To extend or not to extend?

[RichMarth]

Hello All,

I posted this in another area of the forum on Monday and got many views but haven't received any feedback and was hoping someone in this area might offer a suggestion or opinion please?

Hello all,

I bought my 2015 Q70 Sport new on 11/03/2014 and the factory warranty is about to expire. The car only has 24,000 miles on it after 4 years of ownership and I've had all the 5,000 mile services done at the dealership where the car was purchased. All work done has been been maintenance with the exception of a braking/steering pull issue and a shimmy when braking issue that was covered under a voluntary recall.

Would anyone advise an extended warranty in my case or just take my chances? Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

RichMarth

Thanks,

RichMarth

[Dark_Knight]

The good thing is that the powertrain is still covered. How good are your diy skills? Do you have a good independent shop you can go to for any work you can't perform yourself? Is the car paid off?

[RichMarth]

Not much in the way of diy skills other than changing the oil, basic stuff. I've always taken my older vehicles to a nearby Pep Boys location for maintenance and repairs which I've felt like I've been treated fairly. The car is not paid off yet with currently 2 more years until maturity.

Thanks,

RichMarth

[EdBwoy]

I'd consider extending it... or at least get a quote for it.

...
My dealer was going to give me 48/4yr for like $4k. Bumper to bumper elite, no wear items. Greenwich, CT.

I called IoS from whom I have spent 20k online since the early days with Joe.....talked to a lovely Courtney....

She blew my mind and told me that I could buy a much longer warranty because my car has less than 20k on it, and was bought from a dealer. WOWOWOWOWOOWOW....

So drumroll please......

I am getting a 96 month/100k ADDITIONAL Infiniti warranty......this is to 114k miles....for only $2700!!!!

Wow...plus a discount for being a NICO member! I owe ALL of you guys a beer, but especially Ilya, Malbec 56 Beast, and Mjkkb2 for staying on top of the "look elsewhere" and "call volume seller."...

[Ilya]

I would ABSOLUTELY get the extended warranty. One issue can run the cost of that warranty...it'll likely pay for itself in one visit.

[RichMarth]

Is it necessary to purchase an extended warranty and have it in place prior to the expiration of the current manufacturer's warranty?

Thanks,

RichMarth

[parkstr8r]

If you plan on keeping it, it can't hurt. While these cars are usually pretty bullet proof, one big repair could make you wish you had bought it. I would shop the genuine Infiniti warranty (not aftermarket as they can be sketchy as hell) around to different dealers. They can vary a lot in price by dealer for the same package. I'm guessing a bumper to bumper for like 120k or so around 1500. I think I remember hearing that someplace. Does not need to be done prior to out of warranty date, but it is preferred to do it right before the end of the existing.

See here:

https://owners.infinitiusa.com/iowners/ ... n/warranty

Look at Elite Protection 8 years/120k

[Larz]

In your situation, I would go with Courtney's recommendation. I am one of a very few lucky people who has an excellent aftermarket warranty because i purchased my car through CarMax. It covers much more than the elite warranty, but is ONLY available at CarMax and ONLY on certain vehicles on their lot. I use my Infiniti dealer for all work and have a $25 co-pay regardless of the cost of repair. My dealer is very familiar with my warranty company and gets paid with one phone call. I get Infiniti OEM parts and have never had an issue.
Beware of aftermarket warranty companies who make it so difficult for a shop to get payment that most shops won't even do work for that company.
If I didn't have the MaxCare warranty, the ONLY place I would purchase a warranty is from Courtney.

[mazz]

only warranty what you can not afford to pay ... like health or liability service. I am sure you know warranty are like insurance policy or slot machines its just math . If a $2000 dollar repairs comes up and u can not afford to pay it then you may wish you had spent the 2g when you had it on a warranty, to me this is silly logic. Rich you bought a 60g car is a couple bills gonna break you.? I have owned Infiniti exclusively since 1990 i have not spent 200 bucks on out of warranty repairs.
if it helps you sleep buy the warranty otherwise the math don't work.

[Ilya]

In 1990, I'd agree. Warranties are stupid. In 2018, completely disagree. I freakin fried a harness in my dash when I accidentally shorted the foot well lights on the passenger side (I've installed a million bulbs in my 15 years of car ownership) because the system was badly designed and not fused, etc. The total repair bill was $5,600. Warranty saved my bacon SO HARD that time. That issue should have never happened. I should have just blown a fuse and carrier on with my day. Instead, I fried the dash harness, BCM and one of the connectors for the CANBUS if I recall.

Cars in 2018 are 100x more complex. My 1999 Maxima had 3 computers (ECU, TCM and BCM). My 2011 Infiniti has like 15.

Get the warranty. But only from Infiniti of Scottsdale/Courtney or Circle Infiniti in NJ (IIRC that's another one people use here a lot). They/she has taken care of most of NICOClub and is always one of the lowest priced Elite plans around.

[Mjkkb2]

I am with Ilia here. My car has been like some say pretty much bulletproof. Except when my head unit froze during a Bluetooth update which required replacement. Just under $5,500 was the bill.
You will find two camps, some people always buy and encourage extended warranties and some quite the opposite. My personal experience is that I have yet to "loose" money on it. My only car that I didn't buy one for is the 2011 Quest that had it's CVT blow up last year. Oh how I wished I had bought it when I was signing that $4k check.....

