Should I get Honda Extended Warranty for Clarity Plug In?

Lots of opinions, including mine, here:

https://www.insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/why-not-to-buy-that-extended-warranty.3703/

 

Definitely peruse the thread that @Fast Eddie B provided.
It would also depend on whether the extended warranty offered is genuine Honda Care or some jackleg third party warranty that is not as good and is harder to use.

To help you calculate savings and value, I got the HondaCare D80 which is 8 yr/1000,000 miles for $1,304 on line. It’s available from Hyannis Honda on line but not to those in California or Florida. You can get it on line for ~$50 more elsewhere if you live in those states. There is over a 50% mark up on these at dealers so don’t let your dealer tell you how much they’re “saving” you when quoting the price.

The advantage of the genuine Honda Care is that it’s transferrable and prorated if you sell or trade in early, it’s honored at all Honda dealers, and is already entered in their computer so no hassle with claims or reimbursements anywhere. It also extends the 3 yrs of roadside assistance with free tows to nearest Honda dealer from anywhere, and covers family members if they drive Hondas or Acuras. With the high cost of parts/repairs on our Claritys, I consider it quite reasonably priced peace of mind at the discounted on line prices.

Find out the price without the extended warranty and then compare to the online pricing and you can negotiate from there. Hyannis Honda’s web site will give you a quote you can print out and use to negotiate with. I used it to have my dealer match the price so I could fold it into the 0.9% financing Honda offered back then.
Best wishes and be firm when negotiating. Let us know how you did and get ready to enjoy a great car!

 

My advice is to get a quote for HondaCare separately (assuming you want to buy extended warranty), and only after you have the price bundle it with your car purchase. Are you sure the dealer is offering HondaCare, not a third party warranty?

 

Well overall these are insurance policies that the underwriters have rigged to win (profit) in their favor most of the time. Question is: Do you feel lucky? (or is it unlucky since you're betting that the car will fail?)

Anyways, I financed an extended warranty policy into the deal for a used car that I knew from the test drive needed a new clutch. Turned out in the fine print, clutches were considered a "wear & tear" item and not covered. Good news for me? Well, I got a 100% reimbursement check from the 3rd party company for the policy cancellation within the first month thus it turned out that I got a low interest $1500 personal loan at a much lower rate than one would normally get for an unsecured cash loan from other sources. FWIW

 

I don't think you should. The Honda Care extended warranty for the Clarity is quite expensive relative to other Hondas (96 month/120k $0 deductible for $1714, vs $1110 for same warranty for a CNG Civic) and it doesn't cover regular maintenance/wear items -- this part is key! Stuff like valve lash adjustment isn't covered.

I did purchase a 3rd party warranty for my key fobs and wheels though, as I know these items get damaged/lost frequently and aren't covered by Honda Care. Sure enough, my wife lost one of our fobs within the first 3 months of ownership, which was several hundred dollars to replace but was covered completely. The warranty has already paid for itself with that one incident, but I can file claims for more lost fobs and for repairing the extensive curb damage to the wheels whenever I feel like it for the next 4 years.

 

That extended warranty has a lot of variables like miles and deductibles and whether it’s Honda brand. Keep in mind your car has an excellent 3 year factory warranty with additional factory coverage already for various key components. I doubt that what you’ve been offered is all that valuable, but we don’t know enough to offer useful advice. Negotiate the price of the car without extras, then decide if a Honda brand warranty is good enough price to roll into the loan and pay interest on. The finance staff push the warranties extremely hard because they are extremely profitable.

 

I think KentuckyKen nailed it in his detailed post. My quick thought regarding extended warranty: Cost relative to car cost is low (make sure you get the deal Ken mentions or similar). It's a limited production vehicle. Repair cost may or may not mimic other more common Hondas. Will it be similar to say a Civic hybrid? unknown. Should Honda abandon the the Clarity line I like knowing (I bought an 8 year) that all things covered and related parts are Honda's problem to come up with during the warranty period.

BTW: I hope the Clarity lasts forever (both my car and the model line). I love the car.

 

Never mix the extended warranty with the purchase price.

As for making a separate Honda Care purchase from discount online dealers such as Hyannis Honda- Yes.

The Clarity may not continue past the 2020 model year. Parts are expensive, and particularly so for a less mass produced vehicle. Also, the Clarity is more complex engineering wise than most cars. It has struggled with first year reliability in part due to software issues which generally are easily resolved.

If you live in a ZEV state- at least you have extended protection on the battery and emissions components.

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