[flash]

when the factory warranty expired on the denali, we bought the one they sell at the dealership - many people find this to be a waste of money (including my parents) - let me tell you a story............

we bought this car new in 06 - before taking delivery it got 22x10 wheels with 305/40s on them, big sway bars, big rear springs, lowering, and monstrous brakes - shortly thereafter it got a volant intake, throttle body spacer and reprogramming - we have put a LOT of miles on it (about 55k now) - we have dragged it across country a few times, trailer right behind it - we haul stuff everywhere - this car gets a lot of use, we knew it when we bought it, and did everything we could think of to make sure it was trouble free and up to the task

the car has not been without issue though

it was in an accident which banged up the front end, and required new front right suspension work - it blew the tranny (twice) - it has been in for a number of small things (noises, squeaks, steering shafts, etc) - all in all though, it has still been a great car, and we love it

i have been dilligent about keeping the car running right though, and take it in regularly - i also run the best fluids i can, and don't let things go - i even had the tranny serviced early as a preventative measure - just before the factory warranty expired at 36k, we purchased the one they sold - costs us about $1000 a year - that may seem high, as most people don't spend that on repairs, and it doesn't cover stuff like oil changes and regular services and such

a little over a week ago, after taking it in to have all the differential stuff serviced (not covered), and to have a clicking noise diagnosed, they found the front diff to be toast - they rebuilt it (twice) - all covered - however, same noise - back in it went - it took them a week to figure it out, but it turns out i smoked the transfer case - $3800 - totally covered

that warranty has now paid for itself 4 times over

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[DaveN]

I would never entertain thought of maligning you or your opinion as I value it immensely but I'm itching to spew an alternate reality for fun.

Owners, in general, of domestic cars amaze me. You consider a car that has thrown a tranny twice and toasted a diff as pseudo-reliable and of a certain "acceptable" quality. Tens of thousands of USD for a vehicle and only 4 years old? I certainly can't play that disposable game. That's what's wrong with most of us, we've been turned into wreckless consumers. Yea, you can tell I recycle and hate material waste [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif[/img]

I have run a Toyota truck for 20 years and it has cost me one set of shocks, a few tune-ups, 3 sets of front pads and 2 new fenders as some rust was getting noticable. I buckled 11 years ago and bought a Buick Century, my first domestic ever. Well, one engine later (siezed), 4 sets of rotors, the main control unit, water pump, shocks are gone and I am starting to loose my head gasket now on this engine. North American auto designers deserve to go belly up for creating this complacent crap.

Good thing my Porsche is from Germany!

Oooo, my first rant. I feel better [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif[/img]

Remember I'm just stirring the pot for fun?

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[flash]

lol - no worries

i didn't say i thought it was "acceptable quality" - i have been quite annoyed by the failures - i still love the car, and it is great when it is running - there wasn't a better choice of rig though, foreign or domestic - we wanted an SUV that could tow the trailer with the porsche in it - we didn't want it to be so large that it was hard to drive around town - we wanted the rear area to fold flat

no foreign rig had the tow capacity - remember, it's more than just weight capacity - no other domestic rig had the capabilities in this wheelbase - we were really pretty stuck - we may still be exceeding the real capabilities of the rig

all i am saying is that, even after factoring in the cost of the warranty, we are still in decent shape with this one, and i'm really glad we bought the warranty - by the way, it covers a loaner or rental too

comparative note: the 05 M3 blew a $1300 MAF at 26k miles, leaving us stranded waiting for a tow truck, has had continuing brake issues, blew a window driver gear, and now has squealing brakes and a chirping in the heater fan, all now at 32k miles - so much for german engineering

i don't think anything is bullet proof - i have just come to expect that cars break - cars that are pushed to their limits break sooner

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[DaveN]

Ah yes, you got me on towing capacity for an SUV; very few choices. The problem with BMW is that they are made in the wrong factory, maybe P should buy them too, they are looking into an entry level car [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif[/img]
As I always tell my wife, they can put a man on the moon but they can't make a car. Hopefully this little "shake-out" the industry is having will open some eyes and the attention will focus on engineering instead of short-term marketing concepts this time.

