Xcelerate Warranty: now or later?

[BW75D]

Hello all. New owner and first time post. Been reading forums for a while and great advice for newbies. Thanks to all.

I’ve seen older threads about Xclerate when they first came out and thought I’d inquire about the following.

2016 MS75D with 35k miles. Purchase from 3rd party dealer. Already been at SC for minor issue and thankfully no issues to report.

Looking at the higher miles extended warranty options bc I don’t think less miles makes sense. Options:

1. does anyone think you shouldn’t buy the extended warranty? I don’t see logic with repair costs so high. And Xclerate seems to be the only in the game right now.

2. Does anyone think waiting until your Factory warranty Is about to expire makes better sense than buying it now at lower price (but basically paying for something you don’t need)? Xclerate’s hard sell is it’s always cheaper to get it with less miles on your car but I don’t see it. Do others agree?

Here are the numbers and options. FYI I drive 15k miles annually average:

-Buy it now for $4300. I get another 36k miles after my manufacture warranty expires. Buy it later when warranty almost up (say 48k). It costs $300 more but now I get 50k extra miles. That makes sense.

When I run numbers for more miles protection it seems the same:

-spend $4800 now and get an extra 60k miles warranty. (You read that right. It’s $200 more than option above and you get 10k more miles.). Or get it later when I have say 48k and almost expired. That will cost $500 more ... but I get 74k extra miles.

Now I save $500 but later that $500 gets me almost another years worth of warranty (14k) so that seems to be best option, right?

Of course the unknown factor is if their raise their rates in six months - I might be screwed. (Although there may also be competition in the market makes waves as well.)

So. Is it better to take the one you know and have peace of mind or wait till you really need it and see if the cost changes...? Thanks for any input. Cheers.

 

[bishoppeak]

They are making money selling warranties. You are betting the cost will be less than future repairs, they are betting the other way. Who do you think is better at predicting the result? Save your money and pay for repairs as they are needed.

 

[cookie99]

i havent heard of anyone making a claim though, thats the other issue.

 

[murphyS90D]

I asked for a quote. There is a 30 day plus 1000 miles waiting period. Due to Covid-19 I figure it could take up to 10 months for me to put another 1000 miles on the car. So almost 1/4 of a 4 year plan would have no coverage.

 

[SO16]

I have never come out ahead buying extended warranties. I finally stopped buying them and now just invest the money.

 

[BW75D]

Thanks everyone for their replies and comments.

 

[sorka]

My experience with non factory extended warranties is that they never live up to the promise. Learned the hard way twice. Done with third party warranties.

 

[Az_Rael]

Who do you think is better at predicting the result

The interesting thing to me about this is Tesla has chosen to not offer the extended warranty on the 3. It SHOULD be a moneymaker by all normal accounts. And yet. Makes me wonder if they are losing on extended warranty repairs.

Which begs the question if this 3rd party company will survive if Tesla can't make money doing it for their most popular car. Who knows. I bought one since I own a 3. Will see how it plays out.

 

[PhilDavid]

They are making money selling warranties. You are betting the cost will be less than future repairs, they are betting the other way. Who do you think is better at predicting the result? Save your money and pay for repairs as they are needed.

Ha! Same can be said about health insurance, homeowners insurance, liability umbrella, or any other similar product.

You are not buying a guaranteed financial return. It is not an investment. You are buying peace of mind, especially in the unfortunate event of a very large bill. I consider the extended warranty a form of insurance for peace of mind. 5 years into ownership I have a major issue, I take the car in, they fix it and life goes on. Not having to stress over thousands in repair bills to me is worth the cost of the $4K ESA. I bought it with the car knowing I have 8 years peace of mind.

MCU breaks, AC breaks, half shafts break, shudder at acceleration, door handle breaks, whatever. All I'll worry about for the 8 years of my intended ownership is when can I have the car back fixed. I would not own this car without warranty coverage but I fully realize different people have different tolerances.

Even if I have zero issues, I would consider it money well spent for peace of mind the same way I'm considering getting PPF. If I get PPF and I have zero scratches on the PPF 4 years later, I still would have considered it worth it.

 

[bishoppeak]

Ha! Same can be said about health insurance, homeowners insurance, liability umbrella, or any other similar product.

You are not buying a guaranteed financial return. It is not an investment. You are buying peace of mind, especially in the unfortunate event of a very large bill. I consider the extended warranty a form of insurance for peace of mind. 5 years into ownership I have a major issue, I take the car in, they fix it and life goes on. Not having to stress over thousands in repair bills to me is worth the cost of the $4K ESA. I bought it with the car knowing I have 8 years peace of mind.

MCU breaks, AC breaks, half shafts break, shudder at acceleration, door handle breaks, whatever. All I'll worry about for the 8 years of my intended ownership is when can I have the car back fixed. I would not own this car without warranty coverage but I fully realize different people have different tolerances.

Even if I have zero issues, I would consider it money well spent for peace of mind the same way I'm considering getting PPF. If I get PPF and I have zero scratches on the PPF 4 years later, I still would have considered it worth it.

Health, Homeowners and Umbrella policies insure against catastrophic losses, Tesla repairs are not catastrophic. If non catastrophic losses disturb your peace of mind perhaps the cost of the extended warranty would be better spent on therapy.

 

[MichaelP90DL]

They are making money selling warranties. You are betting the cost will be less than future repairs, they are betting the other way. Who do you think is better at predicting the result? Save your money and pay for repairs as they are needed.

Remind me not to play poker with you.

 

[PhilDavid]

Health, Homeowners and Umbrella policies insure against catastrophic losses, Tesla repairs are not catastrophic. If non catastrophic losses disturb your peace of mind perhaps the cost of the extended warranty would be better spent on therapy.

Good point but I consider the $4K I spent on the ESA better (and cheaper!) than therapy for this situation.

Different people have different tolerances for unknown out of pocket expenses so there is no right or wrong answer. Do what everyone feels comfortable with with their own money...

 

[Silicon Desert]

I have never come out ahead buying extended warranties. I finally stopped buying them and now just invest the money.

Interesting. I generally agree about extended warranties. HOWEVER, in the ONLY 2 times I ever bought an extended warranty, it saved me $450 over the cost of a new unit when it failed. It was not a car. I consider myself lucky that I actually bought it. I never by extended warranties on anything unless it is a really expensive item to repair. So as I recall only twice in 30 years have I ever bought such a warranty. In the second case they gave me 1/2 my money back after 4 years when I didn't use it. So I guess I am "luckily" still $340 ahead.