Is this a reliable extended warranty?

No repair shop or dealer will "honor the warranty". They will submit claims to the warranty provider, just like a hospital would for medical insurance, and Century will either pay for or reject those claims. You'll find out whether Century will actually pay or if they're a scam when you need warranty service.

 

The quality of the extended warranty is directly related to your shop’s service advisor experience in submitting claims to extended warranty companies, in such ways that they actually get approved. Finding such a shop that is good at dealing with extended warranties is difficult.

Many shops hate dealing with them and will refuse to do repairs that involve them. They almost always cause substantial delays in repairs, whether they approve or deny a claim. Yet other shops do OK at getting things approved. So this is a question for YOUR specific mechanic/service shop. Nobody else can give you a good answer. Heed his advise, and if he says he’s good at getting that company to pay claims, make sure you go NOWHERE else for repairs. If he hesitates, or says you’ll have to pay for repairs up front and deal with warranty company on your own, you have confirmation you purchased a turd of a warranty.

But generically speaking they all suck, are wastes of money, and you should try to get your money back and cancel it.

 

@craze1cars - Just curious whether this specific remark is aimed at the Honda warranties too, or just the 3rd party ones?

 

Interesting. I thought the customer had to pay for repairs and submit the claims. I can’t imagine a shop letting a repaired vehicle go without knowing if they will get paid. But, I’ve never used third party and never will. Too iffy for my money.

 

That is a non-sequitur. The warranty doesn't have anything to do with whether they get paid or not.

I'd think a claim submitted by a repair shop is more likely to be honored. If they do deny it, you don't lose anything by having the shop submit the claim first; then you pay the bill, and maybe attempt to claim it yourself later and hopefully not get denied again.

 

My comments referred to 3rd party warranty companies. I know absolutely nothing about Honda’s offered extended warranties, other than they are designed exclusively as a business tool to make more profit for Honda.

 

That’s what many shops tell you to do. Because they don’t want to take the risk. I have known a handful of shops in my career who had figured out the extended warranty thing and would agree to do direct billing with them. Almost exclusively they were large independent used car dealers which had substantial and high quality service departments. If their own sales force pushed a particular warranty company and then the internal service department had to deal with denials and delays? That warranty company would get dropped by the sales force and they’d try another one.

But those service departments would release repaired cars to owners without full payment, based on emails and written commitments from the warranty company that they were going to pay the shop direct, in part or in full, for a given repair.

 

My experience thus far in my short life:

First car ever was a 1965 Mustang Fastback, 289, 2+2 Rally with factory AC and disc brakes. Rebuilt it myself for 2 years before finally driving at 17. It did not have a warranty, extended or otherwise and almost broke me... yes, I would give almost anything to still have that car!!!! ugh

little later...

Two Cadillac's purchased certified pre-owned, purchased extended warranty through dealer at time of purchase (I drove them for business, put well over 100K on both). Warranty was a gap coverage, zero deductible, bumper to bumper, for the difference between the extended factory at the 8 year/100K miles. Paid around $2200 each if memory serves. These were warranties sold by the dealer, underwritten of course by 3rd parties (fidelity was one UW I remember).

There were of course minor repairs covered by the warranties, but these are the big tickets that would have been "troublesome" without the coverage.

• 1st 1998 Caddy ran great until 84K miles and two computers shorted out. Warranty covered it at the cost of $3800 plus a rental car for the 4 days in the shop.
• 2nd 2008 Caddy ran great until the Northstar engine decided to develop a mysterious coolant leak (would pass pressure checks, but my garage floor...) after multiple visits, they decided to remove and split the engine - found a crack in the engine case. $5900 for the engine repair plus the labor and 8 day rental car.

Next I decided to try Acura, bought again a certified pre-owned TL Type S, bought the extended warranty (this was $2300 I think) same terms. Had to replace the front engine mounts, AC compressor, and the transmission (something, can't remember). Total over 100K miles at the shop was around $3500+, didn't pay a dime more than the original policy.

Second Acura was a disaster and the extended warranty saved my butt. Traded it back in at 80K after they had to replace the main computer, 2 electrical junction boxes and something else. Broke even on that warranty but didn't keep it long enough to get ahead (was 3K into the extended warranty) just lost faith in the car. It had turned into Christine from the movie. One night I opened my garage door to find every light, and I mean EVERY LIGHT - ON. Had to disconnect the battery.

