I have to disagree.

If $450 is the cost of an average repair, then it will take 3 to make the extended warranty cost effective. ($850 w $100 deductible). This is unlikely during 120K miles. It's a Honda.

I have had two geriatric cars in the past decade. 97 Odyssey that I sold at 225K to buy the Fit, and a 98 Camry that currently has 150K and I still own.

Both had only maintenance done (including timing belts) before they were 7 years old. Expensive repairs didn't start until after 8 years. With the Honda they didn't start until after 150K.

From memory:
Honda Odyssey

• 140K CV joints (complete half axles) After market were about $350 each installed.
• 150K Radiator. $100 installed myself. Honda wanted $500. sheesh.
• 180K Muffler. OE part installed was a few hundred dollars.
• 195K Exhaust manifold cracked. Aftermarket was about $500.
• 205K ABS accumulator. I think that was about $300 installed by Honda.
• Couple engine mounts. Forget miles or the cost, but it wasn't that high.

The most expensive things were timing belts (two over the time I had it) but I don't think the warranties cover this (normal maintenance). I also had the shocks and cartridges replaced at about 130K for $500 or so...

The Camry has had a couple repairs I didn't expect: 2 starters and an alternator. the first starter was around 90K. I think the alternator was around the same time. These together were probably $800. It's had one CV joint (about 120K). All these were way after 7 or 8 years.

The fan on your Fit would probably be fixed as a goodwill gesture if it were out of the 36K warranty. If not yeah, it'd be around $450 unless you did it yourself (about $200 in parts for the blower and resistor pack).

I really can't rationalize any extended warranty as cost effective (and that's one that is well negotiated at around $800, not twice that typical for dealer sales). I can rationalize keeping a car for extended years/miles based on the lack of payments and depreciation on a new car more than compensating for the higher repair costs, but these costs aren't going to be regular until after 120K 7 years.

 

I don't know where people live, but even for simple maintenance is expensive at an authorized Honda dealer. They charge to the nearest higher hour, so the cost is the shop rate plus parts. The real nitty-gritty is that the protection is for the engine, transmission, electrical problems... most of which will get above the $950 threshold. All my Honda friends and I have had these issues... most have been transmission work. Obviously, if Honda Fits had a majority of break-downs the cost of the warranty would sky-rocket above the $950. Also, if Honda rarely, if ever, had problems, the price of the warranty would be much less, as there is always competition with the other warranty companies. If you're lucky, you won't have problems, but if you're in the pool and you are the one of the unfortunate ones, you'll wish you bought the warranty.

 

I turned down the extended warranty my dealer offered. I don't remember how long it was for and think it cost about $1300. The twist was it came with a refund (I guess the full amount) if you ended up not using it. That did give me a bit of a pause, but I still turned it down. I don't use my car for daily commuting for one thing and don't expect to put a lot of miles on it. Another thing is that without a chance to sit and study the terms and conditions and make an informed decision, I just wasn't comfortable and once that $ is gone it is pretty much gone. Still not sure if I did the right thing but oh well.

 

Unless there was some kind of "small print" fiasco, I would think that you'd have taken the deal... a full refund doesn't come along much in life. How could you lose?

 

How many engines/transmissions have you and your friends gone through? Of the cases here on the board it's been user error.

The Honda horror stories revolve around Odysseys. Mine was a 4cyl and didn't have this issue. The v6s apparently overstress the transmission and have a higher failure rate. I don't foresee issues with Fits.

 

I purchased the extended warranty 100,000/6years but negotiate the price down I got them to cut the price in half. Full price wouldn't be worth it.

 

Two of the Hondas out of 4 that I have owned... my present 2 Fits, have had major tranny work before 100k. My friend, who is on his 6th Honda, has had major work on two of them before 100k. I know people who have had expensive repairs to the steering.... and I'm not talking about "hard" drivers. The tranny problems all dealt with bearings and associated vibration problems. My friends computer blew out before 100k. I'm not saying Hondas are terrible, since I bought these 2 Honda Fits, but I do know of Honda major problems at relatively low mileage. My Dodge Neon never gave me a problem til 150k, and it is was something I repaired myself... gas tank replacement. If you have a Honda that gives no problems, that's great, but I just don't have blind faith in any car and I would recommend the warranty if you car bargain the price down.

 

2 out of 2 fits had major automatic transmission work? Color me nonplussed. (goes off to google used car extended transmission warranties).

 

Well, the extended warranty is a bet where the house has an advantage- obviously their statistics show they make money on it. And not just on the insurance, you're also paying sales commissions.

Oh, if you sell the car, even if the warranty is transferable you probably don't get full value. And if the car's totalled or stolen, again you didn't make money on it.

 

An extended warranty is usually a waste of money because most people don't use it but just like insurance you're taking a gamble. I never buy extended warranties on cars but I did on the Fit because the financials worked out for me.

First off, saying that you paid this much and this for the warranty doesn't mean crap because they can give you the warranty for $1 if you got ripped off on the car. So in Dec. 08, I paid $895 for a 120K/8y $0 deductible Honda Care. I paid invoice for the car, no extra fees, no extra accessories, no trade in, nothing. How did I come to the price, I checked online, all the online dealers were charging that much at the time for the warranty, so I had them match it. You should too if you plan on buying a Honda Care or just buy it online.

