Taken out of context, of course.... and to attack me personally and professionally. Maybe I hit a nerve. You say in your self narrative that you are not politically correct and tell it like it is. I will be nice here. I like obtuse folk who say in like it is when they weigh the context against the overall message. I'm sorry for your thin skin.
Yes, 3 grand will cover a lot of repairs... but not at the stealership. I worked in those stealerships for many years and took one nugget of value from it..... second to none world class training. It made me a very good diagnostician which is glaringly absent in aftermarket training. After reading some of these posts, the current state of affairs in the stealerships regarding diagnostics hasn't done so well since I left them once and for all 18 years ago.
I also embrace the lifetime estate management technique which was taught by the late Jonathon Pond, Dave Ramsey's predecessor. He taught folks to keep a car/truck for 10 years back in those days... Warranties were 12 month, 12 thousand miles, and a fully equipped Silverado could be had for about 4 grand. I go for 20 years these days. I have a customer base of very financially successful people who see that light. I've taught them to take their financial eyes off the "book value" which is a tool of Madison Avenue and the financial sharks out there who are keenly aware of the malady where folks get trapped in the vicious circle of monthly payments perpetually. That estate draining trick is exacerbated by adding extended warranties to further add insult to financial doldrum.
My newest vehicle is a 2007 with 211 thousand miles on the clock. I haven't had a car payment in decades. My home is paid for. I too have had unforeseen major car trouble that I couldn't fix myself. 5 Years ago, I underwent major surgery and had an expensive problem with my 2002 Sequoia which I had repaired by someone else. Because the vehicle was/is paid for long past, and by saving my otherwise car payment money, I had plenty in the bank to pay to get it fixed. Many of my customers drive well maintained vehicles with way north of 200 thousand miles.... and these folks routinely drive these vehicles in Houston's traffic grid every day and go across country on vacations each year without problems.
I clearly stated to add to the 3 grand. After the payments are completed, one should keep making the payments into the account that the 3 grand was deposited... So, in the event a 4500 dollar repair comes up in year 6 or 7, a person has the money for repairs.
Lastly, I honor extended warranty coverage for those of my customers who feel "safe" because they have it. I merely give them the information and respect their own decisions regarding paying big money for "coverage".....and that brings me to the point that really clinches my negative spin on such expensive insurance product.... These extended warranty folks generally decline many common repairs. They routinely try to cram ****** low quality aftermarket parts down my throat in order for the insurance company to keep their money when they do authorize the high dollar jobs, thereby undermining my standards of repair excellence by letting the cost of parts be the benchmark of the repair job. I don't play that game.
I had one try to undermine my already low profit margin by "sourcing" an A/C compressor and they were going to ship this used part to my facility. I prevailed using a high quality new part after spending an inordinate amount of my valuable time debating with the idiot adjuster over the phone. I eventually sicked the customer on him so he could explain why a 2 day shop visit had expanded to over a week. That did the trick. Keep in mind, who is really looking out for your best interests with your vehicle. It sure isn't some aftermarket insurance extended warranty.
I've seen 3 really nice late model cars get totaled out by the expense of repairs by extended warranty companies. They actually took possession of these cars from the facility! (this was in my stealership days; I would never allow another entity to remove a customer's vehicle from my premises due to Texas' Care, Custody, Control laws on the books.
