Are extended warranties generally worth it?

[samskeys]

I am a very happy owner of a 2023 Lightning I purchased 5 months ago. I didn't purchase an extended warrantee because I thought there were so few moving parts and even if I did, I'd want to shop around. So I'm just wondering on people's general opinion on their necessity for Lightnings specifically. And if you DO think they are a must, it looks like Grainger might be the most popular. Correct? This is the first NEW car I've ever owned so I've never even considered an extended warranty before. I know the battery is covered for a good amount of time already... Thoughts?
I did some searching of other threads but if there is already one like this please point me in that direction also.
Thanks!

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[RickLightning]

Dozens of threads.

Are they worth it? No.

Battery warranty cannot be extended.

 

[Zprime29]

Agree that there are lots of thread where everyone has voiced their own opinions. There is no right or wrong answer, only someone's opinion. They aren't worth it to Rick, they are worth it to me.
Ford = Fix Or Repair Daily
I bought peace of mind.

 

[TaxmanHog]

So many other systems in the truck beside the powertrain that could fail, I plan to keep this truck through the powertrain coverage, so I bought coverage for 8 years or 125,000 miles, peace of mind camp. YMMV

 

[RocketGhost]

The house wins on average. Chances are the warranty will not pay for itself. But saving money isn't the only reason people buy them. Sometimes it's for the "don't give af" if something goes wrong. I had the warranty on my last truck and when the sunroof module broke my thought was "guess I'll go take it in soon." It would have cost me $2,300, which was more than I paid for the warranty.

I think that the warranties from Granger and the other online dealers are a good enough value that I don't see why not. It may increase resale value if you sell to a private party (warranty is transferrable), and if you trade you can get a prorated refund. There's a whole lot of expensive parts in our trucks that aren't the battery.

 

[Tfarrell73]

I had a LED fog lamp go out on my GMC 1500. Dealer wanted 1k to replace 6 months out of warranty. I purchased Grainger w/lamp coverage. 1 repair and I break even on cost. This truck can not be repaired by my local shop

 

[solastobann]

Dozens of threads.

Are they worth it? No.

Battery warranty cannot be extended.

“Pretty sure” the Ford branded extended warranty extends the battery to 10 years or 150, 00 miles. My cost is $125/month. There's the language from Ford: “
PremiumCARE Plus EV
1000+
Components Covered
Includes Ford Protect PremiumCARE EV and Ford Protect Premium Maintenance EV. Covers the parts and labor to repair thousands of key components- EV motors, electrical, high-tech, steering, brakes, front suspension, air conditioning and 10 years or 150,000 miles. Failure of covered components due to defects in materials and workmanship and normal wear and tear are included. Covers routine inspections and all scheduled maintenance, plus replacement of selected wear items, including shock absorbers/struts, coolant hoses and clamps, brake pads and linings, and wiper blades.”

 

[RickLightning]

“Pretty sure” the Ford branded extended warranty extends the battery to 10 years or 150, 00 miles.

You are incorrect. The standard Ford warranty covers the battery and related components for 8 years / 100,000 miles. California (and NJ?) are 10 years / 150,000 miles I believe.

This cannot be extended by buying an extended warranty.

 

[Calvin H-C]

My 2017 Focus Electric is coming up on being seven years old and I got a six year bumper-to-bumper extended warranty. Trouble is, it was only for 100,000 km and we drive close to 25k per year, so it ran out just after five years. My bad for not checking and just assuming it was like the six year warranty we had with our ICE Focus before that which had a 150k limit.

Months after it expired, the evaporator on the A/C went. Not exactly an EV-specific component, but while I might consider going without A/C or delaying the repair in an ICE vehicle, the cooling system is important for an EV if you want to charge it even in mild weather.

We did make sure the extended warranty for the lightning was for 150k (they originally had it at 120k). We ended up getting it at the dealership we were buying the truck from, but not before telling them we wouldn't get it with the truck and would shop around.

That had them sharpen their pencils regarding the price.

 

[Montecarlossfan]

Given what other components (infotainment etc) cost … I’d say it’s a shot in the dark but I did an 8yr/100k to match the battery. I witnessed the cost for just a bad radio on my father’s ford edge($2200) . I figure there’s enough things to go wrong that in 8 yrs I’ll get my money back either way.

 

[Wesley]

Bought Ford extended warranty on our Raptor and it has paid for itself several times over. Purchased for our Lightning. A single headlamp out will almost pay for the warranty. Also peace of mind.

 

[TheBigBezo]

I also bought an extended warranty to cover me for the duration of the existing battery one. It's a new truck with new parts, if my frunk / big screen / any combo of lights / powered tailgate has issues, it's nice knowing I can have it fixed without breaking the bank.

Specifically, the big screens are cool, but 8 years is a long time and I imagine things like dead pixels or black lines will show up eventually.

 

[Grumpy2]

So many of our issues are software related.

Can we count on Ford to continue to update our software after the initial warranty expires?

I see nothing about software mentioned in the extended warranties....

 

[Monkey]

Extended warranty is not worth it…. Unless you end up needing it. If you do choose to buy one, only get the official Ford PremiumCare/ EV Care warranty. Third party plans are a waste of time. And don’t pay more than you have to.. The plans are actually not terribly expensive, but most dealerships love to mark them up a lot. Granger Ford sells the Ford warranties for $50 over cost, there’s a long running thread on it around here somewhere.

That’s who I bought my truck through and did get the Ford extended warranty along with it. However, odds are that I probably won’t need it. The three big expensive fixes on this truck that would benefit from an extended warranty are the battery, drivetrain/motors, and the infotainment system. The battery, drivetrain/motors and all the electrical components to make that work, is already covered by the 8 year / 100K mandated warranty period. So I effectively paid $1500 to cover my Infotainment, seats, and some other odds and ends for the same period. I guess the flakey power tailgate and frunk may benefit. But really…. We’ll see if it’s actually worth it.

FWIW, I did buy an extended warranty on a MINI back in 2015. Notorious for failing infotainment systems and transmission issues shortly out of warranty. I definitely used the coverage, then sold the car. My wife insisted on getting a Ford extended warranty on our ‘14 Explorer. And it was just under $550 at the time. That vehicle was in an accident and repaired. We subsequently had issues with the power folding rear seat, which was obviously still carry-over damage from the accident. But with all the finger pointing between insurance and body shop already signing off on the repairs…. We just had them fix it and charge it off to the warranty, so it saved us a $900 repair bill for a new seat motor and such.

And sometimes having the warranty just makes more sense…. like when we helped our daughter buy a ‘22 Bronco Sport, I made sure we put the Ford extended coverage on it. She’s planning to keep it for the long-haul, and had been going to school out of state, she’s home now, but entertaining job offers on the east coast. At least I know if anything happens, the car is covered for the next 70K miles.

That said, if I look at all the times I did not buy an extended warranty, I can think of only one time it may have helped me. And even with the MINI and the Explorer, after the warranty costs, I maybe came out $1500 ahead…. There’s no way it would be a net positive to me if I had bought extended coverage on all my vehicle purchases. Nearly every statistic out there points to that. The warranty underwriters are in it to make money, not fix your vehicle because they’re nice.

 

[21st Century Truck]

In my experience, on my new-bought cars since the mid 2000s, the extended warranties have either paid for themselves because of the increasing complexity and occasional failure of electronic components, which are A) usually unfixable, and B) somewhat expensive, or have overall been a wash.

On my pre-2003 new cars, they absolutely weren't worth it.

Note: "electronic components" aren't necessarily synonymous with "electric battery propulsion systems".

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