I can speak with authority on this because I’ve years of experience buying, using, canceling and reviewing dozens of contracts.

Not all contracts are created equal.

Dont’t believe anything you’re verbally represented.

Don’t read the marketing brochure, it’s not valid, only the signed contract’s binding.

Stated warranties are nearly worthless.

Exclusionary warranties have always been the most comprehensive, however I’ve seen over the years language added to protect the underwriters.

Read carefully and if you don’t understand what you’re reading seek the assistance of someone who can help you.

Aftermarket warranties CAN be a great value, especially on vehicles with high cost parts, labour and frequent repairs needed.

Speak with the service manager of the selling dealer and ask what sorts of issues they run into when filing claims.

Claims approvals and denials often are impacted with the way the service writer, technician and managers handle the filing of the claim and the usual site visit by an independent underwriter inspector.

 

Yep, you are correct; you didn't say that directly. And I can't read your mind. But the implication is clear. You wrote about a $25,000 engine repair to make the reader think twice about not buying an Extended Service Contract. All I did was point out why getting that claim paid isn't likely.

Remember that those service contracts aren't written to pay big claims; they're written to deny them. If you play in my ballpark, you play by my rules. And you can't rely on anything the salesman tells you or that's printed in the slick sales brochure. The written contract is the only thing that determines if your claim will be approved. And that's why reading and understanding the fine print is so important.

Yeah, I know. Nobody reads the fine print. PT Barnum was right. Suckers are still being born every day.

 

I get the skepticism but if it wasn’t clear in my last post, claims DO in fact get paid. It’s really not much different than dealing with the underwriters of property and liability policies, who “investigate” the filed claim prior to approving or denying. Sometimes it takes a bit of finesse to get claims approved. The contract will give you an idea of what’s going to get covered (paid) AND your best ally’s the main dealer to get claims approved….I’ve both had service writers choose poor diagnostic descriptions which were immediately denied (and had to be re-diagnosed) and others knew exactly what to say to get the claim approved.

Also know since these warranties are in fact insurance policies, they’re regulated by government agencies.

So finally, based on my experience would I advise having one with a newer JLR? Absolutely IF the coverage’s thorough, the term’s sufficient (mileage/time), the vehicle will actually be used and the cost makes sense.

 

This, and jahummer's previous post, are ONE HUNDRED PERCENT true. And also why I was glad I had a warranty that the dealership was familiar with-- and I could take the car to a dealership that had people whose main job was do deal with these things. I had a rockstar service rep who had been dealing with the warranty company on an ongoing basis and knew exactly how to present an issue. I think that made a HUGE difference.

 

Adding to this discussion,

The industry has changed a little.

Carshield now offers monthly coverage with no contract required.
My car 2007 XK with 91000 was quoted $149 / month. , thats $1800 in a year. Ive got $7000 in the car.

Is it worth it ? dunno. like some above I do most of my own repairs and maintaience.

Ive had the car 3 months now and other than little things the car has done OK. But in 3 months its probably been driven 2000 miles if that.

Car rides low and the grandson wacked the oil cooler on a speed bump . Cost me $80 to fix., whoopee.
So , it boils down to how much of a gamble are you willing to take.
A single big ticket item is the obvious concern.
Happy Thanksgiving

 

My kid bought a 2007 with 100k miles and a 'rebuilt' engine with 5,000 miles. He turned down the 1-year warranty for $4000. Three months later the engine blew up due to faulty rebuild practices. Now it'll cost him $25,000 to fix a $19,000 car.

 

That is a tough break for sure! I have bought 4 policies in my past, didn't for the Jag with no regrets. Perhaps second guessing your son purchasing isn't necessary, you just don't know if a claim in 3 months would have gone through. I bought a policy for my former BMW and had a claim in the first 6 months, they had a cooling period of 3 months (as opposed to a vehicle inspection) where they didn't cover claims yet I was denied at 6. They stated it was preexisting condition caused the failure after adjuster inspected car. I elevated to dispute dept and they ended up covering 75% of the items, but an early claim like 3 months would have for sure been a problem. In the end I recouped the cost of the contract. Let's face it, there are a ton of people who try to commit fraud so to them you are one of them until you prove otherwise.

