| DOUBLE-X |
Hello all, I need your opinion.....
I just recently purchased a 2001 MDX with 54,000 miles. I choose the MDX because of Acura's reputation for reliability. While at the local dealership yesterday, I was speaking with a service advisor about the MDX and while mine checked out to be in great condition, he suggested I look for a good extended warranty. He said "I've seen how expensive parts are for these and what they come in for and I would certainly suggest it". Needless to say I was taken back a little by his comments, but would appreciate your opinions on the value of purchasing an extended warranty. Keep in mind that the cost is much greater for mine since the factory warranty has expired.
Thanks for your help!
Double-X |
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| richkuan |
You need to consider the following:
1. How often the car is likely to have problems.
2. Do you know how to repair the vehicle by yourself.
3. How good is the ext. warranty, especially what's not covered.
Most ext. warranties cover a lot of stuff. It looks good, but if you take a closer look, I would bet that 90% of those stuff are almost impossible to go bad during the warranty period (metal parts, like steering knuckle, alternator, steering pump, AC compressor, suspension, emission control system, internal engine parts like crank shaft, etc. Warranty for these items are totally nonsense and you probably will never need it). But for parts that are easy to decay like high pressure hoses, etc., it will not cover them. It may not save you too much money if there is really something wrong with your car. Look at the terms and conditions carefully before you spend your money and make sure you don't get surprises when you need the warranty.
My opinion is, Acura is very reliable and unlikely to have major problems in the first maybe 10 years. All you need is regular maintenance. And since I do all maintenance and repair myself, I didn't buy the ext. warranty when the dealership pushed very hard and try to scare me with the repair expense. I have a 92 Accord, mostly maintained by myself, never have any major problems. For the modern engineering technologies, the ext. warranty is more and more becoming pure profit for the dealership. |
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| renov8r |
Generally I agree with richkuan's comments when considering a NEW vehicle, but if you bought your MDX used you need to think about how the previous owner took care of things.
From the routine, like having the VTM & Transmission serviced according to schedule, to the unexpected (lots of folks have stuff "deactivated" if it's too expensive to fix....) if you have doubts that the previous owner did all they could to make the vehicle reliable then an extended warranty might be prudent.
The double edged sword comes into play here though -- just like buying an Acura Certifed Used, if it's good enough to pass the pre-warranty inspection it may not need the extra coverage, and if it's really beat up it might not qualify for an affordable policay that covers anything that is likely to need to be replaced.
One last thing, most folks don't think about it but a garage kept vehicle is really a lot less subjected to extremes of heat & cold than one that spends a lot of time parked outside. I believe that things like power steering pumps, A/C compressors, steering racks, and other items that DO last hundreds of thousands of miles on garaged cars tend to fail MUCH soon on non-garage parked cars. The grit, falling leaves, moisture, heat, and cold all contribute to shortening the life of fittings, joints, internal lubricants, and seals.
Most service advisors don't really have a way to profit from you purchasing an extended warranty, so unless this one DID HAVE A WAY TO PROFIT (and maybe that dealership is setup differently than most...) I would trust their recommendation -- they do see way way way more vehicles & they see the PRICES that parts cost. |
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| DOUBLE-X |
Thanks richkuan and renov8r, all good points and things I will consider. The vehicle I bought was serviced religiously by the previous owner at the Acura dealership I had it checked out at it before I purchased it. Next to a "certified" vehicle, I figured that was a good sign. I guess what I'm looking for is what kinds of repairs (if any) I could expect or are typical of a MDX after 50k miles.
Thanks again,
Double-X |
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| Markedoc |
I am mulling over the same decision - 2002 MDX purchased new, 38k miles on it now. $0 deductible 7 yr/100 mile warranty will cost $1800+.
The bogey in my mind is the transmission. IF it fails after 50k miles, will Acura "quietly" replace it for free? I've been reading about Acura covering trannys after 50k miles, but of course, they have not officially stepped up to the plate and simply extended the warranty on trannys on all MDX's.
Right now I am leaning not buying the extended warranty and taking my chances. I've had no problems with the MDx so far (knocking on wood).
Anyone know what a tranny would cost if I had to pay for it? |
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| wmquan |
I ended up getting an extended warranty. I fully realize that it's usually a bad financial deal. The dealers make a big profit margin from them so it's in their best interest to try to persuade customers to buy them.
The factors that made me get it are the questionable transmission reliability of the 2001-2002 MDX's, my previous "luck" with extended warranties, the high price of Acura service in my area, and the general desire for some assurance that we wouldn't be stuck with a huge repair bill (albeit at the expense of buying the extended warranty).
Our MDX has already had a violent transmission shake and I'm not convinced that the transmission recall is more than a band-aid.. Acura still refuses to extend the automatic transmission warranty on the 2001-2002 MDX's and a replacement will cost well more than the price of the extended warranty.
I had an extended warranty for my old Integra. Its transmission had failed while under the regular warranty, but that made me nervous enough to get the extended warranty. Then at 84k miles, the HVAC system failed and it would have cost about $2,500 to fix. So that easily took care of the price of the extended warranty.
