Extended Warranty - Recommended/Worth It?

[JT>]

Fellow Boaters,
I am picking up my 2008 Challenger 180 SE/Tower tomorrow and would like your input and advice on SeaDoo's Extended Warranty program. The boat, since it's a 2008 model purchased prior to March 31, 2009 will come with an additional year's warranty, giving me two years of warranty. The dealer is offering 2 year ($1199), 3 year ($1299), and 4 year ($1399) extended warranty coverage by SeaDoo, that would effectively give me a 4, 5, or 6 year warranty, depending on which extended warranty period purchased. The question(s) is, would it be wise or warranted to purchase this extended warranty, and, if so, what would you recommend - the 2,3, or 4 years extra? Please, also feel free to comment on the price of the coverages being fair or not. I have no experience with SeaDoo boat quality regarding their mechanicals, electrical or otherwise, so any past experience comments would be appreciated, either supporting or not buying the extended warranty.

Thanks for the input, JT>

 

[seadoosnipe]

Welcome JT...

Welcome JT and you've got a great question concerning the warranty programs offered by Seadoo.

In the last couple years, I've learned one thing about this warranty program. It's not all it's cracked up to be. What I mean by that is, it depends on the reputation of your dealer. We have people on the forum who bought brand new boats to find something simple needing repair or didn't come with the boat and was suppose to. They approached the dealer and then, got the run around. One guy in particular, TVZ has had his share of warranty issues.

Check into this thread and see what Craig and TVZ have to share with you....http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?t=13006

 

[jareaver]

An extended warranty is a gamble...you're betting that you might have problems with your watercraft and will be covered for major issues, while BRP is betting that the product they manufactured is defect free and you will never have to utilize it. The question you need to ask yourself, is the price you pay now worth the piece of mind knowing that you're covered for something malfunctioning. Is $350/yr worth the additional 4 years you will be covered? Unlike car warranties, BRP's is solely based on years and not years/hours.

I will have to agree with Seadoosnipe in that warranty work depends heavily on the dealer. The first watercrafts I purchased were 02' GTX RFI's. I purchased the extended warranties and never had to use them. When I upgraded to 04' GTX SC's, I opted not to get the extended warranty. Both pairs were bought from the same dealer. The 04's steering linkage cables binded up and had to be replaced after 12 hrs (granted, this was in '06 and I hadn't had time to use them due to dealing with Katrina/Katrina's aftermath). I expected the dealer to go to bat for me with BRP (or at least make an effort) b/c I thought that with only 12 hrs on the machines and meticulous maintenance the cables should not have seized up. Needless to say, after a discussion and $600+ later, I lost a lot of respect for my dealer not even attempting to care about my concerns, and no longer recommend them to friends/potential watercraft owners.

 

[Seadoopilot]

Hears a thought , If the dealer wants to sell you a extended warrentee , Require the dealership to sign a note that they will honor the warrentee.
It would be mostly meaningless but if the dealerships owner is willing to put his name on it I will bet that he will honor it , If he is not willing to put his name on a note saying he will honor the warrentee , Then I can only guess that he would not be to interested in doing so.

 

[Craigmri]

One thing I would like to add that I havent heard people mention is on the regular BEST extended warranty there is a $50 deductable. I'm not sure if that applies to the BEST plus so perhaps someone can chime in there.

I agree with Snipe, alot depends on the dealer. I have found that Seadoo will honor the warranty. In my case I'm under the factory warranty as I'm in the first year of service for my Utopia and every repair(and there has been several) Seadoo has authorized Barneys of St Pete to perform. As long as this remains to be my experience even with the $50 deductable I'm happy I have the peice of mind that I'm covered. So long as I dont so anything stupid to cause a major malfunction I should avoid any expensive bills for the next four years.

Craig

 

[JT>]

Extended Warranty - Follow-up Comment

Thank you all for your comments, they are very helpful. I am buying the boat from Smith Powersports, Hayesville, NC. I note in prior warranty topics that some have had an issue with Smith. My situation is that Smith is 200 miles from Lake Norman so I will be dealing with the local SeaDoo dealer, Lake Norman (LKN) Powersports, since I can't be carrying the boat back to Hayesville for warranty work, or after-warranty work.

Might I assume (and I'm familiar with what the acronym for "ass-u-me" means) that LKN Powersports should provide warranty work, without balking, even though the boat wasn't purchased from them? I make the assumption that any SeaDoo dealer should honor at least the original term warranty without quibbling about where a boat was purchased.

I've never purchased an extended warranty on a vehicle, mainly because I maintain them according to manufacture guidelines, or better and haven't thought that they were worth the money. I am contemplating that if anything major will go wrong it will be in the first two years, under warranty, and therefore I'm not really inclined to give my hard earned dollars to Smith Powersports for the extended warranty.

On track? Any additional thoughts are welcome, JT>

 

[Cerberus]

I do not own a warranty form sea doo, but i do get them for almost every item i buy under one simple rule; if it breaks, would I want another one and/or would it cost me MORE than the price of the warranty to fix it back to 'like new' or Manufacturer specs?

I bought my boat KNOWING there were a few problems and I still got beat out by 'hidden' issues when found. I would get a warranty to cover me for a long as I believe I will own the object.

that's my .02¢
Cerb

 

[timeman]

I think these extended warranties area crap shoot. I have purchased a few on cars or trucks but never really used them, at least not to the amount I paid.

When I purchased my 06 Challenger SE / Tower it had less than 12 hours on it. The guy I bought it from had purchased the 3 year extended warranty, and a two year prepaid service agreement. I had to pay a small fee to transfer them into my name.

I use the service for regular oil lube spark plugs and adjustments, and those normal maintenence costs have not cost me one dime, I have never had to use the warranty as nothing ever seems to break on my Seadoo.....

I will say that, for me, there is a tremendous amount of comfort / piece of mind, in having these two items in place....you just need to decide what that is worth to you.

 

[Craigmri]

I think people need to remember that boats are no where near the quality, refinement and reliability of cars or appliances. The inherent design and environment boats get subjected to make it unique and you'll be making a mistake if you use your experience with cars as a prime decision making element.

I'm not suggesting your making a mistake if you dont get the warranty. I just saying that if your OK with some unexpected expenses when the factory warranty expires then save the money and keep it stashed for a rainy day.

BTW, Smith tried to initially sell me a third party warranty but I told them I was only interested in the BRP BEST warranty. Like everything in life, even the price of the warranty is negotiable. Just be clear what you want and what your signing.

 

[JT>]

O.K. Guys, good comments, and I very much appreciate them. From what I understand, we can take out an extended warranty anytime during the original factory warranty period. So, based on that, I think I'll see what gives during the first two years of factory warranty, then go from there. I believe that if you take good care of anything you buy, then you'll reap the rewards of a long performing product, all things being equal.

See you on the water, JT>