Extended warranties thru insurance co?

VaBusa

oRg Gal
Staff member
Administrator
I was talking to a guy in the performance shop yesterday...he mentioned that he'd bought extended warranties on his bike and a car through Progressive. It allows him to get warranty work done at the shop of his choice, not just through a dealership, like Suzuki.

I've got Progressive insurance, but I'm actually going to look around for better rates when it's up in the summer...anyone else ever done this? Anyone know of other companies that do this? Any luck with it/problems?

Thanks!
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VA.....my two cents worth.....

I have had good experience with extended warranties on cars...but one bad experience.

The one good experience easily saved me enough money to buy extended warranties the rest of my life!!! (got a new tranny on a car for free---which I would have had to shell out $2,200 for).

I have one on my busa too.

I did however have one of the third party insurers (3rd party insurers do lots of backing on extended warrranties) go bust and thus when I called to inquire about a claim...the phone was disconnected and I found out that I was out of luck.

But if you have an insurance company that backs the warranty that has a sound name or even the backing of the manufacturer, in my opinion you'd be a little safer down the road and not risk the third party issuer going bust.

Progressive is a solid name. In addition, I bought Suzuki's own extended warranty with THEIR name on it....so I'm assuming the company will be in business should I have to make a claim in the next 4 years. It all boils down to the financial strength of who is writing the warranty coverage. Their are a lot of very weak insurers out there and since Sep. 11, 2001, some have been driven out of the business...but some are still in business. Stick with a name you know!!!

As for price you pay.....Extended warrranties are nearly pure profit for Toyota, Honda (as well as motorcycle warranties) etc.....so bargain with these guys.
The price range is amazing. The place I bought my busa from wanted $750 for a 4 year extended warranty offered by Suzuki. I paid just under $500 at a dealer 10 miles down the road.

Use that VA charm on them!!!!
 
On the extended warranties doesn't that typically mean you have to take it in to get all the REGULAR service work done?
 
On the extended warranties doesn't that typically mean you have to take it in to get all the REGULAR service work done?
I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I did ask that very question of the dealership I bought my Busa from...according to this guy, and he seems to be very honest and trustworthy, as long as you document your maintenance, whether you do it or a Suzuki dealer does it, the warranty remains in force...

Now, that's not to say that some dealership won't hound you to death over that very point..."you didn't get the warranty work done by Suzuki, so we don't care...", but according to the dealership I dealt with, that's not an issue...

Prove that statement wrong if you've had problems...better to be safe than sorry...on that note, I haven't had Suzuki do ANY of the maintenance on my Busa...I've been doing it myself...I feel secure in doing so because if worse comes to worse, I'll just take the bike out-of-state to my point of purchase and let them work on it for warranty work to avoid the issue with the guy that told me it was okay. He was the owner, so I'm not worried about getting that info from some fly-by-night service guy that may/may not be there down the road...
 
babuski...I agree, going with an insurance co that will be around for a while is the best bet...having said that, Progressive isn't the best as far as rates go, and I have a clean driving record...if I switch, it'll hopefully be with another big fish, like State Farm (touted by so many on the board for great rates)...

Just wondering if anyone's had experience with this or not? I'd love to be able to choose the place that can perform warranty work over worrying with local Suzuki dealers...I have found a great shop that I'd rather give the work to...if that's possible...if it's not feasible, I'll probably not go with Suzuki's extended warranty (just over $400 for me if I buy from my original dealer)...I'll just pay out of pocket and at least feel I'm getting the best guys to wrench on my Busa...
 
By the way...just to give kudos to these guys I deal with - anyone in the Hampton Roads area should make way to Yorktown, VA and talk to the guys at Redline Performance Motorsports, Inc. They are Japanese and Italian bike specialists, and can help you with just about anything you need...great guys...great place to deal with if you need some work...web site is being built - www.redlinemotors.com
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I got the Suzuki Extended Warranty. My experiences with 3rd party insurance has sucked. From both sides of the fence.
 
VA, DEZZY and Raider....

Of all the problems I've heard of over the years...it is with 3rd party insurers with weak financials. This is an area of expertise for me....many insurance carriers are rated by AM BEST corporation.....it is a rating that helps determine financial strength. Unfortunately, the AM BEST ratings are not that "rigorous" according to my sources. Standard and Poor's ratings of the insurance company would be a better bet. Some yutz at a dealer once told me the financial rating of a particular company that did that dealers warranties was "sound with a high AM BEST rating". I happened to be acquainted with this company and bet the guy the entire contents of my wallet (a lot on that day) that he was full of s**t. He backed down quickly....I made one phone call and confirmed that the companies bonds were in a series of downgrades (kind of like ENRON or WorldCom as they collapsed). Anyways not everyone has the ability to check up on some of these firms as to their soundness....but if you go with a company that has been in business a long time, that is far safer than the fly by night operations that have surfaced in the last 20 years.

