Used Car Warranties: A friend just bought a used Honda of some kind, and he bought the extended warranty from the dealer. That's something I would never do. So, I have a question -...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

A friend just bought a used Honda of some kind, and he bought the extended warranty from the dealer. That's something I would never do. So, I have a question - well, two questions.

Have any of you bought a warranty on a used car, and have you tried to use it? I've often heard that the fine print can be a killer.

RiJoRi Loc: Sandy Ridge, NC

90-day word of mouth from the mechanic I bought it from. Didn't need it.

On a similar note, I still get a chuckle from the "Guaranteed Used Cars" signs! Is someone afraid the dealership will sneak a brand new car into the lot and try to sell it as a used one? "Nah, that's not low mileage! The odometer has flipped!"

Ain't Inglish wunnerful?

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

RiJoRi wrote:

90-day word of mouth from the mechanic I bought it from. Didn't need it.

On a similar note, I still get a chuckle from the "Guaranteed Used Cars" signs! Is someone afraid the dealership will sneak a brand new car into the lot and try to sell it as a used one? "Nah, that's not low mileage! The odometer has flipped!"

Ain't Inglish wunnerful?

"Lifetime Guarantee" Two deceptive words.

BebuLamar

jerryc41 wrote:

A friend just bought a used Honda of some kind, and he bought the extended warranty from the dealer. That's something I would never do. So, I have a question - well, two questions.

Have any of you bought a warranty on a used car, and have you tried to use it? I've often heard that the fine print can be a killer.

The warranty covers stuff that wouldn't break.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

BebuLamar wrote:

The warranty covers stuff that wouldn't break.

🤣

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

Some do have value. I spent many years in the auto repair industry. It's like any other product. It's only useful if you have to use it. The fine print should always be read and research done. I saw many instances where those warranties saved customers hundreds or even thousands of dollars. I have seen others that were not worth the paper they were written on.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

RiJoRi wrote:

90-day word of mouth from the mechanic I bought it from. Didn't need it.

On a similar note, I still get a chuckle from the "Guaranteed Used Cars" signs! Is someone afraid the dealership will sneak a brand new car into the lot and try to sell it as a used one? "Nah, that's not low mileage! The odometer has flipped!"

Ain't Inglish wunnerful?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

jerryc41 wrote:

"Lifetime Guarantee" Two deceptive words.

What's deceptive?
It will work until it dies... when it hits its end of life.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

kpmac wrote:

Some do have value. I spent many years in the auto repair industry. It's like any other product. It's only useful if you have to use it. The fine print should always be read and research done. I saw many instances where those warranties saved customers hundreds or even thousands of dollars. I have seen others that were not worth the paper they were written on.

When I bought a 1967 Civic, the dealer talked me into the rust-through warranty. He said it would be handled directly by the dealer. Many years later, a rust spot appeared on the hood, so I went to the dealer. "Oh, just call the 800 number." Yeah, sure. That was no longer a working number. I guess it's just a coincidence that all those rustproofing companies went out of business before cars had a chance to develop rust.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Longshadow wrote:

What's deceptive?
It will work until it dies... when it hits its end of life.

Exactly!

wireloose

Yep, 2011 BMW 535. Paid for itself 3x over. The repair costs were just ridiculous on that car. Minor stuff would be $2k, and the warranty was about $2k and the dealer honored all the claims- I think it was from Allstate. Don’t have it on any of our Hondas but for German cars it can be a good value. Example- Parts for a headlight were nearly $3k, I bought one from Germany for only $800, plus $400 labor (local import shop, not BMW). By that time it was out of warranty. Meantime my wife’s CRV went 100,000 miles on original brake pads, then we changed “early” them since we were giving it to our grandson.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

wireloose wrote:

Yep, 2011 BMW 535. Paid for itself 3x over. The r... (show quote)

Sounds good.

Just out of curiosity, I checked the price of an LED headlight for a Subaru. The unit itself costs between $800 and $2,000. Of course, you have to add sales tax and installation to that. If one of my car's headlights burns out, I can replace it for about $10.

A friend's hobby is buying older BMWs and fixing them up. Yes, parts are expensive.

BebuLamar

jerryc41 wrote:

Sounds good.

Just out of curiosity, I checked the price of an LED headlight for a Subaru. The unit itself costs between $800 and $2,000. Of course, you have to add sales tax and installation to that. If one of my car's headlights burns out, I can replace it for about $10.

A friend's hobby is buying older BMWs and fixing them up. Yes, parts are expensive.

That's $800 to $2000 for the headlight not the bulb. If you break the headlight on your Fit and see how much it costs you.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

BebuLamar wrote:

That's $800 to $2000 for the headlight not the bulb. If you break the headlight on your Fit and see how much it costs you.

$90 to $178.

https://www.google.com/search?q=headlight+for+2015+honda+fit&oq=headlight+for+2015+honda+fit&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIKCAEQABgPGBYYHjIICAIQABgWGB4yDQgDEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyDQgEEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyCggFEAAYgAQYogQyCggGEAAYgAQYogQyBggHEEUYQdIBCDc1OTJqMGo0qAIAsAIB&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Yes, the bulb(s) would be $150 or less.

PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place

I took a warranty out on a used 2016 Honda CR-V. Two repairs and it paid for itself. No hassles at all. Even got a rental, at no cost, while vehicle was in the shop for 3 days waiting on parts.

Don