KOSletten

I recently purchased a 2016 Z51 that is out of the factory 36 month 36000 mile bumper to bumper warranty. This is my first Corvette and will most likely be the only Corvette I ever own so I wanted to have an extended warranty on it.
The only quote I had for an extended warranty before I bought the car was from Dennis Fitchner who came in at $4153 for the Platinum $0 deductible 84/70000. The selling dealer offered me $50 deductible 84/75000 plan through Ethos Group for $2363 so I went with the dealers plan. After getting home with the car and researching the Ethos Group and reviewing the plan some more I decided to give Todd Sutherland at MacMulkin Chevrolet a call and I am glad I did, he was $2250 less for the Platinum $0 84/70000 plan that DF quoted me. So I signed up with Todd Sutherland and canceled the plan I purchased from the dealer I bought my Corvette from.

KO

Frankb10

Another Happy Ending.....it pays to shop around.......
ENJOY your Corvette...

neogenesis

Just got my GMEPP from Dennis. He is great to work with. Like others have said, whether or not it is “worth” it is up to your individual risk aversion as well as your use case scenarios. Agree that for those that only drive the car on a sunny weekend for 3-4000 miles/yr, probably not worth it. For myself, I use this car as a daily driver and average 15-18000/yr. I also plan on keeping the car to 100,000K+. So I got a 6yr/100K. I chose the $100 deductible option because the price difference between the two plans (in my case) was about $400. I figured I’d have to have 4 claims under GMEPP to be at the break even point and that was a gamble I was willing to take. The other thing that pushed me to do it was the fact that this is officially backed and serviced through GM. I have had 3rd party extended warranties on used vehicles I have purchased in the past and between the hidden exclusions, and almost ridiculous hoops they make you jump through to actually get work done, most often they’re not worth the paper they’re written on.

NYVette2112

Hi Dennis,
I will be reaching out to you within the next couple of days for my 17 Grand Sport.
Thanks for your loyalty to the forum,

Chris

Dallas007

In what way will it pay for itself if you have an A8? It’s my understanding that the new fluid has resolved the A8 issues. I’m not doubting you but haven’t read of anyone spending money on a transmission repair/replacement that would exceed the cost of the extended warranty. Thanks in advance and again I’m not doubting you I’m just interested in knowing.

ROBWILKER

I believe your understanding that the new trans fluid has "solved" the A8 issues is incorrect. It has temporarily mitigated the shifting, shudder and torque converter problems in some cases, not all. Some have had the transmission & TC flush, some have had to replace the torque converter, others have had to replace entire transmission. There have been other A8 owners told to go pound sand. It may be wise to eliminate your exposure by purchasing a reputable service contract since it covers far more than the factory 60 mo./ 60 K. mile powertrain warranty.
I am a believer in automotive extended warranties. I have one on each of the eight cars & trucks in my garage and driveway. They have all paid for themselves either with eliminating repair costs, peace of mind or partial refunds upon selling prior to contract expiration. A person has to be careful and shop around to protect his own financial interest. Anyone who claims to be doing you a favor or giving you a better deal by charging you more for the same thing is simply not being truthful. Dealer personnel get incentives for volume, penetration rates and overall profit.It is not smart to pay anyone more money for the identical product (very important) because of some nebulous loyalty, similar interest (fellow Corvette owner?) or friendship issue. Regardless of who is selling the warranties, who is really acting in the customer's interest? The person who charges you more for a warranty because he "promises" to give you better or "special" service in the future, entitling him/ her to greater profit, or the person to whom you have no such claimed connection charging you minimal markup for the exact same protection product. Would you pay more for the vehicle, collision and liability insurance or for your family groceries for the same innocuous reasons? I can see why DF is pissed off at other dealers undercutting his prices. It is more difficult to take advantage of unsuspecting Corvette owners because of the stiff competition.Evaluate the reasons he feels he is entitled to more profit, it's just a sales pitch. If they are the same warranties, they are administered elsewhere by the same rules and conditions. The person who sells it, regardless of his/ her profit level, has zero effect on how claims are paid. Anyone who believes otherwise is being naive. I just purchased through my dealer an Ally 84 mo./ 56K zero deductible extended service plan on my 2019 ZR1/ ZT A8 for $1737. GM offered me a free "goodwill" 60 mo. 60K GMEPP to resolve some paint defect issues on my ZR1. I refused the service plan because it would put me in a position of having to purchase a very expensive used car service plan at the end of the 60 months.

Bill Dearborn

Not sure of how your math works. Get the 5 year GMEPP for free or purchase the Ally plan for 7 years for $1737. I have been through that route before when my Corvette had too many miles to qualify for the 7 year plan and I had to settle for a 4 year plan followed by a 30 month extension. The extra $30 months was nowhere near as expensive as the first 4 years although it did include a $50 deductible. Not even sure why you selected the Ally plan now since you could have waited till near the end of the B2B warranty and added the 7 year plan then. Sure a little more expensive purchasing at the end of the B2B warranty but you actually get 7 years of coverage instead of 4 or 5 depending on when you purchased the Ally plan.

