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To long term owners, is extended warranty worth it at this rate?

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2K views 17 replies 13 participants last post by  ViscontiVerde164L  
#1 ·
So we are back to 4C hunting again, after a rather on and off search in the past years. Always wanted an actual lightweight car to spice up the experience.
My question would be for those who put a lot of miles on their 4C, or having owned their 4C more than 4 years, in the US market.
Do you think 4k for a bumper to bumper 10 year warranty is likely to pay off (basically $400 a year)? obviously I understand nothing's for certain, and it's just probability. I also understand 4C has a number of wear and tear items which arent covered by warranties (door panels, sticky buttons, ripped or pulled leather etc.), and also 4c requires relatively higher maintenance (timing belts, chassis tightening, alignment etc.) on top of repairs.
I have used the same warranty company for quite a number of years, and on german cars such as porsches and audi, it's really a no brainer. My experience was that the payout was easily 5-10x the premium paid across 5-10 years, and sometimes a single repair would pay for the entire premium. I believe these companies are betting on the fact that people do not keep their cars for long, but I tend to keep my cars for a while and it always turned out to be a sensible choice. However, I am unfamiliar with the parts and labor rates on 4C (and parts scarcity), so I am trying to see what everyone thinks based on their experience with any faults or repairs thus far. Thank you
 
#2 ·
7.5 years, almost 50,000km, no warranty/fault repair work required. 🤞👍 She’s still on the original battery. Inevitably, there will come a time when something fails but up to now she’s been rock solid, touch wood. An extended warranty for me would have been a waste of money.
 
#4 ·
I really went back and forth on this myself for a 2016 spider and I have been out of warrenty for 2.5 years now and have yet to have any problems.
The only problems I have had with this car are the coolant heater core leaking which was replaced under warranty
The dash was barely delaminated so I had them replace that.

Hindsight is 100% perfect but I'm happy I didn't get it. That being said I passed on a McLaren solely because I couldn't get an extended warranty. If i bought a Huracan i wouldn't want one. This is a car i could see the concern with but would pass on.
 
#5 ·
Honestly, it is all about your risk tolerance and what you can afford.
I bought full extended B2B coverage for my LE and never used it. It was not cheap, but there wasn’t a lot of experience with these cars at the time.
If I could go back in time, I’d skip it.
There have been a few catastrophic failures (3rd gear transmission on early cars). Those were mainly on track, which probably disqualifies them from coverage. The hydraulic activator for the gearbox is another potentially expensive repair that a few have faced. Dash de-lamination is another, but it’s been indicated that this is not covered, so read the fine print! But mostly it’s things like shocks or minor emissions issues, which are a lot cheaper to repair than the warranty is to buy.
 
#6 ·
thank you guys, so it doesnt sound like it needs it, except for catastrophic drivetrain issues...hmmm. The r8 and huracan is reliable, but any small emissions related or any kind of of leaks will be 2-3k easy due to the labor working on a midengine car, and that makes the warranty very sensible thing to have (from personal experience on a r8 for 9 years). That's awesome, I would use the warranty $$ on ppf
 
#10 ·
I bought mine with 16k miles on it and within three months I had to throw $10k at it to replace a heater core ($3k) and transmission actuator ($7k). Definitely wish I had bought a warranty, lol. Not every car seems to get hit with transmission issues, but between those that were replaced under warranty and the several stories from users on here, I think a a fair number of cars may run into this issue at some point.
 
#11 ·
It depends on how many miles you intend to drive. I bought my 4C with a transferable extended warranty that was cancelled by Alfa because I waited too long to transfer it (I waited until the car was registered and it was COVID delay at DMV).

At first, I was really upset about being cancelled. I have not needed the warranty- but I also don't put a lot of miles on because I have a lot of sports cars.

In general, I get the highest deductible available for all my insurances. My homeowner's deductible is 4%. If you are careful, you don't need insurance except for catastrophic occurrences.
 
#12 ·
I trust that the companies selling the warranties roughly know what they are doing and come out ahead in the long run. I don't buy warranties and never regretted it (and I never had cars I could not afford to pay out of pocket to repair). You have more experience than I do, and it sounds like warranties were well worth it for you, so maybe my reasoning is flawed somehow.

FWIW, other than changing the battery (EDIT: and scheduled maintenance) I did not have to do anything on the 4c in about 15k miles driven.
 
#13 ·
Nah, you’re like me. Only ever bought cars I could afford to run and am able to pay for the general repairs that might occur. Never purchased an extended warranty and never needed one. I’m way ahead. I also trust my own care of a car. I’ve always been confident in the reliability of Alfa Romeos when they are cared for properly, not neglected.
 
#14 ·
Ill be honest, I bought an extended warranty when I bought my car and figured it would be in the shop on a regular basis.. That just isn't the case.. I am driving almost 10k miles a year in all kinds of weather and conditions and have not had a single Alfa issue. The car has been bullet proof for me..

Just do proper and regular maintenance, keep an eye on the basics and don't let it sit forever....
 
#15 ·
98% of the time an extended warranty is a waste of money. You never hear from the folks that burned that money but that other 2% chirp like birds..............add it up over my 35 or so cars and i can afford to throw one away..............
 
#17 ·
I am not a guy who typically buys extended warranties. Most of my cars are older and used, but I did buy them on the 2 newest cars I purchased. When I bought my wife's 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe, I was able to get a 10 year bumper-to-bumper warranty from Hyundai for $1,200. Knowing how a newer car had lots of electronics and the touch screen system in the center console, I thought if one small issue happened with it, I would easily spend more to get it fixed. In the end, we had 2 small warranty repairs that had to be done that had a total cost that was equal to the cost as the warranty.

For my 4C, I again was concerned about potential issues with the bit of high-tech that was in the car, mainly the DCT transmission. I knew I wasn't going to be putting tons of miles on the car, but I was able to get a factory extension of the warranty that provided a total of 8 years from the in-service date, and it cost me less than $1,500.

These warranty prices were just under what I found acceptable. If the warranties were to cost $3k-$4k, I would have passed and taken my chances.