New Owner of a 2004 29' Minnie Winnie

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ReAnn

ReAnn

Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2009
Posts
15
I actually pick it up from the dealer on Friday in Tucson and I'm excited and scared to death.  I have never RV'd in my life and this will be my full-time home now.  I am wondering what you all think about extended warranties?  The dealer has one that sounds fairly good (4 years, 48,000 miles, $100 deductible at any service center - $2000 total).  And then there is Good Sam.  So folks say you must have one, some say a waste of money.  Would appreciate anyone's input.

ReAnn
 
Congratulations on the new coach!  :D :D :D

All insurance policies are a waste of money - until you need it.  If you can afford to pay for a major repair should it be necessary, then odds are very good that you will save money by banking what you would have paid in premiums and use it to pay repair costs as needed.  The engine, transmission, generator and refrigerator are the big expense repair items in a gas-chassis motorhome, so if you don't have a problem with them you are probably better off paying as you go.

Note that your 4 year policy is actually only 3 years, since the first year of a new rig is covered by factory warranties on chassis, body, appliances, etc. The extended warranty will not pay for anything the factory warranty should have paid for, which is everything in the first year. So does $2000 for three years and 36k miles still sound ok?
  Opps - I misread the title to be a 2009 Mini Winnie. Sorry!!!

We bought a extended warranty for our coach, but it is a diesel (more big ticket repair items) and we bought it used (3 years old), so there was no factory warranty to most cover things. We paid $3100 for 4 years. Looks like we will recoup our cost at the rate we are needing repairs.

You might want to shop around for prices. Dealers get a huge commission on extended warranty sales - you might even be able to negotiate a lower price with him. Also read the contracts carefully - seemingly minor differences can greatly affect your costs. You would definitely want what is called an exclusionary policy - it covers everything except what is specifically excluded in writing. Avoid policies that list only what is included and excludes everything else by default
 
ReAnn is buying a 5 year old RV so the extended warranty would be for the full 4 years.  I would still shop around for better prices as Gary points out.
 
Congratulations ReAnn and welcome to the Forum.  Your fear is understandable, but it will soon be replaced with jubilation.  The RV life style is to die for.  And on this forum you are about to make some wonderful new friends.  What's more, these folks have a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience RVing and they like to share it.  Become active here, attend some of the rallys, and you will surely find the whole RV thing to be fantastic.

Welcome aboard!
 
You are buying one of the most popular Class C's ever built, and a quality one at that. 

I'm not a big believer in extended warrantees, but then again, I have owned 12 of these things over the years, and feel I can fix anything that breaks on them.  If it makes you sleep better at night, buy the warrantee.  :)
 
Okay - where do I find the person who said he can fix anything?!

Besides Good Sam and the dealer's extended warranty, can you recommend other companies that offer extended warranties where I can comparison shop? 

And have you ever heard of a Minnie Winnie that never had a generator installed in it?  Mine has 27,000 miles - for a '04 that's good, one owner, and they drove it without a generator.  Is that possible?  LaMesa is installing a brand new one and wiring the entire coach so it works.  Am trying to get them to give me 2 free nights across the street in the campground to make sure everything works - especially the new generator - before I drive 2300 miles to Florida!

ReAnn
 
Hey ReAnn - welcome and congrats!!

Extended warranties are basically just insurance policies.  You need to be real careful that you know what you are getting into - some of these 'warranties' are exclusionary or inclusionary.   They will only cover exactly   what is in the policy.  Personally I think they are way more trouble than they are worth.  The objective of the insurance company is to get your money and keep theirs.  Generally no work can be done under the insurance unless they pre-approve it.  I have heard stories where there was internal damage to an engine and the claim was denied due to the damage being caused by something that wasn't covered (or something like that - don't remember the exact story.)  Put that money away in a maintenance fund.

Our 2005 Horizon was our very first RV, so I think I know how you feel!

There are lots of knowledgeable folks here and we're standing by to help.

Winnebago-specific questions belong here, so bring them on!  General questions can go in the Motorhome, Technical, etc forums.

Again - welcome!
 
I agree with with John on this one.  If you pick up any copy of Motorhome magazine or Trailer Life magazine and turn to the section where folks write in and ask for help with a problem that they have had with a repair being done on their rig, there is often an aftermarket insurance company involved that had denied payment for some reason.  Often their list of covered items is so narrow that it makes repairs a hassle, and then if the repair shop fails to make the required phone calls in the right order, they will deny coverage even if the part was covered.  Take the previous posters advice. Put X amount of money every month into a savings account that you would have paid for the insurance. Then if a repair pops up, YOU get to decide who fixes it, what PARTS are used (insurance companies often use remanufactured parts to save money), and how soon the repair is done.  If it a holiday weekend or after hours, often the shop will have to wait for authorization before any work can be started.  Yep, more trouble than their worth.

Sarge
 
ReAnn - forgot to address your generator question.  Here is the brochure for your model.  The generator was an option in all Minnie Winnies.  I'll bet most if not all of the gen set wiring was installed by the factory, so the dealer won't have to spend a bunch of time on the retrofit.
 
ReAnn-
Welcome to the forum.  You don't "need" a generator in an RV, but if are going to camp without hookups you will probably want one at some point.
 
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