Extended Warranty: yes or no?

[DenMan]

My wife and I are about to purchase our first Airstream, a 2020 classic 33. Comes with a 3 year from Airstream. Would anyone mind weighing in on purchasing an extended warranty? Good idea or not? Thanks Den and Flo

[lsbrodsky]

First of all, all of the appliances and doo-dads are under their own manufacturer warranty so I do not know whether the extended you are talking about covers that stuff. Most of my failures have been with that non-Airstream stuff.
Secondly, it depends on whether you intend to do your own repairs. If so, most items won't cost a lot except time and aggravation. I have only had one major problem that would have been covered by an extended warranty; it would not have been worth the cost of an extended warranty. On this forum, you can read a lot about leak problems, cabinet problems, and so on, but those show up before the end of the warranty period. Airstream doesn't warranty wear and tear like leaking caulk so as has long been said about extended warranties, they are really never cost effective.
Larry

[BigSxyWhtGuy]

Personally No. that’s a dealer add on and would only work for that particular dealer. I have a two year warranty that is up this December. All of our kinks are seemingly working out. I would image that 3 years through the factory will be plenty!

Usually the extended stuff isn’t as comprehensive as the original. You’ll like the 3 year. It’s bumper to bumper and wonderful.

[Isuzusweet]

The problem with extended warranties is the way they're packaged, selling a five year extended warranty......but you're really only purchasing a two year warranty, because the first three years are OEM warranty.
IMHO, save your money, get to intimately know the systems in your trailer and invest in a good tool kit; extra fuses, wire ties, connectors, and a great circuit tester that can energize circuits off a battery.

You have a choice, don't learn and wait long wait times, (weeks, possibly months of downtime for service), and loose value vacation spots or time; OR get knowledgable, proactive and show that wife of yours what a real man is, by saving the day, (or vacation), by learning to fix it yourself.
Trust me, knowing your rig and how to fix it, is empowering.[emoji41]

Cheers
Sidekick Tony

[DenMan]

Originally Posted by Isuzusweet

The problem with extended warranties is the way they're packaged, selling a five year extended warranty......but you're really only purchasing a two year warranty, because the first three years are OEM warranty.
IMHO, save your money, get to intimately know the systems in your trailer and invest in a good tool kit; extra fuses, wire ties, connectors, and a great circuit tester that can energize circuits off a battery.

You have a choice, don't learn and wait long wait times, (weeks, possibly months of downtime for service), and loose value vacation spots or time; OR get knowledgable, proactive and show that wife of yours what a real man is, by saving the day, (or vacation), by learning to fix it yourself.
Trust me, knowing your rig and how to fix it, is empowering.[emoji41]

Cheers
Sidekick Tony

Lol!! [emoji123] Thanks Tony... I like it. Good advice. Thanks again!

[DenMan]

Originally Posted by BigSxyWhtGuy

Personally No. that’s a dealer add on and would only work for that particular dealer. I have a two year warranty that is up this December. All of our kinks are seemingly working out. I would image that 3 years through the factory will be plenty!

Usually the extended stuff isn’t as comprehensive as the original. You’ll like the 3 year. It’s bumper to bumper and wonderful.

Appreciate your weigh in. Thank you!

[DenMan]

Originally Posted by lsbrodsky

First of all, all of the appliances and doo-dads are under their own manufacturer warranty so I do not know whether the extended you are talking about covers that stuff. Most of my failures have been with that non-Airstream stuff.

Secondly, it depends on whether you intend to do your own repairs. If so, most items won't cost a lot except time and aggravation. I have only had one major problem that would have been covered by an extended warranty; it would not have been worth the cost of an extended warranty. On this forum, you can read a lot about leak problems, cabinet problems, and so on, but those show up before the end of the warranty period. Airstream doesn't warranty wear and tear like leaking caulk so as has long been said about extended warranties, they are really never cost effective.

