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Mercury Extended Warranty?

Michiman

Michiman

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My dealer sent me an email indicating that for a mere $4530 I could extent the warranty on my 250HP Verado out to eight years. Yikes!!


In the insurance industry, most extended warranties are considered to be high margin contracts that don't usually pay off for the typical consumer so we normally just say "No". However, the high cost of what they are offering gives me pause.


Before I tell them to jump in the lake, have any of my Mercury friends on this board purchased the warranty? If so, was there a particular reason or was it more for piece of mind?


This is my first outboard, but the way I see it, if I properly maintain the engine I'm hoping that it will last well beyond that time period without any major work needed. My Volvo was ten years without anything but spark plugs. 


Thoughts?
 
I have a Yamaha but do not plan on purchasing any warranty after my 5 years are up. My 200 is based off the legendary f150 so I think I'll be good. Your Verado has more spinning parts and built in power steering though. I'll be curious to see what the Verado guys say.


Damn insurance companies...... :D
 
Ask Tom S. He, imho, is the Verado expert. Our Honda is over 10 years old and still ticking.
 
First of all, the Merc contract is completely negotiable for various terms and levels, so it's just like buying parts. You could even send several dealers an email and see who will discount it. It doesn't matter where you buy it, they have profit in selling it to you, no investment other than base cost, no after sale support, so an easy pure profit sale for them. We had platinum tier 5 years included in the deal when we bought ours and left it at that. We are finishing season #4 with nothing more than routine annual maintenance, though just now approaching only 100 hrs. I'd describe our use as "gentle" as I'm the only one operating it, ever, other than a specific service technician I know from the dealer.


Like any vehicle, the down side risk is there can always be big ticket items, failed electronic module, supercharger, power steering pump, etc. which, with labor, are thousands at a time. That's not common but it could happen. More typical is pencil coils, fuel pump, water pump, small things in the hundreds, just as any outboard.


$4500, wisely invested for those 5-8 yrs., could probably pay for at least a couple major repairs if required ;-)
 
TomS said:
First of all, the Merc contract is completely negotiable for various terms and levels, so it's just like buying parts. You could even send several dealers an email and see who will discount it. It doesn't matter where you buy it, they have profit in selling it to you, no investment other than base cost, no after sale support, so an easy pure profit sale for them. We had platinum tier 5 years included in the deal when we bought ours and left it at that. We are finishing season #4 with nothing more than routine annual maintenance, though just now approaching only 100 hrs. I'd describe our use as "gentle" as I'm the only one operating it, ever, other than a specific service technician I know from the dealer.


Like any vehicle, the down side risk is there can always be big ticket items, failed electronic module, supercharger, power steering pump, etc. which, with labor, are thousands at a time. That's not common but it could happen. More typical is pencil coils, fuel pump, water pump, small things in the hundreds, just as any outboard.


$4500, wisely invested for those 5-8 yrs., could probably pay for at least a couple major repairs if required ;-)
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Hey Tom, thank for weighing in on the subject. I guess I should have been a better negotiator as I just got the standard warranty! I think we'll take good care of it and take our chances. 
 
If you have a concern about the extended warranty.I just Googled and Wholesale warranty.com came up. Don't know anymore than that,but it may be good comparison for pricing. And TomS is correct about calling other Yamaha dealers. Good luck and give a yell when it's all sorted out.
 
We just got the extended warranty papers from yamaha yesterda.  We can extend the warranty up to another 3 years through the "YES" program.  $856 a year....$1204 for 2 years....and $1605 for the full 3 years of extended warranty.  Is that a good deal?  Who knows but if there ever is a big repair it would pay for itself in no time.  Is it for me....we are debating if it's actually worth it or do we just bank the 1600 for a just in case repair down the road.


 Many have said the new 4 stroke motors are almost bulletproof and seem to run forever.  We have over 315 hours on a 2014 motor and are wondering how many hours others have on their motors and what repairs they have come across in that time other than norm, maint. items.
 
I extended the standard 3 year warranty to 6 years on my previous Merc 115. It was about $400, IIRC and I never used it.


YMMV.
 
Holy crap!  $4530???


How much would it cost to sell it and buy a new one?  You'd get a warranty reset too...
 
I just received a letter from Mercury offering to extend the warranty on my 200HP Verado 5 years for $2,630. It came directly from Mercury and not from the dealer. They gave me just 2 weeks to decide! Is that a reasonable amount based on potential breaks? This is my first boat so I have no experience with outboard issues. 


I just completed the 20 hour break in period and the dealer said everything looked great, but is that any indication of longevity? I appreciate any guidance from those with more boating experience. 
 
GroupTherapy said:
I just received a letter from Mercury offering to extend the warranty on my 200HP Verado 5 years for $2,630. It came directly from Mercury and not from the dealer. They gave me just 2 weeks to decide! Is that a reasonable amount based on potential breaks? This is my first boat so I have no experience with outboard issues. 


I just completed the 20 hour break in period and the dealer said everything looked great, but is that any indication of longevity? I appreciate any guidance from those with more boating experience. 
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Well, that price looks a whole lot better than what my dealer is quoting, but still on the steep side IMO. 


As I mentioned before, this is my first outboard but I'm hoping that I can expect the same longevity as my previous I/O. That said, I did a google search and really didn't come across any notable problems. The Verado has been out a number of years so we're not dealing with a new design where unknown problems might surface.


As such, personally I'm willing to take a chance and will not be purchasing the extended warranty (unless the price were to come down substantially).
 
Here's an idea. If you think you may need some expensive service into the future, put away a few dollars a month into a savings account.


$100/mo. will be quite a nice little "insurance" policy in 2 or 3 years.
 
goldnrod24 said:
Here's an idea. If you think you may need some expensive service into the future, put away a few dollars a month into a savings account.


$100/mo. will be quite a nice little "insurance" policy in 2 or 3 years.
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Yep, Dave Ramsey would call that an emergency fund. Then if you don't need it, the ins. company hasn't sucked it away from you, as theirs. 
 
goldnrod24 said:
Here's an idea. If you think you may need some expensive service into the future, put away a few dollars a month into a savings account.


$100/mo. will be quite a nice little "insurance" policy in 2 or 3 years.
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I wouldn't tell my wife about it! It would turn into the Christmas fund. You know what I'm saying.
 
I actually have a fund like that already for vehicle repairs, I will let it ride. Great advice all. Thank you. 
 
Michiman said:
Been doing the Dave Ramsey thing probably longer than Dave! :)
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Except he figured out how to exploit people and make himself rich!
 
Agreed, but at least he's not hawking some crap made in China (although most things are).
 
Michiman said:
Been doing the Dave Ramsey thing probably longer than Dave! :)
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We've been debt free for several years now!  I did the free thing and listened to him on the radio. Didn't buy any books or classes. Some just need the help from support groups. I was doing it for me.
 
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