silveredgeman Posted August 5, 2014 Report Share Posted August 5, 2014 Hello, Does anybody has experience with the Mechanical Breakdown Protection offered by Mercury insurance? I have auto insurance through them and they are offering 100,000 miles or 72 months (starting today) for $930 for the platinum coverage. Floodfordesp is offering the premium care for $1215 for 7 yrs/100K miles (note that this is 7 years from factory warranty start date). Mercury is definitely much cheaper with coverage for total 6 yrs from now (an extra 2 years). We drive about 10K miles a year and are currently at 27K miles. Wanted to see if anybody has had any specific experiences? Here's a link to a brochure for the details (also attached to this post): https://www.kinecta.org/uploadedFiles/Insurance/MBI_Brochure(1).pdf Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ls973800 Posted August 6, 2014 Report Share Posted August 6, 2014 Years ago my son bought an extended warranty other than the factory one for a Pontiac. What a pain dealing with those people and finding a mechanic who would accept the conditions of the warranty. From what I recall, it wasn't even a completely unknown company but one that had been around a while. He and I now only buy the factory warranties. Maybe a bit more expensive in the beginning, but well worth it when it comes time for repairs. No waiting for an inspector to come and look at the failure, no paying money up front and waiting for a reimbursement, etc. Good at ANY Ford or Lincoln dealer in the US and I think also in Canada. Check some of the on line sellers (Flood, Ziggler, Anderson-Koch) for very competitive prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted August 6, 2014 Report Share Posted August 6, 2014 Yeah - you don't want anything other than a Ford ESP. Not worth the hassle. You can see my thoughts on extended warranties in general in other threads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWizard Posted August 7, 2014 Report Share Posted August 7, 2014 (edited) I too would only buy the Ford ESP plan even at higher cost. I have worked in several dealerships and seen the bad experiences owners have had with almost all of the aftermarket service plans. They make it very attractive up front but they make it very difficult to get repairs covered once they have your money. If you are very disciplined financially, buying an extended warranty is not a good decision. It's a huge profit maker for the seller because statistically you are very unlikely to get your money's worth in repairs - especially when you consider the deductibles. Most financial analysts will tell you to save your money and take the chance that you might have to pay for some repairs out of pocket down the road. But there are good reasons to buy one as well. If you plan to keep the vehicle through the entire duration of the contract and you're willing to pay for the peace of mind then it can be worthwhile especially if your vehicle has options or components that are prone to failure and very expensive to repair. I bought the top-of-the-line Ford ESP plan because I have concerns about the longevity of some of the components of both my Edge and my Mustang (mostly all the electronics and the Ecoboost engine). Edited August 7, 2014 by TheWizard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted August 7, 2014 Report Share Posted August 7, 2014 I keep hearing the term "peace of mind" but I don't get it. Is it just that you know you won't have to spend more than $1500 or so plus the deductibles? For me I have more peace of mind knowing that I did not spend $1500 up front unnecessarily. If you can't afford a big repair bill and you finance the cost with the vehicle then that makes sense and "peace of mind". But not paying cash. Maybe it's just me. I've saved well over $7k by not buying them so even if I had to spend $4k tomorrow it wouldn't bother me because I'm still $3K ahead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWizard Posted August 7, 2014 Report Share Posted August 7, 2014 Yes, you're exactly right... if you are in a position to be able to afford a large repair bill if it comes along then not buying the extended warranty is definitely the smarter way to go. But if a $4,000 repair would force you to choose between paying the mortgage or fixing your vehicle then the upfront cost of the warranty (which can be included in the financing of the vehicle) will remove that worry. Basically it's insurance - you pay the smaller premium in case something really big happens but most people will never get their money's worth except for that "peace of mind". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silveredgeman Posted August 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2014 Thanks all for the opinions on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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