MyFord Extended Warranty: Thoughts

[coolozzieguy]

Hi All,

I am looking at getting a new Fiesta ST, and doing a salary sacrifice over 5 years.

This means that I also want to purchase a 'MyFord' extended warranty so that I can cover the car for the two remaining years of my lease. However when you go to the Ford website, there appears to be three different kind of extended warranties. See the link below:

http://www.ford.com.au/ownership/myf...ers/warranties

I have read the PDS documents for each and found it difficult to see any real differences. I have always swayed toward the idea that an extended FACTORY warranty was usually better as this means you are not tied to a particular dealer, but all three of these seem to infer that you can go to any 'participating dealer', but it doesn't say what these are.

If you read the PDS for the third option, and select the 'advantage' option this seems to cover most of the bigger items that will cost the biggest dollars.

I know people bang on about "nah you're getting ripped off if you buy these, just take them to VCAT and they will cover it" blah blah, but with a paid system you usually get action fairly quickly, and don't have to take months fighting it.

I just fear 6 months after the warranty expires that the timing belt snaps and lunches the engine, or the gearbox lets go, or the turbo sucks itself into the manifold, etc. and I am up for a huge cost.

So my question is: Has anyone used any of these before? Have you needed them? Which of the three did you go with, and did you need to make any claims, and how were they handled?

I hope to be a blue oval owner again soon, just want to make it a pleasant one after the warranty expires.

Thanks.

[MattSAU2XR8]

I currently have one of these on my 2012 G6E Ecoboost which I bought as a one year old Ford company vehicle. Not had to use it so far though. Pretty much the same thinking as you - fairly expensive purchase and I wanted the option to keep it for an extra three years without having to pay for a ZF milkshake or climate control meltdown if it occurred. I think it cost me about $1600 to extend the time from 3 years (car already being one year old) to 6 years, with the kms remaining at 100,000. I could have got warranty up to 200,000 km for $2000 but simply won't be driving this far. It does sort of 'require' servicing at a Ford dealer which is a headache so I can probably factor in another $150 per year for this inconvenience, although Ford could not legally refuse to fix something for not using their dealer for servicing. Long story short 'peace of mind' for an extra three years is going to cost me about $700 per year, which is quite a bit, but cheaper and simpler than changing over the car.

I'd agree with you that a FACTORY warranty is the only useful type to extend since all the others will just exclude anything that is likely to break, or expensive.

I think you have to accept that any extended warranty will ON AVERAGE cost more than it is worth, else there would be no point in selling it. And if you had a million dollars in the bank you certainly wouldn't buy it, just 'insure yourself' and enjoy the profit. Also, the price of the warranty probably indicates how reliable a vehicle is expected to be - i.e. if the warranty is $2000 for an extra three years you could probably expect to cough up $1000 to $1500 for repairs over this time.

That said in particular cases the cost may be 'justifiable' or 'minimiseble:
- You are committing borrowed money to the car and need for it to remain serviceable (and potentially saleable) for the life of the loan,
- Instead of buying a 2015 XR6 for example with three years and 100 kms warranty for $33k drive away, you buy a 2014 model with 15000 kms and an extended warranty out to six years (five remaining) and 200 kms for maybe $30 k drive away. This is sort of what I did with my car :-)

I think my final take on extended warranties would be this:
- If you had more money than Ford there would be no justification for buying it
- If you pay $2000 to extend the warranty you should probably expect to get around $1000 of benefit over the life of the warranty
- If it means you can change cars half as often since the warranty lasts twice as long then you are probably going to break even since it costs way more than $1000 to arrange purchase of a new car, and the depreciation flattens off the longer you keep it.
- If you can sell the car before the warranty runs out, eg. at 5.5 years you may get a few hundred back from the buyer who can then get the car checked over to make sure nothing is about to break, before the warranty runs out.

[MattSAU2XR8]

Sorry - a simpler way of stating the above is that if you NEED a car that is under warranty, an extended factory warranty is probably better value than turning cars over more frequently :-) But the NEED only comes from the car being a relatively large purchase relative to your cash on hand.

