I am buying and picking up my 02 Bonneville on Thursday, the dealer offered to sell me a extended warranty at their cost. A 4year 48K bumper to bumper warranty for 1820.00. Before I buy from them I want to make sure it'* a good deal. I did a search on the net and found http://www.continentalwarranty.com/g...e.php?PlanID=5 They offered to sell my a 4year 75K mile factory plus warranty for 1799. They said it is good at any GM dealer.
They said everything is covered except what'* in this list below.

As per your request here is the listed exclusions in our Lyndon Property Insurance OEM Coverage:

- Tires/wheels/wheel covers

- battery

- paint/ light bulbs/ lenses/ trim/ upholstery and vinyl tops

-Other normal maintenance service including tune ups, alignments, wheel balancing, filters, lubricants, spark/glow plugs, brake pads, linings, drums and rotors except when damaged by a covered part

-Body Panels / Rust/ Manual Clutch/ Cellular Telephones/ Video entertainment system

-Physical damage/water or air leaks
-Passive Restraint System
-Sealed Beams
-Hoses (except ac)
-Bright Metal
-Glass
-Bumpers and weather molding

Anyone have any experience buying warranties over the net? I want to get one but I want to make sure I don't buy something I shouldn't. Their offering a 30 day money back guarantee and they said to take to to the dealer to verify the coverage. If I buy this one I get almost twice the mileage coverage.

Can't comment on buying a warranty over the net. I don't suppose it'* any different from buying a warranty any other way, and would essentially depend on whether the company in question was reputable.

I can tell you this--the difference between the two extended warranties you mention could be like the difference between an HMO and real health insurance:

If the warranty the dealer is offering you is good ONLY at THAT dealer (think HMO), then it is nearly worthless, as it is in their best economic interests to "deny all claims." You must get a warranty that allows you to shop around, as it is then in the best economic interests of the shop to actually find and fix your problem.

(P.*., if what you listed are ALL the exclusions, including ALL "fine print," that'* a damn good warranty).

Continental says it is a member of BBBOnline, but when i went to BBBOnline, there'* no record of Continental anything that has to do with warranties. So, i'd do a little more research. There are tons of warranty companies out there, just find a few and do some research on them like checking BBB reports before you buy.

Also a bit of personal expeirence. My gf'* GA was purchased at a GM Dealer and we have the Premier Plus warranty which is 5 years 100,000 miles. Well the delaership changed owners and now any warranty repair at any other GM dealership now will cost a $100 Deductible. So be careful in either way you go.

Would you like some advice from a former GM service advisor? DON'T buy an aftermaket extended serivce contract. They're a pain in the @$$ for the advisor, and for the customer in some cases. Here'* one of the differences:

-Aftermarket warranty - You have a part failure, so you take it to your dealer. They're going to give you the evil eye, because they know that these companies like to argue over labor rates, labor times, and parts prices, not to mention the headaches with rental coverage. Then they may send out an inspector to look at the work, costing you valuable time. They'll often try to dodge paying altogether, or skimp on things and tell you that all of the fluids and extras are on you. All in all, usually a giant pain.

-GMPP Major Guard (the only way to go) - The tech finds what'* wrong, and tells the service advisor the labor operations out of the GM book that need to be done. Advisor calls automated line, and enters your VIN, and the labor operation code for what needs to be fixed. It gives an automated approval, and the tech does the work. No BS, no argument, no question of coverage. I've NEVER had a problem with the GMPP when I was an advisor.

There are dealers online that sell a GMPP at a substantial discount from the list price, which is what many dealers will get or try to get if they sell it to you when you buy the car. I think you car must still be under 3yr/36k to get a GMPP. By the way, the 4yr/48k may be total vehicle miles, so if it already has 25k on it, you're only getting 23k miles of extra coverage. Be sure to find out!

Dealers are likely to sell a non-GMPP warranty, as they make more profit on them. They're better for the dealer, not for you! INSIST on a GMPP if you're buying from the dealer. From the GMPP website, a GMPP for a used car must be bought at the time of vehicle purchase, so you won't be able to use the online guys, BUT you can get quotes, and use them against your dealer'* price. These things ARE negotiable, just as the price of the car is. If not, tell 'em you're going to walk. They don't want to blow a car deal over an extended warranty!

I work at a marine service center, we refuse to do work for those warranty companies. We only do work for OEM (Mercury, Yamaha) and their FACTORY extended warranties. It is such a PITA getting anything out of those extended warranty companies, all they are is an insurance company. We get a customer with a blown motor, they have to send an adjuster out there to see what the problem is, and let me tell you, they hire some dumb SOBs to do this job. Then they write you a check like 6 months later for what they think it should cost.

Way more trouble than it is worth, I'd try and see if you can get something from GM.

I'm of the same opinion and experiance as bonnevillessince62 said. After some bad experience with the aftermarket ones, I'd only go with the real manufacturers extended warr, good anwhere. The last time I bought new, 2000, it was $800 for the 6 year/100k bumper to bumper; which turned out to be a waste because my wife totalled the awd Astro after just a few months :(

You should have gotten a pro-rated refund, which after a few months would have been most of your money back.

I don't think I'll buy an extended warranty on a car again. The one time we did was on our Mountaineer because I had read so much about four wheel drives having a lot of problems. So we bought it in 2002 with a 5 year 60,000 mile warranty for $1500. I can't think of the name of the company, but they haven't been any problem so far. But we've only used it like three times for a total of a about $750. So we ended up wasting $750 on that one. They had a contingency that if we never used it we would get the $1500 back.

A 4yr/48K warranty for $1820 is not a good deal IMO (compared to what I have). But I guess it depends on what problems you may have with the car later on that will determine if it pays for itself or not.

I bought a 12 Year - 100,000 mile warranty, that covers darn near everything, for $1799. I've had to use it twice, got the issues fixed at a dealer, and had no issues whatsoever. It'* called the "Guardian" warranty. I'd buy another one if I got a new car. It was offered by the dealership, and is offered with all the cars they sell.