Heads Up on After Market Warranties

[sharonlee]

smart HQ just notified me that they will not accept any extended warranties except the one that is sold by the dealership. Ain't that a kick in the head?

Sharon

[Prospero]

Sharon:

Not sure what you mean here -- are they saying that you'll have to pay for the service and get reimbursed? How do your other local mechanics work with third party warranties.

[sharonlee]

I just reread the message and now I am not sure...think I will call them. The message they sent was "Unfortunately you have to use our smart warranty. Please call me if you are interested in purchasing an extended plan." Is it possible he thinks I want to use it before factory runs out?...but that just wouldn't make sense. I told this guy by email that I was going to purchase from Warranty Direct. Will check by phone.

[rawlus®]

my guess is they won't do the paperwork on any other warranty other than the one smart sells - so, if after the factory warranty expires you need something fixed, you'll have to take the responsibility of getting the necessary authorization from warranty direct for the repairs, then probably paying the smart dealership/service dept out of pocket for the repairs, then submitting the reciepts along with proof of payment and the claim number back to warranty direct, where they will then draft a reimbursement back to you in 4-6 weeks or whatever they deem appropriate.

[sharonlee]

Originally Posted by Prospero

Sharon:

Not sure what you mean here -- are they saying that you'll have to pay for the service and get reimbursed? How do your other local mechanics work with third party warranties.

Just got off the phone. First he again told me "no other warranties"...until I told him that I knew other people had already purchased other warranties and they were going to be very upset. He put me on hold and when he came back he said that they would honor all extended warranties. Then he wanted to know why I did not want the one they sold. I told him I could get a 7 year extension from Warranty Direct for about the same price per year. The most they sell is a 5 year. With my driving habits, time is more valuable than mileage.

Anyway, sorry for raising a red flag before checking by telephone.

[a2jack]

Sharonlee. I checked around to some local shops that I plan to use after the factory warranty runs out. They all tell me they will accept no warranty's and payment is always COD.

I think of the lot, Direct seems the best deal, but getting a shop to accept it. even an out of town Smart dealer, will be a fight.

Time will tell. A2Jack

[rwjrn]

Getting anyone to honor an extended warranty is pretty tough. So many of them deny claims because the phase of the moon isn't correct or you should have known better than to drive your car. Most shops do not want the hassle of fighting with the warranty company so they let you do it first.