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Author Topic:   Extended Warranties ?
John O posted 02-06-2003 06:21 PM ET (US)   Profile for John O  
Just bought a new 2001 merc 75 hp classic with the standard year warranty.I paid 3800.00 plus 200 to ship. 4k invested. I would like some feedback on extended warranties.
Dick posted 02-06-2003 07:11 PM ET (US)     Profile for Dick  Send Email to Dick     
That's a difficult question to answer and there are several factors to consider.

That motor has been around long enough that I would expect it to have any problem, if it's going to have one, early.

What is the extended warranty going to cost? Will the dealer discount it to you? There is a tremendous mark up on the warranties. Working for the dealer at the time I was able to get the Merc Q Guard 3 year extended warranty for $100.00 on my Merc 50 4 stk.

Along with the Merc Q Guard there are several aftermarket warranties available.
The aftermarket warranties in most cases have less coverage and are harder to get payment from.
With aftermarket warranties we require the customer to pay us and the insurance company then sends them a check.
With the Merc Q Guard payment is posted to my account as soon as the claim is approved.

You realy have to weigh the cost vs the chance of a warranty problem vs the peace of mind for that extension.

Dick

John O posted 02-06-2003 08:53 PM ET (US)     Profile for John O    
When you say "the motor has been around long enough" I assume you mean the make and model. That was one of the reasons I bought it. I am hoping that this will be a solid no frills motor. I believe you are implying that I should not get an extended warranty due to the history of the make. Am I also correct in assuming that this motor has had the same basic design for awhile, much like buying a Ford Taurus?
Dick posted 02-06-2003 09:06 PM ET (US)     Profile for Dick  Send Email to Dick     
Without trying to make up your mind for you those were my basic thoughts.
Much better than a Ford Taurus.
Dick
Tom W Clark posted 02-06-2003 09:52 PM ET (US)     Profile for Tom W Clark  Send Email to Tom W Clark     
I would never buy an extended warranty, period. They are not good financial products. You will be dollars ahead in the long run by not buying one.

They can, however, make you feel somewhat more comfortable. If you are a pessimist and are truly afraid of having to pay for a repair and are willing to pay for some addition emotional security, then get one. But from a financial point of view? No way.

John O posted 02-06-2003 10:31 PM ET (US)     Profile for John O    
Tom, I agree totally. I have been always of the belief that you never buy extended insurance on cars. Being new to boating I assumed the same was true , but asked.

I remember a Sears saleswomen trying to pressure and elderly lady in the electronics dept to buy a insurance type policy on a new TV. The poor women clearly did not know what to do until she looked over the saleswomans shoulder and saw me waving my hands and shaking my head NOOOOO !!!. Needless to say the woman refused and the saleswoman caught on to my directions and was upset. They get big commisions on sellings these as do most car dealers. I should have figured it the same for marine related items.

John O posted 02-06-2003 10:34 PM ET (US)     Profile for John O    
previous post should read " never by extended warranties"

also never buy insurance from the Black Jack dealer.

aubv posted 02-07-2003 09:15 AM ET (US)     Profile for aubv  Send Email to aubv     
Are you sure you only get a one year warranty?

I thought Mercury was offering a 2 or 3 year warranty, standard and then in some cases adding a couple of years for a total of five years. This is what we got on a 2001 225 HP last spring.
fwiw

ShrimpBurrito posted 02-07-2003 11:07 AM ET (US)     Profile for ShrimpBurrito  Send Email to ShrimpBurrito     
I never buy extended warranties either, but then of course, you hear the horror stories. Take my brother, for example, who bought a $750 extended warranty on his brand new $25k car. With only 75,000 miles and 4 years of mostly highway driving, he is already on his 3rd transmission, and is still having problems here and there. And no, it unfortunately is not a lemon.
Bigshot posted 02-07-2003 11:15 AM ET (US)     Profile for Bigshot  Send Email to Bigshot     
depends on cost. I bought my 70 last year with no warranty because it was a 1999. If i could have bought a 3year for say a few hundred bucks....no problem. Problem is though that most want closer to a $1000. No way is 25% of cost worth it. Now on a $14k 225 DFI....not bad.
hardensheetmetal posted 02-07-2003 12:56 PM ET (US)     Profile for hardensheetmetal  Send Email to hardensheetmetal     
John-

In Nov. 2001 I purchased a boat with a 1999 90hp Evinrude Ficht motor. Based on what I had learned about those motors, I bought an after market warranty (Pinnical) at a cost of $750.00 for two years. I have mixed feelings about them. I don't tend to hold on to boats for a real long time, so I was doing it more to maintain the resale, and less because I felt that the motor was going to be a problem. In the end, I did have one problem with the motor, a soleniod, that ended up not being covered, and cost me several hundred dollars because I had to have the dealer come get the boat. Had the part been covered, so would the hauling and pick up of the boat. (Yes, I was pissed)BUT, I decided to sell that boat after one year. The warranty was transferrable, which I believe was a big factor in my being able to recoup almost all of my purchase price.

So the short answer is they are good and bad, would I do it again? probably not.

