F430 warranty - extra year - is it worth it

My F430 warranty (4yr) expires in 2 weeks. Currently agonizing about the value of an additional year and just wondered what real club scud member experiences were ?
1) Did those who got the extra warranty get value out of the additional cost - which items were fixed ?
2) What about those who have not extended their warranty - was this a good decision leaving them with money in the bank ?

I have had exhaust manifolds sorted, exhaust hanger sorted & various body/paint items sorted. Front ball joints are original (9200 miles), What else is on the usual list of things which may go ?

My usual approach to extended warranty is to avoid. Extended warranty is generally a profit making business and not a charity. Any views ?

 

First a few questions for you;
1. Are you mechanically inclined?
2. Do you have time to fix minor issues within your skill set?
3. How much is the warranty?
4. How many miles do you expect to put on the F430 in the covered year?

I am typically against extended warranties, but I give exception for these cases:
a. The warranty is super inexpensive. i.e. Lexus IS 250 8 Yr / 75K miles for $1220. (SOLD), Yamaha R1 4 yrs/50K miles $700 (SOLD)
b. I just dont have the love for the vehicle to do the work myself. i.e. Lexus (great car, little real love). Mercedes (good car, no love or patience to work on it).

*Full Disclosure; "My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools. I can fix it." [Spicoli]. I am more mechanically inclined than most and ferraris dont scare me one bit. So I am more inclined to be self insured on a vehicle that I enjoy working on.

 

I've twice extended the warranty on my '07 F430, but haven't yet used it. For me it's piece-of-mind and at ~$4K/year, I'm fine with it.

 

These are always tough decisions. You know your car pretty well, how often you drive it, how reliable it's been so far, etc , so that should give you some indication as to it's ability to stay out of the shop.

I personally would rather put the money in the bank. If you don't need any major repairs in 2 years, you've saved 12 grand. Then, if something happens you're probably still ahead. The down side: blow up the engine or gearbox and the car is a write off or looking for used parts.

Then again, if you're worried every time you red line it that you might drop a valve, the warranty will give you that piece of mind to drive the car without worry. It may enhance your driving experience to be worry free.

There is no right or wrong answer. It's just what makes you comfortable. Like everything in life, it's a gamble one way or the other.

 

i agree.
got the extended warranty once (on an older 430 coupe).
never needed it.

 

I got the warranty - POWER NORMAL - and already used to replace some fan unit.
I bought it for piece of mind...

 

Its for peace of mind.

Did not buy one.

I have all my cars on extended warranty except ferrari? None ever broke.

I reasoned if I buy all cars with extended warranty, that would be atleast 12T a year. Might as well take the risk.

Car is very solid. Knock on wood.

 

As a matter of principle, I never buy extended warranties on cars. But I'm also an entrepeneur so I am comfortable with risks. When my 05 430 warranty was up and was quoted 6K per year all I could think is the cars are either crap or they are making a fortune on the warranty. In the 430's case, I think it is a fortune. For the average owner driving 1500-2000 miles a year, that's $4 a mile. That's more than depreciation. Anyway, it's been 3.5 years without a warranty and never would have used it so I'm up about 20 grand. Realy, if I was so worried about the car that I would be willing to pony up 6K a year, I wouldn't have it anymore.

Dave

 

skip the warranty, put the money in the bank as a reserve account...if you don't need it, it is like found money in 365days...done and done.

 

My problem with warranties is that everything costing $ seems to be maintenance and not a "repair" item, which is excluded. I vote skip the warranty.

 

+1 Fred

 

Same EXACT situation here. And if I hadn't bought it the car would have most definitely needed work.

I would buy/extend it.

 

lol....that's my thinking exactly....My CPO is good til next year and I'll probably buy another, especially since the car will get 8-10K miles a year....In my mind if I don't buy it something will go wrong and if I do buy it I'll never use it....

 

The general philosophy above matches mine. I am happy to take risks and I never buy extended warranties for other stuff.

