One year left of CPO, considering Century Warranty Services... Any advice?

[reyxlp]

Have absolutely loved my '06 4.8 though I have been surprised at how much work it has needed so far.

Picked her up CPO off-lease in Dec 2009 with 30k miles.

So far...:

- Mirrors replaced because they stopped folding and unfolding properly
- Alternator died, replaced
- Upper arm bushings, replaced
- Lower arm bushings, replaced
- P/S fluid leak, hose replaced
- Driver front adjustable ride height bag failed, replaced
- Frozen tie rods, replaced
- Driver headlamp (not bulb -- ballast thing?), replaced
- Fuel pump died, replaced

That's just in two years and 18k miles -- I am TERRIFIED of having this car without a warranty haha...!

Got a flyer from Costco for extended warranty program through a company called Century Warranty Services.

Anyone heard of them or have any experience with them?

I got a quote and they are NOT cheap.

To add 5 years and 60k miles of coverage...:

$0 deductible = $11,582
$50 ded = $10,596
$100 ded = $9,610
$250 ded = $7,278

They did say their coverages are so extensive, their plan is "exclusionary" -- they list what they don't cover instead of what they do cover because the list of what they do cover would be so long, blablabla, etc.

I did specifically confirm they cover all bushings and adjustable ride height suspension components. They cover most "wear and tear" items, too, except break pads, tires, and fluids.

The repairs I've done so far without CPO would easily have broken $10k if I had to pay for them myself.

At this rate, when CPO runs out at the end of this year, I'll probably have around 56k miles on the clock, so if I got their warranty then, it would take me to 116k miles and 2018. Based on repairs so far, I could easily see running up over $10k in repairs between 56k and 116k miles or 5 years, so in that sense it could pay for itself in the first two years.

Then again, as much as I love this car, I gotta ask if it's worth (or if I can even afford) that much in repair costs...

Any specific experiences with Century anyone is willing to share would be greatly appreciated and I'm also all-ears on any other feedback with regards to what I posted.

Thanks!

[motordavid]

I used to pound the table for the need of an ext warranty of some kind, on these Xs; I had one myself for 4 years through Warranty Direct. The cost then, was considerably less than many quotes now, and I only had a couple hundred bucks of covered stuff done during that 4 yr period. Just lucky, as our E53 is going on 11, and the thing just doesn't break...

I have become less enamored and less supportive of ext warranties, but I can see your reasoning, based on your 2 yr experience. My opins on your deal are:
-there are some cranked users of that 'brand', on the web, though I suspect any 'brand' of ext warranty will get it's detractors.
-Are you really gonna keep that car another 5+ years? If not, and that is very hard to predict, why not look at a 3-4 year coverage. Also, your current CPO is good through most of 2012; why are you worrying about ext warranty now, esp if you have 9-11 months to do some digging?
-Read their fine print on transmission coverage, in detail, as that is the biggest potential cost, from history on this board.
-Those deductibles are a bit stiff and their bar is set high, in my experience. Makes me go Hmmm. I would not touch a low deductible/high cost plan personally.

Some here will say any/every 3rd party warranty sucks, by WD was fine by me, though I didn't get to 'exercise it' much. At the end, it is a safety net, esp for transmission and big stuff that goes boom, imo.
GL, mD

[reyxlp]

MotorDavid:

Thanks for the reply...

I meant to keep my X for a long time. I'd been in love with the E53 since it was first introduced but couldn't afford a new one so I'd been stalking the one I'd bought for some time, specifically targetting a last model year 4.8is with all available factory options and packages, etc.

I don't think I'd buy a newer once because even if I could afford one, the size of the E53 is perfect for me. The longer E70 wheelbase is not for me, nor is the X3 styling, though much improved on the new model.

If I keep it, I would not buy the warranty until the CPO was about to expire - but I am thinking all this through now because if I decide not to keep it, I might sell the X5 now as still having a year left on the CPO would be of interest to many buyers and bring me a higher sale price versus putting her on the block a year older and with no remaining warranty.

[motordavid]

reyxlp,
I guessed that might be your situ(s), but I didn't want to project too much, ;>)
I also love our old '01 E53, and I will keep it until some catastrophic repair forces me to off it, but that may not come up anytime soon.

Difficult to offer advice on the real conundrum of yours, i.e. offing it now with some CPO left vs the later option...that decision is yours alone, but if you do decide to keep it, post-CPO, there are literally a plethora of 3rd party extended warranties out there, and some/one may have the necessary piece of mind coverage for you, without the full tilt boogie, bells & whistles pkg that the ~$7-10Gs deal offers.

And, as you draw closer to end of CPO, your needs may be different/change, but none of us can know that.
GL, mD

[Gurltech]

I bought the Chrysler Maximum Care Service contract.
It has served me well and payed for itself 4x's over.
I may even renew it if I decide to keep the car when the contract runs out in July.

My cost was around 3k but you price may vary.

This is the best after market warranty I have ever had.
Cannot say enough good things about them!

[mikeinmn]

So far so good with my 3rd party warranty. Its through Ford Premium Care. It too was around $3k for 3ys/36k miles. This was after some negotiating with the Ford dealer(I think list was around $4.8k). $100 deductable, transferable, and it too is exclusionary. Its already netted me a $8k transmission job at BMW. Thank goodness I had it because I turned it down twice while negotiating. I've only had the vehicle for 1 week when the transmission went bad, so that would have been a nasty battle with the dealer I bought the car from!