear that.......sounds like the valves are sticking"

good luck and let me know if there is anything else you need to know.

garrett
'96 SE7 (minus the rear seats now)

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By L_Tilly on Wednesday, July 25, 2001 - 06:14 am: Edit

"good luck and let me know if there is anything else you need to know. "

Now that you mentioned it.... :-) The work I'm considering being done is on the locking center diff, which isn't working. I've already done the "standard" items, PBBlast down the top to clean it and tried adjusting the bolt from underneath (THAT's a messy job). But still no luck. I'm thinking of having the dealer look at it for me. If they can do a quick fix it will be well worth the deductible. If not, and I need to get the box replaced, then there's no doubt that the warranty will pay for itself. My two questions at this point are:
1. Can I ask B.C. what the "allowed" time is for this job and then verify the number of hours w/ the dealership?
2. Is there any way to "encourage" a shop to sticking with the promised time? (yeah, right, and "the check's in the mail").

L_Tilly lnctilly@mediaone.net
96 Disco "Beowulf" - NH, USA

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By gp (Garrett) on Wednesday, July 25, 2001 - 07:48 am: Edit

well if you check the warranty ( i have it right in front of me now) it has no mention of a center diff. of course. not sure how that would work out. i would call them and tell them your situation. i guess they could be pricks and say 'take off', but most trucks do not have center diffs and i am sure that is the main reason for not listing it. and now that i am looking, no mention of a t-case. :(

i am sure you could ask them for the allowable time for a specific installed part, but most mechanics carry the same book. i forget the name of it, but it carries the industry average for most repairs.

"encourage". hmmmm. how about a 12 pack. that or letting them know in subtle ways that you will continue to bring your car back for these very expensive repairs if things continue to go well.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By L_Tilly on Wednesday, July 25, 2001 - 09:51 am: Edit

I'm going to have to double check mine. It is the B.C. "Premier" (?) which is suposed to include additional coverage for performance and off-road vehicles. I'll look at the details I had faxed to me a couple weeks ago and let you know what I find.

L_Tilly lnctilly@mediaone.net
96 Disco "Beowulf" - NH, USA

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By gp (Garrett) on Wednesday, July 25, 2001 - 10:02 am: Edit

mine is the 'premier' as well. i am sure it is the same contract as mine. if you need one faxed to you i have it right here and can do so. i will be leaving the office today here in a little while (by 4:30), but still can do so tomorrow if you want. mine is for 4 years and i paid $1700. thought this was a pretty good deal. like you said the 'premier' does cover more items....specifically items 15-24. still does not list the center diff or t-case. bummer. i think the center diff could be 'worked out' some how.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By L_Tilly on Wednesday, July 25, 2001 - 12:52 pm: Edit

Garrett, item 3 is "Differential Assembly Components (2 & 4 wheel drive): (Front and Rear)"

The copy they faxed me is missing the right ten characters or so on all lines, so I can't read all the details, but it starts off with "differential housing including...". I think I see the word axels near the far right as well...can't be positive. Due to the lost characters it actually says "ax", but I doubt many vehicles have that as a standard feature. :-)

Although t-box is not listed specifically, between the Transmission/Transaxle (item 2) and Differential Assembly (item 3), I'd place a bet that the work would be covered. As you mentioned, there aren't that many vehicles on the market with a standard center diff, so it's pretty logical it wouldn't make thier list. The dealer who sold me the warranty said that B.C. was one of only a couple companies that would even cover a LR (Wynns is a major company that will not, for example).

Wish me luck, and I'll let you know what happens (probably call tomorrow or Friday).

L_Tilly lnctilly@mediaone.net
96 Disco "Beowulf" - NH, USA

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By gp (Garrett) on Thursday, July 26, 2001 - 02:40 am: Edit

item 3 states:

diff housing including pinion bearings, side carrier bearings, ring and pinion gears, carrier assembly, washers, axles, axle bearings.

so of course no center diff is listed, but like before there should be some latitude for them to work with you on this.

good luck and there is nothing wrong with being a pain in their ass if they become difficult.

just a little fyi.....you can at any time sell your warranty back to BC. they base what they give you on how long you have had it of course. or if you wreck your car/truck too. like me. i totalled my '94 about 6 months after i had a 3 year warranty. got like 1K back. pretty sweet.


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