C8 Extended Warranty - is it worth getting

[gone]

With the C8 demand being what it is, you’ve less bargaining power, but my solution to the “after sale warranty and extras pressure” when buying a new vehicle is as follows: never agree on a price for the vehicle until you negotiate all the extras as well. So insist you’ll not commit to anything until the ENTIRE dollar value is known, including all extras from the finance department. That way you maintain your bargaining power. So you explain to the finance person that you haven’t committed to the vehicle and won’t, until you’re satisfied on the cost of everything including the extended warranty, Xpel Ultimate, tire and rim warranty, dent/scrape warranty, windshield warranty, and extra servicing package (ie. oil/filter changes). The dealership has LOTS of room to move on those items so it will typically reduce the cost on them, but not as much if you’ve already purchased the vehicle and you’re seen as a “captive audience”.

You are correct but beyond the warranty; you can also get all this stuff from a stand-alone shop for usually a lot less money and a far better job if the dealer is doing it "in house"
That's from experience and the content of a few past threads on here.

I usually shy away from “non-manufacturer” warranties and especially when getting the bumper-to-bumper extended warranty. I had problems in the past with exclusions under the non-OEM warranties and secondly, I’ve found the dealers will go to bat more for you if there’s any problem with a manufacturer warranty and they hold more sway over the manufacturer they’ve signed their dealership agreement with. So with ANY warranty, read the fine print in detail, talk to the warranty person selling it about his/her claims experience, consider Googling for reviews, then make an informed decision. The last time I was surprised, happened with the tire/rim warranty. I had several sidewall bulges compliments of Edmonton’s impressive potholes, only to learn the tire replacement wasn’t covered by the warranty because the tire has to be completely empty of air first. So I didn’t follow my advice above and know all the terms before buying that extra warranty.

Some things the dealership sends out to be done anyways, like ceramic coating or Expel Ultimate, so yes get those from whomever does the work rather than paying the dealership its profit over and above the usual price.

But the point remains in my original post: negotiate your best price on the vehicle itself and don’t commit, until you negotiate everything else such as floor mats, trunk liners, all the extra warranties, 25% off all parts and accessories for the first year after the purchase, and the list goes on only limited by your imagination and wants.

 

[ddgermann]

I usually shy away from “non-manufacturer” warranties and especially when getting the bumper-to-bumper extended warranty. I had problems in the past with exclusions under the non-OEM warranties and secondly, I’ve found the dealers will go to bat more for you if there’s any problem with a manufacturer warranty and they hold more sway over the manufacturer they’ve signed their dealership agreement with. So with ANY warranty, read the fine print in detail, talk to the warranty person selling it about his/her claims experience, consider Googling for reviews, then make an informed decision. The last time I was surprised, happened with the tire/rim warranty. I had several sidewall bulges compliments of Edmonton’s impressive potholes, only to learn the tire replacement wasn’t covered by the warranty because the tire has to be completely empty of air first. So I didn’t follow my advice above and know all the terms before buying that extra warranty.

Some things the dealership sends out to be done anyways, like ceramic coating or Expel Ultimate, so yes get those from whomever does the work rather than paying the dealership its profit over and above the usual price.

But the point remains in my original post: negotiate your best price on the vehicle itself and don’t commit, until you negotiate everything else such as floor mats, trunk liners, all the extra warranties, 25% off all parts and accessories for the first year after the purchase, and the list goes on only limited by your imagination and wants.

Incorrect. Not all dealerships send the tinting, clear wrap and ceramic coating out. Many do it in house.... well mine did. And you will still pay way more even if they do send it out as they will hose you on the mark-up. But that's fairly obvious.
As far as the extended warranty goes I could not be bothered to read all the BS and fine print let alone shell out for it when I'm likely not going to own the car for 5 years anyway. With the 5-year power train warranty I feel I'm good. If there is not an abundance of other crap breaking in the first 3 years on the B2B warranty you are probably going to be ok as it's a corvette, not a logging truck. Short of replacing the engine I can't think of much that would cost more than the extended warranty anyway...with no guarantees, they will even honor it.

 

[gone]

The dealership who has my deposit on the C8, while acknowledging I’ll be paying MSRP for the car, said they’d give a discount on the extended warranty. I plan to keep it for more than the 3 year regular warranty period so I expect I’ll extend its bumper-to-bumper warranty. As you say, the major power train issues will be covered by the 5 years, but I worry about everything else being so new including a ton of electricals (which can be very expensive to track down, let alone fix) so an extended warranty at hopefully a decent price will give me piece of mind and promote resale if, for example, I decide to sell it after 5 years with another year left on the extended warranty. I’ve found that very helpful for resale purposes on my other vehicles.

