First off NO extended warranty, even from the vehicle manufacturer, is bumper to bumper no matter what the slime ball in the finance dept may tell you. Under extended warranty no one covers batteries, trim items, wiper blades, brakes or light bulbs. There are some that sell a maintenance package with the policy. They cover mechanical repairs only. In other words, you must have a mechanical failure. Is your power window noisy? It's not covered until it quits working. Period. Noisy components are still working.

       Another thing to check for is what exactly does this policy I'm purchasing cover? Believe it or not, I have seen policy's that don't cover seals or gaskets. They'll cover the water pump, but you spring for the gasket...and probably the coolant too....Some policies cover power train only. No covereage for that seat motor or A/C compressor....There are usually different levels of coverage offered. READ and UNDERSTAND what coverage you are getting. I have also dealt with warranty companies that will only pay,say $85.00 per hr labor when the dealer chargers $135.00. The customer has to pay the difference. "But I have a $100.00 deductible. They told me that's all I would have to pay for repair" Not always true.

       "My warranty covers a rental car" Find out how much per day the policy covers. Most are $30-35.00 per day when repairs are covered. I have yet to see a policy that covers more than six days max. Now you may think thats a long time...Let's say your transmission goes out. You are towed to the repair shop or dealer. Obviously you didn't make an appointment. So your car may sit another day before it is looked at.  Once it is diagnosed an estimate is made and the warranty company is called. On most major repairs or repairs over $1000.00, the warranty company will send an inspector out to evaluate the car. He is there in 24-48 hrs. Once he has been there, he then has to file a report with the warranty company. Then it goes to claims for evaluation. This may take yet another day. Now the repair shop has received authorization for the trans. The repair facility needs to order it. "Oh that's coming from Mawah ,NJ. ( I'm on the west coast) It takes 2-3 days to get here. And figure in another day (at least ) to install it...We are now into what? 8 working days? You've been out of your car for 2 weeks. You get to cough up for some rental days. Sorry....

        Now I'm not saying exteded warranties are a bad thing. I have seen policy's that have literally paid for themselves twice over on a single car. I am the Asst Svc Mgr at the  Jaguar and Land Rover dealer in Hollywood and I would say you can't go wrong with and extended warranty on one of these or any vehicle.  They can be a life saver. I will say this though...The price of the policy's have almost doubled in the past year. And good warranties are instituting tougher criteria for coverage. I had a Range Rover in recently with a policy underwritten by a decent company that I deal with frequently. The car needed a transmission. They sent out an inspector (the norm here). The warranty company declined the repair because the tires were oversized in height by 1". True story. Another reason to read what you are buying. Many companies see a tow hitch on the vehicle and cancel the policy. In the case of the car that neede da trans, they did just that...gave the customer a prorated refund.....

    Soory to go so long with this...Like I said, extended warrantie can be really good. The best policy to buy is always the one offered by the vehicle manufacturer. Just be sure and KNOW what you are buying.....

                              Reid   '72 T-top