Cost of Warranty

[ERG4ALL]

I leased for 39 months. My experience has been that if something is wrong at delivery the standard mfr warranty should cover it. I declined any additional warranties. My thought was that this car should have fewer things to go wrong. The car is electric and many of the engine and transmission problems should be a moot point with this car. If it works correctly at delivery there is no reason why a problem should crop up later. How many times have you had an electric motor go bad if it was working when you bought it. I have ceiling fans that have worked flawlessly for 30 years. Sure there are software issues and A/C after several years, but because I'm leasing, waiting for the 300 mile per charge LEAF, I can't see spending the money on extended warranties.

 

[myleaf]

Hi ERG4ALL,

If I was leasing for 39 months, I would also forgo the extended warranty. I never considered extended warranties in the past for the reasons that you mentioned. But since I plan to hold on to the car for a while, I am getting the warranty for 5 years after the manufacturer's 3 year warranty ends (4-8). Although as we know the battery is warranted for 8 years, and I believe the power train for 5 years ?. I also live AZ which maybe a very stressful environment for the Leaf. It is mainly for my peace of mind because in the past I have always avoided buying the first model year of a new car.

Dave

 

[electricfuture]

O.k. I discussed the differences with Nissan Santa Rosa today. Yes the link is for the Altima Hybrid – the Security Plus package (second link) is for both and you can see the one paragraph they added for the battery to use it for the Leaf.

I drilled down into what is covered and it amounts to everything electrical including the computer system, navigation, “fly by wire”, super cap, etc. plus the A/C, lights, heater … other electrical accessories. Suspension is also covered except for wearable parts.

I also confirmed once again that this is the Nissan Factory Warrantee that can be used at any Nissan dealership. The confusion in overage comes from not yet having a Leaf specific contract – as several of you have already mentioned.

Considering the reasonable price and the sophistication of the system electronics (already had the A/C glitch) – I am going for it. Note Mossy Nissan is quoting twice as much.

 

[astralfish]

Is it true that my payments for my lease will stay the same even if I cancel my extended warranty?

I bought it 3 days ago. I talked to the guy on the phone twice. He told me I can't get the money back or my monthly payments lowered, but it would be benefit me to cancel the gold-preferred plan before I buyout because the balance will go towards the lease.

Does all of this sound legit?

 

[QueenBee]

Is it true that my payments for my lease will stay the same even if I cancel my extended warranty?

Definitely cancel any warranty you bought any where but Santa Rosa, http://NissanSantaRosaServiceContracts.com (Or a similar online place). If I were you I would contact Santa Rosa directly and go over exactly how cancelling it will work, they should know how it will work and be able to assist you in a less biased way.

You might even consider not buying the warranty until you are near the end of the 36/36,000 manufacturer warranty just in case you don't end up keeping the car. I'm leasing and if I end up keeping the car I will purchase the extended warranty prior to main warranty expiring. It costs $75 more and you need to have an inspection performed but otherwise is not a problem.

[qoute]½ as much as Mossy Nissan. Mossy Nissan said this is impossible as their costs are higher than Santa Rosa’s quote.[/quote]

I have no idea why Mossy Rock and every other dealership I've been involved with claims things like that. That could be true after the 25% commission to the salesmen and the 25% commission to the finance guy. It's one of the biggest things I hate about the car dealership finance process. Something that could buy a huge amount of peace of mind, may or may not end up being financially wise but at least is spreading out the risk is completely ruined by over 100% markups. At $22.40 a month after the extended warranty for the 8 year/100k mile/0 deductible plan I think a whole lot more people would buy the warranty and be much happier with their new car as it becomes an old car.

 

[gbshaun]

During my purchase on Tuesday, the finance girl was really pushing the warranty. She asked if i was a regular on these boards, and proactively gave me a spiel about ..."some dealership which was offering the warranty for less."

I was not aware of this, so searched and found this thread discussing Santa Rosa Nissan which it appears she was referring to (thanks for the heads up! ). Her warning was quite specific that these warranties would not be honored, I believe because THEY would not be performing the required servicing.
I don't have a problem with her doing her best to sell me on something. That's her job and it's how she makes her living. I didn't purchase anything at the time, and generally never buy extended warranties, nor insurance for a potential cost that i could afford to pay out-of-pocket if I had to. However I'm still open to it for this car given the unknowns.
Has the validity Santa Rosa Nissan's warranty been established?

caveat: she didn't name Santa Rosa Nissan, and I may have misunderstood her warning.

Shaun

 

[TomT]

I leased for 48 months and likewise: I saw absolutely no point in getting an extended warranty!

I leased for 39 months. My experience has been that if something is wrong at delivery the standard mfr warranty should cover it. I declined any additional warranties.

 

[DaveEV]

During my purchase on Tuesday, the finance girl was really pushing the warranty. She asked if i was a regular on these boards, and proactively gave me a spiel about ..."some dealership which was offering the warranty for less."

