I understand the main reason new cars are so expensive has a lot to do with the built in cost of the factory warranty. A car without any warranty for the most part is worth less than one with a warranty. We all know Jaguars are very expensive cars to repair. Although our XKs are much more reliable than earlier models, things can still go wrong. Then we come back to the "peace of mind" theme. I'm from the "peace of mind thinking" and feel more comfortable in case of the one horror story or a few expensive ones. That being said, extended warranties for our cars are still very expensive. I have the company narrowed down to Easy Care/Total Care Gold for a 6 year term. My car has less than 6,000 miles on it and will probably never make it to 30,000 miles in the six year term. 6 year/60,000 miles with $50 deductable with tax comes to around $3762. 6 year/60,000 miles with $0 deductible comes to a whopping $4584. For the $0 deductible to pay for itself over the $50 deductible, I would have to visit the dealership 2.74 times per year or a total of 16 visits over 6 years. I've only had $0 deductables on my previous cars which gave me freedom to go as often as necessary to get the problem fixed. Either term is expensive and I just have to decide which one I am more comfortable with. Of course if I sell the car early, it is refundable as well as transferable. In addition tires/wheels are covered along with roadside assistance. I plan I keeping my car for the long term. It is a big investment. What do you guys think?

 

I've had 3 warranties on 3 different Jaguars since 2004. Each of them cost at least $3800, with the one I got on the 07 XKR at $4085.

Only one of them paid out any extensive amount - the one on the 2005 XJL. I think that warranty paid about $2200 over the time we owned it. Replaced the air suspension motor, suspension parts/control arms. So, for the cost of around ~$11K I got back ~$2200. I did get a refund of about $1800 of the $4085 I paid on the 07 XKR when I traded it for the 2010 XKR, so that makes a total refund of $4K. So, that was expensive peace of mind.

If I had taken that money and saved it for use when the cars needed service I would have been much better off.

With how reliable these Jags are now, in my opinion u don't need an extended warranty. If you purchase a late model Jag and can't afford, say, a $2K repair, you most likely have bigger/more pressing problems and may need to reconsider ownership of a Jag.

 

It is indeed a dilemma. I have only purchased 2 warranties, 1 for the '03 XK8 that I never used and 1 for the SuperV8 when the factory warranty ran out. That one bought me a new throttle body, suspension components with shot bushings, headrest motors, new suspension pump & air shock, etc probably broke even on that one.

It really is a gamble. You may never use it or barely use it or something major could go wrong. These cars are very reliable, IMHO and I am ready to bet that against the cost of the warranty.

 

I work on the principle: companies don't do anything that doesn't make a profit. So, they figure that they will make more money out of me from an extended warranty than they will from random visits. And, from experience, most of the problems begin after 6 years. Plus, I can get stuff fixed cheaper at my trusty indy specialist, and I don't have to deal with the slightly irritating local Jag Authorised Repairer.

So, although Jaguar are offering me an extension of my current warranty, it just doesn't cost in.

 

3K on prepaid Amex just for "warranty situations", you'll still have money on it by the time any warranty would've expired.

 

Hi,
I too, tend to think the extended warranties are profitable only for the company offering them. I purchased one for our '04 XKR, and had a $300 deductible. Don't you know, every mishap that would have been covered was less than the $300. All of the other repairs were normal wear 'n tear. I kept the car for 10 years, before recently gifting it to my daughter. Didn't really have a lot of problems with it. One of the most expensive wear 'n tear were the brakes and rotors. The car had 78K when I handed it over to my daughter. I like to say "you pays your money you takes your choice", to follow those before.

 

I'd stick it in an interest-bearing account, but I agree with the principle if you're worried about future bills.

 

That's like $30 over 3-4 years in interest?

 

Funny isn't it! You stated what I was thinking.....
I'd just keep a credit card handy with a low/no balance. Or, what I've used for many big time purchases is something called " Bill me Later". It's a program, wherein, you have 6 months to pay off the balance before interest charges begin to accrue.

