Picking up my new silver Lightning tomorrow. I had the dealer call SVT regarding the control arm bolt moving and they told the dealer to put a star washer on the control arm bolt to correct that problem. They are doing that before I pick it up. This work is costing me, my one free alignment. I really need some advise. Do I need to get splash guards? What should I do regarding the extended warranty? They wanted $945 for the extra care 5 year/75k mile warrany. They also told me if I did not get it tomorrow it would cost me an extra $100 to get it later. Is there anything else I need to have done tomorrow before I drive her home? Now I need to get an ARE hard cover. Do any of you guys have pictures of your bed covers so that I can show the Boss. Guess who the boss is? Thanks, and I look forward to reading your comments.

 

Collins Welcome to the group.

Dont rush to get the Warranty. The $100 is only if you wait over 12000 miles. Ford will send you a sign up for the warranty after you buy. THE ONLY reason to buy the warranty from the dealer is if you want to finanace it or if you get it free ( yeah right ). The price from ford is less than the one you quoted - I think I have the thing at home - I will check later...
Pictures of My Snuglid here http://communities.msn.com/SVTLightnings
Doug

 

go to:
http://www.cars-n-trucks.com/lightning.htm

for ESP info.

They are only offering the extra care. The Premium is better



[This message has been edited by FORDSALES (edited 04-26-2000).]

 

I am an attorney and I can't tell you how many clients have had problems with these extended warrantees. I strongly discourage people from getting them. Bottom line, once you pay for the warrantee, they are now in the drivers seat. They already have the money and thus have little incentive to do the work. All they have to do is allege that it is not covered by the warantee for what ever reason and you have no bargaining power, other than to go to court. Sounds like your dealer is already not be completely honest with you and he has not even got your money. Better to put the money in a savings account where you control it and then you can shop around for repair cost if you ever need to use it! Good luck!

 

Finally I see someone talk about the reality of the extended warranties!! I had never said anything on the board about them, but I now will. Here it is in a nutshell: I don't care what brand of car you buy, at the time of purchase, the salesman will tell your EVERYTHING is covered under the full extended factory warranty. I speak with personal experience and many friends with the same experience. Then, when you take the car in for extended warranty service, the service advisor checking in your car just happens to know right off the top of his head, that all/or most of the stuff you brought it in for IS NOT COVERED under the extended warranty. I ask; How does he know what is and what is not covered? I don't get it on the selling end of the warranty EVERYTHING is covered, but when it comes time to collect NOTHING is covered under the extended warranty. At that point, they have you completely over the barrel and guess who will win and who will lose. And sure, just try take a dealer to court over say a small dollar warranty issue that they won't cover, think about how many THOUSANDS of dollars that would cost you in court costs and attorney fees. And it is so funny, when buying a new car and you tell them you don't want the warranty cause you've had bad experiences with another brand of car, well guess what they will tell you: "Sir that was the other manufacturer, ours is totally different". Yeah, how many times have I heard that and its always the same result in the end.
If anyone has any doubts about what I'm saying, just think about this. A manufacturer has an incredibly huge database of what parts fail and how long the average life expentancy of the given parts are. Think about how many failure analysis Engineers an automobile manufacture employs. Do you think that for one minute, the parts that normally fail will be covered under their extended warranties? Of course not, the parts they know will fail will be conviniently excluded from the warranty.

Sorry for this long post, but I've have been screwed by these so called "full factory extended warranties" and I've had numerous friends have had the exact same thing happen.

If everyone reading this disagrees with the above info. Then think about the flip side: How many of you out there keep a car on the average longer than 3 years? You'll probably never even get to a point to even use the warranty. And think about another thought: think about how many people finance the warranty? By the time you end up paying all the finance charges and the price of the warranty, think about how much that extended warranty will really cost you in the end.

 

I keep seeing different prices on warranty plans. I just paid $740 for the premium plan for 6 years/48,000. The 6/60 plan was $800. I bought my L in mid March, and had till May 10 to buy the plan at that price. It may be worth it to shop around at other dealers to see if you can get a better price on extended warranty. The way I figure it, I'm 99% sure I will have my L for 6 years, and I would be surprised if something doesn't break on it that costs at least $740 to fix.

 

Another warranty that I've found to be nearly useless is any tire warranty. The tire manufacturer or distributor can simply aver that your vehicle was "improperly aligned" no matter what the tire damage is and slither away from honoring the warranty. You have little or no recourse.

