When factory warranty runs out...

...has anyone gone with an aftermarket policy. If yes, I'd love to know which one, and what your experience has been?

[elau]

My advise is to put the same amount of warranty premium in a money market account and earn a 2% interest. You may or may not need the warranty, but once you paid, the money is gone. With the money in the bank, you can withdraw for car repair whenever you need it, plus earning a few bucks of interest won't hurt either. My 2 cents.

[G-Benz]

I've done a few policies, and never had problems with claims when I made them. Most of the time it was a waste of $$$ as the cars I bought them for were purchased new and lovingly cared for during my ownership.

I found what really paid off was purchasing a plan when getting a pre-owned that was "long in the tooth". The expensive stuff starts to cause problems at that time, so the policy pays for itself in short order.

My W124 needed the A/C evaporator replaced, and the $1800+ costs to perform the repair paid for the warranty plan in its first year.

My ML was purchased new, and I still have about a year left on the factory warranty. I don't think I will get an extended one, as it has very low miles. The SL (bought used) has a couple of years left on the Starmark warranty and it has had no problems.

Bottom line is, most warranty plans do the job, but make sure you check to see what is covered...there is bumper-to-bumper and/or powertrain. Also, very little if any, is offered for cars over 100K miles (duh).

These days, a several-hour repair job or a replacement of an expensive component can easily get into the thousands of $$$. So it's a roll of the dice as to whether you think you can dodge that bullet...

Dealers won't tell you this, but in many cases, if you sell the car before the policy expiration, you can get a cash refund for the unused portion of the policy!