Should I buy an extended warranty?

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Clockton

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Picking up my Lead Foot this week and contemplating if I should get the offered “extended Ford warranty” which will give me 6 years/100,000 miles bumper to bumper. There is a $100 deductible.

I haven’t always been a fan of extended warranties, but this is my first Ford and first truck so I don’t know much about expected reliability. I hope to keep the truck 5+ years.

Thanks for any input/opinions.

I have owned my Truck since October and have around 20K miles on it a few thousand of those miles are offroad. The truck has been at the dealer for about a month to fix various issues mostly electronic. I got the 100k 8 year extended warranty and wish I maxed it out more. Its no brainer for these trucks the electronics are a nightmare.
 

Daxton

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They all do.



Why start an extended warranty 35 months early to save $100?



From floodfordesp.com
“Prices good through 8/1/18. Lock in your price now. 2019 Ford ESP Pricing update arrives 8/2”.

Maybe they will go down.


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UMKP

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I did. They started at $3k and i said no thanks, i don't need it. Eventually i said no long enough that they dropped the 6 year/100k warranty to $999 and I took it.

Act like you won't even consider it, they'll cave.
 

traxem

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I’d buy it online through Flood Ford (that’s the name of the dealer). It will save you sales tax and it’s considerably less than buying it from your dealer. My dealer tried to tell me horror stories of people buying warranties online but wouldn’t budge on the price. A Ford dealer selling a Ford warranty are all going to be the same. There is usually 0% 12 month financing on ESP too.
 

Monster

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If I buy the warranty now and then want to trade on a V8 Raptor later or my truck gets in a wreck, totaled or I fix it and dump it, it would have been better to not buy the warranty. Sounds like the best idea is to wait and do it right before regular warranty expires.
 

jabroni619

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I switched from Toyota/Lexus over to Ford, so I definitely get your concern. I did buy extended warranty for peace of mind. Definitely search online for the best deals, since your local dealer may rip you off. I bought mine from Flood Ford.

I made the exact same switch. Never bothered with the extended warranty on my Lexus vehicles, and thankfully never regretted that decision. I did buy the ESP from Flood Ford for the Raptor though. Too new, too many question marks, and it's not a Toyota for me to risk sticking to 3/36
 

POOPonYOU

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I did. They started at $3k and i said no thanks, i don't need it. Eventually i said no long enough that they dropped the 6 year/100k warranty to $999 and I took it.

Act like you won't even consider it, they'll cave.

Did you get:
A: PowertrainCare
B: BaseCare
C: ExtraCare
D: PremiumCare
 

jaz13

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Every few weeks I get a letter from Ford trying to convince me to buy an extended warranty. That tells me it is an extremely profitable program for them. Like lottery tickets, warranties are a money loser for most buyers. And the way Ford corporate pushes the program, they must be bringing in a lot more money than they are paying out.

I only insure the things I cannot afford to replace like home, health, and liability. A $10k motor replacement will most definitely be inconvenient, but it sure won't affect my standard of living and I'm comfortable self-insuring.

Plus I've owned countless high-performance European cars out of warranty and am used to the risk. That and I don't mind doing little things myself like replacing alternators, window regulators, thermostats, pumps, belts, etc. If something is a lot of work, I'll find a local shop with a good reputation that is half the price of the dealership.

Betting $1,500-$2,000 that something major on my truck will break between mile 60k and 100k is a pretty big gamble. While one significant repair will recoup my cost, simply recouping my cost isn't worth it and like any good bet, I should expect at least a 2x payout for me to even consider it. Just to breakeven, I need at least a 50/50 chance of a $3k to $4k repair (at an independent shop) between mile 60k and 100k to make it a good investment.

And for those that are mechanically inclined, they know mid-life failures are rarest type of failure. As far as machines and mechanical components go, there are end of life failures and premature failures. End of life failures typically occur after 200k miles. Premature failures from manufacturing and assembly defects most often occur fairly quickly, and easily fall within the already covered 3/36k warranty. That means extended warranties are actually covering the period with the lowest risk of failure. That's why extended warranties are so profitable for the companies that sell them.

To learn more about failure rates through a product's lifecycle, check out the "bathtub curve".
 
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FordPerf Addict

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Every few weeks I get a letter from Ford trying to convince me to buy an extended warranty. That tells me it is an extremely profitable program for them. Like lottery tickets, warranties are a money loser for most buyers. And the way Ford corporate pushes the program, they must be bringing in a lot more money than they are paying out.

I only insure the things I cannot afford to replace like home, health, and liability. A $10k motor replacement will most definitely be inconvenient, but it sure won't affect my standard of living and I'm comfortable self-insuring.

Plus I've owned countless high-performance European cars out of warranty and am used to the risk. That and I don't mind doing little things myself like replacing alternators, window regulators, thermostats, pumps, belts, etc. If something is a lot of work, I'll find a local shop with a good reputation that is half the price of the dealership.

Betting $1,500-$2,000 that something major on my truck will break between mile 60k and 100k is a pretty big gamble. While one significant repair will recoup my cost, simply recouping my cost isn't worth it and like any good bet, I should expect at least a 2x payout for me to even consider it. Just to breakeven, I need at least a 50/50 chance of a $3k to $4k repair (at an independent shop) between mile 60k and 100k to make it a good investment.

And for those that are mechanically inclined, they know mid-life failures are rarest type of failure. As far as machines and mechanical components go, there are end of life failures and premature failures. End of life failures typically occur after 200k miles. Premature failures from manufacturing and assembly defects most often occur fairly quickly, and easily fall within the already covered 3/36k warranty. That means extended warranties are actually covering the period with the lowest risk of failure. That's why extended warranties are so profitable for the companies that sell them.

To learn more about failure rates through a product's lifecycle, check out the "bathtub curve".



Interesting link. I know I’ll drive my truck 25,000 per year, meaning any warranty bumper to bumper will be gone in a year and a half. Also, 4-5 years down the road I’ll have 100,000 miles + on the vehicle. Maybe that would make it more reasonable to buy an extended warranty. Would be nice to see some statistics on what goes wrong with f150s and when in their lifetime they occur. I worry about something regarding a 360* camera or some electronics going wrong that would end up being pretty costly. But I guess it wouldn’t really be too much to replace a bad camera or a loose wire ect. Any major engine or trans issues are extremely rare it seems (maybe the forums make it seem like they are not?)
Premium care covers ball joints suspension ect which could be more likely to Happen if you abuse your truck. But hey I guess it’s all a crapshoot. If anything you’ve enlightened me and slightly persuaded me not to spend the 1,500 on an extended warranty.



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jaz13

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Interesting link. I know I’ll drive my truck 25,000 per year, meaning any warranty bumper to bumper will be gone in a year and a half. Also, 4-5 years down the road I’ll have 100,000 miles + on the vehicle. Maybe that would make it more reasonable to buy an extended warranty. Would be nice to see some statistics on what goes wrong with f150s and when in their lifetime they occur. I worry about something regarding a 360* camera or some electronics going wrong that would end up being pretty costly. But I guess it wouldn’t really be too much to replace a bad camera or a loose wire ect. Any major engine or trans issues are extremely rare it seems (maybe the forums make it seem like they are not?)
Premium care covers ball joints suspension ect which could be more likely to Happen if you abuse your truck. But hey I guess it’s all a crapshoot. If anything you’ve enlightened me and slightly persuaded me not to spend the 1,500 on an extended warranty.

Electronics typically have far lower failure rates than mechanical components that support loads and move. Either the electronic component burns out over the first few uses, or it lasts nearly forever. (assuming a reliable design and normal operating conditions)
 
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