halfrican Posted March 19, 2005 Report Share Posted March 19, 2005 A point that I was trying to get across when comparing "factory backed" to "third party" policies. No matter how good the policy looks on paper, there are many "fly by night" companies that offer coverage that they simply cannot back up. According to a statistic I've seen in recent history up here in the "last frontier", one major factory backed extended service company was experiencing loss ratios of $1.20 to every $1.00 premium they collected. The reason they don't just shut down their operations is that writing off that loss is still out-weighted by the number of new cars sold in that market. Third party companies have no such justification for losses, they simply go under or lose their underwriters. There are a VERY few good third party extended service agreements available, I believe United Car Care to be one of them, however, there are many more that are actually on the brink of extinction regardless on how fancy their advertising is our how big and reputable the dealer offering them is. Cadillacs, Audi's, Volkswagons, etc. are very expensive vehicles to repair, you will pay a premium for the coverage! If you are looking at coverages that appear to be drastically better and less expensive than a factory backed program, then you might be exposing yourself to a similar experience to FRANEY and many others. Half Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjtjwdad Posted March 19, 2005 Report Share Posted March 19, 2005 franey Posted on Mar 18 2005, 08:42 PM ... but 12 to 14 months into the warranty i was notified by WARRANTY GOLD , THAT their reinsurer was fileing bankruptcy and that all warranties written before the first of the month in which i was notified of this ... That is exactly why I stated earlier to find out who the under-writers are. If your specific case occured during 2003 the underwriter for Warranty Gold (and some others if I recall) went belly up thus sending folks the bankruptcy route to recover any claims. Fortunately for me, I received mine just after that occurrence and have used it once without any problems. I feel for you though, it's kinda' crappy insurance companies do folks the way they do sometimes. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonjaab Posted March 19, 2005 Report Share Posted March 19, 2005 I got boned by a 3rd party warranty company also. I fell for the "backed by a retention agency BS" along with the old rated by AM Best ++++ BS ! If your vehicle is still within the mfrs. original new car warranty its best to get a GMPP warranty IMO. If not your outta luck and have to roll the dice on a 3rd party warranty. Check this site out for great deals on a GMPP warranty http://www.gmoutlet.com 93 DeVille-13 Chevy Impala 72 GTO - 77 Triumph Bonneville 84 Z-28 Syracuse NY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RalPh Posted March 19, 2005 Report Share Posted March 19, 2005 I AM aware of what happened to WARRANTY GOLD's customers and acknowledge it could have happend to me too. But they were the exception. And, for the difference in price, I'm happy with my choice I Have actually used it once. My FPR went bad and I dropped the car off at the dealership in the morning and called me at 3:00pm to say I could pick it up (this is the other thing that's important , that the repairer is paid with a C.C. Before you pick up your car so they don't have to hassel with paperwork and delays) I did it as a test of the system really. The ticket was for $180, I paid Nothing. This was for a part I would have paid $40 and taken 1/2hr to install. It was really more of a pain than if I'd done it myself, but I wanted to see how things worked. I don't know how things would have gone on a, larger, more expensive repair yet. But, let's face it. If they "jerk me around" and don't treat me right they're not going to be successful. It's in their best intrest. I think the number of people who actually Keep their 3yr old car another 7yrs and under 100,000mi is the key for them (I'm beating 'em there though ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OynxSTS Posted March 19, 2005 Report Share Posted March 19, 2005 I think the personal choice comes down to this... Buy an extended warrantee (from someone you KNOW will be in business in 3 years) if you want peace of mind that your car will be fixed and you are worried that the cost of the repairs could "break" you financially... If you are buying one to save or make money you would do better putting your money in a slot machine in Vegas... Or in other words... If every customer got more out of an extended warrantee than they paid for them... Why would the extended warrantee companies sell them? Just like someone has to pay for the water display in front of the Bellagio, someone has to lose money on warrantees or they would all be in chapter 11. Easin' down the highway in a new Cadillac, I had a fine fox in front, I had three more in the back ZZTOP, I'm Bad I'm Nationwide Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halfrican Posted March 19, 2005 Report Share Posted March 19, 2005 I think the personal choice comes down to this... Buy an extended warrantee (from someone you KNOW will be in business in 3 years) if you want peace of mind that your car will be fixed and you are worried that the cost of the repairs could "break" you financially... If you are buying one to save or make money you would do better putting your money in a slot machine in Vegas... Or in other words... If every customer got more out of an extended warrantee than they paid for them... Why would the extended warrantee companies sell them? Just like someone has to pay for the water display in front of the Bellagio, someone has to lose money on warrantees or they would all be in chapter 11. Excellent comments ONYX, I couldn't have explained it any better myself. Again, just cause a particular company may be posting losses in one market area, it doesn't mean they aren't profiting more than "normal" in another market. As in the case with any insurance product, the underwriter is definitely counting on the ratio of income/claims to be in their favor. Another angle on this might be that, for many people, it's easier for them to pay the extra $25-$50 in their monthly payment then to pay the $100's or $1000's it could be when the problem occurs (usually during a holiday or some other inconvenient time). Peace of mind is a real motivator for a lot of people, even those who purchase "high-end" vehicles. Just because you "could" pay for the repair out of pocket, doesn't mean you would want to, or that it wouldn't affect your budget. Half Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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