# Extended Service Contract- Worth It?



## heron (May 13, 2010)

Is the Warranty worth purchasing- we are not sure how long it is good for, but it costs $996 and covers lots of items.. Obviously, the time period matters, but we were just wanting some feedback... Thank you!!


----------



## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Short answer is NO.
Long answer is NEVER.

Take the money you would spend on a extended service contract and place it in the bank. Every time you buys anything, ask what the extended warranty cost is then put that money with it. In short order you will be self insured and well funded to do any repairs you need.


----------



## heron (May 13, 2010)

CamperAndy said:


> Short answer is NO.
> Long answer is NEVER.
> 
> Take the money you would spend on a extended service contract and place it in the bank. Every time you buys anything, ask what the extended warranty cost is then put that money with it. In short order you will be self insured and well funded to do any repairs you need.


This warranty is thru Atco Easy Care...Backed my Motor Trend. $995 for 5 years includes all the major stuff including flats, towing, refrig,
ac, slides...sounds like pretty cheap insurance. I know we bought an extended warranty for our Toyota Minivan and have not used it for four years but when the switch went crazy on the drivers window...$400 just for the switch. Warranty was $886. Four years in and 3 to go...if anything electrical goes...look out, never mind tranny or something like that. \
It is funny, people that have used them, love them, if they have not, they dislike them. Even putting that money in the bank for 5 years will not pay for a refrigerator at the end of the 5th year..will it? But then again, how often do they screw up? We'll have two of them.


----------



## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

As long as you recognize that it is just an insurance policy, that is fine. I've had them before where I was nervous or didn't want to face a potential major expense. The company will make out in the big picture, but that doesn't mean that some people might also make out well.

The other factor to consider is if you're willing to do the repairs yourself. I fix everything I can rather than pay others to do it. Even if the costs are the same, I'll typically do it myself since it is more convienent (being on my schedule), and I'm sick of sloppy work. Nope, if someone's going to mess something up, it might as well be me.


----------



## Tangooutback (Apr 16, 2010)

Nathan said:


> As long as you recognize that it is just an insurance policy, that is fine. I've had them before where I was nervous or didn't want to face a potential major expense. The company will make out in the big picture, but that doesn't mean that some people might also make out well.
> 
> The other factor to consider is if you're willing to do the repairs yourself. I fix everything I can rather than pay others to do it. Even if the costs are the same, I'll typically do it myself since it is more convienent (being on my schedule), and I'm sick of sloppy work. Nope, if someone's going to mess something up, it might as well be me.


X2


----------



## heron (May 13, 2010)

Nathan said:


> As long as you recognize that it is just an insurance policy, that is fine. I've had them before where I was nervous or didn't want to face a potential major expense. The company will make out in the big picture, but that doesn't mean that some people might also make out well.
> 
> The other factor to consider is if you're willing to do the repairs yourself. I fix everything I can rather than pay others to do it. Even if the costs are the same, I'll typically do it myself since it is more convienent (being on my schedule), and I'm sick of sloppy work. Nope, if someone's going to mess something up, it might as well be me.


I totally agree and don't take my cars to any service department.. I did with my truck and they screwed things up so much I ended up fixing it.

I can pretty much fix anything but what if a refrigerator goes South...it's hard to fix a compressor when it has to be recharged or if there is a leak in a condensor line...
I'm looking at hard costs on big things. I'm not worried about a draw screwing up or something petty. I don't know anything about the slide mechanism, windows, plumbing etc...so I don't know really how often these big things can go bad and if so do they usually work themselves out in the first year...? How about frame issue, axle problems....etc...
Basically the extended warranty comes down to $16.66/month...
But, if you folks really don't see these "big" things going on I'll pass on it. This is our first TT so I have no experience with these things other than what I've read about as far as Dometic recalls...delamination, hinges, windows.. things that really have to simply be replaced.


----------



## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Read the fine print on any trailer extended warranty and you will find that there are MANY exclusions and there are requirements often for documented maintenance by a certified tech. As an example if you do not have the roof inspected within 90 days of a delamination event then you may not be covered for the repair since you slacked on the maintenance, or so they will say.

That switch that failed on your car was probably 1/4 the cost of the repair. If you are half way competent at removing and replacing things then you could have done the work cheaper by far and still had money in the bank.


----------



## heron (May 13, 2010)

CamperAndy said:


> Read the fine print on any trailer extended warranty and you will find that there are MANY exclusions and there are requirements often for documented maintenance by a certified tech. As an example if you do not have the roof inspected within 90 days of a delamination event then you may not be covered for the repair since you slacked on the maintenance, or so they will say.
> 
> That switch that failed on your car was probably 1/4 the cost of the repair. If you are half way competent at removing and replacing things then you could have done the work cheaper by far and still had money in the bank.


Ya, you are right about the exclusions. I'm sure they get you if the stars are not aligned properly at the time a break occurs...
That switch on the Toyo is $400 without any labor...not to mention if one of the automatic door(slide) motors goes it's about $1400/actuator and there are no aftermarket replacements.

So how often do the refrigerators or AC go out on these things?...we will have two refrig's...yikes. 
I'm also worried about the slide mechanisms and what must be worm gears...hopefully not plastic..


----------



## Tangooutback (Apr 16, 2010)

My a/c just bombed out six weeks ago. It is five years old. It is rather unusual for a/c to fail this early. I have a buddy who service home a/c. He came over and fixed it for $50. Dealer would have just replaced the unit and charged me over one grand.

If my refrigerator goes out, I'll just replace it with a standard refrigerator from Home Depot.

The problem I have with insurance is their willingness to honor their policy. Most of the time there is always something or some excuse they can come up with to weasel their way out of fixing it. If they do fix it, half of the time it was not satisfactory and they act like they were doing me a great big favor.


----------



## russ&katie (May 8, 2010)

I posed the same topic a few weeks ago when we purchased our tt. Opted not to buy it even with a 2004 tt.They wanted $1800, I paid a little more for the outback, but also get the better quality. I did have my hot water tank crack on first trip and they tried to say it would be $600 but since the trailer was only 3 days old, my wife went ape$#!& and I got the fix for free. It seems like most problems that would come up, someone on here has already experienced and can help you through it.


----------



## heron (May 13, 2010)

russ&katie said:


> I posed the same topic a few weeks ago when we purchased our tt. Opted not to buy it even with a 2004 tt.They wanted $1800, I paid a little more for the outback, but also get the better quality. I did have my hot water tank crack on first trip and they tried to say it would be $600 but since the trailer was only 3 days old, my wife went ape$#!& and I got the fix for free. It seems like most problems that would come up, someone on here has already experienced and can help you through it.


Yes, as long as most of this stuff that outfits these boxes is not proprietary I think I'll pass on the warranty. With forums nowadays 
there is not many instances where you cannot find someone that has been thru a certain problem. 
Thanks for your help people...! Now I'm off this am to finish the pad for the TT house...


----------

