Hey so I went to the dealer today because it's raining pretty hard and I decided to give the Z a ride in it. Very nice. I am definately going to get one. I sat down with the dealer to work out some numbers. My biggest sticking point is the warranties for which he told me I would have to go to another department for to find out prices. So I was hoping to get a leg up with some info from you guys.

How much of a warranty did you all buy with your Z's? What did it cost and what did it cover?

Is it really worth it or is it a scam? I noticed a few of you said that you got them at dealer's cost. What are the dealer costs?

Thanks in advance!

 

I took the standard 3 year warrenty because by the end of 3 years I will be wanting to modify the car beyond what a warrenty will allow(FI).

keep that in mind, if you plan to modify, dont waste your money on an extended warrenty.

 

I don't think the extended warranty is worth the money, unless they sell it to you at their cost. You already have a 3-year warranty. To get, say, a 5-year warranty for $400 (or whatever) you're betting your $400 that you will have at least $400 in maintenance costs in years 4 and 5. I bet I don't, b/c things that go wrong usually go wrong in the first year or so anyway. Plus, if I'm having that much trouble with the Z, I'll be getting rid of it anyway. Also, you will have opportunities to buy extended warranties later before yours runs out anyway. Finally, why should the dealer make a profit on you buying an extended warranty? Does that make sense to you?

I say, don't get it----no matter how hard they push for it. They mark it up and make a nifty profit.

WayneTN

 

I can't imagine the dealer selling it to you for cost, I'm sure even at "cost" they're getting something out of it. When I got mine the dork in the finance office tried repeatedly to shove an extended warranty and "gap insurance" down my throat. nuts to him

 

I say don't get an extended warranty. They are a cash cow for the dealer. If you get an extended warranty you will have to follow the maintaince plan to the letter and have them sign off when they do the work. If you do anything wrong with them you will void the extended warranty so you will be out the money for the warranty and have to pay the repair costs yourself. I have had many cars with well over a 100,000 miles and have never had any costly major repair problems. The key is change your oil,rear end oil and coolant at or below the recommended maintaince schedule. I usually change my oil at 2500 miles. Change the coolant every 2 years or 25,000 miles and change the rear end and manual transmisson oil every 30, 000 miles.

 

Well, let me be the first then: I bought the warranty--mainly because the 350Z is a first year vehicle and I figured I'd go for the peace of mind. Also, as soon as the standard warranty ran out on my 240SX, the speedo went out. Not that the speedo would have made up for the price of the warranty, but I feel lucky that nothing else went out on the 240.

I paid $1295.00 for a 7 year/75000 mile Gold +. The mileage I put on my car won't be near 75000 before the seven years are up. Do I think it's worth it? Ask me in 7 years....

I justify the warranty, msrp price, TOC, and GAP insurance with the HUGE savings I receive on my full coverage insurance policy: $440 per year! Works for me....

 

I've been driving many years. I'm averaging less than $100 per year on unexpected repairs and that's with 2 automatic transmissions and one A/C compressor going out! No extended warranties for me. Waste of money if you buy good stuff and take care of it.

WayneTN

 

In Australia, we can purchase the extended factory warranty anytime within the next 3 years before the standard warranty expires. Can't you do that in the US? That way you don't have to decide for 3 years, so you can assess whether it is worthwhile down the track, depending on the reliabilty over that timeframe.

 

I also seem to be one of the few who thinks it is a good idea. I got the 7 year warrenty. My logic is that the big problems the car might have (knock on wood, not on my car) will be early on or pretty far down the line. I figure once you get past the 3rd year, years 4&5 should be ok, but once I get to years 6&7 I will have a lot of miles on the car, and who knows what happens. Also, I checked and the warrenty is transferable, so if I ever decide to sell it, it will be a big plus for it to still be under warenty. I can only hope that I loose money on the extended warrenty, that means I haven't had any problems. But it is impossible to ignore Mr. Murphy and his law. If I didn't get the extended warrenty I am sure something would have about 38 months later.

 

I'm pretty sure you can do this in the States as well, so it might make more sense to wait and see how the car does for 2 or 2-1/2 years. Plus, you wouldn't have to get it through the dealer, possibly saving some $$$.

WayneTN

 

Yes, in the U. S. the extended warranty is available right up to the end of the standard factory warranty (that's some info the salesmen DON'T reveal at time of sale--at least in my experience), and it says so right in the manual.

For me, the last time I bought a car (1990), there was no 350Z, no internet forums, so NO timely info about problems with cars. Lurking around this forum for several months before purchasing a Z got me a little worried with (most) everyone bitchin' about problems. Granted, it looks like all of the problems have been discovered early on (or have they?)--some are getting fixed, some are getting looked at, and some are getting sold.

I've never bought an extended warranty before, so time will tell if it's a $$$ saver, or a $$$ waste. Personally, I hope nothing ever goes wrong with the Z--it's the best car I've ever owned, and the aggrevation of having it in the shop is worse than putting out the bucks for a warranty--but after 7 years and all is done the $1295 will be but a memory.

No regrets, mate!

 

FYI: for those that purchased a extended warranty.
if you sell , total, or otherwise get rid of your car before the extended warranty is up you can get a refund for any unused, (timewise) ,part of the extended warranty. odviously this does'nt apply if you transfer to a new owner.