Originally Posted by BarneyZ

"Convertible tops" are among the items excluded from coverage. Does this mean just the fabric and glass part or does it include the operating hardware/mechanism?

Originally Posted by Scoobydoobydoo

Just curious, but if GMPP is no longer affiliated with GM then why are there dealers selling these plans? Wouldn't one expect them to cover only GM affiliated plans especially since, as some have suggested, you may have a difficult time with the GMPP when you bring it to the dealer.

Originally Posted by nmvettec7

From my personal GMPP policy...with Ally...purchased Jan 2015 ..$1285.00 84 month/56,005 miles w $100 deductible.

Originally Posted by meyerweb

I'm not trying to claim Ally won't honor their coverage, I'm just providing my experience trying to get any information out of them, which proved to be impossible.

My biggest problem with all of these plans is that they almost always end up costing significantly more than the benefit owners get. The most common and most expensive repairs are invariably excluded, and the final arbiter of what is covered is always the insurer, not the dealer and not the car owner. Very few people will ever have claims that exceed the cost.

Originally Posted by nmvettec7

...

Ally Financial and Ally Bank was the old GMAC Financial and GMAC Bank (General Motors Acceptence Corporation). For many years, (decades), GMAC was the main finance company for all GM products. Once GM went into bankruptcy, GMAC changed there name to Ally Bank & Ally Financial. Ally Bank is a on-line operation only with no physical bank branches located anywhere in the USA. Ally Bank is now a publicly traded company via the New York Stock Exchange.

I am very familiar with GMAC as over my 31 years in the securites business I sold millions of dollars in GMAC Smartnotes to investors. GMAC never defaulted on any of those GMAC Smartnotes despite the GM Bankruptcy.

After GM re-emerged from bankruptcy, GM decided that they would be a go-alone finance company and sell their own financing and products.

Thus GMPP still remains with Ally Financial while GMEPP now is sold direct by GM Financial.

These are 2 different companies thus 2 different extended warranty plans. As far as a long term record for selling extended warranty products over 20 years plus, Ally Financial (formerly GMAC) has sold millions of these policies on GM vehicles.

There can be, and is quite allot of confusion over these policies. I personally bought the GMPP Major Guard Warranty from Ally in Jan 2015. I paid $1285 for the 84 month/56,000 mile $100 deductible plan.

Buyers of these policies need to complete their due diligence well in advance before making a decision of what to buy. Also keep in mind that the retail markup $$ on these policies are huge. While my dealer whom I bought the C7 from offered me the same policy I bought for $1285, he stated to me his rock bottom price was $2000 and he was losing money. That claim was total BS. Be careful what you are told. Some sellers will claim, they will not charge a sales tax, or a credit card fee in order to intice you to buy from them.

There are no sales taxes on insurance policies, and in my own research in contacting many dealerships before making my final decision, none of them charged a credit card fee. While I live in New Mexico, and bought my C7 in Missouri, I bought my GMPP Policy from a dealership in Minnesota for the $1285.

As for coverage, I found the Ally Major Guard Plan covered the most items with the least exclusions.

In posts here on the CF I have posted the actual policy for anyone to read and compare. I suggest you just the search tool to find that information as I have posted my actual policy for CF members to see and read for themselves.

Be careful of the spin when buying these policies and keep in mind the huge markups and the huge commissions that each dealership and agent makes selling these products. While some may think that any one selling these polices including a CF sponsor or vendor are the lowest price point, they are not the lowest price. I strongly suggest you shop and compare pricing models of each GMPP and GMEPP before making any purchases.

Until you personally see and read the policy of each plan, anything you read here must be disseminated between fact and fiction.

There is allot of misinformation that gets posted on these policies.

Originally Posted by runner61627

Every time I start to think about getting an extended warranty, the list of exclusions appears to get longer.

Originally Posted by icntdrv55

There always seems to be the argument--and I admit, a valid one--that the extended warranties are nothing more than insurance products and as such, are structured so that the insurer "wins" and the customer/purchaser "loses"....which is no different than any other insurance product. You almost certainly carry home owners insurance for the life of your home (30-40-50 years or more) but the likelihood of your house burning down or being destroyed completely is almost nil (Note: Does not apply to CA or FL residents! LOL) Many folks carry life insurance, where you're betting you'll die and the insurance is company is betting you'll live.

With any type of insurance, it's obvious that if/when the payout rates become unsustainable, one of several things happen: 1) the company raises rates, or 2) it aggressively limits claim payments, or 3) it files bankruptcy and goes out of business. Of course, any of those things can happen with either the GMPP or the GMEPP. I recently purchased a GMEPP policy from Ken before the B2B factory warranty expired on my 2013 GS. Based on a trouble-free 2-year experience with my car so far (knocks on wood!) I doubt I'll recoup my money from the purchase but at least some the value of the insurance will come back to me when I sell the car and am able to provide the next owner with a more reassuring second-owner experience with a service policy that covers most major problems.

