I figure this is not a question seen much since the F-bods died in '02.

My car is a very low mileage '02 SS (5700 miles) that I bought new in mid 2003. Since it is still under the factory B2B warranty but the clock is running out in June, I am getting the sales pitch for the last chance offers on a GM factory extended warranty.

Based on the large number of folks here owning late model F-bods, curious about your thoughts on the actual value in getting it. My car is a bone stock A4 convertable. I'd like to mod it, but loot is a little too short and will be for another couple of years. Other factor affecting the decision is we are fence sitting on selling it in favor of a larger car- but again not for a couple of years.

My initial thoughts are to keep the car and keep it stock until it is fully paid for, opting for coverage to take it out to atleast 6 total years of coverage (adding 3 from today). I've had a couple of items done under warranty so far, but mainly BS stuff, but there are folks here with much more time spent and miles driven on these cars.

Worthwhile or waste of money?

Allen

 

How much is the extended warrenty? You can get away with little mods that wont void the warrenty. If were me I would take the warrenty money and use it for something for the car. Just my $.02

 

they will fight you to the death before honoring the warranty...mod your **** off...

 

My gut tells me I can fix damn near anything that could break and treat this car like a play-toy and have fun. It's just it was damned expensive new and the warrranty would cover B2B- incliding the annoying (and expensive) stuff to fix like accessories.

The flip side to NOT having the warranty is changing stuff out (with stuff I actually want) is an easier sell to the other half if it isn't covered anymore!

Allen

 

If you want to mod it (other than a lid and catback) the warranty will be pretty much worthless (other than the accessory stuff), so it really depends how much modding you're going to do

 

5700 miles already? Save your money.

 

I was told the same thing... ...by GM...again...mod your **** off...

 

if its the GM extended warranty. i'd get it. if its any other warranty company, **** that, they are garbage and will try to void their liability when you make a claim, even on a stock car. on a modified one such as yours, most of those companies have a no mod clause, even simple stuff, and will weasel out of paying a claim. the GM extended warranty is bound by the same rules as the regular GM warranty, ie they will honor the claim unless it is obvious that a mod caused the problem.

 

I bought the GM extended warranty when I got my 2000 SS used. In the 2 years I've had the car I've had both power windows die, needed a new AC clutch (didn't know it existed untill it broke) and a new driveshaft + joints. There was a few other things, but I'm too lazy to dig out the papers. Keep in mind all this has happened in a little over 10K miles. Basically, the warranty has paid for itself. This car has ~40K on it, and it is already on it's 3rd driveshaft according to the service records.

 

you dont drive it so no you dont need an extended warranty.


it paid for itself for my SS.

 

I got it because money is tight around here, but i havent used it once

 

I'd never bother with an extended warranty. Most aftermarket warranties have a $100 deductable anyway. Window motors like to go out, but they only cost about $100. You could buy the window motor and do it yourself and not have to worry about paying for the extended warranty every month.

Most of the things that go out aren't covered by warranties anyways. (clutch, brake pads, tires.)

If you do something like put a cam in your car, the warranty company isn't going to cover basically anything in the engine compartment or the rear end.

It's better to modify your vehicle and if something breaks, fix it yourself.

 

The warranty is thru GMPP- the GM factory plan. For the cost of the Major Guard plan with <$100 deductable, it looks kind of silly paying for it compared to what seems to fail on these cars. Our SS is babied to say the least, so dropping a drive shaft or killing the rear end seems fairly unlikely as far as I can tell (based on the reports here and at CamaroZ28.com).

That is the main reason for the post- who has needed it. I was curious who else here opted for the GMPP and if it was worth it. Since the car is not a daily driver (i.e. rely on it for getting to/from work), if something does goes haywire there is no real rush to fix it. I'm thinking that if/when something craps out, I can replace with better quality/performing parts.

The general impression I get is that the LS1 drivetrain is damned reliable (except the rear-end) unless you get wild with the mods. Looking at the terms of the GMPP, true-duals, headers and new cam would void the mechanical portion anyway so I'd be hamstrung for the duration of the warranty. Also looks like a lot of folks are getting 100k+ miles with no issues (other than accessories like window motors ) as long as the routine stuff is kept up with and the cars are not beat to death.

Thanks for the replies. The offer did get me thinking (which is what the marketing folks want you to do), but in our case the ends dont seem to justify the means.

Just a couple of months on the original warranty left... time to rat-hole some bank for some winter mods.

Allen

 

Since you bought your car new I really wouldn't worry about getting the extended warranty. If you treat it right it will last for a long time. But if you want that warm fuzzy feeling then see if you can get a warranty with a little higher deductible that will lower the cost of the warranty.

I bought the extended warranty on my car because it was used and I know how people like to trash nice cars with power. I'm glad I did because before the warranty was over I had the warranty company spend $18,000 to fix my car. That included a new LS6 long block because my old one was backfiring and had loud piston slap.

They CANNOT void your warranty for stuff like a catback, lid, K&N filter, and home ported throttle body (if done correctly) by law. These are your safe mods and can be done with confidence. They tried suggesting that they might be possible causes in my case but I squashed that real quick.