Ford ESP: Good choice or Boondoggle?

Kachadurian

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I usually keep my cars well over 100,000 miles and many years. And since the BS is a new model, I'm thinking about going with the mac daddy of ESP warranties, the 7 year/150,000miles. I have questions:

1. Has anyone used the ESP warranties? What is your experience with covering repairs? I have a "bumper to bumper" lifetime warranty on my Fiat 500 and about half the time they find a reason not to cover a repair.

2. Is ESP similar to other warranties where you can shop for them? On my last Subaru, the dealer wanted $3,500 and I found it on-line from a different dealer for $1,500.

Thanks,

Tom
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PaulOinMA

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General advice is to skip an extended warranty and just think of putting that money aside and letting it grow to be used, if needed.

But ... I purchased an extended warranty for my '14 Escape. I asked in a Ford forum and also searched. I went with Flood Ford out of RI, which is one of the companies that a lot of folks seem to use. I went 8/125 for mine.

Haven't needed it yet in 6 years.

(Sort of) Wish I had one on my wife's '12 Escape. Her Escape has needed two A/C condensers and a fuel pump. Counterpoint: the expense for these items is still significantly less than what I paid for the warranty on my '14.
 
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PaulOinMA

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Funny Flood Ford story ...

I was on the Outer Banks last year and met a neighbor that moved there fulltime from Rhode Island. I mentioned the town I live in (MA), and I could see that she was thinking. She said that they bought their Explorer form the Ford dealer in my town.

I was back on the Outer Banks in April and saw a white Escape in their driveway. They live across the street from me. Noticed that it had a Flood Ford decal on the back.

I then noticed that the vehicle was moved to the driveway of the house next to me on my side of the street.

Saw another neighbor across the street and casually commented that the other neighbor has a new Escape and it came from a RI dealership. He said that it is a surprise birthday gift for their daughter in college as she needs a vehicle for college this year. The daughter just came back from college so they moved it to another neighbor's driveway for the week until her birthday.

I then saw the neighbor across the street that bought the Escape working in her yard. Went over to say "hi" and said that I am so glad the other neighbor told me about the gift. I would have blurted out, "I see you bought an Escape at Flood Ford."
 

Group_44

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I bought The Ford ESP for my 2016 F150 Platinum within the first year of ownership. I added all the extra options the ESP plan offered for the longest term available. I shopped around online with other Ford dealers in the US and got it substantially cheaper than what was offered from my dealer. I'm glad I have it, I have used it twice and it has already paid for itself. The first time I had a sync 3 navigation module fail after it was out of factory warranty. That repair would have cost me over $2800 plus the cost of a rental vehicle while they waited for the part. The second time I lost a key fob, the fob plus reprogramming was over $500. I don't trust 3rd party warranty plans, there rules have too much room for refusing a claim. Also since ESP is through Ford, you aren't limited to what Ford dealer can do the repair. With all the electronics in the vehicles these days one repair could easily cost more than the ESP plan, not to mention a major engine repair after the factory warranty expires. Oh yeah, the warranty I bought was from Flood Ford.
 

SportWest

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Is ESP similar to other warranties where you can shop for them? On my last Subaru, the dealer wanted $3,500 and I found it on-line from a different dealer for $1,500.
Yes, you can shop them. Flood Ford is a popular seller.

Another option is 'mechanical breakdown insurance' (MBI) from GEICO, or your insurance provider's equivalent product.

I use MBI because it's cheaper (about $600 spread out over many years) than ESP and I prefer a regulated insurance product. GEICO's terms are favorable: everything is covered *except* specific exclusions, such as routine maintenance. However, MBI only goes to 7 yr/100k with a $250 deductible, no other options. And you have to keep GEICO for the lifetime of the policy; you can't switch insurers and then re-add MBI later.

In addition to total cost, I'm not sure if I'll keep the Sport past 100k miles and the savings from MBI vs ESP give me some cushion if I need a repair at say 110k miles.
 


PaulOinMA

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The neighbor mentioned above bought an ESP at Flood. She was surprised how inexpensive it was. They've bought several cars there.

The vehicle for their daughter is a used '18 with some miles on it. She attends college in the Midwest, so I think the ESP gives them some peace of mind.
 

69cuda340s

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I bought The Ford ESP for my 2016 F150 Platinum within the first year of ownership. I added all the extra options the ESP plan offered for the longest term available. I shopped around online with other Ford dealers in the US and got it substantially cheaper than what was offered from my dealer. I'm glad I have it, I have used it twice and it has already paid for itself. The first time I had a sync 3 navigation module fail after it was out of factory warranty. That repair would have cost me over $2800 plus the cost of a rental vehicle while they waited for the part. The second time I lost a key fob, the fob plus reprogramming was over $500. I don't trust 3rd party warranty plans, there rules have too much room for refusing a claim. Also since ESP is through Ford, you aren't limited to what Ford dealer can do the repair. With all the electronics in the vehicles these days one repair could easily cost more than the ESP plan, not to mention a major engine repair after the factory warranty expires. Oh yeah, the warranty I bought was from Flood Ford.
Wow I did not get an extended warrantee for my '16 F150 Platinum. Guess I am lucky nothing broke. Truck now has 27k miles sits in garage all the time. And yes the Ford warrantee is the only one worth considering. Third party warrantees those companies can file chapter 11 at any time and there goes your warrantees gone without notice.
 