I bought my first brand new car in my life, a 2018 Honda Clarity (tax incentives and dealer desperation was too much to pass up). I bet you can guess by now, yes I bought the full factory Honda extended warranty to bring the car bumper to bumper (except the stereo, I own that now) to the same 8 years, 100K miles. I paid slightly under $1800 for it.

I have always purchased the extended warranties with the vehicle so I can run them into the payments, worked better for write-offs and business. Seemed the price for coverage is usually better then. They assume they have low risk (most don't keep the cars) and you have a bit more bargaining power (well, sorta). If you are about out of warranty - well, if you are calling about an extended a few months before you are own your own, they have you. My policies were always zero deductible, bumber to bumper (even cosmetic items, but not consumables), and included loaner transportation during repairs.

....I am likely cursed, and Murphy and I are on a first name basis, he has his favorite seat in the back of the car. My experience is likely not typical. However, so far, in every occasion, I have come out ahead with the warranty (not by some lottery amount). However, I tended to either keep my cars way beyond the "included" warranty and up until now, never purchased new so needed the "what did the previous owner do to the car" protection. When I personally add up the reduction in stress of "having the coverage" and the total dollar for dollar win in my history I probably will continue this behavior.

** Also, my grandfather, a farmer, purchased a new truck, and added the extended warranty - for a total coverage of 7 years. He was 93 at the time (that's positive thinking). God bless that man, and rest his soul. He didn't come out ahead on that one, as he died 3 years later, but his truck was covered under the extended warranty when we sold it (it was transferable). Guess this behavior runs in the family!

Cheers,

Cash

 

There's a fine line between cynicism and paranoia. I think you sprinted right over it a few miles back

 

?? Interesting. I made a full career on supporting claim payouts on auto insurance products. Customer paid extended warranties are simply an insurance product. I’ve never known a company that continues to offer a non profitable product. If a product is found to be unprofitable they strive to change it by raising Premiums and/or reducing claim costs. If that fails they discontinue the product. I can’t think of an exception in my career....

So no cynicism or paranoia at all. All insurance products (including Honda extended warranties), exist exclusively to increase the issuing company’s profit. Was just making a statement of fact and I meant nothing more behind it than that.

 

Although I completely agree with @craze1cars, and have never purchased an extended warranty of any kind (not just cars, but appliances, electronics, anything). I have always done all of my own repair work. The Clarity is the first car that I have purchased new.

Having said this, I am tempted to purchase an extension on this after the default 36 months. There are 2 simple reasons -

First, because of the nature of this car and the low volume, you will never be able to get any parts from your local Auto Zone (beyond routine things like brake pads, oil and filters). Thus, you will be stuck with very expensive dealer parts for most any DIY repair. There are junk yards, but again, because of the low volume (and the likelihood that common failure parts will be picked out), that is not much help.

Second, there are many aspects of this car that may simply be impossible to diagnose and repair by even the die-hard DIY'er. There is a lot of technology which doesn't necessarily scare me, but Honda simply will never release the required technical documentation that is necessary to track down a problem (short of playing the 'swaptronics' game). The dealer can play "swaptronics" but I can't because it would not be practical to obtain these 'test' parts.

You mention that the dealers ALWAYS make a profit on these. Yes - But from what I have seen, the extended warranty on this vehicle is no more expensive than one for an Accord. Yet, the parts seem to be MUCH more expensive. It is possible that Honda hasn't caught on that they could lose money on warranties for this vehicle while coming out ahead across their spectrum of vehicles / warranties.

As I said, if I do it, it will be extremely painful... It goes against my core instincts. I have always run my cars until they are dead, and hope to get more than 10 years out of this one. Others may always trade in / sell while there is significant life left, partly mitigating the likelihood of needing repairs.

 

@TomL I gotta ask if you have read the Century contract, 100% of the fine print. Specifically the "We will pay..." section, and the "Exclusions" or "We will not pay" section. I'm genuinely curious if the contract even acknowledges the differences in EV's or PHEV's vs a conventional vehicle.

For random example how does the contract specifically reference BATTERIES. I've never known an extended warranty that covered batteries, but I have been out of the game for several years now. Maybe the contracts have changed but insurance policy rewrites are SLOW. Batteries are usually on the excluded list. And if the contract doesn't distinguish somehow that EV's or PHEV's have large traction batteries, as well as providing definitions of how they determine a bad traction battery vs a good one, you likely purchased a warranty that offers zero coverage for the single most expensive component of this particular car you own. It's one thing to buy an extended warranty on a new car which sometimes uses the factory warranty language as a basis (and which is what 98% of the people on this forum are buying with their NEW Clarities from Honda...these are easier to interpret sometimes.) It is quite another animal to interpret a warranty like you have purchased. These are two entirely different topics.

