I resolved the rusted lug nuts issue.

[uncledj]

.......But now I've another question.

I resolved the rusted lug nuts issue by replacing the lug nuts...and while I was at it, I replaced the rest of the vehicle as well.

New question is whether or not it's worth it to get an extended warranty. I ended up buying a used 2014 Expedition Limited EL, 4x4, with the 5.4 motor.

Best warranty price I could find is a Carshield powertrain only warranty, which is a 5 year 100,000 warranty (on top of the 67k miles on it now)

Cost would be $2400, payable over 21 months....I think it was about $90 a month, with a small down payment.

This Expedition has no issues,...seems to have been meticulously cared for....and my past experience with Fords has been pretty positive.

 

Is it worth it to get a warranty on something like this? Probably won't put gads of miles on it,...wife has a work car that she pays a bit extra to be able to drive for personal use, and I drive a work van that I don't use for myself, but do stop to pick up groceries or a pizza or the like on my way home.

Dunno if I want to pay for the warranty or not.

Opinions?

[Flyinfool]

Most of the extended warranties for vehicles are a total ripoff. The only warranty I would consider is one from the manufacturer, in this case Ford. Not just a warranty from the ford dealer. Many of these require you to go to a specific shop for coverage. pays nothing if you are away from home and have a problem. Read all of the fine print very close, and believe absolutely NOTHING the salesman tells you. These warranties are the highest profit item that they sell. The push them very hard because of this.

 

The other side of the coin, that warranty is close to the cost of an engine or trans (most warranties only cover a bone yard replacement, not new or even rebuilt). You would be better off to go to the bank and buy a CD with that 2400, and then if you do not break your car you are $2400 ahead of the game. You are betting that you will have multiple major breakdowns if you buy the car, is it really that unreliable?

 

If you are handy enough to the the work a new engine or trans will cost less than $2400.

 

Hows that for my ?

[slowrollwv]

I have a 14 Mustang Convertible that we got in Oct. of 14 with 27,000 on the clock and have 100.000 on it now. Yes we use it a lot. I have been thinking about an extended warranty for it also. But if I do get one I would have to include electrical and cooling with it as they can cost as much as drive train to replace. What ever you do or don't do it is a nice looking ride.

[bongobobny]

Extended warranties are a crap shoot at best! All you have to do is have your air conditioner crap out and it pretty much pays for itself, but otherwise, you can be just throwing your money out the window!

 

Myself, I have bought the extended warranty on the last 3 new vehicles, mainly because I'm getting old and don't feel like fixing them anymore. On one car it cost me money, on another, I recouped maybe a little over a half of the cost, and another it was a good thing I had it as the combined repair costs were around double what I paid for the extended warranty.

 

The cost has been continually rising, the first one I bought over 10 years ago ran me just under a thousand, my current one ran closer to two thousand...

[cowpuc]

Well I dont know nuttin about nuttin but do know that I have often thought how much fun it would be to by a bike with a huge factory warranty brand new and then add on as much unlimited mileage warranty on top of that as I could get and then just run the living daylights out of it in an effort to break a million miles and test the warranties thereby...

Matter of fact, back before all this cancer stuff started Tip, Tweeks and I were at an open house at our local HD shop (free burgers and test rides ) and the owner of the shop comes out, takes a peek at Tweeks - looks at us and says "gotta be bout time for a new bike"... To which I explained my thoughts concerning the extended warranty idea as I mention above (only I included that once I broke thru the Millionth Mile of fully warrantied riding I should get a new bike for free) he said he would ask HD about it for me = never heard from him though ...

 

Sorry for so long of response there Unc,, dont know nuttin about them warranties but just wanted to say = WOWZY = NICE RIG!!!! CONGRATS and hope it serves you folks well!!!!

Puc

[bongobobny]

Uhh, Pucster, the warranty on the 2nd gen was 5 years UNLIMITED miles...

[MiCarl]

When you buy an extended warranty the company pools your money with that of all the other buyers. From that pool they pay for the repairs, their expenses and their profits. So overall the buyers of the warranties are paying in more than they have in repair costs.

 

It's like any other insurance: you're almost sure to be a loser but is nice to have if you need it.

 

If I had to have the vehicle to get to work and a major repair would wipe me out (or worse) I'd get one. Otherwise walk away.

[CaseyJ955]

If you are going to purchase a warranty then DO be willing to break out the reading glasses (and calculator) and read what it covers and under what conditions, all fine print. I have had two extended warranties and both times it was a colossal waste of money. They refused to cover two major failures. I own most of that for not reading the fine print ahead of time, a lot of these warranties actually cover very little, phrases like "bumper to bumper" and "power train" come with plenty of fine print that MUST be read and understood. Not all warranties are equal.

 

Read it carefully and do your due diligence on the company offering the warranty, seems there are plenty of shysters in the industry. So after you read and understand exactly what it does and doesn't do, then shop out the best source. If your getting the warranty from the seller/dealer you can almost certainly get it cheaper directly from the co. offering the warranty. Dealers always take a taste of the pie so shop around, there are choices.

 

Also, since they break it up into payments, are they charging interest and/or service charges on the total premium, will total cost of ownership of the warranty be more than the $2400? Technically it is a loan if you dont pay for it all up front, probably not free of charges or interest. How much would it cost of you paid for it all up front? Do also understand that some companies offer a prorated refund if you cancel the warranty before it expires. Maybe there is a service fee or cancellation charge for that, good questions to ask before purchase.