Originally Posted by nmvettec7

I don't believe that Ally sells the GMPP direct. They have their licensed dealers representing the product.

Originally Posted by rmorin1249

Auto "extended warranties" are basically an insurance policy but since I do plan to keep my C7 for about 7 years, knowing that the major components are protected is good enough for me. The cost of a new engine or transmission is quite high and thus worth the cost of the policy IMHO.

Originally Posted by meyerweb

That's not the point. They underwrite it, they decide what gets covered and what doesn't, and the fact that they can't tell me whether the convertible top mechanism and motors are or are not covered isn't confidence inspiring. All the vendor could tell me was "read the policy," which is vague to the point that they could deny anything related to the top. They exclude "convertible and vinyl tops." Does that mean just the top fabric? Of does it mean the frame, bearings, motors, cables, sensors, etc.? No one seems to be able to answer that question.

But the difference is the risk level involved. The cost of a house fire far exceeds the premiums you pay, and exceed most people's ability to cover out of pocket. The cost of a repair on a car rarely exceeds the cost of the policy, or the owners ability to pay. In the case of homeowners insurance, you're protecting yourself from a disaster. In the case of a service contract, you're protecting yourself from an inconvenience. And the cost of my homeowners insurance, per year, is actually far cheaper than the cost of GMPP or GMEPP.

But they don't provide their commissioned agents enough information to answer questions accurately. Would you buy a new car without knowing what engine it came with, or whether the warranty covers the top? That's what Ally wants buyers to do. They could word the exclusions clearly enough so that there was no doubt what was, and wasn't covered, but they choose not to do so. Given the number of lawyers who likely reviewed the policy documents, this isn't an oversight.

I hope the companies you represent do a better job than Ally of informing you of the details of their policies, and what is and isn't covered.

Originally Posted by nmvettec7

PegasusCapital:

Ally Financial & Ally Bank formerly GMAC has been selling these polices for many years (20+) when they were GMAC.

It would be nice to know what evidence or what due diligence you have conducted in order to make the claims above in your post.

As a financial or investment manager, you have a duty to present accurate facts when making comments like you have above.

Perhaps you can provide more information and direct sources of your comments.

Until you can provide fact vs fiction, your comments can only be considered opinions and speculation.

Originally Posted by PegasusCapital

Thank you for advising me on my responsibilities as an investment manager. If you hadn't told me I wouldn't have known that I should present facts accurately.


Chuck:

Your welcome. In your original post (#11), your provided no facts.

My evidence regarding the pitfalls of dealing with Ally Financial comes from my own personal experience on numerous matters. Specifically, I recently had to deal with them concerning vehicle warranty and lease agreements involved with the management of a trust estate for which I acted as trustee. I can sum it up by stating that it was a painful and frustrating process.

I can understand any frustrations serving as a Trustee of any trust estate. I am currently in that role handling an estate in Northern Virginia. The fiduciary roles requires full disclosure.


In addition, I have read the specific automobile warranty policy being discussed on this thread and I find it full of exceptions and ambiguities. I've also compared it with, and find it inferior to, the policy being offered by the "new" GMAC.

I am glad you completed your due diligence. That is ultra important and wise when comparing any financial asset for purchase or disposal.


If you have had favorable experience with Ally Financial then you should post information about it accordingly, but please don't question my integrity when I post about my own experience.

BTW, the fact that Ally Financial used to be General Motors Acceptance Corporation is an irrelevant piece of trivia. That are not now, and haven't been for years, connected to GM.

For over 20+ years GMAC now Ally was the main source of financing for all GM vehicles sold. During my tenure in the financial advisor industry, I sold millions of dollars of GMAC Smartnotes to clients, owning hundreds of thousands of face value myself. They never defaulted on any of these bonds. GMAC now Ally had extremely close ties with General Motors Corporation for decades. In addition GM dealers before the New GM emerged sold millions of the GMAC extended warranty policies. Only until recently did GM decide to split from the strong relationship with Ally Financial (formerly GMAC) to form their own GM Financial unit to internally finance GM vehicles and sell GM extended warranties. It made economic sense for GM to do this after there emergence from bankruptcy.

I can only assume based on your accusatory comments regarding my original post that you have purchased one of Ally Financial's extended warranty policies. If that's the case then all I can say is GOOD LUCK if ever have to make a claim.

Originally Posted by rmorin1249

The cost of a new engine or transmission is quite high and thus worth the cost of the policy IMHO.

Originally Posted by icntdrv55

I agree, but the least of my worries is the basic drivetrain components. That's pretty mundane stuff--small block V8, push rod engine, heavily vetted transmission components. Expensive to replace, yes, but not likely to give much trouble over a lifespan of 150K+ miles with normal maintenance. The big worry for me is the myriad electronic components that are all inter-connected, i.e., the stability control modules that cross-talk with the ABS/wheel speed sensors, magnetic suspension, fuel/spark management, TPS, etc. Hopefully, GM dealers are hiring more computer technicians than shade tree mechanics!