For whatever reasons, I usually have "good luck" with extended warranties. Heck, I'm about to get my Toshiba notebook serviced under the extended warranty and I suspect the cost of the repair will take care of the warranty price.
Sure the extended warranty was expensive, but now I don't freak out every time I wonder if I heard a funny noise from our tranny.
While Acura's in general are reliable, the MDX is 1) assembled in North America, not Japan, where the quality doesn't seem to be as good; 2) has had some pretty obvious bugs in earlier model years; and 3) is a more complicated vehicle (at least mechanically) than other Acuras.
It is true that if you buy extended warranties for everything, you end up financially behind since statistics say that you could use part of that money to pay for real repairs and invest the rest. However, I also feel that you can reduce that disadvantage in part, by just buying the extended warranties for the items that are more prone to fail, have had expensive repairs already under the original warranty, and/or are expensive to repair in the time you anticipate owning it. |
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| DaleB |
Definitely worth it in this case, IMHO, if you plan to keep the X well beyond 50K miles, or 4 years. The price of an extended is only about a 3rd of the price of a new tranny.
Not to mention other components that may go bad including expensive electronics.
Alternatively, you could plan for failure and put some money aside for the inevitable. But it better be a good 2 or 3 times the cost of the warranty. |
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| nicksan |
Where would be the best place to get the extended warranty?
Do you recommend any of ther other warranty companies available on the internet (WarrantyDirect, 1stSourceWarranty, etc...) or should we all stick with Acura warranty?
What do you think is a fair price for the warranty?
I have a 2001 MDX with 40k miles on it.
My warranty runs out in a few months.
How many more years and miles would the warranty add on to it?
Thanks
Nick |
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| phins2rt |
quote:
Originally posted by nicksan
Where would be the best place to get the extended warranty?
Do you recommend any of ther other warranty companies available on the internet (WarrantyDirect, 1stSourceWarranty, etc...) or should we all stick with Acura warranty?
What do you think is a fair price for the warranty?
I have a 2001 MDX with 40k miles on it.
My warranty runs out in a few months.
How many more years and miles would the warranty add on to it?
Thanks
Nick
nicksan,
Just my $.02, but I would stick with an Acura warranty. I have heard of too many of these 3rd party places going out of business and then you have nothing. This is just an insurance policy. Would you buy a policy from a B rated insurance company?
You can do a search on here for extended warranties and find a couple of dealerships that offer a somewhat discounted extended warranty (a place in KY or TN, I believe). Good luck! |
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| Markedoc |
| I would probably stick with Acura also. I know people who have been burned by warranties bought off the 'net - not to say they are all bad. I would think an Acura warranty would also be more seamless. |
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| DaleB |
quote:
Originally posted by Markedoc
I would probably stick with Acura also. I know people who have been burned by warranties bought off the 'net - not to say they are all bad. I would think an Acura warranty would also be more seamless.
Stick with the factory warranty. As far as price, you have as many choices as there are Acura dealerships in the US. Just email or phone and ask. |
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| nicksan |
The 3 popular 3rd party warranty seems to be:
WarrantyDirect.com
WarrantyByNet.com
1stAutoWarranty.com (I think that's the name)
They all seem like they have been around a while and have A+ rating and good BBB rating, so I don't know if they will all of a sudden go out of business.
I guess it's a gamble for 7 years.
1 thing I like about factory warranties is that it is indeed seamless, or at least it looks that way.
I've had frotn struts replaced by Acura, no questioned asked. Any problems, I just bring it to the dealer, and no questioned asked.
Same thing with my Lexus. I've had big-time problems with a certified ES-300. I've had that thing in the shop 5 times already, no questions asked.
3rd parties typically have an exculsion list, most of them including Navigation, Exaust, Standart Tranny Clutch pack, bulbs, rotors, etc...
Do you think these things are also exculded with Acura warranty. I mean brake pads, bulbs, I can understand they are wear-and-tear so...
I mean can you go to a dealer and tell them that your brakes feel funny and have them replace the pads for free even though it's wear and tear?
Another thing about Acura Warranty is that it seems like the effective date is actually from day 1 from original purchase...so even a 7year/100k warranty for a 2001, at the present time, you are talking about extra 3 years.
3rd party are typically from date of warranty purchase. So If I buy a 7 year/100k warranty, I'm good until 2012 or 100k...pretty much for life of the vehicle, at least for me.
So I guess it comes down to what is excluded, and how much that component would cost if it broke down...and I guess what Acura and 3rd party determines to be wear-and-tear and luxury items such as RES, NAV, DVD, etc...
I know some of them don't cover Nav so that's big thing right?
Getting itchy about this since my warranty expires in a few months!!! |
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| DaleB |
quote:
Originally posted by nicksan
....I mean can you go to a dealer and tell them that your brakes feel funny and have them replace the pads for free even though it's wear and tear?
Yes, and several of us had this done. More of a goodwill deal than a warranty claim. Not all dealers will do it. And of course, the more miles on the vehicle, the less chance it will receive that kind of courtesy. |
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