Just picked up my 8 last week and am loving it, but would appreciate some thoughts on the extended warranty options.

Normally I'd never consider buying an extended warranty for a car (or pretty much anything else), but the new model status of the 8 combined with my driving schedule have me considering it. I plan on using it as a daily commuter putting on roughly 100 miles each day, virtually all highway. It's not out of the question for me to put 100,000 miles on the car over the next 3-4 years, and obviously nobody really has any information about how well the 8 will hold up over time.

Has anybody here bought an extended warranty, and if so, what term and how much did you pay for it? Would love any other thoughts or feedback people might have.

Thanks in advance for any comments. I've been lurking for several weeks now and am very impressed with the commentary here, this site is indispensible for any devoted RX-8 owner!

 

I have the 7/100K extended warranty. I added $1100 to the cost of the car and included unlimited towing (limit 50 miles each), 1 tire repair/replace a year, and bumper to bumper.

As much as I love rotaries, the track record of my fellow's RX-7 engines and the fact that this is a BRAND NEW engine design convinced me that the warranty was worth it.

This is strictly my personal choice of course. Is it even worth $0.02? ;-)

 

It's a personal decision without a right or wrong answer.

It depends on many things including: How handy you are fixing cars; are you a strong negotiator that can FORCE them to honor the warrantee that far out (they will try to blame EVERYTHING on poor owner maintenance); Do you have enough money to consider self insuring; How long do you think you will keep the car. Like other Japanese cars, Mazda has a pretty good reliability record.

I decided to pass on the extended warrantee because the basic warrantee is fairly generous (compared to Toyota and others) and thanks to this forum I should clearly know by 4yr/48k if this car is a "keeper" or needs to be dumped (for a new RX-8 of course).

 

get two if you can....i can hook you up...call me at 405-749-9000 transfer to the guy with the 350z in finance i can get you a good deal....nation wide coverage....really good set up!

just dont go to mexico....not honored there!!!!

 

ok ..i do finance at a mazda dealership...and i get to **** people off every day when i tell them they cant get a vsc wfter 12500 miles as the origional owner...so do yourself a favor....GET ONE!!!! CALL ME IF YOU CAN...

 

Alright Mr. Okinawan Majik, it explains a lot that you work for Nissan...

MMGDC,

I purchased my RX-8 in Oct. and I think that I paid somewhere in the range of $1,300 for my 8 year/100k mile warranty that is the exact extension of the dealers warranty. There are many good deals out there just make sure that the company you go with is going to be around for a while. There has recently been several companies that have gone out of business and left consumers without the coverage that they paid for. Research the company and talk to your dealer. Also before you call Okinawan Majik you should look at some of the posts he has wasted our time with ie., "This car stinks" from the Satisfaction Survey. He seems like an uneducated used car salesman to me.

 

Some great info here sandwiched around OM's ravings... thanks much for the helpful comments so far!

 

DUDE just because i think the car is crap..doesnt mean i want to wish ill will on people..the coverage i am talking about it through mazda!!!! if you can read i am at a nissan, mazda, hummer, cadillac, olds, infiniti, audi, porsche......used saleman...no...look you can do it or not....and if you wanna rely on the mfg then you are stupid...really...the mfg warr is useless outside the comprehensive 12 mo 12500 period...so do what you want...let these people that dont know the COMPANY and its POLICY and PRACTICES lead you to licking the lead paint on the walls....so what you want..butyou can only do it within the 12 mo 12500 mile period..with out getting slammed by surcharges!!!

but yes i do this mazdas are less than mines...so what..im not trying to be an ***....i can help you...or i can not..its up to you..i am a car enthusiest jsut like everyone here....yea i flamed some people...it was funny...but do it or not.....plus since out sales people suck so bad i can get you knuckleheads a good *** deal too...but youd have to trust me on that....i should be a sales person..cuz i sell more than these morons...but i do all the financing....i keep these on the streets...

up to you!! 405-749-9000 wont tell you my name..cuz its the intenet....but if you called they will know who you are talking about!!! and yes i will be nice!!!!

 

dont forget that the extended warrenty covers teh electronics. including the comp so it was worth it to me. i didnt want to have to pay for a new ecu 6 years from now.

 

plus an vsc covers electronic and electronic related problems..you know those things that you swear are going wrong..but never happen when they check them out...like going to the Dr.s office and saying you have a tooth ache..but stops when you get there..only to start back up when you leave....covers stuff like that too!!! good idea....and trust me ...you WILL need it! get it from me..get it from some one else..jsut get one.....i have a PHAT AZZ Z and i got one..its the smartest thing to do really!

 

The extended warranty is a large moneymaker which is why they try to push it on every purchase. It stands to reason that the reason it makes money is that it pays out far less in claims than it takes in revenue. Sure, some owners will save substantially on some repairs, but chances are you will not recoup the cost. Extended warranties are usually covered by 3rd parties, not the manufacturer so not only do you have to argue with the service department to get it right, you also have to beg/plead/threaten the warranty company whose representatives job is to keep you from costing them money. They don't give a $#!^ if you're dissatisfied since they're essentially nameless in terms of consumer recognition and don't have a "brand" market presence. They do have to honor their warranty but be prepared to push like hell if you need to invoke it.

