rgreene

After looking on warrantydirect.com and seeing that they won't cover California drivers I was a bit confused; then while buying my car the dealer said that California law prohibits the selling of extended warranties over the internet. Well, that sucks. Anybody here have any recommendations other than going to the dealer?

strawman53

After finding out the same thing by applying on the web to the ones that did not say that they did not write policies in California and still getting turned down. I went my normal route, I called my Credit Union. They refereed me to Andermahr Insurance Services in Manteca California at 1-800-842-4233 insais@aol.com. I talked to Anna. Tell here you are an AEA Credit Union member (AEA = American Electronics Association). If you are a member of another Credit Union try them.

OK, how much did it cost? The Z is a high cost vehicle to get MBI (Mechanical Breakdown Insurance) for (actually any insurance). I got the Supreme 72 month, 90,000 mile coverage, $200 deductible with 3 optional coverages: 1) Emissions Coverage, 2) Covered Part Cause of Loss to Non-Covered Part, 3) Non-Covered Part Cause of Loss to Covered Part. The deductible is high but it lowers the cost quite a bit. I considered MBI essential for a first year car like the Z. I have dealt with Andermahr Insurance Services in the past on other MBI policies and have been satisfied with the customer service of the company that writes the “Supreme” MBI policy. They are all a pain to work with (preauthorization required) but when need, well worth it!

I also got GAP coverage for the Z from Anna for $250 ($300 on the web was the best I found). In case you are not aware of GAP coverage (I wasn’t until a post here on the forum) here is how it works:
You buy your Z Touring for $35,900 including Tax and License.
You finance 100% (no down) for 72 months 5.5%, your monthly payment is $586.53
You got the car in October 1, 2002 and totaled it yesterday (Feb 22) with 6000 miles on the car.
Your finance company says the March Payoff (which you must pay) is $33338.88
Your insurance company says the Wholesale Blue book value (what they pay) is $30,000*
You owe the finance company $3,338.88 out of you own pocket!
*I estimated the Wholesale Blue Book since Edmunds and Kelly Blue Book did not list used 350Zs yet. On EBAY there was not a single bid over $30,000 for a used 350Z. None of the Zs had sold that I saw, all of them were “Reserve Not Yet Met”.