-tvw

 

A friend of mine at work had an extended warranty on his Tahoe. Went in to get the fuel pump replaced and the warranty people said that because he had a 3" body lift on the truck, they would not honor the warranty. The warranty was void if the truck was modified. Like a body lift would cause the fuel pump to go out. yeah, right.

 

Well, sometimes they're worth it.

I had a lemon of a car (Mecury Topaz) that had TONS of stuff go wrong with it. (Never buy a '93 Topaz)...everything from AC Core, passive restraint motor, bent cam-shaft, etc.

Warranty repairs were getting close to the price of the car, but never quite hit that lemon law limit.

 

Some great points to think about guys. I ended up getting the extended warranty on my 98 Z28 and where is it now? I took this to heart when I bought this truck and now I pray to God that if anything goes wrong, it will happen before the warranty is up! So far so good with just a few minor things.

Paul G.

 

Flip Side:

Warranty is like any insurance - Only as good as the compay that issues it. Insurance companies can choose to pay your claim or not. They own the contract.

I have had little trouble getting non wear items taken care of by a Manufacturer extended warranty. Dont but a warranty from a 3rd party - They go bankrupt too fast. Develop a relationship with a dealer who wants your business and you wont have trouble

Doug

The reality is you buy it hoping you never have to use it. Most people dont.

Doug

 

This is a real touchy issue.I agree 100% about warrantees not living up to your expectations.Personally,I would not buy one on a normal car at all period!BUT,The lightning has had some pretty serious issues.Motors,intercoolers,.I will purchase one within the first year and pay cash.I wil make sure I tell the service advisor(before I buy) I plan on buying a chip and air intake.This is something you guys havnt thought of yet.While your in the hot seat having warranties pushed down your throat,Get up and take your salesman over to the service area.Tell him,I am putting in a chip,I am going to modify my truck to some extent.Will you actually warrantee my problems or not.Its cut and dry.The problem is we feel uncomfortable when we have warrantees pushed on us.Dont worry,Just be strait up with them.This way there will be not BS later.If there is,Grab the service guy by the throat and crack him One more thing you guys are forgetting.One transmission problem is worth more than the warrantee alone.This is one reason you should think about it.There are ups and downs to ex-warrantees.You need to work it so it is all ups for you and downs for them

On my 1995 I bought a ex warantee.1 year later 49,000 miles later my Transmission was smoked bad! It ended up being a $1700 repair.And the parts were back ordered.I was in the rental car for over a month.I would have been broke and screwed without it!


[This message has been edited by Lightningquick (edited 04-26-2000).]

 

to TomG

You mentioned that you have seen a lot of different prices on warranties. There is a factory warranty cost to the dealership and anything over that cost is profit.

Finance people get paid on profit and the more they sell it for the more they get to take home.
http://www.cars-n-trucks.com/lightning.htm

This site will give you a price that is $75.00 over cost to a dealership which isn't profit to the dealership because they still have to pay someone to do the paperwork generated by the purchase.

Jim

 

As a former Finance & Insurance (F&I) manager, I know all about selling warranties (known as MBI's, mechanical breakdown insurance). I was known as the MBI King because I sold so many at high prices. Now some are good ones that will cover what they say they will. But before plunkin' down hundreds or even thousands for one, take the time to read and question and be REALLY clear about what the factory warranty covers.
It's usually a lot more than most people realize.
The saleman will praise the factory one as a selling point, but then the F&I guy puts it down cause he wants to line his and the dealers pocket by selling you another one.
We use to laugh and ask, why buy that extended warranty when you have a 5/50, 6/60 or 7/70 bumper to bumper $25. deductable from the factory.
Just be careful of modifications, the kiss of death. Only God can say if that 3 inch rise did or didn't screw up the fuel pump, maybe it's the change in altitude. Warranties are sold by insurance companies, very conservative people, with an eye on the bottom line.
If you buy one (for after the factory one runs out) be sure it's a reputable company, also a good relationship with the dealer goes a looong way. (Even though car dealers make Blackbeard the pirate seem like Mickey Mouse)
Ha Ha just joking.

 

I have "multi-risk" coverage on my Lightning through Geico Ins. Co. Basically, just like a collision, I pay a deductible for all mechanical problems, and everything that is covered on an extended warranty plan is covered by Geico.. 7 yrs/100,000 miles too!! Not bad for an increase of about $50.00 every six months on my insurance. I think this is the way to go, because if you get rid of the vehicle, you aren't stuck with the useless warranty... Just my .02...