I have the Suzuki Extended Plan (SEP) and it is underwritten by Heritage Indemnity.....I have no idea if Heritage is sound or not.....but I have never heard of a case where a reputable manufacture has put there name on a plan and defaulted (it may have happend but I would think that Toyota, Honda, Kaw, Zuki et al...would never soil their reputation.

As of the maintenance, my Suzuki Extended contract says you have to have proof of maintenance...doesn't mean you have to take it to dealer you bought bike from or dealer who sold warranty. If you do your own maintenance and can show receipts for oil, filters and show a log with mileage, I would imagine that would do....at least for the 600 and 4,000 mile checkups. I have all the stuff plus the dealer signs off on this log attached to my SEP contract.

Lots of input for you to "digest"

But really VA.....establish a good relationship with someone, buy some stuff from them, take em for a pizza and beer and you would be amazed how much they will do for you. This guy from a dealer who sold me some stuff took an hour explaining various things to me and great places to ride in Western Illinois and Wisconsin. I spent the summer having a ball in these places...where there were no cars...nothing but great roads (and cornfields!) Amazing thing was I DID NOT BUY MY BIKE FROM THESE GUYS. But lots of gear, the SEP, filters, oil and lots of stuff. It was well worth it!!!
 
Babuski,
Trying to get even reputable 3rd party insurance warranties to approve/pay claims
is a nightmare. Most try squirming out through any loophole the can find or think
the customer will let them get away with. Ie they pay for new pistons but not
rings or gaskets.



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Babuski...that's exactly what I'm trying to do...I've found a great group of guys/gals that do nothing but work on sport bikes of all kinds. They've been great to deal with, and always help me out if I have a question. If I can get an extended warranty of some kind through a reputable insurance company, I'd rather do that and use this shop I trust, even if it's not an authorized Suzuki shop...if I can't do that, I doubt I'll buy the extended warranty through Suzuki and I'll just hope nothing big goes wrong with my Busa in the mean time, or that it can be fixed by the shop I trust at my own expense...

I'm beginning to think that no matter what road you choose, you'll be hounded and nickled and dimed to death over what isn't covered...that's how all insurance companies are, no matter how reputable...probably best to just save up some money and plan on spending it when something goes wrong...
 
VA....a woman after my own heart. Lets get married!!! That is the best solution. Forget the warranty. Set aside the money, which all good busa folks should do, and then you don't have to deal with it. Typically, when I buy something like a car or my busa....I always budget for those inevitable costs, maintenance and repairs down the road. You can take the $400 or $500 and invest it for a few years and if you need that $2000 repair job down the road..you;ll be able to deal with it. I used to do this with used cars....I'd only buy used cars. I'd budget in $2,000 for repairs. So if I wanted to buy an $8,000 used car, I'd sock away $8,000 plus $2,000 or $10,000 total. If you have a pleasant relationship with a firm......GO WITH IT. Nothing like people that really care about what they do and take care of the customer!!!


and raider (and VA) you are right. Insurance companies make it hell for us to collect on claims. The are 283 million Americans to blame for that (actually a few rotten apples of that 283 million) There is so much fraud out there....and as a result, insurance firms have clamped down on claims and really test our patience and nickel and dime us and frequently make it hell to collect. I agree, some of it is bullsh**t. But I've made some great money investing in insurance companies and I understand their side of the business a little.\


But if you have the cash....my warranty has Suzuki's name on it and was sold to me by a Suzuki dealer whom I know and trust. Again, I have never had a problem with these when the manufacturer has their good name on the warranty. I'd like to see Suzuki screw me....that would be great. Toyota tried to do it to my mother (I was on the phone to Japan immediately....amazing what transpired....I think I talked about this earlier in the thread)...yes it was a pain, but what she got was well worth it. But in the end, if you can save the money...then you;ll have it later for repair use......kind of like "self insuring"....a real nice thing and you can just tell the financing guys to shove their extended warranty offers
 