[paule11]

We extended the factory warranty on our BF XR6 paid for itself bushes in diff, leaky transmission had to replace fluid ,hood lining ,shifter cable broke of transmission etc etc . Had a few things go wrong over the six years

[Kieron]

Re locking you into a Ford dealer for servicing, ask them to stamp the extended warranty with a clause that says something along the lines of 'vehicle can be serviced at any service centre'. I asked and got this on my Jeep's extended warranty, told them I may be moving to the country where no Jeep service centre exists.

[coolozzieguy]

Hi All,

Thanks for the replies.

The PDS for the factory and the quite thorough essentials, essentials+ and advantage both state:

In order for this warranty to remain valid, it is a requirement that your Ford is serviced in accordance to the instructions specified for the vehicle by us. It is recommended that all servicing is carried out by an authorised Ford dealer.

However the Ford dealer thing isn't a worry for me as there are a few in my area and I can live with the cost as it will be part of my salary package deal.

The thing I like about the 'advantage' version is that it is very explicit in what it covers. See the link below, pages 11-15. The other warranties are a little vague. Again, I am more concerned about big ticket items like turbo, gearbox, oil pump, etc.

Link

Thanks for the advice everyone.

[Binny]

I have the factory one that covers up to 6yr or 200,000km.
I just had a look at the book, I wouldn't say its vague. It covers everything except the battery. And the claim limit is the market value of the car.
I CBF reading through all those other ones but be careful as some of non factory warranties have a limit on the amount you can claim. If you choose the wrong one and your transmission lunches itself you could be footing half the bill anyway.

[sbutler]

Im getting myFord extended warranty simply for peace of mind.. 6 years 200,000 I think its great insurance...

[rancidpunx]

Paid $1800 for the top version for the additional 3yrs and 100000ks on our Ranger just before factory warranty ran out. It paid for itself with various claims and I am glad we took it up. It covers everything you would expect as per the original factory warranty. The others are cheaper and do not really give you any piece of mind as they only cover you for $1000 and $3000 worth of work per failure. $1k is bugger all when you look at how much Fords parts cost before you even add labour. $3k is not so bad but will still leave you deeply out of pocket on those big ticket items should they fail.

[coolozzieguy]

Originally Posted by Binny

I have the factory one that covers up to 6yr or 200,000km.
I just had a look at the book, I wouldn't say its vague. It covers everything except the battery. And the claim limit is the market value of the car.

Really? Unless it has changed since you got yours, pages 14-16 inclusive, but to highlight some...

Warranty exclusions:
14. Wheels, tyres, paintwork, panel and body work and their components, including but not limited to lamps and lamp units, weatherstrips and seals, components made of glass and or trim or decorative components.
15. Interior trim components including (but not limited to), seats and seat mechanisms, cup holders and ash trays, components made of glass and / or decorative components.
16. Any claim relating to the excessive use and or burning of oil where no mechanical failure has occurred and the condition relates to normal wear.
17. Exhaust system components including mufflers, pipes and catalytic converters.

However what you say below also has merit because the 'myFord Extended New Vehicle Warranty' one also appears to have the same coverage even though it is 'not factory.'

I CBF reading through all those other ones but be careful as some of non factory warranties have a limit on the amount you can claim. If you choose the wrong one and your transmission lunches itself you could be footing half the bill anyway.

This is why I started the thread, as there seems to be confusing and\or conflicting information and I wanted peoples advice and thoughts.

They have a 'myFord Factory Approved Warranty' and also a 'myFord Extended New Vehicle Warranty' but both say this:

Issuer: Ford Motor Company of Australia Ltd. (“Ford” or “Ford Australia”) ABN 30 004 116 223, of 1735 Sydney Road, Campbellfield Victoria 3061, referred to as “us”, “we” and “our” in this extended warranty document, issues and is responsible to you for this extended warranty.

Issuer: Ford Motor Company of Australia Ltd. (“Ford” or “Ford Australia”) ABN 30 004 116 223, of 1735 Sydney Road, Campbellfield Victoria 3061, referred to as “us”, “we” and “our” in this warranty document, issues and is responsible to you for this warranty.

