c/auto-repair-and-warranties

Paid $400 for an extended warranty on a used car, then read the fine print too late

Last spring I bought a 2018 sedan from a private seller and the financing guy at my credit union in Columbus pushed their extended warranty hard. I figured okay, peace of mind, so I signed up for $400 over the loan term. Three months later the AC compressor died and I went to file a claim. Turns out the warranty only covers the engine and transmission, nothing else, and the compressor wasn't listed. The shop wanted $850 to fix it. I paid out of pocket and then tried to cancel the warranty for a prorated refund. They said cancellation was only allowed in the first 30 days. So I'm out $400 for a warranty that covered exactly nothing I needed. Has anyone else gotten burned by these credit union add-ons, or is there a way to actually get money back after the window closes?

Warning: My buddy's 'bypass the warranty' advice cost me $900 in Denver

Last month my alternator died on my 2018 Civic at 62k miles. My buddy Jake said just take it to his guy who does cash jobs and skip the dealer warranty hassle. He charged me $450 and the car died again 3 days later. Turns out his guy used a junk yard unit and I ended up paying the dealer $900 for a proper fix plus a rental. Did anyone else trust a friend's shortcut and get burned worse than the original problem?

Vent: my $600 extended warranty denied a repair over a missing oil change stamp

Bought a 2018 Honda from a dealer in Akron back in March, and when the transmission started slipping last week the warranty company said the previous owner's 45,000 mile service wasn't documented in their system, so has anyone actually had one of these claims approved without dealer records?

Dealer warranty denied my AC fix, independent shop proved them wrong

Took my 2018 Ford in for AC blowing warm air. Dealer said compressor failed, wanted $1,400 and said powertrain warranty wouldn't cover it. My buddy at an independent spot in Austin said to check the blend door actuator first. $90 part and 2 hours later, cold air. Dealer never even mentioned it. Has anyone else had dealers push the expensive fix first?

Extended warranty on my truck actually paid off, go figure

I've always figured those extended warranties were just profit for the dealer. Bought a 2018 Silverado two years ago with 60k miles and turned down the warranty three times at the desk. Last month the transmission started slipping real bad on I-35 outside Denton. Shop quoted me $4,200 for a rebuild. Then I remembered the previous owner had bought the 100k mile bumper to bumper and it transfers. Called the warranty company, they approved the whole thing in two days, only paid my $100 deductible. The mechanic even said they're usually a pain but this one was smooth. Has anyone else had a warranty transfer actually work out like that? I'm starting to think I was too quick to write them off.

The warranty clerk who flagged my paperwork saved me $900

Last month at a shop in Tucson, the warranty clerk noticed my extended plan had a tire coverage add-on I never knew about. One phone call later and they covered the blowout repair completely. Has anyone else found hidden perks buried in their warranty fine print?

Realized I was overtightening oil drain plugs for years

Last month I swapped oil on my 2010 Civic and actually looked at the torque spec in the manual instead of just cranking it down like I always did. It was only 29 ft-lbs, way less than I thought. How many drain plugs did I strip out over the years because I never checked?

Made the switch from dealership oil changes to doing my own after they quoted $140 for a simple job

I used to let the dealership handle my oil changes because I figured it was safer for the warranty, but last month they tried to upsell me on a $90 cabin air filter I could install in 5 minutes. Switched to doing it myself in the driveway with a $30 kit from the auto parts store and saved over $100. Has anyone else had a dealership try to push shady add-ons like that?

My alternator gave out on I-35 two weeks ago and the warranty actually covered it

I finally walked out of a Firestone after they tried to charge me $600 for a serpentine belt replacement

The guy at the counter told me 'it's a complicated job on these newer models' right before I found a YouTube video showing it takes 15 minutes, so I bought the belt for $28 and did it in my own driveway, has anyone else caught shops inflating labor hours on simple repairs?

Shoutout to that one shop that actually fixed my brake job right the first time

Last October I took my 2012 Ford Focus to a chain shop for rear brakes and they screwed up the caliper alignment. I limped it to a little independent garage on Elm Street in Portland, and the guy spent an entire Tuesday diagnosing it without charging me a dime upfront. He showed me the stuck slide pin and replaced it for $45 total parts and labor. Has anyone else found a mechanic that actually earns your trust instead of just taking your money?