 

I had two factory extended warranties for my G35. The first one paid for itself many times over, while the second one didn't, but I did get back my pro ration when I sold the car. In that case it was a wash, but it could have gone the other way as owners were replacing engines and transmissions. My feelings are for the Jaguar it would only take one major failure (engine,trans,infotainment system) and the warranty would have already paid for itself. . If I don't use it, that's ok as well as I'm not crazy about having my car repaired and bringing it into service. I guess I look at it as catastrophic insurance for the big things that hopefully won't occur. The insurance for the tire/wheel damage is nice as well as our wheels are expensive to replace. Once again, for me it's peace of mind for 6 years. Although it seems like a lot, $3762 for 6 years of coverage ($50 deductible) is really not terrible. Having just 6,000 miles helped keep the premium down.

 

I have propably owned some 30 cars in my life, I never had a $3,000 repair on any of them. That includes high priced vehicles such as Mercedes (had to replace air suspension bags and motor something like $900 after 6 years and 80,000 miles), Porsches and Jags.
We all do things to live comfortable if an insurance policy provides that for you go for it.
What I do not understand is paying all this money for cars that do not get driven. A 2010 with 6,000 miles??? Why, who are you saving this car for? I bought my XKR-S in January and had the worst Winter here in the DC area I can remember with literally one snow storm a week and snow on the ground until the next one hits. We still have 3 foot snow hills from a storm 3-4 weeks ago yet I have put some 2,500 miles on the car and I only drive it on the weekend.

I would be very hesitant to pay $3,800 for potential repairs and not drive the car. Just keep the money in a separate savings account in case something happens. The worst thing for any mechanical machine is to just sit. Generators are a prime example, those that constantly run do their 1,500 hours without a problem get overhauled and chugg along. Emergency generators that just sit fail when you need them.

 

I guess it may be different where you are. At 1.5% compounding over 4 years, more like $184 - and no tax if you put it in a tax-free account (we have accounts called ISAs over here; you can put over £5k in them per year, and all interest is tax-free).

 

That may be another reason not to buy the warranty. You are not going to put enough wear and tear on any of the major components to increase the odds of something failing.

I would however "exercise" and maintain it so it does not fall to failures from lack of use.

 

The so-called "extended warranties" are underwritten by insurance companies who have no legal connection with Jaguar. By most definitions these warranties are insurance policies. However, they are completely unregulated by governmental agencies that protect consumers from insurance company abuse.
Sometimes, you will see an extended warranty offered by the mfg, which is a true extended warranty.
Urge you actually read the warranty before you sign up. Take a copy home and spend some time with it. Carefully evaluate the exclusions, and the "normal wear & tear" definitions.
Typically extended warranties are "sold" by the financial people at the dealership. You will have a mandatory sales pitch when completing the paperwork. Not sure what the markup is on these policies, but it will vary and is probably huge. Dealerships will often have several policies available; and usually hype the one that is most profitable to them. The premiums on these policies are negotiable. You can also buy these policies on line.
In the final analysis the question is whether to insure or "self insure".

 

Financing and add-on's like this is where the dealership makes the money. Actual sale on the car is not such a high margin unless the manufacturer is kicking back money that is not reflected on the invoice. Kick back is not the right term, but I forget what it is called. A buddy of mine has a car dealership.

 

In Florida, the VSC or extended warranty premiums are regulated by the State. All the dealerships charge the same premium. I did a fair amount of research before deciding on Easy Care/Total Care Gold as it is fairly popular with the Porsche Community as well as Jaguar. I understand it is an insurance company,(APCO located in Georgia) but they have a good rating with very few complaints. Can't say that about most aftermarket extended vehicle warranties. My Infiniti on the other hand did offer Factory Extended warranties through Infiniti. That was a great deal and I was able to get factory coverage for a total of 11 years. (4 when new and another 7 after the original factory ran out) Unfortunately most European cars only offer 3rd party, but I agree it's important to do research, and I have certainly done that. I probably know the actual contract by heart!