I can't comment specifically on any one extended warranty but we deal with a few extended warranties at work (the opposite end, we are an auto repair shop). I can tell you most are a joke and a total PITA to deal with. We will only work on loyal customers cars if they have an extended warranty, because its more pain then its worth. You have to call in several times before they will even consider approving a claim. You have to call in, tell them what is wrong and then they have to contact the customer. After that they will contact you wanting an estimate for the repairs. They then will look at the estimate and call you back saying we will pay X amount for the part(s) and we will pay X amount an hour for X amount of hours for said job. Sometimes what they will pay you for the part is less then what the part cost us! They expect you to use cheap ass parts. A couple of times they have said, well that part costs X amount at O’Reilly’s and we will only pay that X amount. When you tell them there are no O’Reilly Auto Parts in our state, they say they will buy the part and have it shipped to you. Can you really expect a customer to wait 3-5 days for a part and be with out there car for that long for something as simple as a wheel bearing, speed sensors, or etc? Can you expect an auto repair shop to have zero profit margin on a part and keep there doors open? Its just an endless battle with most of the time. We spend more time on the phone with these insurance companies then it takes to actually repair the car! We had a customer who had purchased a used car and the transmission went out about 2 months after purchase. He had purchased an extended warranty and they expect you to remove the transmission, disassemble it and identify the problem before they even will consider the claim! They would give you no guarantee of reimbursement for your time. Can you expect going through all that work just to find out they wont cover it? And if they will they will only fix the initial problem and any problems that may have been caused by that failure are on the customer. Another problem in relation to them wanting us to use cheap parts, is if the part fails (which they usually do) they expect you to warranty the repair when you wanted to use a quality part in the first place! So here you are eating the labor to keep a loyal customer, just to put the same old junk back on. Of coarse, when the part fails you also feel like a total ass. What mechanic wants there customer to come back in 2 months with the same problem. It makes you look bad, like you are using cheap parts (which we are being forced to unless you want to lose money). I know this must sound like a rant but this is just what I see. I will admit some of them will give little to no hassle but its rare. This is coming from a small family owned auto repair shop that has been in business for 30 years.
:rant:
*edit, I figured I would put one of these in to lighten the mood :wink:
:drama:
