# If you plan on keeping your Cruze a long time get the extended warranty!



## blk88verde (Apr 30, 2011)

Isn't the powertrain warranty 5yrs 100k miles? Are these all non drivetrain issues? I do not have my Cruze anymore but my turbo/engine failure on my 2011 ECO was fully covered under warranty.


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## Seth (Feb 19, 2011)

All drivetrain issues, all happened after 100k. I'm at 130 now.


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## tracepk (Aug 20, 2013)

Extended warranties arent neccessarily a ripoff. more of a gamble really. youre betting the cost of the warranty against whether or not you'll need to repair more than you paid for the warranty.


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## Eddy Cruze (Jan 10, 2014)

Seth said:


> All drivetrain issues, all happened after 100k. I'm at 130 now.


 You wouldn't have found anyone reputable to insure your Car with 130K? Once the 3 year 36000 mile period expires you can't pick up the GMPP. I remember the Billy Mays Car Warranty that would cover any Car, regardless of condition. He also has his own Medical Care plan, similar to Obamacare. Didn't work too well.


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## CruzeEcoBlueTopaz (Jan 5, 2012)

In the spirit of fairness I will represent an example of a cruze member who decided not to purchase an extended warranty for close to $2500. So far I have spent approximetly $ 370 for parts and $ 690 for labor in service and repairs after the factory warranty expired. There are plenty of DIY cruze owners that are capable of cutting costs by replacing these parts on their own. I would say if you have some repair skills and trust the quality of GM vehicles like I did take a chance and save yourself some money by thinking twice about an extended warranty. If your an average driver with little experience under the hood and plan on keeping the cruze as a long term investment and want to purchase a piece of mind knowing your covered if anything should happen then an extended warranty might be right for you.

While on the subject of extended warrantys do not be fooled by the junk mail warranty scams sent in the mail. Do your research before purchasing an extended warranty.


Here is a list of repairs on my vehicle. I took a chance and decided not to purchase an extended warranty. I took comfort, pride and confidence in the workmanship of GM vehicles assembled in America.

30k AC Refigerant Recharge******* Warranty
100k Oil Pan Gasket ( oil leak )***** Warranty
105k Valve Cover ( air leak )******* Parts $ 90 Labor $ 140
180k Valve Cover ( air leak )******* Parts $ 90 Labor $ 140
185k Water Pump ( coolant leak ) ** Parts $ 145 Labor $ 255
190k Purge Valve *************** Parts $ 35 Labor $ 130
235k overflow hose ( coolant leak )* Parts $ 10 Labor $ 25
***************************** Total $ 370 Total $ 690


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Don't these extended warranties only go for X amount of years and mileage anyway? If you drive allot of miles that means by the time you needed repairs you would probably be out of warrenty again anyway. 

Just think of it this way, by not wasting your money on the warranty you had that money for the repairs you had to make.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

The one that I got expires at 72,015 Miles or in 06/2019. I figured I'd be on to another car by that time if the Subaru wasn't sold off.


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## hificruzer226 (Mar 27, 2013)

Seth, what happened to your cruze that is costing around 5k? I am sorry if I missed this labeled somewhere.


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## Tonyb92681 (Aug 2, 2014)

I buy the warranty for peace of mind. I have a 72 month loan, and knowing that issues are covered for that long make me comfortable to know that no major repairs will be have to paid for. Is it a rip off? Almost certainly. But I have just explained the value for me. 


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Merc6 said:


> The one that I got expires at 72,015 Miles or in 06/2019.


My b2b ran out based on mileage at 1.5 years. At my average miles driven that extended warranty would only cover me for an additional 2 years. I've had no out of pocket repairs yet, suspect I will make it to 72K(currently 53K) without a repair that's not already covered by the powertrain warranty. 

I've had one part fail since my b2b ended, my trunk switch. I just use my key fob so probably will never fix it.


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## BowtieGuy (Jan 4, 2013)

+1 On fixing things yourself. Sure, my dealership service department service writer is always smiles when I come in for warranty work(Not that I have had really any major issues). But somehow, I feel like that smile would turn into an evil grin after the warranty is up.

The way I always looked at extended warranties is this:
-If you don't like working on cars or don't know how, get the extended warranty.
-If you do know how to work on cars, save yourself a ton of money and fix it yourself! :go:


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## 6SpdCruze (Jul 10, 2014)

BowtieGuy said:


> +1 On fixing things yourself. Sure, my dealership service department service writer is always smiles when I come in for warranty work(Not that I have had really any major issues). But somehow, I feel like that smile would turn into an evil grin after the warranty is up.
> 
> The way I always looked at extended warranties is this:
> -If you don't like working on cars or don't know how, get the extended warranty.
> -If you do know how to work on cars, save yourself a ton of money and fix it yourself! :go:


+100, fixing it yourself is the way to go! If you have the room and a bit of mechanical knowledge a decent set of tools is worth its weight in gold. A service manual helps too!


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## Eddy Cruze (Jan 10, 2014)

CruzeEcoBlueTopaz said:


> In the spirit of fairness I will represent an example of a cruze member who decided not to purchase an extended warranty for close to $2500. So far I have spent approximetly $ 370 for parts and $ 690 for labor in service and repairs after the factory warranty expired. There are plenty of DIY cruze owners that are capable of cutting costs by replacing these parts on their own. I would say if you have some repair skills and trust the quality of GM vehicles like I did take a chance and save yourself some money by thinking twice about an extended warranty. If your an average driver with little experience under the hood and plan on keeping the cruze as a long term investment and want to purchase a piece of mind knowing your covered if anything should happen then an extended warranty might be right for you.
> 
> While on the subject of extended warrantys do not be fooled by the junk mail warranty scams sent in the mail. Do your research before purchasing an extended warranty.
> 
> ...


 I totally disagree with your train of thought which is very flawed. First of all there is no such thing as an "Extended Warranty". These are known as "Service Contracts" and $2500 is not even a realistic price, the Dealer was trying to hose you. I found out that for GM, the best Contract to have is the GMPP. I bought the Platinum Contract and got better coverage by cancelling the selling dealer contract contract and buying a better one with the Zero $ deductible from another Dealer for $500 less. It was $1000 for 7 years/72,000 miles! Clearly says you can't do it but I did. Who sells you a contract at their cost (plus $100) when they never met you? A Dealer who doesn't like the Dealer who sold me the Car in the first place!


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## Gnfanatic (Oct 2, 2013)

$5k in repair costs?? I hope that included a new engine. Doesn't sound right to me unless there was a lot of mis-diagnosing from the dealer and a lot of unnecessary parts were replaced??


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## Ger8mm (Mar 13, 2014)

Somebody got bent over a barrel here and shown to the 50 states lol


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Eddy Cruze said:


> It was $1000 for 7 years/72,000 miles!


Eddy your logic is flawed. CruzeEcoBlueTopaz would have been wasting his money on that warranty as he puts on over 100K miles a year. If you look at his repair list over 235K miles the cost doesn't even equal what you paid for you warranty. 

I have not paid for thousands in repairs on ANY car with less than 100K miles. Besides general maintenance I have never had anything more than a sensor or switch fail which I can easily change myself for under $100. Powertrain warranty covers allot! Give one piece of mind knowing all the major components are covered & lets you keep that extended warranty money for something useful. https://www.chevrolet.com/owners/warranty.html


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

spacedout said:


> My b2b ran out based on mileage at 1.5 years. At my average miles driven that extended warranty would only cover me for an additional 2 years. I've had no out of pocket repairs yet, suspect I will make it to 72K(currently 53K) without a repair that's not already covered by the powertrain warranty.
> 
> I've had one part fail since my b2b ended, my trunk switch. I just use my key fob so probably will never fix it.


I got it because I knew I was going to put miles on it going from Ohio to NJ and NYC monthly. I'm at 30K now after buying the car in June of last year. IF I didn't have the long drive, I would have leased the car and said eff the extended. My switch works after replacement but holds water in still. Not having it works means you can hide Christmas presents in it so long as you have the 2 shot or press and hold forever to release fix done.


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## FlintCruze (Feb 27, 2014)

All the GM Extended Warranty Protection plans you can purchase expire at 100k miles, just depends on the months needed to get there and the mileage you are already at. So beyond that you'd have to go 3rd party.


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## CruzeEcoBlueTopaz (Jan 5, 2012)

When I purchased my new 2012 cruze I was offered a service contract from Zurich which covered an *additional* 36k miles b2b and 100k miles powertrain for $2,259 with a $100 dollar dectuable. So basically for an extra $ 2,259 I was covered for 72k miles b2b and 200k miles powertrain which I felt was an average deal. Ultimately I decided against the service contract and declined the offer. Instead I ended up accepting another offer from the same company for $409 which included 15 oil changes from the dealership.

Im happy about my decision not to accept the service contract and ended up saving myself approximately $1200 dollars which eventually I ended up spending on maintenance.


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## GRIMland (Jun 1, 2014)

6SpdCruze said:


> If you have the room and a bit of mechanical knowledge a decent set of tools is worth its weight in gold.


That's the trick right there. I've got the ability to fix most things myself, but I lack the place to do it and the tools, especially the specialized ones. I don't even have any e-torx, torx, or hex sets because all my previous cars needed only standard sockets and screwdrivers.
Also, without a heated garage I never look forward to working on a car during the freezing months when your fingers don't want to move.

Now if I had a lift, the same set of tools the GM techs have, and a heated garage...


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## AndyK (Jul 28, 2014)

You'd be better off taking $2500 and investing it in an equity mutual fund for 3 years. Use the proceeds for repairs, or, keep it if no repairs are needed.


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## jsusanka (Jan 31, 2011)

I didn't like any of the extended warranties time frame and mileage. I wanted something like 150,000 miles and 15 years. but to me 7/72000 miles isn't worth the money. all you are buying is two years extension on the power train so it doesn't really make sense to me.


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## dhpnet (Mar 2, 2014)

The longest warranty I was offered was 10 years/120K miles for $2500 with a $100 deductible. What is the probability that you will spend $2500 plus deductibles on repairs for your Cruze in 120K miles? I would guess that the probably is very low, maybe less than 10%. Those are terrible odds.

Also, with an extended warranty you must take your car to their shop, and they can deny a claim for stupid reasons, and you might need to wait for their claims adjuster to look it over before they even start the work. 

Some people are purchasing peace of mind. I will admit that it's hard to put a price tag on that. The $2500 might be well worth a little happiness and peace of mind. I would never argue with anyone about that.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Its highly unlikely to accumulate $1000-2500 in repairs before 100,000 miles(especially with a 5 year/100K powertrain warranty). Seems that money would better be used as a down payment on your current car or your next one. Either way it would allow you to get out of the car that much sooner if one had numerous issues.


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

I did get the extended warranty when I bought my car, but only because it's the first year of the diesel. Didnt want any unforeseen hpfp issues popping up like with the vw's.

If it was the 1.4T then I wouldn't have gotten it because I have a hoist, heated garage, and tool boxes full of tools. 


Sent from the sexy electrician


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## jalaner (Dec 28, 2013)

The extended warranty is just an insurance policy for auto repairs. The vendors have actuarial staff who are experts at setting the price (insurance premium) to assure that the premium covers the average price of covered repairs, commission for the salesman, vendor profit, plus a fudge factor for unexpected costs. So the average extended warranty buyer will pay much more for the policy than the actual value of the coverage. It may be a good deal for buyers who subject the car to severe/abusive usage (which voids the warranty) if they can do this without detection by the vendor. The vendors control the cost by limited coverage, denial of the problem, and cheap/used replacement parts etc. I have received about 500 offers for extended coverage on my 2008 Pontiac Vibe (50K miles) since new. My experience is that if anyone is this eager to sell a product it is a bad deal. Glad I didn't jump since this extremely reliable car has never required a repair. When I declined the coverage for my new CTD the loan officer almost started crying. These policies are a bad deal for the average buyers who take care of their cars.


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## MIPS64 (Sep 10, 2012)

My dad always taught me: if you can't afford to pay off the car by the time the bumper to bumper warranty expires, you cannot afford the car. Nothing like having repair bills on top of a car payment. Once it's paid, take that your payment and throw it into a separate account for vehicle repair/maintenance/replacement and watch it grow. As for the extended warranty, I would have just taken what it would have cost and thrown it into that account.


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## 6SpdCruze (Jul 10, 2014)

GRIMland said:


> That's the trick right there. I've got the ability to fix most things myself, but I lack the place to do it and the tools, especially the specialized ones. I don't even have any e-torx, torx, or hex sets because all my previous cars needed only standard sockets and screwdrivers.
> Also, without a heated garage I never look forward to working on a car during the freezing months when your fingers don't want to move.
> 
> Now if I had a lift, the same set of tools the GM techs have, and a heated garage...


Build up on tools over time  

I am in the same boat with wanting a heated garage as you are. It sucked when we had to change the alternator on my Astro when it was 25 degrees and windy. I do have access to a heated garage if I can get it there, but if its stuck in the driveway in the winter my fingers will be frozen. 

As for a service contract, I would never buy one personally. They offer them for a reason, to make money. I already pay more than enough in insurance as it is.


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