I just purchased a '00 SE Max yesterday. I did not purchase any extended warranty, even though my wife wanted one. Actually, the warranty salesperson (I mean, business manager)was obnoxiously pushy, so we balked.

Anyway, what is the going opinion on them. We were offered a bumper-to-bumper, 5 years/60K (within our driving norm), for about $700. This is through Nissan. There were others for $1300-$1500 as well.

My gut feeling is to never get an ext. war., especially since the Maxima is supposed to be such a reliable car. However, my wife counters with a listing of all the little electronic/computerized parts that can go bad.

What do you folks think? Have many of you refused such a purchase and gotten burnt, or are the cars sturdy enough to not need one.

Thanks for any thoughts,

Steve Herman
sdherman@dscp.dla.mil

 

if you plan on doing some mods - the warranty can be a headache .... - it might be good to have though - i have it - full bumper to bumper - i kinda regret it now but hey if something happens its good to know you have help....

but then again ..
i dont hear or see any maxima's on the side of the road unless theyve been hit - have a flat or stuff like that ...
ive only had my 99 since december of last year and i really havent had any problems other than my own idiocy, ripping out my maf wasnt too smart but then again letting my friend who cant really speak english read me the instructions wasnt a good idea either .... incase you were wondering = a maf is mass air flow sensor right after the intake airbox.......

where are you from ??

 

You don't have to buy it now... you can buy it when your odo reads 35,999 and they'll still sell it to ya. I bought one for my car... mainly cause i drive a lot and know that 36k miles wouldn't last for me. My car is 2 weeks from being 2 years old but has 52k miles already... good thing I got the extended too.. cause I've had to take the car in three times now.

 

Is it a auto? Get the EXT warranty for sure, if it is a 5spd no worries.

 

the exclusion list is a mile long. I cant remember exactly what isnt covered, but radio, rattles, brakes, A/C and a liteny of other things that the salespersion used as examples of why we should have it. He was saying things like the ATC going out or quoting how much the Bose radio would cost to replace.... NOT EVEN COVERED. I have the expensive Nissan Gold one.. Its not bumper-to-bumper. Trim and seals are not covered. No, I doubt door handles are covered Look at a real contract. BTW, I believe you can get a full refund up to 60 days if the exclusion list bugs you. I did me, but I didnt try for the refund.. after that initial period, a refund is prorated.

The powertrain is covered 5yr/60K anyway. thats where your big fears are.

 

for 700bucks it's not too bad. that's the most you should ever pay for it tho. other dealerships go for 1500 but you can usually talk to price down if you bought your car from that dealer. so make sure u go to the same dealership for the warranty. lets say if you had something wrong with your airbag. just replacing the airbag control unit alone i think cost around 800. i had to do it twice because i disconnected the wirring harness. that triggers the air bag light to turn on. the dealer thinks it's a defect but all they had to do was reset the comp.. i ripped out teh wires twice. that's why i needed to get it replaced twice. so i think it's worth it. if you drive alot then it's worth it too. i've only had my car for around 15months and i have 26k miles on my car. however keep in mind taht your powertrain warranty last alot longer than your normal warranty. i think it was 50K miles 5years, which ever comes first..

 

With my mom's 2K, the sales person was really pushy also in trying to sell us the extended warrenty. . . I have a relative that sevices Nissans and we asked him about it, and as far as he is concerned, he doesn't really see any reasons to buy it. We took his word on it, as he sees them on a far greater basis than I do, and we didn't get it.

As for the whole internals and electrical stuff. . . If a component is junk, it will go out within 30K. . . If it goes further than 30K, it is more than likely perfectly good, and it more than likely wouldn't be covered by the extended warrenty, knowing Nissan, as it would be considered normal wear and tear.

If I were you, I would just recommend putting what they would charge for the warrenty into a Mutual fund or something and just let it sit there, it will make money for you. . . If something goes wrong, it is there to fix it, and more than likely you will only be without the car for a day, but that would happen anyway. Just my .02

 

I paid too much for mine (close to $1k) for an ext warranty thru 75 miles which just expired. All that went wrong with the car during that time period was the starter which was $350 p&l but I had to pay a $50 deductible anyway. So I paid $1k to save $300. That $700 would have bought some nice aftermarket toys for the car instead. For Nissan/Dealers, warranty money is pure profit, up front.

Jim