nsxt2000
11-03-2007, 01:52 AM
Acura has a good new vehicle warranty plan - four years / 50K miles. Of course there is always the option of purchasing an extended warrany for that extra comfort zone. Most in the know do not recommmend purchasing the extended warranty, at least not at the time you buy your new car. For all practical purposes the manufacturer's warranty that comes with your automobile is all that is needed.
In doing a little research prior to making this post I spoke with a couple of Acura dealerships inquiring about warranty questions. I was told that an extended warranty generally runs $1100 to $1600 depending upon which model, deductable, etc. Dealers sell the "Acura Care" warranty along with a separate independent warranty to cover various makes of used cars. The name "Zurich" was mentioned in both cases. One thing that I did discover is that Acura does not own "Acura Care" warranties. They sold that arm of the business several years ago and in fact it has since changed hands again. However, Acura does fully support "Acura Care", but I was astonished to learn that it is not an Acura product!
When your account or service records show that you are approaching the end of the manufacturer's warranty period in most cases you will be contacted and offered an "opportunity" to then buy an extension. This is assuming that your vehicle falls within mileage and condition restrictions. The decision at that point depends upon several factors including how much longer you intend keeping the car, how much trouble has it been and other issues.
When we purchased my wife's first Mercedes in the '80's the dealer convinced us to buy the extension although it was a new car - actually a wagon to be more precise, a 300TD. We did so because we were first time Mercedes buyers and didn't know what to expect in the form of repairs after the factory warranty expired and we planned to keep it many years as it was a diesel and served our pruposes. We had that wagon for almost 100k miles and I only recall using the extended warranty one time, and that savings did not cover our cost. But we had peace of mind, and that is worth something.
When I bought my first NSX again I purchased the extended warranty because like our fear with the Mercedes, I wasn't sure of future repairs and understood that some NSX repairs can be very costly. I kept that NSX for just under 100k miles and never used the warranty, so from that viewpoint it was not needed.
My current NSX, a 2000, was purchased several years ago when it only had 20+K miles and the seller, the original owner, had an extended warranty on it. He said that it was $4000 and as part of the contract when he bought the car he paid half and the dealer paid half. When we were negotiating my purchase the seller said that warranty would be included with the car. After the deal was made I tried to transfer the warranty to my name and the seller said he had second thoughts and I should pay him a separate $1000 for the transfer. (Note to self - when buying a car get every promise in writing.). I felt that unreasonable and from my experiences with my previous three NSX's unnecessary. As it turned out, Acura transfered all mechanical portions of his extended warranty to me for only a $50.00 transfer fee. What would not transfer without the seller's approval was minor interior coverage. As fate would have it, I did end up using the warranty several months ago. There was a transmission situation and the extended warranty saved me about $2000.
So as a rule I am not a big fan of extended warranties, but that is because I tend to buy Acuras. If for some unimaginable reason I was buying a Range Rover, I wouldn't leave the lot unless I had every warranty possible! I've read the Consumer Report on those things...
What do other forum members think about warranty extensions? Good? Bad? A roll of the dice?
-Mike S.
In doing a little research prior to making this post I spoke with a couple of Acura dealerships inquiring about warranty questions. I was told that an extended warranty generally runs $1100 to $1600 depending upon which model, deductable, etc. Dealers sell the "Acura Care" warranty along with a separate independent warranty to cover various makes of used cars. The name "Zurich" was mentioned in both cases. One thing that I did discover is that Acura does not own "Acura Care" warranties. They sold that arm of the business several years ago and in fact it has since changed hands again. However, Acura does fully support "Acura Care", but I was astonished to learn that it is not an Acura product!
When your account or service records show that you are approaching the end of the manufacturer's warranty period in most cases you will be contacted and offered an "opportunity" to then buy an extension. This is assuming that your vehicle falls within mileage and condition restrictions. The decision at that point depends upon several factors including how much longer you intend keeping the car, how much trouble has it been and other issues.
When we purchased my wife's first Mercedes in the '80's the dealer convinced us to buy the extension although it was a new car - actually a wagon to be more precise, a 300TD. We did so because we were first time Mercedes buyers and didn't know what to expect in the form of repairs after the factory warranty expired and we planned to keep it many years as it was a diesel and served our pruposes. We had that wagon for almost 100k miles and I only recall using the extended warranty one time, and that savings did not cover our cost. But we had peace of mind, and that is worth something.
When I bought my first NSX again I purchased the extended warranty because like our fear with the Mercedes, I wasn't sure of future repairs and understood that some NSX repairs can be very costly. I kept that NSX for just under 100k miles and never used the warranty, so from that viewpoint it was not needed.
My current NSX, a 2000, was purchased several years ago when it only had 20+K miles and the seller, the original owner, had an extended warranty on it. He said that it was $4000 and as part of the contract when he bought the car he paid half and the dealer paid half. When we were negotiating my purchase the seller said that warranty would be included with the car. After the deal was made I tried to transfer the warranty to my name and the seller said he had second thoughts and I should pay him a separate $1000 for the transfer. (Note to self - when buying a car get every promise in writing.). I felt that unreasonable and from my experiences with my previous three NSX's unnecessary. As it turned out, Acura transfered all mechanical portions of his extended warranty to me for only a $50.00 transfer fee. What would not transfer without the seller's approval was minor interior coverage. As fate would have it, I did end up using the warranty several months ago. There was a transmission situation and the extended warranty saved me about $2000.
So as a rule I am not a big fan of extended warranties, but that is because I tend to buy Acuras. If for some unimaginable reason I was buying a Range Rover, I wouldn't leave the lot unless I had every warranty possible! I've read the Consumer Report on those things...
What do other forum members think about warranty extensions? Good? Bad? A roll of the dice?
-Mike S.