first of all, please take alook at this thread, as it is quite similar:
http://www.tlxforums.com/forum/new-...n-forum/5201-prepaid-maintenance-package.html
i doubt they or acura will honor a unlimited term (years) for their extended warranty. the salesman prolly tried to pull a fast one by being fishy about the term and tried to make you sign it.
if i were you, a few questions that you need to ask or find out, and soon:
- 7 yrs or indefinite, this is the obvious question
- can the extended warranty be serviced at any acura dealership in the country?
- they said they will throw in regular scheduled maintenance as well at no extra cost, will this be honored at any acura dealership in the country?
the answer to the first question is prolly 7 years. the extended warranty is offered by acura the manufacturer, not the dealership. its acura who sets the mileage and length of time, and i do not think the dealership has any power to change that.
the way this will likely work is:
- you pay the money for the extended warranty
- dealership passes the money to acura HQ (and prolly get some commission too)
- if there is anything that needs to be replaced and covered in the extended warranty, dealership does the work, and bills acura HQ for parts and labor. acura HQ reimburses all costs and you do not have to pay a penny since you paid the extended warranty money up front.
i am not 100% sure if this is entirely true, but i dont think i am very far off from it, since this is how it works if the car has any problems for the first 4 years when it still has the standard bumper-to-bumper warranty, or if there are any safety recalls, all of which are at no cost to the owner, and acura HQ pays for them all. so yes, its kinda like paying car insurance so to speak where you pay a premium and if you get into an accident you get covered for liabilities and damages.
the answer to the second question is prolly "yes". since this is reimbursed by acura HQ, they do not care where the warranty service took place. all they need to know is your car's VIN, the odometer and what is fixed or replaced, and they just pay back the dealership, regardless of which one you go to
the third question is prolly "no" but given how they tried to pull a fast one on you with the unlimited term, i am willing to bet that they will lie about it to make you sign it. unlike some other brands like infiniti or audi or MB, acura does NOT offer prepaid maintenance packages. the ones offered by audi and MB works the same way as extended warranty, in that the money goes to HQ and you can have it serviced at any dealership in the country and HQ reimburses them. since acura does not offer such prepaid maintenance packages, they will not do the same thing. which means if your dealership offers free maintenance, you can only do it at that single dealership and not others. which may be okay, but as mentioned in the link at the top of my post, if sh!t happens between you and the dealership or the relationship turned sour, you lose out on those free or prepaid maintenance. make sure you take a good read on the link at the top of this post
IMHO, you should figure out how long you wanna keep the car for. if you plan to move on to the next car before 7 yrs or 100k miles, then there is no point in this extended warranty, especially if you have to pay up front.
also know that fluids and wear and tear stuff are not covered in warranty or maintenance......such as tires, brake stuff, engine fluids etc
and finally, give this a good read:
Is it worth buying an extended car warranty?
http://www.tlxforums.com/forum/new-...n-forum/5201-prepaid-maintenance-package.html
i doubt they or acura will honor a unlimited term (years) for their extended warranty. the salesman prolly tried to pull a fast one by being fishy about the term and tried to make you sign it.
if i were you, a few questions that you need to ask or find out, and soon:
- 7 yrs or indefinite, this is the obvious question
- can the extended warranty be serviced at any acura dealership in the country?
- they said they will throw in regular scheduled maintenance as well at no extra cost, will this be honored at any acura dealership in the country?
the answer to the first question is prolly 7 years. the extended warranty is offered by acura the manufacturer, not the dealership. its acura who sets the mileage and length of time, and i do not think the dealership has any power to change that.
the way this will likely work is:
- you pay the money for the extended warranty
- dealership passes the money to acura HQ (and prolly get some commission too)
- if there is anything that needs to be replaced and covered in the extended warranty, dealership does the work, and bills acura HQ for parts and labor. acura HQ reimburses all costs and you do not have to pay a penny since you paid the extended warranty money up front.
i am not 100% sure if this is entirely true, but i dont think i am very far off from it, since this is how it works if the car has any problems for the first 4 years when it still has the standard bumper-to-bumper warranty, or if there are any safety recalls, all of which are at no cost to the owner, and acura HQ pays for them all. so yes, its kinda like paying car insurance so to speak where you pay a premium and if you get into an accident you get covered for liabilities and damages.
the answer to the second question is prolly "yes". since this is reimbursed by acura HQ, they do not care where the warranty service took place. all they need to know is your car's VIN, the odometer and what is fixed or replaced, and they just pay back the dealership, regardless of which one you go to
the third question is prolly "no" but given how they tried to pull a fast one on you with the unlimited term, i am willing to bet that they will lie about it to make you sign it. unlike some other brands like infiniti or audi or MB, acura does NOT offer prepaid maintenance packages. the ones offered by audi and MB works the same way as extended warranty, in that the money goes to HQ and you can have it serviced at any dealership in the country and HQ reimburses them. since acura does not offer such prepaid maintenance packages, they will not do the same thing. which means if your dealership offers free maintenance, you can only do it at that single dealership and not others. which may be okay, but as mentioned in the link at the top of my post, if sh!t happens between you and the dealership or the relationship turned sour, you lose out on those free or prepaid maintenance. make sure you take a good read on the link at the top of this post
IMHO, you should figure out how long you wanna keep the car for. if you plan to move on to the next car before 7 yrs or 100k miles, then there is no point in this extended warranty, especially if you have to pay up front.
also know that fluids and wear and tear stuff are not covered in warranty or maintenance......such as tires, brake stuff, engine fluids etc
and finally, give this a good read:
Is it worth buying an extended car warranty?