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Extended Car Warranty, Resource Or Rip-off?

December 21, 2022 In the last week we had to take Robin’s car, a 2019 VW Atlas, in for a couple of recall notices we had received. Nothing completely out of the ordinary and wouldn’t have any out-of-pocket costs – so it wasn’t something that we had put much thought or effort into – outside of scheduling the appointment. Unfortunately, what we anticipated being a ~1 hour visit ended up being 5+ hours and spurred a larger discussion. When we bought our vehicle the 2020 model year was already out, and one of the main drivers of why we chose our car was the warranty. 2019 was the final year the VW offered a 6-year 72,000-mile standard warranty, in 2020 that was reduced to 4 years and 50,000 miles. Between the additional coverage, and the slightly lower price point it seemed like a no-brainer to us. During the closing, as-is typical, we were bombarded with all the dealer add-ons available – one of which was an extended warranty option. We declined all, specifically the extended warranty as we weren’t sure what we would end up doing with this car – keep it for the long haul or end up trading it in. Fast forward a couple years, Robin really likes her car, and it looks like we will likely be keeping this one for quite a while. While getting the recall work done, they let us know that they had found a coolant leak at the water pump, and an oil leak at the valve cover. Both are covered under the warranty (which we are about halfway through), so no out of pocket costs – but got us thinking about the longevity of the car and costs associated. Since we are planning on keeping the car well past 6 years and 72,000 miles, what options would be available to us – and could we even still get a warranty this far past purchase? We started digging in and found that we would still be eligible to purchase an extended warranty from VW anytime prior to our standard warranty expiring. The options available through VW are 10 years and 150,000 miles, with 3 different tiers of coverage and deductibles. We ended up getting a favorable initial quote from the dealership we purchased the car at – essentially needing to use the warranty the same amount in the extended period (~2 items in 4 years 78,000 miles) as we have thus far (2 items in 3 years and 35,000 miles) for the warranty to pay for itself.  We’ve still got a few things to investigate from the VW offering, and then do plan to look into offerings from 3rd parties – at least for a price comparison. But I think we are leaning towards moving forward with an extended warranty given our plan to keep the car around for a while, as it seems like we would realize a return on the investment. You might also be interested in As the year comes to a close, so does Season 14 of Project Money. In preparation for writing our final blog post we reflected over what has occurred over the last 6 months and the strides our family has made. Below, in no particular order, are a few of the highlights from our journey: In the last week we had to take Robin’s car, a 2019 VW Atlas, in for a couple of recall notices we had received. Nothing completely out of the ordinary and wouldn’t have any out-of-pocket costs – so it wasn’t something that we had put much thought or effort into – outside of scheduling the appointment. Unfortunately, what we anticipated being a ~1 hour visit ended up being 5+ hours and spurred a larger discussion. One of the topics we had mentioned in our posts from earlier this year was an employee stock purchase plan offered by Robin’s employer. We have never participated in any stock purchase plans before through our employers but being a bit more vigilant as part of Project Money, we decided to give the program further consideration. Being part of Project Money has pushed our family to take a more active role in managing our finances, necessitating weekly conversations that have spurred growth from both educational and fiscal perspectives. One of the topics we had discussed was micro investing, investing small sums of money in fractional shares of stock or ETFs. With Thanksgiving behind us, the countdown to Christmas has “officially” begin. This year, as part of our Project Money journey, we have been planning to approach things a bit differently when it comes to our holiday budgeting. I had been putting this off for a few weeks/months now, optimistic that Fall might stretch on a little bit longer – but this past week’s winter weather brought with it a reality check, it’s time to replace the tires on my vehicle. I’ve just started to research pricing at local tire shops and trying to narrow down which tire choices will be the best value – both in related to cost and performance in wet/winter weather. I’ve also been checking some of the retail stores, Costco in particular. Over the last few weeks, we have been working to refocus, and get back to some of the basics as we start to head into the end of year holiday season. Over the past few weeks and months, I had seen several news reports about I Bonds, usually with a corresponding endorsement of their attractiveness as an investment in today’s market. I’ll be honest, my only experience with bonds was a savings bond that I received as a child – and I can remember waiting for what seemed like an eternity until I (and the bond) were old enough to cash in. After that I haven’t given them much thought until the past couple weeks. We have reached the point of the year where we have one foot firmly planted into heating season and thought we would reflect on what energy saving tips we have used previously and are currently using to help reduce our bills. 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