I used to never change transmission fluid because of old mechanics telling me not to touch it

For like 15 years I listened to the old school guys who said if you change the fluid on a high mileage car you'll kill the transmission. Then my 2003 Honda Accord hit 180k miles and the shifting got rough. A guy at a shop in Nashville told me that myth is for garbage. Did a drain and fill instead of a flush and it shifted smooth again within 20 miles. I feel stupid for ignoring maintenance all those years. Anyone here run into that same advice from older mechanics?

That brake job gone wrong last Saturday taught me a lesson about warranty fine print

I was doing rear pads on my 2019 Toyota Camry in my driveway, and the caliper pin seized up. Took me 3 hours to get it out, and I ended up snapping the bleeder screw off. Called my local dealer to see if the brake components were still under the 3 year/36k warranty, but they said wear items like pads and screws don't count. Has anyone else ran into a warranty claim getting denied over something that seems like a defect?

My granddad’s old repair shop off Route 66 taught me a lesson I still use

Back in 2015, I was helping him sort through boxes of old parts behind his shop in Oklahoma. He pulled out a 1972 warranty card for a Chevy truck and said "this paper is worth more than half the stuff in here." That’s when it clicked for me that keeping original paperwork can actually save your bacon on a repair. Has anyone else run into a situation where a dusty old receipt or manual got you out of paying for something?

Watched a local mechanic rebuild a transmission on YouTube and it totally changed my view on extended warranties

I was always the type who said extended warranties were a scam. Then I stumbled across this video from a shop in Austin where the guy tore down a 2015 Ford Focus transmission. He showed exactly how the clutches wear out around 60k miles and quoted $3,800 for a rebuild out of pocket. That video made me realize that for certain cars with known issues, a warranty can actually pay off. Ended up buying one for my 2022 Subaru last month just for peace of mind. Has anyone else had their mind changed by seeing what repairs actually cost?

Why does nobody warn you about aftermarket warranty fine print

My 2018 Subaru Outback's transmission started slipping near Denver on I-70 last October. Called the warranty company I paid $2,800 for and they said repairs aren't covered if the car has over 60,000 miles - mine had 62,000. Ended up paying $4,500 out of pocket at a local shop. Has anyone else gotten burned by mileage limits they didn't catch?

Extended warranty debate after my alternator died on I-75

I was cruising down I-75 near Atlanta last month when my battery light came on and then my radio started flickering. Pulled over at a rest stop and barely made it to a shop where they said the alternator was shot and the repair was $620. Now I'm wondering if that extended warranty I passed on would have saved me money or if it's just another way for dealers to make cash. Anyone else ever run the numbers on those aftermarket warranties and feel like you either got robbed or saved?

TIL I was deglazing my brake rotors completely wrong for years

Honestly, I've been doing brake jobs on my '08 Honda Civic since 2016 and always just sprayed brake cleaner straight on the rotors and wiped them down. Last month at a garage in Phoenix, the mechanic watched me do it and said I was just pushing the grease deeper into the pores. He showed me to use a dedicated rotor deglazer tool and fresh sandpaper, spent like 7 minutes per rotor, and my brakes actually grab now instead of pulsing after a week. Anyone else ever realize they were skipping a step that actually matters?

Had a radiator hose split on I-40 in Nashville during rush hour last Friday

I was stuck on the shoulder for 45 minutes waiting for a tow, and the shop charged me $280 to replace a $15 hose because they had to flush the whole cooling system from the mess it made - has anyone else had a simple fix turn into a big bill like that?

My buddy's truck was making this weird ticking noise for months

Turns out it was a loose spark plug that kept backing itself out, three different shops missed it over 6 visits. Ended up fixing it myself with a torque wrench in maybe 20 minutes, how do mechanics miss something that simple?

Spent 4 hours chasing a bad ground on my '97 Civic

Car would crank but no spark. Checked everything. Coil, distributor, main relay, ECU. All fine. Turned out the ground strap from the engine to the frame was corroded underneath the paint. $3 part. Half a Saturday gone. Ever had a simple fix take forever to find?

Can anyone recommend a good extended car warranty company?

My factory warranty just expired on my 2019 SUV and I'm looking into getting an extended plan. So many options out there but I don't wanna get ripped off. Anyone have a company they actually trust? Not looking for the cheapest, just something reliable.