All of this, like most things, is a matter of personal preference and what you want to spend your hard-earned cash on, so I don’t knock your choice to rely upon the regular warranty. Each to his own and my comments are made to hopefully provide a helpful perspective for others on the Forum. And perhaps not with 100% accuracy or “not correct” as you so quickly pointed out, although all the dealerships I dealt with did outsource their ceramic coating and Expel Ultimate so that was my experience.

This has somewhat morphed off my main point about trying to negotiate a price on everything, before committing to the vehicle, and that applies to more than extra warranties. Dealerships apply good sales psychology to get you to buy the vehicle first THEN try and sell you on all the extras.

 

[ddgermann]

The dealership who has my deposit on the C8, while acknowledging I’ll be paying MSRP for the car, said they’d give a discount on the extended warranty. I plan to keep it for more than the 3 year regular warranty period so I expect I’ll extend its bumper-to-bumper warranty. As you say, the major power train issues will be covered by the 5 years, but I worry about everything else being so new including a ton of electricals (which can be very expensive to track down, let alone fix) so an extended warranty at hopefully a decent price will give me piece of mind and promote resale if, for example, I decide to sell it after 5 years with another year left on the extended warranty. I’ve found that very helpful for resale purposes on my other vehicles.

All of this, like most things, is a matter of personal preference and what you want to spend your hard-earned cash on, so I don’t knock your choice to rely upon the regular warranty. Each to his own and my comments are made to hopefully provide a helpful perspective for others on the Forum. And perhaps not with 100% accuracy or “not correct” as you so quickly pointed out, although all the dealerships I dealt with did outsource their ceramic coating and Expel Ultimate so that was my experience.

This has somewhat morphed off my main point about trying to negotiate a price on everything, before committing to the vehicle, and that applies to more than extra warranties. Dealerships apply good sales psychology to get you to buy the vehicle first THEN try and sell you on all the extras.

Very well said. Yes, we share a ton of information here and a great deal of it is "preferences" rather than black/white kind of things. I hope everything works out just the way you want it and your experience of owning your new C8 is pure thrills with no drama. Soon you will one of the guys who actually know what these cars are really about.

Congratulations

 

[Rebby]

I was hoping for all the different perspectives as everyone will have different priorities and different expectations on how long they plan to keep their Vette.
I was really impressed with the amount of knowledgeable information people shared which is really helping me make a better decision on what I will do when the time comes. I’m just praying that nothing changes, like TPW, and that I get my car this year.
More questions have now come up in my mind about maintenance of the car, like paint protection, scotch guarding, etc. Best for another thread.
Your help has been greatly appreciated and keep the great information coming.

 

[Tango]

I was hoping for all the different perspectives as everyone will have different priorities and different expectations on how long they plan to keep their Vette.

I have no plans on how long I want to keep it. I usually am the second last owner of vehicles I buy, when I sell them they are usually really really on it's last leg. It would be tough to trade in for a C8 in like 5-6 years. It might be impossible to do trips with so little luggage space. I plan on bringing the cat along this summer in the C7 to see my family, if that's even possible I'll have to see, no one else to take care of the cat. In a C8 forget about it.

 

[Sparro]

nope...

 

[OL Yeller]

I have no plans on how long I want to keep it. I usually am the second last owner of vehicles I buy, when I sell them they are usually really really on it's last leg. It would be tough to trade in for a C8 in like 5-6 years. It might be impossible to do trips with so little luggage space. I plan on bringing the cat along this summer in the C7 to see my family, if that's even possible I'll have to see, no one else to take care of the cat. In a C8 forget about it.

Tango, maybe your nice neighbour will take care of your house and cat while you are away, by the sounds of it he's a trustworthy guy

 

[Tango]

Tango, maybe your nice neighbour will take care of your house and cat while you are away, by the sounds of it he's a trustworthy guy

Noooooo! On special holidays when people are usually gone away like for example Christmas day when I visit my GF's family I take my work van to their house. If I go on a 4-5 day trip I bring my work van to my GF's condo and park it there. A lot safer! Now this next summer with the vette and work van that's going to be a problem coordinating where to hide it if I go more than a week end trip.

I don't care if my very rusty 1999 4Runner stays in the driveway... But the work van needs protection all the time.

About the cat, I can leave the cat indoor if I leave for a weekend. No one is able to get in the house unless they break the front windows. Breaking in by the doors is impossible, trust me unless you have a gas quicksaw or an armored vehicle with a battering ram. I leave the cat outside in a large catio and I'm going to start locking the door, a lot of pet theft on the news lately.

 

[Cariboocreek]

Well... the C8 is a new design. Not just a new model. Time only will determine wear issues, weak engineering, and poor construction practices. So if I was purchasing the first year then yes I would be getting the extended warranty. Once any model has had millions of miles of user experience and issues become apparent and are resolved, then I believe the argument for extended warranty lessens.

