[Jimbuffalo]

Hope this helps: I'd not seen this discussed elsewhere.

Backstory: Have been driving Touaregs for 10 years. I had a 2005 that I supported with a 100,000 mile extended warranty. It came in handy more than once, easily paying for itself from 50,000 to 104,000 miles. Happy I spent the dollars for it.

Fast forward a few years, I purchased a 2013 TDI and elected to back it as well with a 10/100000 warranty.

The least expensive, longest term price available at the time of purchase was if you selected your policy before the odometer struck 10000 miles. Many have done this, as the costs for the extended warranty increased as your mileage approached 24000 and, again, at 36000 mile levels.

Since I had planned to run the 2013 through that term...having platinum coverage for at least as long as the VW 0.9 financing...I figured I was all set, having secured the cheapest buy-in cost for back-pocket insurance against catastrophic repair costs.

Lo and behold, I scratched an itch and swapped the 2013 for a 2016 TDI. So here's the lesson learned:

Any "savings" I had assumed I secured by purchasing it before the 10K mark were negated by a 26.02% depreciation of value of the warranty (after 23 months) as of the time of cancellation.

For some reason, I'd assumed I'd get back the value (less a $50.00 service fee) of the contract since the car was traded in at 36000 miles. That has proven to not be the case.

While higher priced than what you'd pay at the cheapest price point (before the 10000 mark), the true price of the extended warranty is if you secure one just before the 36000 mile mark. Otherwise, the perceived "savings" you get at 10000 miles depreciate during the time when the original OEM warranty is still in effect.

Not a life altering matter, just a nit I thought I'd share. In effect I paid about 500.00 for warranty coverage that was redundant and never utilized.

Oh well. I thought some might find the math interesting...had I stayed with my original plan for the 2013, the matter would have never been uncovered.

Cheers

 

[fincher]

Good info. Obviously, you were planning to keep the 2013 so the extended warranty would kick-in.

 

[Jimbuffalo]

The point is, well, I'm not sure what the point is!

Had I kept the 2013 - there was no real reason not to (it needed new tires) - I'd have had the cheapest coverage anywhere up until 109982 miles. Cool stuff...at my usage levels, that'd have meant 6.5 to 7 years...or maybe longer to ten years if I could milk the mileage by getting an S5 convertible or something.

AT LEAST a year of no payments and warranty coverage was the initial goal.

I suppose I should read fine print. Had I known I was losing 500.00 in value on an unused platinum ex-warranty, would I have argued for another 500.00 at the time of sale? who knows? Water under the bridge. I guess I was surprised I did not get the whole amount refunded, which is silly since I am a businessman.

Someday someone might find this drivel useful. We carry on in the meantime.