I justified the $895 because I have a wife and would like to have AAA. Our other car is a Lexus and we get road side assistance with that car but Honda doesn't. Honda Care gives you free road side, so AAA at about $60 a year times 8 years, so that's $480 in AAA that I would of paid. I'm paying $415 to cover me for another 5 years. To me, that peace of mind that I can take the car to any Honda dealer and get things fixed without having to worry about if they are ripping me off or doing things right was worth it. Also, if your car is in the shop for more than the day, they pay for a rental.

Anyway, in the end, the car has no problems, I'm way under mileage and it doesn't look like I'll be using the extended warranty. I still have 5 years left, so plenty of time for things to break down but my specific car has been rock solid. Do I regret buying it, no not really, cause I didn't get ripped off in price, like some people on here and I like the peace of mind. Now if I had paid $1600 for it like some people here, I'd be crying..haha..

 

yeah at this point, my car's still under full warranty, and the power train warranty is good till 60K/5years (another 30K/2.5 years from now). I can't see betting $1000 on the transmission failing in the subsequent two years after the factory power train warranty runs out. I don't think I'll go nuts on the miles.

Honda extended the warranties on a few of their cars in the 2000s that had the transmission problems. I really don't see the Fit being in that group, but if it were, they'd probably good-will it or extend all Fit's warranties.

Changing the transmission fluid early (like now) for the newer standard honda fluid makes sense.

Interesting watching a group of cars age. I wonder if the nursing home will be as much fun?

 

Ditto. This is why I'm keeping track of all my maintenance and reporting on the boards in 25,000 mile increments. Most won't care, but a few will.

 

The Hondacare extended warranty is more than just a warranty. It also comes with rental car reimbursement, roadside assistance, trip interuption insurance and a few other benefits. They give a sticker with a 1-800# to be placed on the glass and a card. If you are stuck on the road than you call that number.

I worked at a Toyota dealership at one point in my life. The majority of cars which were sold off that lot did not come back, but there were cars which did come back and they were not always under warranty.

Hondas and Toyotas are reliable cars. In fact, if you have seen a Mercedes or Audi at 75000 miles and a Honda/Toyota at 75000 the differences are amazing. Usually the Mercedes/Audi/BMW/etc have all kinds of trouble lights on and are in need of a lot of expensive maintenance at 75000 which can only be done at their dealerships. The Toyota/Honda on the other hand really doesnt require as much.

The Extended Warranty is just an insurance contract which you may never use. I bought mine because I use it for work and my daily use is typically stop&go in the NYC area. This is the most abusive type of environment out there so I thought I needed a little insurance.

The extended warranty is not $1300. I got the 120k/7 year deal for just $850. The best deal out there is http://www.hyannishondacare.com/index.php. Send them an email and they will send you your choices with the pricing. These guys cannot be beat. You have up until about 5000 miles on the car to decide if you want it. You do not have to choose while you are buying your car at the dealership. If I remember correctly, I got mine at around 3000 miles and I had waited a few months.

 

It seems if it is still under the 3/36 factory warranty the option of the extended warranty exists.

With no negotiation they email this (the 4 year 120K for $975 would be equivalent to what you got: 7yr/120K):

 

I just saw this thread:

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...ine-noise.html

That thread is exactly the reason why I purchased the 8 year / 120k which is the longest warranty. I can imagine myself in 2015, the Fit has 75000 miles and there suddenly is some kind of noise coming from the tranny. This, of course, doesnt happen to all Hondas, but it does happen.

A used tranny installed into your vehicle would cost about $3000 which does not include your costs for a rental car or towing. If your car breaks down like that than your car insurance company will not cover it.

 

That's precisely why I will not buy an automatic transaxle vehicle. They all fail eventually and it happens within the life of the vehicle. My family has had numerous automatic transmission failures and they were all front wheel drive.

My Dad drives over 50,000 miles per year. He has never had a failure with a manual or a rear drive auto. His most recent cars have all been crown vic/grand marquis/town car chassis cars because they go 250,000+ miles with no drama. Few autos can do that. Before that he had all kinds of cars, but only the manuals (Jetta, Taurus SHO, Accord, etc) went the distance. Those same makes with autos all failed him.

 

I agree with you on the dependability of the MT. I have owned over ten cars with MT. With the exception of the 2 I drive now... 08 and 09 Fit... both with low miles, I have driven all my cars to at least 200k. I never got rid of a car because it had a bad tranny or motor... it was always body failure or major costs for repair to non-stop problems other than the engine or tranny. I've owned 4 Hondas counting the 2 newer ones. Unfortunately, the other 2... Civic Si and Civic Wagon, both had transmission problems early on... both MT...both under 100k. Fortunately they were repairable, as opposed to throw away and didn't kill me with costs... around $1000, each. I've known lots of people who have had problems with ATs... repair costs much higher... most AT replacement.
So, I agree with you, but don't discount problems with MT.

 

The only time I had a MT that was subpar it still lasted the life of the car for me...232,000 miles when sold. At that point it was pretty bad and in need of a rebuild. It was also a front drive. The transaxle layout is a seriously compromised design because you have the entire driveline built into a very small area.

Just curious...what failed in the two you had to repair? There are so few things in a manual that fail. Synchros is about the only thing other than the clutch.

 

Both were bearing problems... started out as noise and vibration. Apparently had something to do with 5th gear.

 

Reading this made me think you had failures in your two Fits. Reading the later posts, the failures were MT civics? What vintage were they?

If you doubt the power of suggestion, I ran out and got a drain/fill on my 09 Fit.