Larry

Thanks Larry, appreciate it.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

These days you can extend the warranty on just about anything you buy. There are a lot of outfits that have done analysis on the "payback" on a wide range of these plans. Doing the analysis isn't all that easy. There are all sorts of exclusions and a lot of overlapping coverage (as noted above). Their pretty much uniform conclusion across a wide range of products - not worth it.

My own experience: Standing at the counter at Camping World one day and listening to the guy talk on the phone rather than waiting on me. He reads of a *very* long list of repairs needed on a trailer ( I have no idea what brand, but it needed a lot of work ...). Each item is read off. Each line is followed by the statement " called your warranty people and they will not cover this one ". There are maybe three dozen items run through, I don't recall *any* of them being covered. Eventually somebody comes out from the back and waits on me. I leave and the other guy is still reading from the list .....

Bob

[drbrick]

My experience with extended warranty is like lighting your camp fire stove with dollar bills. However, if the money is burning a hole in you pocket I can recomment several Charities that can benefit from the gift rather the Airstream Inc.

[gary1burke]

Got 7 year Easy Care warranty 3 years ago, tried to use it to cover bowed axle issue (discussed on this site). Not covered. I tend to agree with above negative opinions, but wife felt it was important so...

[wavelength]

Absolutely Not! You will never recoup what you pay for the warranty. I spent 30 years in the car business and we made a lot of money from extended warranties.

[cazual6]

Are yourself why NOT?

1. Is it because you can't afford it? Then you have your answer.
2. Is it because it is not worth it? Then you have your answer.
3. Why have insurance? same concept.

[jazzmanrandy]

I understand this is a personal choice.

If you can fix it your self, the best way.

I have an Extended service plan on our RV through Cornerstone. They just replaced a fridge unit (+ $1000 expense), my cost was a $200 deductible.

I think you can take the RV to any authorized repair facility that will work with them.

In the event you want to sell your RV later, the warranty can transfer, a nice selling point in my mind. They also cover on road breakdowns, changing flats, towing, etc.

There is also the Good Sam club option. I am a member but don’t own their warranty.

https://www.cornerstoneunited.com/en...alvehicle.html

https://www.goodsamesp.com/benefits-extended-service/

[BigSxyWhtGuy]

Originally Posted by cazual6

Are yourself why NOT?



1. Is it because you can't afford it? Then you have your answer.

2. Is it because it is not worth it? Then you have your answer.

3. Why have insurance? same concept.

Answer to #3: it’s required by law [emoji12]

[Atwebs]

So far our three year warranty has covered the issues we have encountered. The local dealer is very reliable and does a good job for us and I suspect that they will continue to be great even when the coverage stops.

One consideratiion is whether you want to deal with the dealer you are purchasing from or some sort of national repair organization. We haven't been happy with generic repair folks on our old trailer and we are not sure we want one of them to touch the Airstream. But, if you are traveling extensively, national generic service is the only way to go.

Must add, we have usually been pretty disappointed with any extended warranty that we have purchased on anything...whatever happens usually isn't covered.

[PKI]

If you are financing the warranty - absolutely, no.

With a new coach and the three year warranty - no.
.....on the older models, maybe.....

The reason for an extended warranty is to increase your leverage with dealers.
.....you may reduce some cost, but you are profit for the dealer - give them some to chase.
The reason not to buy is that you will do your own maintenance and repairs.

Issues that move you to DIY
- dealer service is busy - hard to get an appointment
- dealer service may be good or bad
- when you do it, you know what was done and why
- you learn a lot about your coach
- upgrades cost less

Issues that deter you from DIY
- you may not have skills
- the actual work may take longer
- you have $$$, but not the time to do the labor
- you will, over time, start to spend $$$ on upgrades

My advice in the past was to buy the warranty to develop a relationship with the dealer service Dept and to defer DIY repairs until more knowledge is developed. With the current 3 year warranty, that logic is not valid. Put the $$$ in the bank and add similiar for future requirements. Use the existing warranty when things fail. Learn how to DIY so you can when you don't have a warranty.