That all being said I purchased the extended 7 year warranty on my new C7. These vehicles are less likely to have a mechanical issue than they are to have a “digital” issue. Computer replacements are expensive.

To each their own. Good arguments for or against.

 

[Cruzin]

If keeping car any length of time beyond the factory warranty I definitely would get an Extended Warranty as parts and labor are very expensive. If reading the fine print remember to bring a magnifying glass with you, print purposely made small to deter people from checking what is or not covered. One has to do their homework, and negotiate the price.

 

[Kev]

Lots of info and opinions on this thread. I'll just say this: If they sell it, it's to make money out of it.

 

[Cariboocreek]

Lots of info and opinions on this thread. I'll just say this: If they sell it, it's to make money out of it.

.....including the car....

 

[tyho]

Many years ago when vehicles were basically all mechanical it was much easier and affordable to repair parts because you simply remove the part, fix or replace it and the car works. Now the mechanicals rely on computers to make them function correctly. Car mechanics have to be part computer technicians to figure out the workings of the car. Electronic diagnostics help, but still so much electronics I wouldn't want to even try fixing something other then very minor issues. C8 so new, long term real world driving wear and tear is unknown. Yes, GM does their testing but it's still not 30,000 plus cars a year, from the assembly line, in the hands of garage queens to hard core track drivers. If it was my car and I plan on keeping it past the 3 years, I would negotiate the extended warranty.

 

[Cruzin]

Negotiate extended warranty without a doubt, to at least half of what the dealer wants. Dealers in the business to make money every way they can .

 

[OttawaKev]

Negotiate extended warranty without a doubt, to at least half of what the dealer wants. Dealers in the business to make money every way they can .

Do we do this when we are picking up our rig? As nothing like this was talked about when I put in my build. First time new car guy here!

 

[Cariboocreek]

Do we do this when we are picking up our rig? As nothing like this was talked about when I put in my build. First time new car guy here!

Yes. When you finish the bill of sale paperwork, when your car is delivered, the dealer will hit you up for extended warranty, wrap, interior protection plan, and likely rustproofing. Many dealers will have the paperwork finalized with the warranty.

 

[Rruuff Day]

Do we do this when we are picking up our rig? As nothing like this was talked about when I put in my build. First time new car guy here!

If you want the warranty, negotiate hard. If they don't drop at least 1500 off their first quote, wait 3 years until the bumper to bumper is almost up and buy it then. They make $$$$$$ off of extended warranty sales. Don't buy the wrap, the interior protection, and of all things on an aluminum frame composite body car, the rust protection...lol.... Aftermarket PPF wrap will give you a better job at less money... JMO

 

[gone]

I note people saying a "sizeable reduction" should be obtained for the cost of any extended warranty. For all the vehicles I've purchased in the past (except Mercedes, despite my so-called "tough negotiating"), I have managed to get a good discount. But with the C8 and for the longest available GM extended warranty period (going up to 7 years, from the initial 3 years) I was only offered a discount of less than 10% and the dealer wouldn't budge from there. To be fair, I don't have the car yet and the dealer said when it arrives, they might provide a better discount. In response to my comment that there was more room to move and the dealer had a fairly sizeable profit, I was told "the mark-up isn't as much as you think". Does anyone know approximately what the mark-up is or whether there's a standard discount that most people are getting? It strikes me the dealers are doing OK with full MSRP for the 2020's, so they'd have more room to move on the extended warranty. With people now taking delivery of their C8's, pricing for the extended warranty should be known. I hope this is an appropriate discussion for the Forum...

 

[OttawaKev]

I note people saying a "sizeable reduction" should be obtained for the cost of any extended warranty. For all the vehicles I've purchased in the past (except Mercedes, despite my so-called "tough negotiating"), I have managed to get a good discount. But with the C8 and for the longest available GM extended warranty period (going up to 7 years, from the initial 3 years) I was only offered a discount of less than 10% and the dealer wouldn't budge from there. To be fair, I don't have the car yet and the dealer said when it arrives, they might provide a better discount. In response to my comment that there was more room to move and the dealer had a fairly sizeable profit, I was told "the mark-up isn't as much as you think". Does anyone know approximately what the mark-up is or whether there's a standard discount that most people are getting? It strikes me the dealers are doing OK with full MSRP for the 2020's, so they'd have more room to move on the extended warranty. With people now taking delivery of their C8's, pricing for the extended warranty should be known. I hope this is an appropriate discussion for the Forum...

Ask EJ and Morgan in this as well is there a 3rd party we could see if we could get an extended warranty, not through the dealership?