The M and most current vehicles are so advanced electronically, with so many different systems that can fail that to me it's a no brainer to have the warranty.

[Ilya]

I'm looking at a $2,500-3,500 (or more) M56 Catalytic Converter Replacement. Man I wish I had my warranty still. I've managed to get my car inspected twice now by just timing it when the light was off, but at some point that's no longer going to be possible. Again, stupid design by Infiniti is going to cost me thousands instead of being a DIY saturday project like on my old 99 Maxima.

I can't stress it enough. On any expensive luxury car with 1000 and 1 systems and computers, get the warranty. Unless you are a mechanic that can do EVERYTHING the dealer does (I'm pretty handy but I can't pull a motor, for example, to do the catalytic converters on my car).

[RichMarth]

I guess what I'm stuck on is the fact that my wife has only managed to average 6,000 miles per year and currently has just over 24,000 miles after 4 years of ownership. At that rate, it will take her over 16 years of ownership before she'd break 100,000 miles. What are the odds of a major system/electronic/mechanical failure by the time an extended warranty would expire? Let's say I shelled out for the longest 8 year extension, after 8 years on top of the current 4 years of ownership and assuming the same average yearly mileage, her car would be at roughly 72,000 miles after 12 years of ownership. Still considered low mileage for many. It's just a crapshot and I've never been a fan of gamb|ing nor having my money taken needlessly.

[EdBwoy]

Don't pay too much attention to the mileage. Purely mechanical components wear/fail on a predictable duty-time pattern. Good.
Electronics also fail on some time pattern, but there is a lot more randomization. These are the ones that make you fall out of love with your car a year after purchase.
That is the gamble you'll take on the more expensive/complicated components.

Using paranoidjack's example of $2700 for 8 years, that breaks down to $337.50 per year or $28.125 per month.
Can you think of any unnecessary 30-Dollar expenditures in your average month?

Or you could take a gamble and be very proactive in your maintenance. There are a few jobs (like that heater core/heat only blowing from one side issue) that break even almost immediately. Do your best to do the recommended prevention flush.
Other issues like a bad steering rack, you pretty much have no control over.

At the end of the day it's whatever you're more worried about:
- wasting $28 every month on a service you might not utilize
- having to suddenly cough up $2,000 or $3,000 or even $5,000 to fix an issue.
I think you still have to pay it upfront, so it's a matter of money-now or money-later, but this peace of mind is why we pay for insurance.
You could throw $30 monthly into your just-in-case piggy bank and if nothing happens in 8 years, go use the $2,700 for something else.

[Larz]

Some people like to say "you spent $65,000 on a car and you can't afford a repair?" I say: "Bullocks!", then I say "you spent $65,000 on a car and you actually WANT to spend even more on repairs?" What's an extra $3,000 for additional care for what you spent $65,000 for in the first place? It's a no-brainer.

[mazz]

you boys know more about cars than i ever will .........but one thing doesn't change the math doesn't work
or they wouldn't sell the policy.
BUT if you sleep better at night that is absolutely worth the 30 bucks a month example

[RichMarth]

I have a message in for Courtney in Scottsdale to call me and also a rep from the dealership I purchased the car from. I have spoken with Marcus at Circle Infiniti and he offered these Elite plans based on the current mileage on the car:

6 yr/82,000 mi $100 ded for $2600 or zero ded for $3500
5 yr/70,000 mi $100 ded for $2400 or zero ded for $3200
4 yr/60,000 mi $100 ded for $2000 or zero ded for $2200
3 yr/36,000 mi $100 ded for $1300 or zero ded for $1400
No $200 ded plans

[paranoidjack]

Courtney and IOS are the way to go in my experience. As Ed mentioned above, I made out like a bandit...$2700 and my 2011 will be warrantied until 2026, or 115k miles. Pretty great.

[RichMarth]

I talked to Courtney with IoS today and she definitely has the best priced plans over Circle and my local dealership. It blows my mind how wide the price range is from dealership to dealership selling the same Elite plans. She also offered me the NICO member discount as ParanoidJack mentioned, the other two people had never heard of NICO . Thank you for everyone's thoughts and opinions.

[EdBwoy]

Do you mind sharing the numbers you were quoted by IOS?

[RichMarth]

Do you mind sharing the numbers you were quoted by IOS?

Based on just over 24,000 miles on the car currently and the Elite Protection Plan:

$100 Deductible
36mo/36k=$​982
36mo/48k=$​1135
48mo/48k=$​1370​
48mo/60k=$1​656​
60mo/60k=$​2002​
60mo/70k=$​2247
72mo/82k=$​2425
$100 discount if NICO member and finance 0.0% for 12 months
$250 discount if NICO member and pay in full

RichMarth

[Larz]

WOW! I would definitely get the 72 month deal! This way, when you eventually sell the car, it comes with a transferable warranty which will fetch you a handsome price from the new owner. Imagine how much extra you would pay for a used car that is still under warranty for a couple of years!

[EdBwoy]

Those numbers are definitely enticing! If I had fewer miles on my car, I too would call them for a quote.


Thanks for providing them, and even if you don't extend the warranty yourself, I hope this thread will be of value to others in the future when faced with the same decision.