babuski...married? hrmmmm...exactly HOW much money have you made investing in insurance companies?
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Of course, I'd have to check with my husband, but he'll be the first to say that money talks!
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I'll jump in here with my take on warranties as a selling dealer. Yes, they are a huge profit center for my dealership(marine). I personally never buy a warranty, but that is mainly due to the fact that I can perform most work myself, or have a connection with a business in the area that I can barter my stores services with. That said, there is only one real reason I encourage my customers to buy an extended warranty, which by the way typically will cost 2-3000 dollars, and that is this: We can remain friends longer. Nothing stresses the dealer/customer relationship more than mechanical problems, and with a warranty in place, I know that if the customer has a failure in the next 6 years, I can repair it under warranty. I can take that monday morning call from a guy who just blew his engine and is really pissed and say "bring it in, we'll get it fixed asap, under warranty".
This is not to say I won't help out a good customer without a warranty, I'll often go to the manufacturer and try to get "good faith" approval on units just out of their factory warranty or that had an obvious defect that should be corrected. But sometimes things break clearly out of or past the term of the original warranty and just won't be covered by the factory. It is not fun telling the guy with a 3 year old boat that he paid 50k for that his blown motor is out of warranty and he's facing a 5-8k repair bill.
One interesting angle I have available is a money back warranty. This warranty is backed by Duetsche Financial, and is kind of cool because of this: You pay the warranty up front, but if you do not use it over it's term and never submit a claim, you are entitled to a 100% refund at the end of the warranty term. I do not know if this is available to the motorcycle guys, though.
Anyway... that's my take...your mileage may vary.....
TBone



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T-bone you are right on.....many a salesman have had great relationships with customers go very sour after a costly repair and that is a good reason for extended warranties. The reason they are huge profit centers for Honda, Toyota, etc...is that those cars are incredibly reliable and break down rarely....which is why the big three auto maker's market share has gone from virtually 100% to under 50% in the past 20 years.
To be able to get your money back in 5-8 years if claim free...that is golden...of course if I had money for free for 5 to 8 years, I'd be richer than Bill Gates.

VA....the zuki SEP is transferable, allows for towing and crap like that, so it could help resale value. BUT I think you'll ride this thing FOREVER or until you trade it in for a newer busa.

Keep the money....invest it in Bean Babies...and you'll have a fortune for repairs later NOT!!!

I'm sure you'll make a good decision.

And T-bone, thanks for the dealer side of things....makes total sense, even if very profitable. People also like peace of mind (real or perceived)
 
good info tbone...I can certainly see spending the bones to get an extended warranty on something pricey like a boat, but in reality, if the absolute worst happens to my Busa and I don't have a warranty, I'm out a % of $10K (minus mods...) It would be devastating for sure, but not something I couldn't replace if I wanted to...

I'm just not satisfied with trying to forge a relationship with a local dealer after my recent run in while trying to get the bike looked at, so I'm leaning more toward just planning on paying out of pocket for work I trust with the local performance shop I've been frequenting. If I can find a deal on an extended warranty through my insurance, and not Suzuki, I'll be happy...if not, I'll just pay as I go like I do with everything else I own anyway...

Good info though...thanks...and I like the idea of a "money back guarantee". That's the first time I've heard of that...good deal...
 
VaBusa......I sense you are comfortable with this decision. This is terrific. Now go and take those performance folks for pizza and beer!!!
 
Here is my .02 cents... i personally dont buy warranties on my cars, because i am a salesmanager at a large car dealership...so i can get the guys to take care of me for next to nothing. but for the customers i always recomend them because it is much easier when they have a problem to make them happy if you can say" I WILL GET IT TAKEN CARE OF, IT WILL BE UNDER WARRANTY". WHEN I WAS LOOKING AT BUYING A 2004 BUSA I WOULD HAVE SPENT THE MONEY FOR THE WARRANTY FOR THE SAME REASON . FOR THE PEACE OF MIND IF SOMETING GOES WRONG I WOULDNT HAVE TO WORRY. I would stick with a manufactures warranty vs. 3rd party sometimes hard to get paid on claim. thats my .02 cents
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AND I DID JUST FIND A LOCAL PERFORMANCE SHOP HERE IN KY AS WELL ...AND THE OWNER HAS A BUSA AS HIS PERSONAL BIKE. SO I WILL BE HEADED HIS WAY FOR SOME OF MY MODS. HE SAYS HIS DYNO WAS 235 WITH BIG BORE KIT AND OTHER MODS.... ILL BE ON MY WAY ...
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