Any thoughts on gap and mechanical breakdown coverages?

[Wolf256]

Costco is great! My wife and I have been members for years.

I was going to buy the BS BL through the Costco Auto program, but the closest participating Ford dealer is over an hour away near D.C. -- and that's without traffic (there's always traffic). The next closest as in TN! So we did not get to the point of checking out any Costco auto warranties.

The only insurance worth getting is for potentially catastrophic losses -- life; health; home; auto (collision, comp, etc.); and/or maybe disability. There are exceptions, but generally speaking, extended warranties are a bad deal. There are some buyers who are "winners" -- and they are often very vocal, but there are a lot more losers (who generally keep quiet). Big box stores like Best Buy make more from extended warranties than they do from the products they sell.

That said, for most purchases, Costco doubles the mfr warranty (up to 2 years total), and the CITI VISA card also has its own warranty that adds an additional 2 years (up to 7 max) -- however it's unclear if the total for Costco + VISA = 3 or 4 years, because the 2 year VISA warranty starts when the *mfr's* warranty expires.

In any case, a typical purchase of (say) a TV or laptop computer will result in at least 3 years coverage, and maybe 4 -- for FREE -- plus lifetime US-based tech support, and a small rebate.

UNFORTUNATELY, none of that applies to vehicles (I checked -- hope springs eternal...).

My dealer had an extended warranty that I Looked at. I’m at an age where I don’t want to screw around with my vehicle if there is a problem. I’m enjoying adding things to it, but that’s different. ?

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[sajohnson]

My dealer had an extended warranty that I Looked at. I’m at an age where I don’t want to screw around with my vehicle if there is a problem. I’m enjoying adding things to it, but that’s different. ?

I hear ya.

As a kid, I'd lay out in the gravel in all types of weather and work on cars.

Now that I'm older I have a large garage with a 2-post lift. So I have no excuse not to do routine maint. & repairs, but I'm no longer very interested in it. That has to be some variation of Murphy's Law -- I finally have the garage I dreamed of as a teenager and rarely use it.

In any case, I still do what I can, primarily to save money and to save potential hassles, but I don't enjoy it like I used to.

That said, while being willing and able to work on vehicles is a factor when considering an extended warranty, even those who do none of their own maint. & repairs are better off being "self-insured". The underwriter holds the cards. They know, on average, the cost of repairs for every vehicle they cover. They take that, and add a fat amount to it to guarantee they make a huge profit.

That's not to say there aren't some "winners" -- of course there are. But for every winner there are many more losers -- and we don't hear from them.

It isn't that an extended warranty will never pay off, it's that the chances are much greater that it will not. Overall, people will end up ahead financially by being self-insured. That's why large corporations and organizations are often self-insured.

One reason to buy an extended warranty is peace of mind. Sometimes people just like the idea that their maximum potential repair costs are limited to the up-front cost + any deductibles. I can understand that.

Needless to say, people have to do what's best for them.