With my Porsche back in the day the insurance company that was the underwriter of the policy went belly up in the 1st year of a 5 year plan. I was fortunate that I filed a claim with my CC company and clawed back the prorated amount before their bank accounts were locked so that was total loss of policy averted. Had another on my Grand Cherokee sponsored by Jeep and I was maybe $100 upside down to their favor. Happens, but it was a painless policy for when I did file a claim.

Every policy has a list of items that it will cover or as Jahummer says a list of exclueded items. Knowing that well and adhering to it is key. Also, if possible don't file claim too close to the time you bought the contract as they will think you only bought the contract knowing those items are compromised.

One positive for the policies I have had is that I could take them to the dealer. Having the repair on the providers dime meant I used the best shop available and I have had really good dealer shops, plus using dealer I always was provided alternate transportation.

 

Carshield has an F rating from the Better Business Bureau. They take your money and don't pay claims.
https://www.denver7.com/news/contact...ing-is-covered

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Carshield and is awaiting trial.
https://www.1800thelaw2.com/resource...t-1800thelaw2/

Read the comments:

If this doesn't convince you to avoid Carshield, then don't say you weren't warned.

 

I never buy extended warranties. My thought is if I buy the car I expect the repair bills, if I can’t afford the repair bills then I buy a car that I believe is more reliable and less expensive to fix. I have an 07 XKR, which has a good reputation for being reliable. I expect $2,000-3,000 a year in repairs and maintenance, so about a dollar a mile. Would I like a 5.0? Sure I would, but the added cost of the purchase and the more maintenance that it requires puts it in a category where I don’t want to be in for a pleasure car.

 

Funny that you say that, I have owned my 2012 for 6 years and haven't had to put a dime into it until recently when a I needed to replace a cracked strut cap that started clunking . I voluntarily had them update some wear components in the front end, the lower control arms. No complaints on the cost, needed to be done as I drive it hard.

Without a doubt this has been the most reliable and robust car I have owned. All this talk about the 5.0 being less reliable than the 4.2 is inaccurate based on my experiences. I knew this going in and never thought about getting a policy for this car.

It seems you are equating buying a coverage policy with not being able to afford repairs, for me it is purely based on strategy and car I am buying. I can tell you that when I had my 8 cylinder BMW it was notorious for many simple failure items that caused thousands in repairs each time. Buying a coverage policy was a financial strategy, mitigating insurance against potential high cost in the hopes that I win in the end. In my case I broke even on the mechanical coverage. I also bought a $1,000 insurance "warranty" coverage that netted me $8,000 in claims honored (3 rims and 8 runflat tires). Saving myself $7k made feel warm and fuzzy.

 

This seems almost my 5.0 also, other than one injector. I've had it ten years and other than the coolant line replacement I had done even though it was just the oil cooler gasket that was the leak and that one injector, it's been perfectly fine.
One gasket and one injector seems perfectly reasonable for a twelve year old car. Sucks that it was an expensive injector, but for 550 hp it seems reasonable to me.

 

Tampamark & Cee Jay.
You both misunderstand me. I’m not saying that I think that a 5.0 is not reliable. I assume the newer the car the less repairs it needs until it hits that age. I just feel more comfortable with my 07 4.2SC for all around affordability, including the original cost to purchase.
The original question was service contact or no service contract. For both of you the answer was no service contract needed after years of ownership. I agree with you both.
I’m not sure why someone would buy a car they believe would need a service contract, but that is their business. I can only talk about why I didn’t buy a service contract. The way I see it, you either buy a car for driving enjoyment not driving to the service department of the dealership, or you buy one because it is classic/antique and you plan to work on it. A service contract isn’t going to cover much there. I like to drive my car, I don’t mind doing work on it but I really don’t want to. I bought a car that was comfortable for me and I will pay out of pocket for repairs and maintenance. A 16 year old car needs things a 10 year old car may not need. When the 10 year old car becomes 16 years old, it will also need these things. With advances in technology the latter car will cost more to maintain an repair. In this case the latter car has more power and as I understand more wear parts, which will cost more over time.
I can also drive my 07 into a Ford dealership and pay lower hourly rates then the Jaguar Dealership.
It’s just personal preference, there is no real right or wrong answer in this post. The car will let you know latter if you made the right choice.
I am curious, how did you go through so many rims and tires?