Cheers!

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[flash]

yeah - the primary requirement when considering a tow vehicle was that it be a traditional full frame - that eliminated all foreign vehicles right away - after that, i needed a boat load of torque, and a large rear area (big dog) - that further knocked out the foreign stuff - all of those have a tiny rear area - add to that the need for a decent but not too large wheelbase for towing stability, and we landed where we did

not a lot of choices out there - but, we've been happy with it - certainly it has had its problems, but we are taxing it - it also now has 55k on it, about 40% of which has been towing (3 cross country tips and one to portland) - we've learned some things, and i'm looking into upgrades on the drivetrain - other than the drivetrain, the car has been pretty darned solid - no engine issues, suspension problems, electrical problems or anything like that

it is a pleasure to drive, which was frankly a huge surprise to me, as we were coming out of a 98 grand cherokee, which the denali being so much larger, i thought it would be nightmare - it handles like a dream (now that the suspension is upgraded) is quite fast (might be the fastest thing we have 30 -70) and has all the bells and whistles

we're definitely keeping it - but, the big thing that swung us over recently is the warranty - that is something that american manufacturers have not seemed to have gotten their heads around - 3 and 36 is silly - here in l.a. 36 comes very fast - perhaps that's why 2 year lease returns are so common - 5 and 60 would be a lot more in line with the - market - we had to buy a warranty, which in our case still made sense, but i can certainly see why it would push others away

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[968Syncro]

Just make sure that your dealer stays in business. I bought an extended warranty once (VW), and went back a year later with a blown trans and the dealer was gone. I didn't read the fine print enough to understand that it was a dealer backed warranty, not a manufacturer warranty. VW of America would do nothing about it.

Roland

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[flash]

crossing my fingers - oldest one in a very extended area, and passed generation to generation, but with GM going under, who knows?

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[rxter]

I recently signed up for an extended warranty for my rx8. 4 more years and 48,000 miles of worry-free rotary bliss eh? -OR- now that I paid for the stupid warranty I am stuck with this pig for another 4 years? I have good days and bad...

My rationale.

I had a couple of oddball problems right before the warranty period was up at 4 years, including some seriously funky smelling trans oil leakage post change. I figured that I'll never sell it with that funk, and so I may need to have it fixed, again, after the warranty is up. And this car is the first model year, so likely will see some problems crop up over time.

The bad news - cost me $1600.

The good news - it transfers to a new owner and so may provide some saleability value if I do want to sell, and it is with Penske and honored at any Penske affiliated dealership, and there are loads and loads of those folks. Takes me up to almost 90K miles with full warranty.

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[gryphon]

A few random comments:

My 98 Yukon, purchased new, has been a great workhorse, but terribly undependable. Lots of repairs during the standard warrantyperiod and lots more during the extended warranty period--four fuel pumps, two radiators, transfer case, AC, yada, yada, yada. There is just no excuse for GM failing to build dependable trucks when trucks have been their mainstay for so many years.

I rarely buy extended warranties on anything other than vehicles. But I learned my lesson with a 91 Lexus LS400 that would have cost me thousands had I not purchased the extended warranty. I'm not sure I would go so far as to call it a lemon but it certainly had more failures than J.D. Powers promised me.

Manufacturer's extended warranties carry a substantial markup, just like replacement parts. They can be bought from any franchise dealer and often at close to a 50% discount from an out-of-state dealer.

Tom

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[flash]

check the laws on warranties - depending on the state, they may not be enforceable - california is one of the states that many companies will not sell to - i wanted to buy one for the 968 when i got it, but NOBODY would cover it in california

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[kodomokid]

I'm glad that I got an extended warranty when I bought the Passat. It was my first venture into the European market. I had oil sludging problems and a bad ABS control unit which were all covered under this warranty. The oil sludging problem came up before VWoA would admit the problems and cover the repairs on the 1.8T engines. A couple grand saved me tons in labor and parts especially when the dealership was repairing the car. Still a pretty reliable car. The problems tend to come in bunches.

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