Group_44

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Wow I did not get an extended warrantee for my '16 F150 Platinum. Guess I am lucky nothing broke. Truck now has 27k miles sits in garage all the time. And yes the Ford warrantee is the only one worth considering. Third party warrantees those companies can file chapter 11 at any time and there goes your warrantees gone without notice.
https://www.lombardfordwarrantys.com/

I price check about 12 but this one seems to always come up the cheapest. This is my 3rd warranty thru them and they also will reimburse if you have any left from the previous. I recommend adding the lights as an option... There are some threads talking about the price in the 2k range for repair replacement
I held off getting the ESP for a while after I bought the Platinum but read on the F150 forum about other owners having trouble with the module that controls the center display and what it cost to repair outside of warranty. I would agree with adding the light option, the LED headlight and tail light assemblies are crazy expensive and not something that is easy to replace like the regular bulbs.
 

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I held off getting the ESP for a while after I bought the Platinum but read on the F150 forum about other owners having trouble with the module that controls the center display and what it cost to repair outside of warranty. I would agree with adding the light option, the LED headlight and tail light assemblies are crazy expensive and not something that is easy to replace like the regular bulbs.
69cuda is absolutely correct. I was a Ford technician for almost 50 years. the Ford ESP Premium plan is best and is accepted by all Ford dealers, aftermarket warrantee companies find numerous ways to deny claims such as providing maintenance records even if you do your own maintenance even if your problem has nothing to do with maintenance! They also deny claims if you have add ons like lift kits, tuners, etc. Even if your problem is not related to your add-on. Also they will send an inspector who has authority to deny claims based on his opinion, and oy course you have to wait for them to show up. They will not pay for everything needed at times like oil, coolant and even gaskets. Stick with the manufacturers warranty plans.
 

Bronconumber5

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69cuda is absolutely correct. I was a Ford technician for almost 50 years. the Ford ESP Premium plan is best and is accepted by all Ford dealers, aftermarket warrantee companies find numerous ways to deny claims such as providing maintenance records even if you do your own maintenance even if your problem has nothing to do with maintenance! They also deny claims if you have add ons like lift kits, tuners, etc. Even if your problem is not related to your add-on. Also they will send an inspector who has authority to deny claims based on his opinion, and oy course you have to wait for them to show up. They will not pay for everything needed at times like oil, coolant and even gaskets. Stick with the manufacturers warranty plans.
Just to let everyone know, you can get a refund for the unused portion of your warranty on a pro-rated basis if you have not used the warranty and it is still in effect when you sell or trade the vehicle. I was able do get a $500 refund on my trade in we used on our Bronco
 


Fordfan

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I never bought them but did on my BS. Usually did 3 yr leases so everything covered. I wanna keep this bronco for at least 6 years so I did it. Had a head unit go on my Explorer and would have cost $2000 if not warrantied.All the electronic components scare me now a days
 

PaulOinMA

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Midgiesbronco

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69cuda is absolutely correct. I was a Ford technician for almost 50 years. the Ford ESP Premium plan is best and is accepted by all Ford dealers, aftermarket warrantee companies find numerous ways to deny claims such as providing maintenance records even if you do your own maintenance even if your problem has nothing to do with maintenance! They also deny claims if you have add ons like lift kits, tuners, etc. Even if your problem is not related to your add-on. Also they will send an inspector who has authority to deny claims based on his opinion, and oy course you have to wait for them to show up. They will not pay for everything needed at times like oil, coolant and even gaskets. Stick with the manufacturers warranty plans.
LOL, I'm self employed as,,,,,an inspector and there are several warranty's not worth S__t. I got a price from an out of state dealer to extend our B/S badlands with 360, badlands package etc, cost me $2100, I let our local dealer know the quote was cost plus $100 and if they wanted to make $100 for basically nothing I would buy it through them,,,the rest is history. That's the best package, low ded. and 8/125K.
 

Bronconumber5

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LOL, I'm self employed as,,,,,an inspector and there are several warranty's not worth S__t. I got a price from an out of state dealer to extend our B/S badlands with 360, badlands package etc, cost me $2100, I let our local dealer know the quote was cost plus $100 and if they wanted to make $100 for basically nothing I would buy it through them,,,the rest is history. That's the best package, low ded. and 8/125K.
Yeah, you can negotiate the price on the warranty and you can purchase it anytime before the basic expires.
 

stoopidrookie

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The Ford brochure says “Costs or expenses for the teardown, rental expense, inspection or diagnosis of failures not covered by this Agreement.” https://www.factoryplans.com/assets/cms/files/brochure_PremiumCARE.pdf

I get that rental expense is separate, but the inspection or diagnosis language seems to give Ford a lot of wiggle room. Does anybody have experience with actually using the warranty? I’m afraid of hearing “sure,we can replace the turbo under warranty, but it cost $400 to inspect and diagnose the problem.”
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