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accordionman

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Regarding the upcoming delivery of my 2015 Airstream Classic. The dealer is really pushing the extended warranty thing. I have always been very leery of the companies that do this. In this case it is "First Extended Service Corp". They have an abysmal record dealing with auto owners, but I can't find any feedback on them with RVs. I can't imagine if they are that bad with autos, that they would be any different  with RV's, but I don't want to presume too much. The dealer says their rep with RVs is impeccable. I find that hard to believe. Any experience with these guys ? Am I wrong thinking that they are not honorable people ?

Ed
 
I have no information on that particular company.  In general an "extended warranty"  is actually a service contract that pays for certain situations.  Some people have had good luck and have had the policy pay more than they paid for the policy.  However more people will say that they did not cover some item that they felt should have been covered.  In fact if the company always paid out more than the policy cost they would not be in business long.  So most people would be better served taking the cost of the policy and putting it in savings to use as a repair fund.

Mike
 
Chances are good that they are pushing that expensive "warranty" because they stand to make money from it. As Mike said, it's more a "repair insurance" than a warranty, in spite of the name, and it likely doesn't cover everything. If you want that coverage, get it aftermarket (it'll be cheaper for the same coverage) and search for extended warranty on this site to see about companies -- it's been discussed many times.
 
In my humble opinion extended warranties are rip off. They are just another way for dealerships to get more money from you. Ever time a buy a new vehicle I am pressured to purchase the "5 year extended warranty". I once asked what warranty came with the purchase of the vehicle. I was informed it was a 3 year bumper to bumper. I then said that if I purchased the 5 year warranty my vehicle would be covered for 8 years. I was told no, it would be 5 years. So it's not really not a 5 year warranty, it's a 2 year warranty.
 
My opinion on extended warranties has always been, if paying for something that might break would really sting, it might be worth buying one. We didn't buy one for either of our first two motorhomes, because they weren't very complex RVs. They didn't have amenities (TVs etc.) that would be expensive to repair or replace and we could afford to pay $5000 to $10,000 to repair a catastrophic drive-train failure (Engine/transmission).

We did buy an extended warranty (Easy Care) for our current motorhome, because an engine replacement (unlikely, I admit) could cost $30,000, and that would really sting, or at least stop us from RVing for an extended period of time. I would not buy an extended warranty for a travel trailer. There's no drive-train to repair and probably no expensive amenities. Like I said, just my opinion.

Kev
 
Some folks have had decent luck with extended warranties, and I've bought a few in the past with mixed results... but as others have said, they are a profit machine for whoever sells them and whoever issues them.  There are usually all kinds of loopholes on things the contract WON'T cover, and/or deductibles that you would be responsible for anytime you have a repair done.

Most of us here recommend that you take the money you'd spend on the warranty, and put it in a savings account (or something similar) named "RV Fund".  It'll be there for any emergency repairs, and it's likely you'll never need it & get to keep the money not spent (plus any accrued interest).  In the meantime, you'll be learning a lot about RV'ing and will be able to repair a lot of items yourself instead of relying on costly/lengthy service trips.
 
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