3rd Party Warranty?

[JFoy]

Just before Christmas, I received a post card telling me the factory warranty on my BX-25 was about to expire. It encouraged me to talk to my dealer about an extended warranty. With everything going on around Christmas, I put it off until last week. I emailed the dealer about it and was informed that I cannot get an extended warranty now since my factory warranty has expired. I was surprised, to say the least.

When I bought the BX-25, I did buy the KTAC insurance as I financed part of the tractor for five years. Honestly, I do not know the full details of the KTAC warranty but I doubt it covers stuff that breaks.

As my maintenance skills, some things I am fine doing but frankly, I let the dealership handle most of it. So, I am wondering if there are any 3rd party warranty companies and if they are any good?

Thoughts?

Thanks,
John Foy

 

[diesel85]

Here's my thoughts on it...

I've got a 2007 Ford F150 XL 2WD, bought it brand new with ~10 miles on it... I have extended the warranty to 2022. Yes, 15 years my truck will be under warranty -- There is no manufacturer that I know of that does this OR backs their product like this.

Cost of the warranty for all those years was right about at the ~$5k mark. However, it's paid for itself in the years I've had the truck. Last year the parking brake cables failed and the whole mechanism got messed up on both sides and in the truck. Cost was about $900 if I didn't have the warranty. My steering wheel made noises and binding when turning, would've cost me $600 to get it fixed. The most expensive job was a few years ago when the lower seal started leaking oil. Forgot how much that would've been. So yes, Ford lost money on this truck and the big claims were already rolling in.

I don't mind paying for it, only because my Ford dealer has treated my family well over the past 30 years. They do the job right the first time.

With that being said, warranties are hit and miss. Some people will find them an utter waste of money, only because the product works fine throughout it's lifetime OR they have technical experience to fix it. Some will need them warranties to get the product fixed all the time. So, say there are 10 people who buy warranties -- not all those 10 people are going to make out with what they spent on the warranty. So say 7 out of those 10 people use the warranty, you've got the 3 that will likely never use it. Out of those 7 people that do use it, only 3 will likely go over what they spent on the warranty. So at the end of the day, you still have 7 people that contributed to the warranty to make the guaranteer profit. At the end of the day, the guaranteer still made profit.

Since the truck is paid off, and it's in great shape, I can't see not having a warranty on it. Plus if I were to sell it/trade it, the Ford ESP is transferable.

So, for 15 years worth of warranty -- ~$5,000. Did I break even? Yes. Will you? No one can tell you this.

Give you another example -- I bought a 2003 Ford Escape, again with the ESP. Transmission blew on it 4 times within 75k. Ford covered it every single time until I got rid of it. Did Ford lose money on this deal? You betcha.

It really is hit or miss.

My buddy just saves a portion of money for "auto/tractor" repair and that's his "warranty".

Hate to say it, there is no such thing as "free", no matter how you slice it.

You might ask, why do I have an extended warranty on my truck, when I got the shop, knowledge and all the tools to fix it? Because I have enough junk to fix... That's why.

 

[timswi]

Just before Christmas, I received a post card telling me the factory warranty on my BX-25 was about to expire. It encouraged me to talk to my dealer about an extended warranty. With everything going on around Christmas, I put it off until last week. I emailed the dealer about it and was informed that I cannot get an extended warranty now since my factory warranty has expired. I was surprised, to say the least.

When I bought the BX-25, I did buy the KTAC insurance as I financed part of the tractor for five years. Honestly, I do not know the full details of the KTAC warranty but I doubt it covers stuff that breaks.

As my maintenance skills, some things I am fine doing but frankly, I let the dealership handle most of it. So, I am wondering if there are any 3rd party warranty companies and if they are any good?

Thoughts?

Thanks,
John Foy

One thing--KTAC is insurance, not a warranty.

 

[JFoy]

diesel85:

Sorry for the late follow-up. So, talked to the shop manager at my local dealer and he said they do not honor or recommend any 3rd party warranty companies. So I guess even if I found one, I would have to self-file the claim.

I guess I am a bit surprised as I work at a Chevrolet dealership and the finance guy is more than happy to sell an extended service plan. Guess I'll look around a bit more to see if there is anything out there.

Best to you,
John Foy

 

[diesel85]

I don't like 3rd party warranties only because for one, like you said, you file a claim. Not like Ford ESP where you go in and they just fix the vehicle.

My experience from others with 3rd party warranties on tractors, trucks, etc, is that they try to get out of paying for anything they can.

So yes, they might give you the money back to fix the engine, but not all the labor, or parts, or supplemental pieces that go along with the process.

I got a "tractor repair" fund, that's my warranty.

 

[kthompson]

To me if experts they have very good idea on the likely event of repairs on whatever they are insuring (warranty) and will price the coverage to more than cover the average machine for the average repairs. Of course if your tractor is one who has more than normal repairs you may benefit from the coverage. Now if they miss the risk and cost and run coverage too low will they be in business when/if you were to have repairs? So if they project the expected cost will be $5,000 then they must charge say $6,000 to pay for the repairs, cost of doing business and yes to make a profit. But my guess if they project those repairs to be that $5,000 the price would be at least $7,000 to be sure they make profit or in case they were low on projected cost. I do buy some extended warranties on electronics but not on mechanical equipment. Had a Kubota transmission gone into twice, paying for the repair would have been less than any extended warranty would have been.

 

[RKTractorFan]

diesel85:

Sorry for the late follow-up. So, talked to the shop manager at my local dealer and he said they do not honor or recommend any 3rd party warranty companies. So I guess even if I found one, I would have to self-file the claim.

I guess I am a bit surprised as I work at a Chevrolet dealership and the finance guy is more than happy to sell an extended service plan. Guess I'll look around a bit more to see if there is anything out there.

Best to you,
John Foy

Did you ever find any coverage?

 

[JFoy]

Nope. If the good folks here don't know about any and google doesn't find it, it just doesn't exist. Oh well.

 

[diesel85]

To be honest, my little BX2200 since 2002 has needed minimal work.

Yes, some stuff cost $$, but at the end of the day, maintenance is key.

I'm glad I didn't get the extended warranty on it. It has already paid for all of the lube jobs and diesel the machine has used in it's lifetime.

 

[jeff9366]

When I bought the BX-25, I did buy the KTAC insurance as I financed part of the tractor for five years. I do not know the details of the KTAC warranty but I doubt it covers stuff that breaks.

As my maintenance skills, some things I am fine doing but frankly, I let the dealership handle most of it.

KTAC INSURANCE
Protection ON & OFF Your Property, Transportation Included!
Covered Perils Include, But Not Limited to:
Theft
Fire
Glass Breakage
Falling Objects
Collision
Hail
Tornado
Hurricane
Flood
Vandalism
Roll-Over (upset)
Earthquake
Water Damage
Infestation

KTAC coverage is comprehensive and filing a claim is very easy. Kubota dealers, no surprise, work with KTAC on a regular basis. Kubota dealers have more confidence about being paid by KTAC than they do about being reimbursed by Kubota for warranty work.

MORE: KTAC Insurance Agency