Dan

cjd posted 02-07-2003 01:46 PM ET (US)     Profile for cjd  Send Email to cjd     
why don't you buy insurance in blackjack?
captbone posted 02-07-2003 01:53 PM ET (US)     Profile for captbone  Send Email to captbone     
Hey shrimpB, what kind of car was it?
lhg posted 02-07-2003 02:20 PM ET (US)     Profile for lhg    
Remember on a Mercury, you also get a 3 year total corrosion warranty. This not only includes the surface paint job, but corrosion of internal engine or power trim components, etc.

On extended warranties, I would prefer one from the factory, rather than aftermarket.
If it's aftermarket, buy it from the Dealer who will be servicing your engine. Then he can't make excuses on collecting from them.

There is one very interesting aspect to extended warranties on outboard engines - they are not limited by engine hours or amount of use, unlike auto warranties ("and/or mileage, whichever comes first"). This can be significant if you are 12 month user of your engine, such as in a warm climate. A saltwater Miami boater can, in reality, get 5 times as much value from an extended warranty as a fresh water Minnesota boater, but the warranty price is the same.

I bought 5 year extended warranties on my 1997 Mercury 200 EFI's for exactly that reason - no limitation on hours, since the boat is used 12 months of the year, with at least 300 hours per year. So I figured having a warranty for 1500 hours was a good deal. For each engine, the cost was $1300. In spite of heavy use, needed repairs never came up to that total $2600 amount paid. Biggest item was a $750 power trim unit replacement. But I had not had previous experience with EFI's, and was worried about costly EFI repair problems. What I didn't know is that these Mercury EFI's are practically trouble free, far better than the carbed versions. I should have listened to the mechanic, who told me "once they go out of here, we never see them again". So I gambled and lost, but the peace of mind was probably worth it. It is just that, a gamble.

You might want to based your considerations on whether an extended warranty is worth your while on a 75 from the above considerations.
Be sure the idle adjustments are set up properly. I think that on a highly reliable, and time tested engine as the 75 Merc, I might skip it. But on a Ficht, Optimax or HPDI, I would DEFINITELY buy one.
And on a big 225 4-stroke also.

Bigshot posted 02-07-2003 02:47 PM ET (US)     Profile for Bigshot  Send Email to Bigshot     
Good points Larry and I agree on what engines I would take the gamble with. When we bought the hydra-sports we took delivery on March 12th(bad idea). After the freezing 100 mile drive home in small craft warning offshore in NJ....March was a bad decision. 13 hours later I hit a submerged dock in the freakin channel and blasted the lower unit to hell....not covered obviously. In June the voltage regulator went and they covered that but not the $140 tow job. They threw in the 20 hour service for free though. The next year I had until March 12th to get her going after the winterization to make sure she was still good before the warranty expired. Basically in a long winded post, I only had a 7 month warranty. Good thing was the following summer the voltage regulator blew again and with a bit of arm twisting, OMC covered it again(no towing though). Luckily she has never been to the shop since.
oysterman posted 02-07-2003 03:44 PM ET (US)     Profile for oysterman  Send Email to oysterman     
Extended warranties are nothing but commission for the salesman. Why not include the warranty with the price of the item? I kept refusing a warranty when I bought a TV, that the salesman finally threw it in with the price of the TV. But he still got the commission for the warranty.
lhg posted 02-07-2003 04:13 PM ET (US)     Profile for lhg    
Nick brings up a good point for Northern boaters. Never buy an engine before May 1st. If you do, your warranty will be for the summer, period. It will expire before the snow melts, in effect only being for about a 6 month period at best, and before you put many hours on it at all! Very clever, and don't think the manufacturers haven't figured this one out. Aren't all these big boat shows up North in the winter?
Dick E posted 02-07-2003 07:36 PM ET (US)     Profile for Dick E  Send Email to Dick E     
I have a 1998 90 hp which basicly the same engine with bigger carbs.

The only thing that went wrong was a trim relay ($15 part) went out.

I use my boat every month of the year.
I did not buy one and saved a lot of money.
This engine is a proven enity.

Dick E

jimh posted 02-07-2003 11:51 PM ET (US)     Profile for jimh  Send Email to jimh     
One of the only times I got a warranty on a retail purchase was many years ago at an appliance/electronics store. I bough some new stereo gear. I haggled with the salesman over the price. We came to an agreement.

"What about an exteneded warranty," he asked.

I refused. After refusing his sales pitch on the warranty for 20-minutes, he finally gave up. We resolved it this way: He would lower the price of the equipment deal and add the extended warranty cost back into the price, getting back to the total cost we had just agreed on.