Apart from the manifolds (now replaced) nothing major has happened and car runs well. I know that ball joints are a risky item. However I am being quoted £2700 for power normal & £3700 for power cube (circa $1.6 to the pound).

Only thing is that somebody posts that his engine blew up and it cost £33k to replace. However this seems like a one-off and maybe somebody over revved it. I would have thought that Ferrari were pretty good at designing/building engines and my dealer has never had such a case.

Anyway thanks for the helpful comments.

 

I bought an 06 F430 with 5900 miles 1.5 years ago. Had an AC actuator, exhaust bracket, exhaust manifold changed under the power warranty. While changing the exhaust manifold they found a leaky F1 actuator and replaced it too (was not having any problems with the F1 at the time). These occured during the first year. The actuator was a $17,000 fix--so they told me. I was happy to renew my warranty for another year and I will again next year. I'm averaging 2-3K per year. No tracks. I may be in the minority here. Good luck with your decision.

Gordon

 

I agree with this post. Before I would ever purchase or extend a warranty I would want to know exactly what is and what is not covered. My experience is that most things are excluded from coverage and that usually comes as a surprise when a repair is needed.

 

The manifolds would have been replaced under emissions warranty anyway. The exhaust brackets were service bulletin items replaced free anyway. That 17K number for an actuator sounds suspicious. Double check with Ricambi. Maybe they wanted to scare you into another year. They make good money selling warranties.

Dave

 

You are absolutely right since they don't have a clear list of what's covered...It's never a good surprise at the Ferrari delership!

 

I have a 2005 F430 that is currently having the manifolds replaced under the emission warranty. No cost (whoohoo) but I did have to have it trucked to the dealership 500 miles away. As it was already in their shop and apart, the dealer offerd me a 1 year Power warranty for 3k. While not the bumper to bumper- it does cover all major systems and many electronics.

Similar choice as others here...do I keep 3K to spend with my very friendly and compitant local independant mechanic as needed, or just part with 3K.

I decided the warranty was worth a year of worry free enjoyment. A big factor for me is that the roadside assistance that is included. If my engine light comes on (and not because I forgot to tighten the gas cap), I don't have to worry about it and I don't have to pay to get it to the dealer two states away. My car had the F1 pump replaced just before I purchased it- a very spendy repair that would have been covered.

My 2 cents (or 3K ).

 

$3K is a pretty good price for a Power warranty (assuming that it also includes the warranty inspection charge). It lists for about $4k total, I believe. I paid a bit less for mine (a while back), which I worked into the sale price, but the dealer was already making good money on the car. So, in essence it was courtesy pricing to help make the deal.

Seeing that you're so far from the dealer, having transport there if something major goes wrong is great added peace of mind. If the car is still drive-able, however, I don't think Ferrari covers transport costs.

 

Since I am just getting into a 2007 with 4 months of warranty left I am definitely going to get the extended warranty just to give me more time to shake things. I doubt I would take it past that if I have no real issues.

 

I almost never buy warranties either but was glad I had it on my F430. It covered a 17k f1 pump repair on a 2700 mile car. Also it makes selling the car a lot easier..

 

It obviously is a cost benefit analysis. For me, the decision was easy. My dealer offered a one year warranty off the bat, and I paid an additional $5000 for an additional two years. Being new to Ferrari, the extended warranty on a six year old car for this amount seemed worth it, even if the car is perfect and nothing goes wrong.

 

Same decision and experience ... After 2 years I have $8,000 in bank for repairs.

 

The best plan is to not pay for an extended warranty and find a good independent to work on the car. A good way to save a lot of money (typically the highest margin "product" a dealer from Toyota to Ferrari has) and avoid crazy things like $17,000 dealer repair quotes/orders for F1 pumps (or things like the original $65,000 quote a $tealer gave to an f-chatter to repair his convertible top on the 360 he had just purchased from them). To each his own, but if the question of the post is people's thoughts on "is it worth it?" to get the extended warranty, my answer for $6,000K/year is a definite no.