Exact same here, except she also did specifically name Santa Rosa.

I was not aware of this, so searched and found this thread discussing Santa Rosa Nissan which it appears she was referring to (thanks for the heads up! ). Her warning was quite specific that these warranties would not be honored, I believe because THEY would not be performing the required servicing.

Hmm... she said to me that you HAD to buy the warranty from the dealer you bought your car from...

What really turned me off was that she was saying "it's a first year car with a lot of electronics and an expensive battery - everyone else is either leasing and/or buying the warranty" - nice job trying to convince me the car I'm signing papers on is a POS and ready to fail. Only unpleasant part of the car buying purchase w/Mossy KM (well, that and the seriously low-ball offer on my trade in - sold it for nearly double their best offer within 12 hours of listing it on craigslist but the manager at least wasn't annoying/pushy about it)

Not that any of it really mattered to me as I repeatedly tried to tell her that I was not interested - extended warranties are money makers for the companies that sell it. If it isn't a money maker - they screwed up and you got lucky.

 

[Herm]

What really turned me off was that she was saying "it's a first year car with a lot of electronics and an expensive battery - everyone else is either leasing and/or buying the warranty" - nice job trying to convince me the car I'm signing papers on is a POS and ready to fail.

You are taking food from the mouth of her kids, she's a fighter :0

 

[electricfuture]

I am repeating this from another of my post as it seems more relevant here. This is from when I picked up the car this week.:

Dealership tried 4 times (2 different people) to get me to sign their extended warrantee at pick up including adding it to the printed invoice, which I had to reject. I told them repeatedly I was getting it from Santa Rosa, whom they tried to discredit. Warning – they have paperwork that shows their “cost” to try to convince you that the Santa Rosa deal can’t be true – but it is! In the end the Finance guy admitted he had heard of ”Santa Rosa” and dropped it.

 

[ybitz]

During my purchase on Tuesday, the finance girl was really pushing the warranty. She asked if i was a regular on these boards, and proactively gave me a spiel about ..."some dealership which was offering the warranty for less."

Exact same here, except she also did specifically name Santa Rosa.

I was not aware of this, so searched and found this thread discussing Santa Rosa Nissan which it appears she was referring to (thanks for the heads up! ). Her warning was quite specific that these warranties would not be honored, I believe because THEY would not be performing the required servicing.

Hmm... she said to me that you HAD to buy the warranty from the dealer you bought your car from...

What really turned me off was that she was saying "it's a first year car with a lot of electronics and an expensive battery - everyone else is either leasing and/or buying the warranty" - nice job trying to convince me the car I'm signing papers on is a POS and ready to fail. Only unpleasant part of the car buying purchase w/Mossy KM (well, that and the seriously low-ball offer on my trade in - sold it for nearly double their best offer within 12 hours of listing it on craigslist but the manager at least wasn't annoying/pushy about it)

Not that any of it really mattered to me as I repeatedly tried to tell her that I was not interested - extended warranties are money makers for the companies that sell it. If it isn't a money maker - they screwed up and you got lucky.

Wow, she did the exact same to me too, when I bought from Mossy Nissan Kearny Mesa. She was definitely pushy and hard-selling us; it was the most unpleasant part of the car buying process. I also felt it was a big turn off when she was trying to convince me of all the electronic stuff that "will inevitably go bad" with the Leaf because it's "new technology", comparing it to things like cell phones, laptops, and other gadgets that break. She specifically said that I had to buy the extended warranty on the spot for it to be valid for the Leaf (which I don't think is true), and specifically named Santa Rosa as the place I should not buy from because it will not be honored. She was definitely using the FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) tactic which left a very unpleasant taste. I'm glad this board is here to offer unbiased opinions and advice to clear up the uncertainty.

 

[gbshaun]

I'm glad this board is here to offer unbiased opinions and advice to clear up the uncertainty.

Agree! That has been one of the most valuable aspects of this board. That and catching all the B-S that C-S gives us
I didn't personally have a problem with her making an effort. It IS her job, and I've spent time in sales myself. Hey I'm sure some people who buy the warranty she offers will have an expensive car problem, need to claim on it, and be very thankful to her. For others, giving their business to their local dealership who they know and trust is more important than possibly saving a few hundred bucks.
Each to their own.

 

[rickbecker]

I'm glad this board is here to offer unbiased opinions and advice to clear up the uncertainty.

Agree! That has been one of the most valuable aspects of this board. That and catching all the B-S that C-S gives us
I didn't personally have a problem with her making an effort. It IS her job, and I've spent time in sales myself. Hey I'm sure some people who buy the warranty she offers will have an expensive car problem, need to claim on it, and be very thankful to her. For others, giving their business to their local dealership who they know and trust is more important than possibly saving a few hundred bucks.
Each to their own.