"I'll get fired if I don't sell a warranty," he told me.

andygere posted 02-08-2003 12:59 AM ET (US)     Profile for andygere  Send Email to andygere     
If you are concerned about funding future repairs, take the money you would use to buy the extended warranty, and put it in a "boat repair savings account" by buying a short term CD or investing in a money market. Don't use the money for anything else, and when you are ready to buy a new motor after years of reliable service from this one, you'll have a nice little fund to help pay for it. I say self insure on these things and you'll always come out way ahead.
captbone posted 02-08-2003 01:14 AM ET (US)     Profile for captbone  Send Email to captbone     
except if you bought a 97-99 fitch 150-175, that money in that account would be screaming from be touched so much. I feel if it is new tech or you put 500hrs on yours motors a years then it is a must have.
ShrimpBurrito posted 02-08-2003 03:32 PM ET (US)     Profile for ShrimpBurrito  Send Email to ShrimpBurrito     
captbone - My brother's problem vehicle was a 1999 Ford Winstar XLT. Never, ever again.
dscew posted 02-08-2003 04:06 PM ET (US)     Profile for dscew    
We made the mistake of purchasing a 94 Ford Taurus with 35,000 miles on it. The extended warranty was $1,000, which took it out to 100,000 miles with no time limit and no deductible. After replacing the head gaskets, radiator, steering, transmission, a window motor, every part in the air consitioner, rear defroster, etc, etc, the total of the repair bills was $7,000. Incidentally, the transmission was replaced at 99,700 miles. While I'm not a warranty fan, this one was purchased with a "gut feeling," and was the right thing to do. On a new outboard, especially a tried and true Merc classic, I'm not sure I would buy it, but if you do, keep in mind that the mark up on those warranties is almost always more than 100%. Believe me, I used to sell them for a huge dealer; we were not allowed to go below 100%, and were encouraged to gouge even deeper if we could. It was disgusting. Oh, and Ford? Never, ever again.
captbone posted 02-08-2003 04:59 PM ET (US)     Profile for captbone  Send Email to captbone     
Even the f250 and 350s, I have been looking at the new diesel in them and am thinking about the ford and Dodge.
John O posted 02-09-2003 08:43 AM ET (US)     Profile for John O    
Thanks everyone. Merc is offering 2-3 years warranties on specific motors only. I believe they are aLL 4 STROKES, EFI's and Optimax. I called Mercury and found the extended warranty is not on 75hp Classic 2 strokes.

CJD-- Apparently one shoud never by insurance when the Black Jack cealer offers it because it is statistically not in the players favor. I do not know the odds but in Black Jack there are certain stategies that always increase the players odds. There are also several mis-truths for instance if a player takes a card when he/she should not some players feel that the previous player "Took my card" and impacted the other players hand. This is false. Statistacally over time a player who misplays will both positively and negatively effect the game equally thus having no overall effect. I had a gentleman playing to my left one day who became verbally abusive to me because I never hit on 16 even if the dealer is showing a 10 or better. He felt that I should hit. Needless to say he did not get the cards he was looking for and blamed me. I reminded him that as long as I play the situation the SAME WAY EVERY TIME. It will not hurt me. I also pointed out that I was betting 10 to 20 times the amount he was and suggested he play at a table more suited for his play.

11 footer posted 02-09-2003 11:01 AM ET (US)     Profile for 11 footer  Send Email to 11 footer     
I was with my dad last year when he bought his 2002 dodge ram 2500.
After the price was settled the salesman tried to sell us all this paint protectors, warranties, servos plans ect. As soon ad the guy started to threw all the stuff my dad said ""stop right there" NO, NO ,NO and NO. I think the guy got the picture. I was surprised at how the guy did not keep pushing for us to buy the stuff as he did with my mom's car, (Ford)

11

msc posted 02-11-2003 09:38 AM ET (US)     Profile for msc  Send Email to msc     
I have just recently gone through the internal debate as to the purchase of extended warranties for my 2000 optimax engines. I have 40 days to make up my mind. The cost will be $2500.00 per engine. I have found less expensive policies on the net but "caveat emptor" may be the rule of the day on those. I have decided not to get the policies figuring I can cover a lot of repairs for $5000.00. It's like poker....I'm gambling nothing catastrophic will happen..oh well.
tbyrne posted 02-11-2003 01:22 PM ET (US)     Profile for tbyrne    
I am confused about the comments on one-year warranties in the Northeast. No matter when you start the warranty, it is only in place for one boating season. If it runs January 1 - December 31, you get one season of coverage. If the warranty runs May 1 - April 30, you get one full season. If it runs July 1 - June 30, you still get one full season (albeit one half in one year, the remaining half the next year). A year is a year is a year, no?

Am I missing something? Where is the clever manufacturer's plot?

lhg posted 02-11-2003 03:21 PM ET (US)     Profile for lhg    
Tbyrne - Basically, I think your agrument is correct. It just seems that my point allows for the full 1 year time frame, and if problems develop after a winter of storage, or winter vacation use, if applicable. Nothern boaters do not get much benefit out of a warranty, unless it is a lemon right out of the box.
tbyrne posted 02-11-2003 03:40 PM ET (US)     Profile for tbyrne    
Yeah, Larry, but when the snow stops in early June, we get three glorious months of boating (barring hurricanes). ;)

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

(I have a bad case of the shack nasties - we got 10" of snow for last Friday's rush hour, 4" more last night and it should get to about -5 Farenheit this Wednesday night)

John O posted 02-11-2003 10:54 PM ET (US)     Profile for John O    
Drove up in that snow from Pawtucket RI to home in Gloucester, MA. Friday AM down and afternoon back. It seems every year folks "forget" home to drive in the snow.

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