Factory Warranties, Extended Warranties, Modifications and the Maintenance after.

One thing I will tell you off the bat is I HATE dealerships, but wait a minute just hear me out….When buying a new car to me the sticker shock is enough let alone all the extra fees and such they try to tack on

Once the purchase price is negotiated then comes the forms and wait for it ……..the UP SELLS. Extended warranties, wheel and tire hazard packages, their special paint coatings, fabric guards, floor mats etc. Out of all those you can drop most and comes to the title of this blog… Every manufacturer is different but offer some sort or form of factory warranty will offer an extended and once expired car maintenance outside Manufacturers warranty. Generally there are Time/Mileage Rated X amount of years or X amount Miles which ever comes first. My observation and this is personal opinion but it is backed by evidence. Its very rare for cars to really have any serious issues during the warranty period, most manufacturing presently provide a very stable production with stricter tolerances which result in a more uniform, overall superior product compared to cars from years ago. Its not to say some new cars cant have issues or recalls come up but they are less likely although some ugly ones do appear at times resulting in class actions suits. A car is still a car but they are becoming increasingly complex in certain areas out all the up sells off the floor the only real one to purchase would be wheel and tire packages. Wheels are getting increasing larger even for small cars let alone SUVs most common sizes are 18-20″ Queue Lil Troy Baller 20 inch blades on an impala if you know the reference. Larger wheels result in lower aspect ratio the second number in tire size number string, smaller side walled tires are very susceptible to pothole and impact damage to sidewall. Pinched side walls cause bubbling or cut side wall failures and blow outs

Pinched Side Wall Damage

These tires are Michelin Pilot Sport 4S Which I Consider a good tire can and will get damaged depending on the size of pothole or impact. The real hit comes when tires need to be replaced I purchased a full set for approx $1200.00 and Mounting costs another $260.00 total up $1460.00 plus tax and the time to get it done is a painful process and there’s nothing saying it couldn’t happen again up the road. The Achilles heel of AWD cars is mismatched tire diameters are a no-no cause damage to drive train could occur. 1 tire pop and a new set unless freshly replaced is another costly bill. This is where the tire and wheel hazard comes on. Up front the cost is more but a few tires or bent wheels and labor and you’d cover the cost. This is a personal decision whether to roll dice and risk it or be covered. Some never have issues while others do and that’s the gamble.

Major Repairs, Engine and Drivetrain and Extended Warranties

Now the Honeymoon is over and the warranty has now expired and all repairs are out of pocket. The choice is Purchase an extended warranty or Roll the Dice and gamble till a problem arises. Doing a quick google search between two popular extended warranty service companies plans run on low side $75 per month and top out at approx $130 per month.