Bill

ROBWILKER

Bill, I'll explain my math and other reasons for doing so. I was speaking in terms of my specific case without recommendation to anyone that they should do the same.First, my dealership, who I have been doing business with for the last 55 vehicles, is where I was conducting my business. Second, it was initially proposed, after a year of remediation efforts for paint defects on my 2019 ZR1, that GM provide a 7 yr., $0 deductible extended warranty for me to forego pursuing further warranty claims for the defects. I agreed to this arrangement, and much to my dismay when I received the email from GM confirming their "goodwill" resolution to this matter, I discovered the terms I had agreed to had been reduced to a 60 mo,/ 60 K mile plan. The reason I was told for the change was that they (GM) do not offer an 84 mo. plan for my vehicle. Since I plan on keeping the ZR1 quite a long time, and because it already comes with a 60 Mo./ 60 K powertrain factory warranty, I felt offended the way they handled the situation. If I accepted that, I would be put in a position of purchasing an extension (if there were no existing mechanical problems at that time.) The last time I did this, I lost two months of the new vehicle warranty and 1K miles of new vehicle coverage in addition to paying more ($2400) for an additional two years of coverage than I originally paid for the new vehicle protection plan coverage. The other option would be for me to purchase a used vehicle plan from the dealer or open market after 60 mos. I find those uncertain costs and coverage loopholes unacceptable. I have had experience with Ally plans on other Corvettes, Camaros, trucks and SUVs have and found their coverage to be as good or better than GMEPP. Also, with Ally, you do not wait 1000 miles and a month for coverage to take effect. Last May, I discussed the exclusionary mileage and periods at the beginning and at the end for an extension of GMEPP with GM representatives and they provided no legitimate reason(s) for doing this, at least in my opinion. Also, plan terms can be significantly modified with increased costs being a virtual certainty. Next, the longer one waits, and higher the existing mileage, to purchase the extended warranty plan during the bumper to bumper coverage the more expensive the the extended service contract becomes. I guess what I am saying Bill is that this is not my first time doing this. I would never be stupid and undercut myself financially or otherwise. Keep in mind GM's changed "goodwill" terms would still require me to stop pursuing the paint defect warranty claims on my new ZR1 hood. I had already planned to purchase an Ally 84 mo. extended plan before GM's proposal. I feel confident in doing so because I have been personal friends with my dealer for fifty years, I buy my plans from his F&I Manager, who is also a personal friend. I also have access to the dealer cost figures for the extended plans and I feel confident I am getting the best "fair" price anyone can get. After I have seen the sales pitches for loyalty, "working their *** off", many years of experience, and of all things being a fellow Corvette enthusiast etc., being offered as a reason for overcharging unsuspecting forum members for extended "warranty" contracts, I would never rely upon the advice of anyone else without doing the research myself. The flaw in your advice, as I see it, is that you suggested I accept the 60 mos. of GMEPP, drop thousands of dollars in potential paint defect warranty claims, then purchase the Ally 84mo. plan for the $1737.00. The Ally 84 mo., nor any other new vehicle extended mechanical protection plan, with comparable comprehensive coverage, is not available after 5 years and certainly not at the same lower cost. The expense is not what you say in your reply " Sure a little more expensive purchasing at the end of the B2B,,,,,," The cost would be, dependent on vehicle class, condition and mileage, double the cost of the initial coverage or more. The bottom line is that I feel quite comfortable with the prices I paid for MY vehicle extended coverage in my personal situation. I do appreciate your concern, experience and advice on matters in this forum and I hope that remains the same.

As a side note: Many years ago, in a former life a dealership employee, I sold the old GMPP plans. I believe in the extended warranty coverage on new vehicles and then I had a 75% penetration rate for selling the GM plans. I was successful doing this because I believed in the coverage and I sold them at fair prices. I didn't get fired for this; I was one of two people in my state GM awarded a free trip for two persons to the Super Bowl. That was Super Bowl XXIII in Miami; that's how long ago it was. I discussed with my trusted dealership friend all the experts, Gurus and critics who know what's best for everyone else and who think they have the best prices for all things automotive. All I can say is: "Do what is best and feels right for you."

HorsePower Junkie

So is there basically just the 2 guys, Dennis and Todd, to buy an Extended Warranty from?

Have any of you bought an Extended Warranty from anybody else?


.

~Stingray

Plenty of people. Almost all dealerships will sell plans. But these two are the only vetted good guys and have reasonable prices. I talked to my local dealer about buying a plan and they wanted almost 2k for the same plan Todd sold me for 900.

At 2k I wouldn't buy one.

The Successful Plumber

Buying a extended warranty is like you betting the money the extended warranty costs you, in the belief that your car is going to brake so badly, that it is going to cost you more than the cost of the extended warranty. I’d rather keep my money and take my chances.

RWDonly

I generally don’t opt to buy extended warranties either (fortunately the previous owner of my C7 already purchased an extended warranty that I was able to transfer)... but at the $1,000 or less that many on this forum reported having paid for their extended warranties, it wouldn’t take a very “bad break” for that warranty to pay for itself.

~Stingray

Normally I agree with you. But cars today, especially corvettes, are basically computers. And any given control module already nears 1k in just the parts themselves. 1k for 5 years of protection, I can live with that. You will pay more in car insurance. Even your registration fees are more expensive.

If this was a mustang or outback, I wouldn't do it.

Glennm27

I will chime in to say you and many years ago Ken F have sold me terrific warranties at terrific prices with excellent assistance when choosing which one to buy. I will be contacting you again in late 2020 to extend the warranty on my 2019 Z06 purchased 4/19.

airforcex

No.