After reading all three a couple of times, it seems the 'myFord Vehicle Warranty essentials, essentials+ and Advantage could be the dealer warranty, as on the inside of the front cover (a bit more hidden than the other two) is this:

This warranty is issued by us, your Ford dealer (“we”, “us” or “our”).

It just frustrates that ford seem to make something that should be easy hard.

My brother and his now wife got a Micra a few years ago, and the dealer and Nissan's documentation was very clear. Pay little for dealer only which also locks you to that dealer for all claims after three years, or pay $1500 for 'factory.'

A workmate got a Swift around the same time, and was told (with lots of 'umms', 'ahhs' and 'well-umss') the only warranty extension was the dealer one where you had to get it serviced only by them, and it had heaps of exclusions. He asked if there was another, they said no (they lied). He chatted to me about it, we looked into it further, and Suzuki did offer a factory warranty. He went back and ripped the salesman a new one, showed him the documentation and got it sorted with the now very red faced salesman. But moral of both stories, there were two clear choices.

Sorry if it seems like I am whining, just more frustrated that toilets-on-wheels like my Getz came with a 5 year warranty, and now toasters-on-wheels like Kia come with 7. Why do the manufactures that still have souls like Ford, Holden, BMW, etc still offer only three?

Anyways, thanks for the replys, will look at this again tomorrow after some sleep.

[PG2]

Originally Posted by coolozzieguy

.....Sorry if it seems like I am whining, just more frustrated that toilets-on-wheels like my Getz came with a 5 year warranty, and now toasters-on-wheels like Kia come with 7. Why do the manufactures that still have souls like Ford, Holden, BMW, etc still offer only three?

Anyways, thanks for the replys, will look at this again tomorrow after some sleep.

Mate, please come back with sort of definitive answer.

I have recently purchased a factory extended warranty that covers "everything"

VERY VERY stupid me should have read the PDS.

I was told be by the dealer ming mole that there were no limitations for claims on the warranty. When I was given the contract the limit was market value. She then told me that that figure is only there as they have to put something in there "for the computer system to recognise the contract" Stupid me despite having 15 years in the car sales industry believed her. I rang alliance a few days later and the phone operator almost laughed when I told what the ming mole had said about the claim limitation. Needless to say there is a limitation on claims.

I asked alliance for a definitive answer regarding whether I need to get the car serviced at the dealer. She became very vague and said that I should have the car serviced at a Ford dealer. When I told her to cancel the policy as I don't service through dealers no matter what she corrected herself and said that I could have it serviced anywhere but the dealer could charge me for diagnosing the problem in the first place. She was told in no uncertain terms that the dealer would not be charging for that privilege.

Ford recently have been going on about giving customers a positive experience at their dealers, however, buying the extended warranty was the most pathetic buying experience of anything that I have ever bought in my life!!!

[Trump]

PG2, is that up to market value PER CLAIM or market value all up? If per claim, unlimited claims or is there a set limit?

[PG2]

Originally Posted by Loud_Noises

PG2, is that up to market value PER CLAIM or market value all up? If per claim, unlimited claims or is there a set limit?

It's up to market value all up. You can make unlimited amount of claims but once the value of the claims hit market value you can not claim any more.

I asked if it is market value at the start of the contract or is it market value at the time of the claim. The operator was unable or just wouldn't tell me. She also couldn't tell me if it is wholesale or retail market value. My concern with this is that I own a MKII XR6 and I am realistic on the value of it. A five year old one is probably going to be worth about $10000 as a wholesale value (maybe even less depending on the public reaction of Ford Oz shutting down). My concern is if in five years the transmission milkshakes and the rear bushes go I have pretty much used up the market value of the car.

[Trump]

I've just gone through the PDS for the "myFord Extended New Vehicle Warranty" and it makes no mention of claim limits of any sorts.

Is this the warranty that you purchased PG2?

[Binny]

Originally Posted by coolozzieguy

Really? Unless it has changed since you got yours, pages 14-16 inclusive, but to highlight some...

.

I just had another look. There is nothing like that on page 14-16. And when I download the brochure from the ford website here -
http://www.ford.com.au/servlet/BlobS...=max-age=86400
Its the same as mine.
At the bottom of page 9 it says what is covered. It really does say any part of the vehicle that is found to be defective, except batteries. And the next page goes to say what your servicing obligations are. There isn't a "What isn't covered" section at all.
Have you been looking at the right one? I must say that page is confusing with the 5 different warranties on it.