Note - OP may have made their decision. Post is for general information.

OP - Good luck with your new trailer. Hope to see you down the road with a smile. Pat.

[Countryboy59]

Originally Posted by BigSxyWhtGuy

Answer to #3: it’s required by law [emoji12]

Not on a trailer it isn’t. Unless it’s financed, in which case the bank requires it.

[ajwbarnard]

We bought an extended warranty with our first Classic. Never had a claim on it, but we made sure to get everything fixed in the first year. Our trailer was totaled. We got the majority of it back. When we went to purchase the replacement, we were not going to buy an extended warranty, but Colonial advised it because the non-AS parts are not covered under 3 year warranty. This extended warranty was considerably cheaper, like one third the price. So we bought it. I was under the mistaken understanding that non- AS parts like the power awning that was still not operational would have been covered, but now I have been told it would not have been. With the variety of technologies that are employed in the Classics, I think I would rather be safe than sorry. I can’t fix the Alde if it were to break, for example. The warranty is like buying insurance. You might use, you might not. It is an assessment of what you are willing to risk.

But on a side note, I also bought the extended warranty on my 2015 F150 and made that back in one repair to the sunroof. It would have cost 5K to get it fixed and I would not have had a sunroof anymore.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Countryboy59

Not on a trailer it isn’t. Unless it’s financed, in which case the bank requires it.

Hi

You *do* need liability coverage, at least in some states. Is liability / consequential damages on the trailer covered by the car/truck policy .... hmmm .... ( = trailer comes unhitched and does something nasty )?

=======

The difference between a warranty that covers a $500 repair and insurance that covers a few million dollars of lawsuit is that you likely can "absorb" the repair and keep on traveling. The lawsuit is putting you into bankruptcy unless you have a *lot* of assets.

Do liability awards run into crazy numbers in your state? Maybe they don't. That's one reason insurance costs vary state to state. If you travel all over the country, who knows which state's laws will apply in a bad situation.

Bob

[ChipB]

Originally Posted by ajwbarnard

We bought an extended warranty with our first Classic. Never had a claim on it, but we made sure to get everything fixed in the first year. Our trailer was totaled. We got the majority of it back. When we went to purchase the replacement, we were not going to buy an extended warranty, but Colonial advised it because the non-AS parts are not covered under 3 year warranty. This extended warranty was considerably cheaper, like one third the price. So we bought it. I was under the mistaken understanding that non- AS parts like the power awning that was still not operational would have been covered, but now I have been told it would not have been. With the variety of technologies that are employed in the Classics, I think I would rather be safe than sorry. I can’t fix the Alde if it were to break, for example. The warranty is like buying insurance. You might use, you might not. It is an assessment of what you are willing to risk.

But on a side note, I also bought the extended warranty on my 2015 F150 and made that back in one repair to the sunroof. It would have cost 5K to get it fixed and I would not have had a sunroof anymore.

Same here- I purchased a seven year extended warranty with -0- deductible when I took delivery of my 2018 Classic 33 in November 2017 due to the one year limit on everything electronic and electrical. I've so far used it on replacing the front power jack, repairing and replacing parts causing a propane leak, and window shade issues.

I'm in the process of trading up to the 2020 Classic 33 and have been quoted a pro-rata credit toward the new seven year warranty on the 2020 Classic 33. The earned premium (amount I actually paid for the coverage on the 2018 Classic 33 for the two years I had it) easily justified the no questions asked repairs and service I received. To each his own. I just can't see owning a "rolling earthquake" that is so heavily dependent on electrical and electronic parts and equipment without the warranty.

BTW A.J., same experience with my 2018 GMC- paid for the extended warranty with replacement of power mirrors and faulty cooling tank that both quit just outside mileage limitation in the manufacturer's warranty. The rest is gravy-

Chip

Safe Travels!