[williamsji]

My Honda dealer said to wait the three years for the Honda warranty to expire, then buy the extension.

I would not wait. As the vehicle gets older, you might find the price for the contract may go higher, then when the vehicles is in it's first 60 days of ownership. They have to let you buy one while the bumper to bumper warranty is still active, but nothing says they have to do it at a price you will like.

Also.. some states (Florida is a good example) do not allow an owner to buy a manufacturer extended warranty from an out of state dealer.. so check you state laws on this. Unfortuntely... restrictions like this give dealers the ability to block competitive pricing from across the country.

As for whether it is worth it or not.... one major mechanical, or more importantly... electrical subsystem failure during the life of the contract could easily surpass the cost of the Hondacare warranty. Treat it the same way you do insurance and assess risk that way. Honda's are generally reliable cars, but as we can see within this forum... there are always some vehicles that have component failures beyond the regular warranties that come with the purchase.

 

[williamsji]

Years ago I bought a GM 3-year extended warranty. Adding to the original GM 3-year warranty, that gave me a total of 6 years coverage.

I bought that policy from a reputable out-of-state dealer a year after purchasing my new Chevy.

Best news: I got a pro-rated refund of the unused portion of my extended warranty when I sold my Chevy after just 4 years.

Not sure if today's Honda extended warranty works the same way. But I'd definitely ask.

Yes, HondaCare policies can be refunded. first 60 days = 100% refund. After that, it is on a normal pro-rate style schedule.

Even better.... you can transfer your Honda Care policy when you sell/trade your vehicle as well. The dealer I buy from will take the residual value of your HondaCare policy on a trade-in and add that directly on top of their trade-in offer. They always ask me if I have an active HondaCare policy, though in my case I have usually burned them out on time before I trade. But I appreciate they ask and are generous with their factoring this into a trade-in offer.

For HondaCare info.. I suggest one of the many great dealer FAQ pages, such as this one: Honda Care - Everything you ever wanted to know..

The REAL VALUE in a HondaCare policy, vs a 3rd party policy (which some dealer push) is you never have to wrangle with the policy provider VS the vehicle manufacturer since it is all Honda.. and if you do your maintenance with Honda... they also have all your records online which saves any discussion about proof of maintenance.

I did some evaluations as to pricing on HondaCare policies, and even if you buy at full retail price (ie: what Honda's actuarial staff have calculated+markup for administration) you quickly figure out that Honda is not selling these to make a lot of money, they are selling them as a Quality of Ownership service for owners that want more piece of mind in terms of long term repair costs. Some dealers use HondaCare as a way to stack some profit on top of a sale, but pricing is competitive given all the dealers selling at a discount online. Honda's retail pricing is ~ equal to the cost of one major repair.. and just about everything in these modern vehicles is a major repair. And if you shop for discounts offered online.. you save even more and it gives a very clear portrayal of what Honda's break even point is with it HondaCare policies.