[Binny]

Originally Posted by Loud_Noises

I've just gone through the PDS for the "myFord Extended New Vehicle Warranty" and it makes no mention of claim limits of any sorts.

Is this the warranty that you purchased PG2?

Mine says it on the warranty certificate that they give you with all your personal and the car's details on it.

It says -
Claim Limit - Market Value - for any one warranty claim
Warranty Limit - Market Value - total for all claims over the term of the warranty. (This ones a bit open to interpretation isn't it?)

[PG2]

Originally Posted by Loud_Noises

I've just gone through the PDS for the "myFord Extended New Vehicle Warranty" and it makes no mention of claim limits of any sorts.

Is this the warranty that you purchased PG2?

Yeah it is the extended factory warranty. I told them it didn't mention that anywhere as well. Alliance once again had no answer for me.

Just had a look at the paperwork once again and it says;

PRODUCT: myFord Extended New Vehicle Warranty

PRICE: $1495

CLAIM LIMIT: Market Value (for any one warranty claim)

WARRANTY LIMIT: Market Value (total for all claims over the term of the warranty)


EDIT: Sorry Binny just read your post and didn't realise you had posted this as well.

[Trump]

If thats the case, they can be sued for misrepresentation. The whole point of the PDS is that it discloses all of the terms and conditions of the product offered. They can't tack anything on at a whim if it isn't in the PDS at the time of offer acceptance.

[coolozzieguy]

Originally Posted by Binny

I just had another look. There is nothing like that on page 14-16. And when I download the brochure from the ford website here -
http://www.ford.com.au/servlet/BlobS...=max-age=86400
Its the same as mine.
At the bottom of page 9 it says what is covered. It really does say any part of the vehicle that is found to be defective, except batteries. And the next page goes to say what your servicing obligations are. There isn't a "What isn't covered" section at all.
Have you been looking at the right one? I must say that page is confusing with the 5 different warranties on it.

This is my whole point. We are both right, as the document, or PDS you linked me doesn't mention anywhere in the name that it is factory. The name of the document is called "myFord Extended New Vehicle Warranty". The one I was speaking about is called "myFord Factory Approved Warranty" but both list Head Office (you may even call it, for now, the 'Factory') for Ford Australia as the "issuer."

What also annoys me is that we are all car enthusiasts, are interested in these sorts of things, and even though I am an I.T Technician for a high school I have found myself over the last 5 years dealing with architects, builders, electricians and cablers for new buildings. I reckon I am pretty good at smelling a rat when it comes to contracts and clauses and what is included or not and what should or shouldn't be (my most hated word of the week) a 'variation.'

If my 56 year old mum was to walk into a Ford dealer, by a Fiesta, and ask about extended warranties, she would probably get sold magic beans and would take it as gospel because 'why would they want to deceive me? Are they not the car experts?'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QB7g9qL3LC8

[Binny]

I hear exactly what you mean.
The key is that the one I have is exactly what the name says. It is an extended NEW vehicle warranty and covers the same things. "Factory approved" is not a New car warranty, it's a used car warranty.
The way I see it is you should never even worry about dealing with Allianz like PG has been talking about.
Its a Ford warranty, you buy it off Ford. If you have an issue with the car you take it back to Ford and get them to fix it. If they push back on something you wave the Warranty certificate and the booklet they gave you under their nose and scream blue murder until they fix it. Just like you would when it is under the initial 3yr warranty. Let them sort it out with Allianz. Its their problem.
Yes I'm in I.T. as well, a Project Manager so I know all about dodgy contract clauses and suppliers over promising and under delivering.

[PG2]

Originally Posted by Binny

I hear exactly what you mean.
The key is that the one I have is exactly what the name says. It is an extended NEW vehicle warranty and covers the same things. "Factory approved" is not a New car warranty, it's a used car warranty.
The way I see it is you should never even worry about dealing with Allianz like PG has been talking about.
Its a Ford warranty, you buy it off Ford. If you have an issue with the car you take it back to Ford and get them to fix it. If they push back on something you wave the Warranty certificate and the booklet they gave you under their nose and scream blue murder until they fix it. Just like you would when it is under the initial 3yr warranty. Let them sort it out with Allianz. Its their problem.
Yes I'm in I.T. as well, a Project Manager so I know all about dodgy contract clauses and suppliers over promising and under delivering.

