bluezephyr

My girlfriend's about to buy a new Accord EX 4 cylinder automatic. Is the 7-year, 84,000 mile warranty worth the money?

She's planning to own this car for a long time- her current car is a 91 Accord which she's had for almost 9 years, and she'd still be driving it if it had not been wrecked.

Money is definitely a factor. I'm thinking it's not worth it, since you're already covered for 36 months/36,000, so you're basically insuring years 4-7. But the person at the dealership really did the song and dance for her and her sister and now she's worried that if something went wrong after the standard warranty expired she'd be in big trouble.

Just wondering if most (any?) new Accord buyers go for the warranty. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks very much.

e3NiNe

The only value in that extended warranty is in the transmission coverage. If you blow your trans, that's about $2,000 worth of work / parts.

Since this current Accord is pretty solid (3rd year of the 7th gen), it's safe to assume that most of the kinks have been reported and worked out.

bluezephyr

Thanks for the reply, e3NiNe. It's just a bit nerve-wracking when you're buying your first car, especially when all of your savings are going into it. The worst case scenarios are keeping her up at night.

I agree with your assessment. I've heard very few stories of anyone having major issues with Accords within even the first 150,000 miles. Your comments are appreciated.

e3NiNe

I have a 2000 model Honda. I purchased the warranty and never used it once. The issues I encountered with the car were either:

a) covered by a service notice ($0 charge)
b) not covered by the warranty (minimal work)

I had two repairs not covered, which was a "fast idle thermo valve". $250 was spent about 3 years ago on this issue. I also needed 2 new wheel bearings for my rear tires, those went out at 80K ... but that's more of a known maintenance thing.

With the Accord, you'll know right away if you have issues or not. You'll encounter everything within the first 20K, or never at all.

honda guy

I'd buy it. But buy the Honda care coverage. Stay away from those aftermarket ones. Honda care offers 7 yrs 100k miles. if you have to have something covered like a radio it pretty much pays for itself.

98CoupeV6

Yeah. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever heard of someone buying the warranty and it being financially worth it. You can fix a lot of crap for $1000.

If she's worried about warranty, why doesn't she buy a certified used with the 100k warranty?

bluezephyr

Thanks to everyone for the replies. While the peace of mind a warranty provides would be nice, the cost (around $1,800 for the 7-year/84,000) might be too steep.

I didn't know about HondaCare but this seems like an interesting option. I'm guessing they didn't mention this at the dealership because they want you to buy extended coverage at time of purchase? If I understand this correctly, you can buy HondaCare anytime within the factory warranty period, so maybe after a couple of years she'll decide to get it as her finances allow.

Couldn't find the cost of the 7-year/100,000 plan on the Honda website, but I'll make some calls later.

I really appreciate the help. Thanks all.

98CoupeV6

Dude who the hell is trying to sell you a freakin 84k warranty for $1800? On my 99, the 100k Honda Care warranty was like $1200 and I didn't go for it. I think I made about $250 worth of repairs during that time that would have bee covered by the warranty.

Extended warranties on Hondas are simply not worth it. Maybe if they're 1st year, but the Accord has been in its model cycle for 4 years now.

bluezephyr

Hey 98CoupeV6,


My mistake. The cost of that extended warranty is $1,390. The HondaCare 7-year/100,000 plan for $1,200 actually doesn't sound too bad, but I suppose it depends on exactly what it covers.

Thanks for the help.

Misa

on my 6th gen... nothing went wrong....until the warranty was over