Buy the Extended Warranty?

July 30th , 2006
By David Bryant

When buying a new boat, you will inevitably be faced with the option of purchasing an extended warranty. An extended warranty can often give a certain degree of comfort in knowing that any future repairs may be covered by your warranty. Be aware the word 'may' is italicized for a reason! The overall consensus when it comes down to whether to purchase an extended warranty (or not) is that it may or may not be a wise decision. There's a few things to consider when making your decision.

-Remember, as is the same for many products, extended warranties are meant as a profit generating mechanism for dealers. Generally, dealers charge about 15% extra than their expected costs of servicing the warranty.

-Frequently, extended warranties will overlap the existing warranty that is included in the purchase price of the boat. Check to see if this is the case with the extended warranty you are offered.

-Most mechanical problems will occur within the first 100 hours of use. The included warranty will normally cover this.

-As many new car owners can attest to, if you are presented with a scenario where you need to take advantage of your extneded warranty it may be terribly inconvenient. This means the locations where you can take your boat to may be extremely limited.