I have also talked to the service manager about the extended warranty. They MUST get approval from allianz BEFORE commencing any work on your car.

[sbutler]

Just spoke to a ford dealer, it will be $2450 for 3 years 200,000 for my GTP. Its a bit rich but, just think, it WILL need diff bush's within that time, & some of the other useable bits & bobs. Maybe 8in Touch screen, air con mixer, etc The reason its over 2Gs is because its a "cat 4" vehicle. what ever that means. But Im gonna shop around a bit, Ive got a card or 2 up my sleeve, so I'm hoping I can get it for under $2000.. Its cheap insurance IMO
If a ZF drops its lunch, even god forbid the motor has a problem It will more than pay for itself.
Having said that The XR has 130,000ks of trouble free motoring in it now, so in the sense, the warranty would be worthless so far. Dont ever tell me ex HWP cars are crap. Its been the best ford ive ever had & believe me Ive has a lot.. So its a toss of a coin..

[2242100]

Originally Posted by sbutler

Just spoke to a ford dealer, it will be $2450 for 3 years 200,000 for my GTP. Its a bit rich but, just think, it WILL need diff bush's within that time, & some of the other useable bits & bobs. Maybe 8in Touch screen, air con mixer, etc The reason its over 2Gs is because its a "cat 4" vehicle. what ever that means. But Im gonna shop around a bit, Ive got a card or 2 up my sleeve, so I'm hoping I can get it for under $2000.. Its cheap insurance IMO
If a ZF drops its lunch, even god forbid the motor has a problem It will more than pay for itself.
Having said that The XR has 130,000ks of trouble free motoring in it now, so in the sense, the warranty would be worthless so far. Dont ever tell me ex HWP cars are crap. Its been the best ford ive ever had & believe me Ive has a lot.. So its a toss of a coin..

Will the diff bushes be treated as a wear and tear item and not be covered, ie. they weren't defective because they lasted a normal time for these parts?

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by 2242100

Will the diff bushes be treated as a wear and tear item and not be covered?

A very good point raised as wear & tear consumable component is different to component failure as covered by Warranty.

[FLCNFAN]

I got rear diff bushes replaced under Ford extended warranty.

[coolozzieguy]

Thanks all for the info and opinions.

Seems after seeing this I will most likely go for the myFord Extended New Vehicle Warranty as this seems the best so far.

Originally Posted by sbutler

The reason its over 2Gs is because its a "cat 4" vehicle. what ever that means.

Where or how do you find out what your category is, or can this only be done after getting a quote? I couldn't find a table or similar on the site or in the PDS.

[2242100]

Originally Posted by FLCNFAN

I got rear diff bushes replaced under Ford extended warranty.

That sounds good, but was the mileage over 100,000 k's at the time of the replacement? I'm wondering if their reasoning was that the bushes should see out the distance of the new car warranty.
I guess with all these things you just need to read the PDS carefully and try to get something in writing on anything doubtful. I did that recently when I was renewing my house insurance.

[STINKY NINJA]

Just do what most do and sell before the warranty expires!

[Silver Ghia]

Easy decision not to worry about extended warranty at all.

No warranty claims made during the first 3 years, and a good look over and under I couldn't find any signs of anything amiss.

I like to look after the car myself, and not worry about whether the dealer mechanics will be doing the right thing at services. Besides I use alternate oils in the gearbox and diff, so they wouldn't be covered anyway. And the I6 engine is virtually bulletproof if looked after.

Even if the climate control plays up, I should still be well ahead.

Insurance companies supporting the extended warranty like to operate at a profit.

[sbutler]

Originally Posted by 2242100

Will the diff bushes be treated as a wear and tear item and not be covered, ie. they weren't defective because they lasted a normal time for these parts?

Wear & tear on a car with 20.000Ks.. I think not.