It amounts to rather expensive insurance, and a hassle. No thanks. I've turned down extended warranties on TVs, washers, dryers, stoves, dishwashers, DVD players, computers, and cars. I'm way ahead and would still be ahead even if the 8 were to spontaneously disintegrate the day after the Mazda warranty expires.

 

My RX8 is covered by Geico, 7yr/100000 it will cover every thing. I pay a 250 deductable. $6 a month for the coverage. The overall cost is $72 dollars a year, which is $504 over the 7 years. It makes a differance. Even the Mazda warrenty won't cover everything. I have used it before on other vehicle's and I'm very satisfied with the program. You need to sign up before 11000 miles. Hope this helps.

 

There is a post in this thread that indicates that Mazda offers an extended warranty themselves.

My Mazda dealer wanted to sell me a third party contract. I read the policy and it specified that it covers things like pistons, rings, valves etc. When I called the third party company to ask about coverage for the parts that an RX8 actually has like rotors and apex seals, they said that the contract wouldn't cover anything not itemized in the policy.

I called the Mazda dealer back and told them no thanks on the third party, does Mazda offer one that specifically is designed to cover the rotary? They haven't called me back.

Does Mazda offer a factory extension and what does it cost.

 

Mazda tried to sell me extended coverage and I declined because of the same thing, 3rd party and $$$. I wanted to compare to Geico since Ive been using the coverage on previous vehicles. Again check out Geico.

 

I support Nuba's opinion on most cars and certainly the TVs and other items listed. However, I would highly recommend getting the warranty in this case.
1) It's the first year this car is out
2) It contains (in my opinion) much new technology
3) We already know that the car has a few problems

When the Nissan 300ZX ('90 thorugh '96) first arrived in July 1989, I purchased the car within it's 2nd week on the lots. For the first two reasons above (side note: it's new technology is now common place), I purchased the extended warranty. By far, this was the best investment I ever made - and the worst deal for the insurance company. It was only a 60,000 mile over 5 year warranty versus the (then standard) 36,000 mile / 3 year. The base sale price for that car was $27,800 in 1989 (eventually growing to over $50,000). I had so many little and big things go wrong with the vehicle, that by the time the warranty ran out, I calculated that they paid out over $40,000 in claims... including almost $8,000 of it at 59,998 miles. The dealer handled all claim filing - my experience under extended warranty was No different than manufacture warranty, though it was also a third party insurance carrier. BTW - from 60K to 158K (when I sold it), it had no further problems. I definitely got all the "bugs" worked out at the insurance carriers and Nissan's expense.

Fast forward to 2003 - I see the Mazda RX-8 2004 model in exactly the same position as the 1990 Nissan 300ZX was in 1989. My car is a week over 2 months old now, and been a resident of the Service Garage for about 3 weeks now. Reference this thread:
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...threadid=15917

This is a significantly worse start than my Z was. However, assuming the car doesn't lemon out... I am confident that my extended warranty purchase will pay for itself (within 1 or 2 warranty claims).

So - yes Nuba - insurance companies make money off these extended warranties, as does the dealer. But, under the circumstances, this is the type of car that will use up all the money while the Ford Explorers, Honda Accords, and the like will be sucked into making the insurance companies profits while subsidizing our cars expense.

 

Wanted to bump this thread, and also wanted to see if any of the folks who purchased extended warranties went with the Mazda Extended Protection Plan/Totalcare or if they went through third party insurers.

I see several people went through Geico, but as a NJ resident, I don't have that option. Dealer is currently offering me $1419 for a 5 year/100,000 which seems high to me. Pretty sure I can push him down some more, but not to 1100. Would really appreciate more feedback/clarification.

Thanks!

 

I got the Mazda extended warranty, totaling me out to 100k miles and 8 years. less than 2k, which I fully expect to recoup. I'm taking my car to the dealership for 100% of the factory scheduled maintenance, as long as I do that they can't refuse to service the warranty.

 

Ditto. Ya sure, it could be a twenty - one hundred dollars for maintence savings to take it elsewhere, and five to ten bucks cheaper for an oil change, but will the other repair shops honor warranty? Who do you go to if they aren't willing to take care of their customers? What if the 3rd party repair shop jacks up and it's something that doesn't cause reprocussions until six months down the line? Will they still take care of you? Because Mazda sure as hell won't because it wouldn't be a manufactured defect at that point.

At least with the dealership...if they forget to put an oil drain nut back on...the dealership will have to take care of you, if not, North America Mazda can be called to step in.

 

I find it difficult to do comparisons on these extd warranty prices because of the various convolutions of the contracts. Along with the Term in Months/Miles, typical options in coverage level from Mazda are:

- TOTALCare
- STATEDCare
- PRIMARYCare
- POWERCare

...and deductible options of:

- $0
- $50
- $100
- $200

Lots of fine print involved.

Perhaps the biggest variable is the method in which customers are pressed by Business Managers into signing up. (I've learned the hard way.)

 

Mazda Total Care here. It was quite a bit cheaper and I don't have to worry so much about the company going out of business. Plus how many compainies out there are warrantiing the rotary engine???