Quote:
Originally Posted by pylon
Also, those claiming extended warranties are pure, up front profit for the dealer, you couldn't be more wrong. The average industry markup on a factory extension is about $600. Also the amount of people that have the discipline to self insure, is very, very low.
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The $600 is still $600 to the dealer instead of your self insurance plan. And I'm sure VAG has some profit built into the part they receive.
Financially, the average person will be better off over the course of their life never buying an extended warranty.
You raise a great point about the discipline required to self insure. Most people don't and put themselves in a position to get caught with their pants down.
As anti-extended warranty as I am, I actually bought a VAG one once. I bought a 2004 S4 years back, and at the time I knew I was making a totally impractical purchase for my income level, but dammit I wanted that car!
I opted to pay more at a dealer for an inspected and extended warranty instead of a private sale because I knew self insuring $10G on that car wasn't a realistic option.
I will say that the VAG extended warranties are great. You don't have to research or worry as with a 3rd party.
The biggest reason to get one, in my opinion, is it allows you to dump the car at a dealer, get a timely, proper repair, have a really nice loaner vehicle, and a hassle free experience.
After I was out of warranty it was taking it to an Indy shop to save on the repairs, which meant waiting 4 weeks to get in, running it down, taking the train back, trying to line up parts, etc.
It is a huge convenience item. If I had more money to blow and could self insure even easier than I can now, I'd probably buy them all the time.