Extended Warranties: Money Well Spent for Your Car

When you buy a brand new car or truck, you often are granted with a long term warranty for your new vehicle. Some are for three years. Some are for five years. Some are for seven years. Some are even longer than that. No matter how long your warranty is, though, it will eventually run out. When that dreaded day comes that your warranty runs out, you must seriously think about buying an extended warranty. Extended warranties are very beneficial and can save you a ton of money in the long run, yet, many people decline this idea. The idea of many people is "I already spent a ton of money to pay this thing off! No way am I going to spend MORE money! I already spent enough!"

Well, some things are worth spending on, and your vehicle is no exception. Your vehicle is your lifeline to and from work everyday. Never take the importance of your vehicle for granted or else you'll be riding the bus or hitching a ride with your least favorite co-worker, who just LOVES the mornings!

I bought a 2001 Dodge Dakota approximately 7 years ago. I was given a 5 year warranty, which obviously has expired. Once it expired, I immediately searched around for extended warranty services. Eventually, I found one to my liking and purchased a 4 year extended warranty for $1200.00. Honestly, I'm not sure if I got a great deal or not, but I will say that I've seen many cheaper deals that have "asterisks." Many of these cheaper deals have small print, which informs you that they only pay $40 or $50 per hour while your vehicle is being repaired at shops. That may sound generous, but it's actually a rip-off, considering the fact that many repair shops charge $75 to $100 per hour, thus, leaving you to cover the remainder of the balance. You get what you pay for, so keep that in mind when you find an outrageously cheap deal on an extended warranty.

My warranty covers all repair expenses and has no asterisk. Some friends and family informed me that I was foolish to "waste" money on an extended warranty. One year after they said that, my truck's air conditioning was totally shot. I could have simply gone without it, but I live in Florida, so having functional air conditioning in your vehicle is pretty much required unless you love to sweat and suffer until you pass out. Luckily, I had my warranty, which covered all of the expenses to have my air conditioning fixed. The total cost for me without the warranty would've been around $1200.00 to fix the air conditioning. Well, hey, what do you know? I already got my money's worth, didn't I? And hey, I still have 2 more years left on the warranty! I hope my truck doesn't experience any other problems, but if more problems do occur, then I have the comfort of knowing my warranty will take care of me.

Please learn from my story and get yourself an extended warranty. You and your car won't be sorry.