[guids]

[ QUOTE ]
No offense intended, but I would never buy an extended warranty from a third party. I would only buy it from the manufacturer.

I just purchased an Acura Care extended warranty from American Honda. Even though I live in California, I got a very good price from a dealer in Massachusetts.

If you purchase from the manufacturer (in my case American Honda), then you can have your car serviced at any authorized dealer in the country. Also, you can purchase the extended warranty from any dealer in the country (unless you live in Washington or Florida where you must purchase from an in-state dealer). I got a quote from my local dealer that was over $500 higher than the quote I got from the Mass dealer, for exactly the same coverage.

The problem with third-party warranties is that you never know if they are any good, until it's too late.

Stick with manufacturer warranties.

[/ QUOTE ]

no offence taken, this is purely a numbers game, not all cars are eligible for extended warraties from the factory, with 3rd party after markets you can have your car serviced at any shop, dealer or non-dealer, so 3rd party warranties are as good if not better in that regard. If you would have went with a GOOD 3rd party warranty you probably would have saved a lot more than what you paid w/ honda, but you are right there are pitfalls if you dont do your homework as there are a lot of operations that arent as solid as others. Plus w/ 3rd party co's you have more of a range, from drivetrain only to bumper to bumper. In all reality 3rd party companies if they are reputable are a lot better than manufacture warranties, the only real problem is that there are tons of people who would be better off w/o any warranty in general and just put that money in a savings account, but for people who dont want the hassle of worrying about their car, or in certain situations depending on the cars age, its a better option

and saying "with 3rd party warranties is that you never know if they are any good, until its too late" just means that you dont want to do your homework. Yes, manufactuer warranties are pretty much 100% reliable, 3rd parties are 75//25 in general, but finding a good 3rd party co will save you a lot more money, and be just as reliable, just for doing a little homework.