"...a few hundred bucks" sure, but not when the local dealer's product is over TWICE the cost of Santa Rosa Nissan's. :evil:

 

[QueenBee]

If there is any job that is sleezer than a used car sales men it is the finance "managers". Everything they are saying is complete FUD. You CAN buy the warranty from any Nissan dealer. You can buy the warranty at any time as long as the car is still under warranty. There is a required service checklist that any Nissan dealer needs to be done before the warranty is activated if the warranty is not purchased around the time of the car being new.

For those leasing I think it would be a very good idea to reevaluate the warranty prior to the standard warranty expiring as if you plan on keeping it past the lease it might make a lot of sense.

When I retire I think I'm going to be an undercover salesmen FUD fighting super hero. The kind of stuff they are telling you guys has to be illegal, against FTC, and I sure hope Nissan would not be happy.

 

[DTB]

I bought my car and warranty before reading this thread and paid not just twice, but almost triple what Santa Rosa charges! Still within 30 days I went back and gave my local a dealer a chance to keep my business. I didn't ask him to beat or even meet the price, just get w/in a few hundred bucks which he said he couldn't do. So I went ahead and cancelled and will give my business to Santa Rosa.
I find Finance Managers to be the worst part of the buying experience. They are often condescending and will basically lie to your face in order to make you feel like you need or would be stupid not to buy whatever they are pitching. Why do I have to justify why I don't want the super-deluxe protectant package? - I understand that NASA uses it. And Don't get me started on why you still have to go through 6 people to complete a sale.

Anyway back to the warranty issue. I know some people say it's a waste of money and of course Nissan is making money off it because they are averaging costs over tens-of-thousands of cars and then added a bit for profit. But I don't own tenthousand cars. I own just and and if my one car happens to be the one problematic car I don't want to be stuck with open ended costs. I look at it like an insurance policy.

 

[QueenBee]

Anyway back to the warranty issue. I know some people say it's a waste of money and of course Nissan is making money off it because they are averaging costs over tens-of-thousands of cars and then added a bit for profit. But I don't own tenthousand cars. I own just and and if my one car happens to be the one problematic car I don't want to be stuck with open ended costs. I look at it like an insurance policy.

I agree 100% but you must be REALLY sold on the idea if you were willing to spend triple what Santa Rosa was offering!! I'm really glad you found this thread and were able to cancel. It's so evil that they insist on making so much money from these things :/ When I look at the Santa Rosa prices IMO it would be a poor financial decision to take on all that risk after the original warranty is over.

 

[packrat09]

Definitely cancel any warranty you bought any where but Santa Rosa, http://NissanSantaRosaServiceContracts.com (Or a similar online place). If I were you I would contact Santa Rosa directly and go over exactly how cancelling it will work, they should know how it will work and be able to assist you in a less biased way.

They're not an "online place", but Tonkin Wilsonville Nissan (Oregon) sold us the LEAF Gold Preferred 84 Month 100,000 Mile Coverage for $1015.

 

[ERG4ALL]

One time when we were being beaten about the head and shoulders by the finance guy trying to sell a $1,800 extended warranty, I said we just decided to buy this car and before we even take delivery, you're telling me it's a piece of junk. I think we'll rethink this purchase and started to get up to go. At that point he said, "Are you a member of AARP?" We said yes, and then he said, "Why didn't you say so, we can give you the special AARP discount and sell you the policy for $980". We bought the policy.

Next time I'll say I'm even a member of the "Mystic Knights of the Sea" lodge hall and see if they offer a discount as I'm getting ready to go. :lol:

 

[vgonzalez]

Can I buy extended warranty only from Santa Rosa Nissan?

You sure can. I'd also recommend trying out North Bay Nissan. Ron has been great to work with

Well, I contacted Ron from North Bay Nissan and he has agree to match and sell for "LEAF Gold Preferred 96 Month 100,000 Mile Coverage: $1,134.00" but Ron will remove the option to cancel the contract, not sure what is that about?

The good news is that my Leaf etec has arrived to North Bay Nissan and I am schedule to purchase this Sunday 7-31-2011 with 5% discount of MSR (but let's wait and see how the dealer behave).

 

[derkraut]

Can I buy extended warranty only from Santa Rosa Nissan?

You sure can. I'd also recommend trying out North Bay Nissan. Ron has been great to work with

Well, I contacted Ron from North Bay Nissan and he has agree to match and sell for "LEAF Gold Preferred 96 Month 100,000 Mile Coverage: $1,134.00" but Ron will remove the option to cancel the contract, not sure what is that about?

The good news is that my Leaf etec has arrived to North Bay Nissan and I am schedule to purchase this Sunday 7-31-2011 with 5% discount of MSR (but let's wait and see how the dealer behave).

"Removing the option to cancel the contract" means that once you sign up for the "extended Warranty", you will be stuck with it, with NO option to change your mind. My personal opinion is that the extended contract is really a waste of money. I cancelled mine after thinking about it overnight, and used the money to install Leather upholstery (looks & feels awesome), side body trim, OEM floor mats, and rear bumper protector strip. And....I have money left over.