Today I am singing the praises of automobile extended warranties. Of course it’s only because it paid off to the tune of 300%.We seriously debated the merits of such a policy when we acquired our “pre-owned” Acura MDX almost three years ago. The main reason was the healthy chunk of premium – almost $1,500 – but it would last three years or up to 100,000 miles, whichever came first.
All drive line problems are covered, plus a few other things, but not including tires, batteries, etc. The only caveat is that you have to maintain the car according to manufacturer’s recommendations.
Hmmmm. No major car expenditures for at least three years. We decided to buy it.
As fate would have it, the engine warning light came on a few weeks ago while I was creeping in traffic approaching the Narrows bridge. I took it to a local guy who said the diagnostic code indicated I needed to take it to an Acura dealer. Uh oh.
Long story short, the entire transmission and 4WD transaxle needed to be replaced. The estimated tab? $4,895. Yikes.
“Is it covered by my warranty?” I asked. “I’ll check it out,” came the reply. After a seemingly "agonizing" wait of only a few hours, I got the news.
“You’re covered fully,” the technician said. “We’ll even provide you with a loaner at no charge”. Whew! Thank you, Lord.
Yesterday afternoon we picked up our MDX with a basically brand new drive line. It runs like a dream. The line of ciphers at the bottom of the invoice was icing on the cake.
Now I’ve got another “problem”. The loaner Acura had satellite radio on it. I only drove it for 10 days, but I’m hopelessly hooked. Gonna check it out for the MDX this afternoon.
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