Extended warranty - Brightline Dealer Advisors

[perpetuality]

I got my Lightning a little over a month ago and purchased an extended warranty from Brightline. Normally, I never sign up for things like this, but this big, beautiful, expensive, high-tech truck got me a little paranoid. Now I'm having second thoughts and considering canceling it. What are everyone's thoughts? Should I keep this extended warranty or cancel it?

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[TaxmanHog]

You might want to compare cost & coverage with a FORD based plan, that can be bought from Granger Ford online!

 

[StevenC56]

I would never buy an extended warranty from anyone other than the manufacturer. After working in Service at a Automotive dealership for 22 years and then 18 years at a Motorsports dealership, I wouldn't touch a third party warranty with a 10 foot pole.

 

[ScubaSteve_TheReal]

I cancelled my 3rd party Brightline ESP and was refunded all but $500ish if memory serves after about 14 months when I let that particular lightning go. Didn’t like the mandatory deductible mine had as it was bought from far away dealership with truck for one thing if warranty was ever used at any other dealership. Other thing was it failed to cover some things such as my LED headlamp enclosures tail lamps light bars, etc. I’m going to go with FORD warranty if I get another 100% of the time no questions about it.

 

[LightningB514]

I got the extended warranty and the main reason was that they bundled it with windshield and tire replacement. The windshield replacement is something I always add to my vehicles since I like in a rocky terrain area. I thought of canceling it and then going to another Ford dealership that can add just the windshield protection for a 5th of the cost. I ended up just leaving the extended warranty because I plan to keep the Lightning for at least 5 years and thought it was worth the security of not having to worry about it.
Everyone is different and may have different plans for their vehicle.

 

[StevenC56]

The problem with the 3rd party companies is that job 1 to them is trying to find something to deny what failed being covered. Then if that doesn't work for them, they make life difficult for the servicing dealer to get paid for the repairs. Many dealers will tell you that you have to pay for the repairs yourself, and then you can try to get your insurance to reimburse you. This is because they have dealt with the insurance company before and are tired of playing games and wasting time trying to get paid from these shyster companies.

 

[ScubaSteve_TheReal]

To be fair on OEM ESPs they have only treated me as good as there service department is.
I’ve had great service departments find a way to get it done, while I’ve had others not.
I am still planning on getting the FORD ESP from one of the folks I’ve seen selling them around the forum here at some point.
As the saying goes “everyone’s mileage will vary”…when it comes to these sorts of things, good luck.

 

[StevenC56]

To be fair on OEM ESPs they have only treated me as good as there service department is.
I’ve had great service departments find a way to get it done, while I’ve had others not.
I am still planning on getting the FORD ESP from one of the folks I’ve seen selling them around the forum here at some point.
As the saying goes “everyone’s mileage will vary”…when it comes to these sorts of things, good luck.

With the Manufacturers I worked with, filing an extended warranty claim was just like filing an "in warranty" claim. I would imagine Ford's ESP works the same way. Easy peasy for the dealer.

 

[RocketGhost]

Only buy a manufacturer's warranty, in this case Ford Protect. Get it from a dealer like Granger who sells online for potentially thousands less than your local dealer.

 

[broncoaz]

Only buy a manufacturer's warranty, in this case Ford Protect. Get it from a dealer like Granger who sells online for potentially thousands less than your local dealer.

I agree, but remember that in a few states like Florida and California only in state dealers are allowed to sell extended warranties.

 

[flyct]

Cancel the warranty and get your money back.

I am one who never buys an extended warranty. I look at it as the same as I look at any other insurance policy. If you can afford the loss don’t buy the insurance

Only 10-15% of car extended warrantees are ever used. Even those that use then rarely have repairs that exceed the cost of the warranty itself. Of course a very few beat the odds and will be able to collect a major repair cost, like a lottery winner.

Better to put the premium money in an interest bearing account.

 

[broncoaz]

Cancel the warranty and get your money back.

I am one who never buys an extended warranty. I look at it as the same as I look at any other insurance policy. If you can afford the loss don’t buy the insurance

Only 10-15% of car extended warrantees are ever used. Even those that use then rarely have repairs that exceed the cost of the warranty itself. Of course a very few beat the odds and will be able to collect a major repair cost, like a lottery winner.

Better to put the premium money in an interest bearing account.

I disagree with not buying the warranty on new vehicles. I’ve been a four time lottery winner in the past, so my experience is different. These trucks are rolling computers with bunches of sensors and electronics that can fail. Something like a bad touch screen or radar sensor can cost nearly as much as the warranty for a single repair. How much are the light bar repairs when they fail?

As individual owners we have a sample size of n=1, so one may get a great truck or a problematic one. When I was buying fleet trucks for a company with n=50 or more in a single model I didn’t but the warranties as statistically they didn’t pay out. I can afford to pay for the repairs, but I’m willing to gamble 4% of the cost of the truck that it won’t be perfect and the warranty will at least cover its costs during the warranty period. I do like the piece of mind of knowing I won’t have to pay more than the $50 deductible I choose for what could be a $$$ repair. If I’m wrong then I paid for insurance I didn’t use, but we do that all the time to indemnify ourselves from risk. If I resell the truck after 36K miles the warranty adds value or can be cancelled, the warranty can no longer be added for a reasonable price after a certain point (41K miles?).

 

[StevenC56]

I have a theory that when I buy an extended warranty on a vehicle, I'm paying upfront to the "Warranty Gods" so that nothing will go wrong with my vehicle while it's under the warranty age and mileage on the contract LOL!

 

[perpetuality]

Lots of good input in this thread!

 

[flyct]

I disagree with not buying the warranty on new vehicles. I’ve been a four time lottery winner in the past, so my experience is different. These trucks are rolling computers with bunches of sensors and electronics that can fail. Something like a bad touch screen or radar sensor can cost nearly as much as the warranty for a single repair. How much are the light bar repairs when they fail?

As individual owners we have a sample size of n=1, so one may get a great truck or a problematic one. When I was buying fleet trucks for a company with n=50 or more in a single model I didn’t but the warranties as statistically they didn’t pay out. I can afford to pay for the repairs, but I’m willing to gamble 4% of the cost of the truck that it won’t be perfect and the warranty will at least cover its costs during the warranty period. I do like the piece of mind of knowing I won’t have to pay more than the $50 deductible I choose for what could be a $$$ repair. If I’m wrong then I paid for insurance I didn’t use, but we do that all the time to indemnify ourselves from risk. If I resell the truck after 36K miles the warranty adds value or can be cancelled, the warranty can no longer be added for a reasonable price after a certain point (41K miles?).

I hate the "What If" logic the dealer F&I guys pitch. They try to sell replacement key fob insurance, door dent insurance, VIN etching on the glass, Flat Tire service, nitrogen tire fill ups. glorified $1,000 car wax, overpriced gap insurance, etc.

The only value an extended warranty (AKA ESP) would have for me is it would give my wife a sense of security if anything goes wrong. It's really not a warranty, it is insurance. That is why you can't buy a policy in Florida at discount internet dealers. Florida classifies ESPs as insurance policies and to sell them you must be licensed in Florida to sell them.

It's just like Life Insurance. It should be called death insurance. You are betting that you will die early. If they called it what it actually is, "Death Insurance" no one would buy it. That is a bet you don't want to win. When you buy an ESP you are betting that your car/truck will have significant break downs after the factory warranty ends that will exceed the thousands of dollars you paid to get the policy.

BTW, it's not n=1 for me it's n=4.

If I were to buy a 7yr/125k mile Ford ESP at a discounted price, it would cost $6,500 for just my 2 Ford trucks.

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