How good is Good Sam ESP?

[Jim Pona]

I am contemplating the purchase of a Good Sam Extended Service Plan for our '07 Safari SS 25 and am seeking input from Airstreamers out there on its potential usefulness and cost effectiveness. Thoughts anyone? Thanks!

[SeeMore]

It really depends on how handy you may be (or not) and the condition of your rig. I happen to have the skills, tools, place, and time as a retiree to perform almost every imaginable issue I could anticipate except a frame-off so its not for me.

Dragging a trailer around does jiggle the innards so there will be a number of issues from time to time, most are easy fixes if you have basic plumbing, electrical, and mechanical knowledge. More complicated items can be understood from the archives here as members freely share their trials and jubilations in both words and pictures.

[Larry C]

I'm not a fan of anything Good Sam, nor Camping World. These extended service plans are very expensive, and very slanted towards the selling dealer, or company. Unless you have a very serious breakdown shortly after you buy their program, you will never come out ahead...

For whatever it's worth.

Larry

[ghaynes755]

Good question to search the internet. Now what you find will always be slanted to the negative side. Positive experiences that folks have, well they don't tend to write about those.

Another way to look at these policies is that you are BUYING EXCLUSIONS AND EXCEPTIONS. Reminds me of Steve Martin in the Jerk. When he is the guy that gives out prizes at the ball pitch and a guy says what will I when. "Well anything up there. Well not anything just the stuff on this row. Well not all the stuff on this row, just the stuff between here and here. Well not really here and here just this one item" That's why the are called Carney's....

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Jim Pona

I am contemplating the purchase of a Good Sam Extended Service Plan for our '07 Safari SS 25 and am seeking input from Airstreamers out there on its potential usefulness and cost effectiveness. Thoughts anyone? Thanks!

For 55% of the people who buy an extended service plan it's a waste of money, because they'll pay more for the plan than the plan will pay them for repairs. For the other 45%, it's a good deal because the plan will pay them more than they paid for the plan.

The reason I assume the split is 55/45, that's because the house always takes 10%. Good Sam is a for-profit enterprise, and they wouldn't offer an extended service plan at all if they couldn't turn a profit from it. Meaning they take in more money— every year— from people buying the plans than they pay out to people who actually have to use the plan.

Given my history with my Airstream, I decided that I would pay out more than I ever got back, so I have never even considered buying an extended service plan.

[MaineStreamer]

I'm not commenting for or against, because I have not participated in these programs, but I just want to point out that what Protagonist says is true of all insurance products and insurance companies. Insurance products spread risk of individuals over a large group of purchasers. Most purchasers do not make claims that give them a complete return of their investment, but purchasers who incur the actual damage to file a claim get the benefit of participating. None of us can predict whether we will be claimants or not, nor whether our claims will be sufficient to have made the investment worthwhile in any particular year.

[jcanavera]

I'm looking at the non warranty repairs done so far on my Airstream that I bought new in the fall of 2003. Currently the repairs have totaled about $600+ Looking at the cost of the extended plans we are way ahead by not purchasing. Yes it will get more likely as the Airstream ages that the big dollar items, refrigerator, air conditioner will fail. But the current quote for my trailer for Good Sam coverage is over $800 annually today. These plans for travel trailers are really losers and you can accomplish the same goal by taking that money for their plans and setting up a bank account to use for those future repairs.

Jack

[pmclemore]

I don't buy them for anything.

Pat

[switz]

Came out slightly ahead on a seven year 100,000 extended warranty for my Mercedes diesel. Crossed the miles limit before the time limit. The repairs occurred as time elapsed.

At 125,000 miles, a gasket was leaking in the valley below the intake manifold. Close to $4k for that repair as everything above the valley had to be taken off and reinstalled, Went ahead and freshened some other parts while there that would require the same process.