 

I havnt checked into it but I think Ford had the cyl head issues (****ting out plugs) and various transmission issues sorted out well before the 2014 model year. IIRC those issues plagued early Explorers much more than the later F150 variants. I say read up on that particular vehicle for common failures or customer complaints and decide what your chances of a $2400 warranty being a sound purchase are. I know the F150 and SUV variants to be pretty darn solid vehicles. If I were to buy another Lexus I wouldn't even consider an extended warranty, if I were buying another S class I would be uncomfortable without a warranty. A gently used F150 variant, in my humble opinion/experience does not really need an extended warranty but I encourage you to do some reading on that model/year and see if there are any common failures, what those cost to fix or prevent and if the warranty is likely a good piece of mind or unnecessary expenditure of $2400+ hard earned dollars.

 

Based on my experience with full size Ford trucks I would probably skip the warranty, stay on top of ALL scheduled maintenance and treat it nice, like I do all my vehicles. YMMV based on your own research findings.

 

BTW, I agree with Flyinfool, many of these 3rd party warranties are a rip-off. As mentioned, been there myself.

 

Food for thought.

[vzuden]

You have purchased a 3-4 year old vehicle so there should be a track record of expected or highly likely repair issues. Do your homework on line and should be able to identify them. For any potential extended service plan read it very carefully to see if the potential failures are listed. The wording must match exactly or they can deny coverage. There are seldom any gray areas in these contracts.

 

In my previous career I wrote extended coverage contracts and can speak from experience the issuer is very careful to avoid coverage of certain repairs. I was employed by a large auto dealer organization and we formed our own separate company to administer these. As previously mentioned they are an extreme crapshoot and I personally will never buy one. From the purchaser’s viewpoint there will always be a success where they saved money. You could say these are similar to a casino. The house makes big money in the overall picture.

[BlueSky]

I have never bought an extended warranty and never will. It's an insurance policy and the odds are in favor of the ins co. But, if you have no savings and may not be able to pay for a large repair, perhaps it's okay.

 

I bought a used Ford Clubwagon some years ago and the dealer quoted a price for an extended warranty. I cracked the guy up when I told him that if it cost me that much in repairs over the warranty period I would take it out in the woods and shoot it between the headlights! LOL!

[videoarizona]

In 2004, I bought my Yukon XL for cash. got a great deal on a brand new truck with all the bells and whistles. It had a 60K milke bumper to bumper warrantee. The dealer asked if I wanted a extended one. I replied...if you can find one that is bumper to bumper like the GMC factory warrantee, sure.

They did. it was $2400 as well. Only exclusions were normal wear things...tires, battery, etc.. They covered the speedo replacement, 2 little door motors for the heater and the emergency brake going bad way to early. Did I get my money's worth? Don't know. But I was spending $60K for a brand new truck and I wanted it covered for 100K miles. So from that stand point, I think I did. She now has 200,640 miles and still going strong...(knock on wood).

 

So yea, do your homework on that year truck. Look for reliability issues on line. Then decide.

[BlueSky]

Uhh, Pucster, the warranty on the 2nd gen was 5 years UNLIMITED miles...

 

And there are new leftovers still available!

[uncledj]

Thought it over...considered the input offered here and decided to decline the extended warranty. Should a major component fail, I can most likely change it out myself. It's the nit picky stuff that worries me, and that wouldn't be covered without a crazy expensive plan.

Thanks everyone for the info / advice.

[djh3]

I have had a couple extended warranties on used vehicles. Over all probably not the best money spent. But at the time they were the primary ride for the boss. We had a couple year old Dodge Caravan. Supposed to be a bumper to bumper warranty. The AC quit. No problem take to dealer. Couple hundred bucks to fix. Hmm really what happened to the bumper to bumper thing. Oh well its XYZ relay and those electrical parts are not covered. Really!! Due to our relationship with the dealer we had previously they fixed it. But over all I think you put the $100 a month away and cover your own possible expenses.

 

The 5.4 motors are pretty bullit proof after like 05 or when they went away from the 3 valve motor. They are the ones that had the bugger plugs. They do have a variable cam timing piece that can go bad. The thing will knock like a rod but it still runs, just MPG goes wonky. Not terrible to fix, but if done by a shop can run probably $1000. Almost bought a 2005 Navigator with that problem for cheap.

[BlueSky]

The 5.4 motors are pretty bullit proof after like 05 or when they went away from the 3 valve motor. They are the ones that had the bugger plugs. They do have a variable cam timing piece that can go bad. The thing will knock like a rod but it still runs, just MPG goes wonky. Not terrible to fix, but if done by a shop can run probably $1000. Almost bought a 2005 Navigator with that problem for cheap.

 

All 5.4L Ford V8s from 2004 on were 3 valve engines and in the F150s and Expeditions they had variable cam timing. The problem these engines had with breaking the two piece spark plugs when they were removed was fixed in 2009. Hopefully, the VCT issues were improved over the years of production. Part of the cause for the VCT issues was neglecting oil changes. Sludge would build up and restrict oil flow to the VCT and cause excessive wear and sometimes metal particles in the oil would cause an engine failure. The 5.4L V8s used in commercial trucks did not have VCT. I don't think I'd be worried if I had a 2014 5.4L. It's a beautiful SUV by the way!

 

The F150s got the 5.0L V8 in 2011 and it has proven to be a solid engine. The Expeditions got the 3.5L V6 Ecoboost engine in 2015.