So I'd like to attempt to bring us back on topic, which I feel is drifting quite a bit (and I take some responsibility because I made some sweeping generalizations that contributed):

TomL is seeking opinions on a 3rd party warranty from a company named Century, which is covering a USED Clarity. I suspect not a single person on this forum has a USED Clarity, from a 500 mile away dealer, with 3rd party CENTURY coverage, and also has had a repair claim to offer an honest review. For this reason, TomL, you will get no answers here. Dare I say you are the first person on earth who has Century coverage on a used Clarity? Maybe. I feel you really need to drill down into that policy, talk to your preferred repair shop about it, and determine whether you purchased a useful product or if you should seek a refund. As someone who is somewhat familiar with the inside of that industry, but has no specific knowledge of your exact circumstance, that's my heartfelt advice. I'm genuinely concerned you purchased an expensive packet of emergency toilet paper which I hope you never need to attempt to use. And I also admit I might be wrong, and it could be a useful warranty. I have serious doubts, and I no idea, as I haven't read the contract nor talked to your mechanic about it.

 

All - like Cash, I tend to over-maintain my cars and drive them a long time. I also feel for most smaller purchases like TV's or cell phones, or computers, extended warranties tend to not make financial sense, as these devices depreciate rapidly and can be self-insured. However, given the complexity of the Clarity, if I decide to purchase it off lease I will definitely purchase a HondaCare 8 year 120M protection before my factory warranty coverage expires.

For reference, I also have a 2015 Pilot Touring with 96M mile. Note the is was the 1st year of the Pilot re-design. So far I have made extensive use of the HondaCare coverage, replacing a rear passenger sway bar @ 43M, Fuel injectors and Fuel pump @ 63M, both front struts @ 91M and the blower motor @ 95M. For me, being able to take the car to my local dealer, pick up a loaner car, and have the required services performed for the first 120M miles of ownership by a Honda dealer is worth the price premium to buy Honda's extended warranty.

To be balanced, my fun car is a 2015 Mustang GT Conv. 6 speed that I purchased used in October 2016 with 5,900 miles. Before the factory warranty was over, I purchased Ford's extended warranty coverage for this car, but given its limited usage - I only have 18M - I have not used it. For me, I still appreciate the fact that I can take it to my local Ford dealership for repair until 2023 without a major cash outlay if it is ever needed.

Hope this helps!

 

This FTC site has some valuable information about questions the OP might want to ask to help determine reliability of a service contract. In a further search about service contracts, I see third party companies almost always require prior authorization for repair reimbursement, which makes my earlier concern about shops releasing a repaired vehicle a moot point.

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0054-auto-service-contracts-and-warranties

 

How many service contracts would Honda sell if they priced them at $10K? The bean counters are probably hoping that the small number of Claritys sold will prevent huge losses if expensive parts start going bad.

 

So you bought a new car, but the dealer sold you an aftermarket extended warranty, instead of a HondaCare extended warranty? That is very odd. Possible simple solution since most experiences with HondaCare seem to be positive: Contact dealer and inquire about this...can you get refund on the 3rd party warranty, and instead purchase HondaCare to replace it? Then you'll have a similar warranty, likely at similar cost, but backed by a reputable group that every Honda Dealer on earth knows how to handle...

Of course looking back at your first post, I didn't realize this at the time but it appears you're asking about a warranty product you purchased almost a full year ago. Likely way to late to consider changing it now.

Unless I'm misunderstanding why you purchased the 3rd party warranty instead of Honda's warranty.

Otherwise yeah just rationalize it and move on with your life. Nothing wrong with that either! No point in flipping out over a problem that might not even exist. Heck maybe you'll make a claim some day and they'll pay it. Questions like this are kinda like asking people to predict the future. None of us really knows the answer.

And more importantly, congrats on the bidet.

 

The Honda warranty has been discussed at length in these forums. You might search for prior discussion. Folks not living in California or Florida may buy the Honda warranty from any dealer (including out of state). Cost is like $1300 for the 8 year 100K version. It is transferrable, and your local Honda dealer has to honor it.

I don't care if you buy a warranty or not, but be aware you can buy the official Honda one if you like.

 

Not odd at all in our case. As I've mentioned before, our dealer made a heroic effort to sell us aftermarket. I assume because they make way more profit. He finally gave up at $699, realizing I had practiced my "no" too much. (Started at about $2.5K)