Very high profit area for dealers with questionable value. We were quoted $325 for the exterior and interior treatment. The one aspect that might make it worthwhile is that it included 5 year damage coverage for stains, rips, and tears. Might be worthwhile with kids in the car or spouse with screwdriver in back pocket or trees where you park (i.e. sap residue). We actually bought the 9/100 Mazda extended warranty as we see value in that for $1500 and will go the full 9 years on this car before hitting 100k miles. Apparently other dealers are quoting higher for the extended warranty. Not just Mazda, a friend bought a CR-V with Hondacare extended warranty and got it for $1400 after dealer original quoted $3,000.

 

The other approach is to invest that $1,500 in something, and then draw against it if/when unscheduled maintenance pops up.

I was coaxed into an extended warranty back in 1988 and then realized how dumb I had been. Since then my wife and I have passed on extended warranties for more than a dozen cars, and the single car where the warranty would have paid off, our 2012 VW GTI, only consumed about $1,000 more than we would have paid for the warranty. The flip side is that fund now has over $26,000 in it; this in spite of buying a new transmission for one of the vehicles (warranty would have expired at 100,000 miles, the transmission failed at 109,000 miles), and numerous other unscheduled repairs. Basically, what I'm advocating is "self insurance", over the course of a lifetime of vehicle ownership, you will virtually ALWAYS come out ahead in the end by just saying "NO" to extended warranties.

 

Always is a strong word. I had never bought one until I bought my Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland. The electronics on it scared me, so I opted for the lifetime "warranty." However, I didn't buy it from the dealer, but from MoPar for $2300, about a grand less than the dealer wanted. I tend to keep cars a long time and I've already saved about $1000 more than I spent on it.

The newer cars, with all the tech, can get very expensive, especially if they are four wheel drive (not necessarily including AWD in that category). Add in the complications of adjustable ground clearance and it can get extremely expensive.

I did not buy one for either of my Mazdas though.

 

You misunderstood my words; the "ALWAYS" was qualified as "over one's lifetime of vehicle ownership". Yes, some cars will cost more than the the extended warranty for the life of that car, but if you own say, 20 cars in your driving life and invest the money instead of buying the warranties, you will "virtually always" come out ahead. I suppose there are a few exceedingly unlucky individuals out there who might be able to buy enough bad cars for the "self insurance model" to not pay off, but hey, I've never met one, and I'd warrant nobody here on this forum has either.

 

I think that too many people that bought the MoPar Lifetime Warranty on the Jeeps did come out ahead. Chrysler quit offering it last year.

 

Interesting. We actually bought our new CX-5 to replace our aging Jeep Cherokees. (We have two Cherokees: 1 a 1999; wife's a 2000) We're keeping the Jeeps for winter duty and local use. We've loved them with the in-line 6 and AW4 trans. Not interested in the Italian influenced new generation Jeeps. The CX-5 is nearly the same weight, length/width and not too far under the Jeep's 215 hp. Time will tell, but initially we already love the Mazda.

 

I don't care for the new Cherokees either, though I love my Grand Cherokee, but it's a different beast and a lot more off-road capable. However, my wife loves the CX5 and I enjoy driving it when I can't drive the MX5 either because of weather, number of passengers or load. The Jeep is reserved for winter use and trips. It sits in the garage on a battery tender during the good weather months unless we are going on a long trip, going off-road or need to haul something large. The MX5 sits in the garage on a battery tender during the bad weather months. The CX5 gets driven all year long.