 

I've had multiple AJ V8 variations, NA and supercharged, Jaguar and Land Rover, from 2003 through 2008, and all were basically flawless. Still have the 2008 XKR, track driven hard, track maintenance done regularly and no failures. Have 2 of the current AJs, bother supercharged, one 3 litre and one 5 litre and other than no injector or timing chain problems (late models, latest versions plus 5K mile oil change intervals) and despite meticulous maintenance have both suffered the dreaded water pump, cooling pipes, hoses, AC compressors, oil leaks and various other well documented problems the new gen AJs are feared for. So for those who've managed to skate by without incident, I'm happy for you, for the rest of us, well we all know too well the risks, expenses and annoyances with the 5 and 3 litres. I've spent enough out of pocket to have bought another vehicle.

 

I assume you mean they paid out $100 less than you paid for the warranty.
I've been thinking about that-- I think my over/under would be somewhere between $600 and $1000. If the payout over the live of the warranty was $750 less than I paid, I'd be happy. Over a five-year period, that would be $150/year for Peace of mind. Others may disagree but for me that would be more than fair.
(I'd also observe, again, that this was through Jeep. Like me, sounds like your process was painless. Thinking about it, I realize I've never even called a company like Carchex to look into a warranty. When I'm buying a car, I ask the price for their super-platinmum-ultimate-best warranty. I listen to not only price, but everything else they say. I've gone ahead and bought one twice, and had good experiences both times. With my most recent purchase I decided against it.)
So, OP.... did you get a warranty??

 

All good points. As far as the tires, the BMW had low profile runflats. Speculation on BMW forums is that the very stiff sidewall which allows you to drive while absent air is the same reason that the tires explode on significant impact with pothole, curb, object or whatever. With conventional tires there is some give that allows to absorb impact and they are more forgivable. That is comparing low profile runflat to low profile conventional, if you have a regular profile passenger tire even more forgiveness.

What I found out with the rims is that they were imitation OEM rims that were cast, not forged. Seems they did not like any sort of contact, Wife got run off road edge and the rims caught concrete somehow and boom, tires and rims took the brunt. Didn't get all 4 at that time but other stuff happened in the 6 years we had the car. I ended up with brand new OEM forged all the way around over time so didn't complain. By the way, it was the same dealer who sold me the car who processed the tire rim claim, they didn't know they were non-OEM when I bought it. Visually they were the same.





I have had aftermarket companies, well researched and reviewed by others in the BMW forum that had no problems for the most part. The Jeep was Mopar warranty so parent company plan. And yeah, had $900 in claims on a $1000 policy so I lost $100 on the deal. No biggie.

 

Warranties like any other insurance schemes are (normally) designed to protect from catastrophic events.
Of course, they are not designed to provide gains on average. Otherwise any such insurance company would soon go out of business.
One might say that the difference between pay-outs and fees (i.e., their profit, but only after their internal costs) represents the price for piece of mind.

As long as the insurance company doesn’t play foul, everything should be o.k.
My own experience hasn’t been nearly as bad as some reports here would suggest.

 

If you have a 25K repair, the warranty company can put up a heck of a fight or refund you remainder of your warranty and tell to beat it. Does Jaguar offer their own extended like Aston or Ferrari does? Aston does up to 12 year old models.

 

That’s correct all I’ve seen have that escape clause as well as a cap on payouts over the life of the policy. Jaguar used to have a bumper to bumper 100K mile warranty when Ford owned them as well as a limited extra mile warranty for when the CPO ran out. You didn’t have to buy the car from the dealer to get the warranty as long as it was still covered by the original bumper to bumper warranty. The price was quite reasonable as well and of course everything was treated as if it was a new car. I had this on 2 of my Jags.

 

Last major repair, I had to take a pic and send them the bill of sale (the long yellow sheet) to confirm how much I paid for the car. I assume that had something to do with hitting a ceiling on payout.

 

One thing which tampamark pointed out, but I think really needs to be highlighted is whether the warranty company clearly states in the contract whether they'll pay for authentic Jaguar parts or aftermarket parts. I'm not sure about third-party extended warranties, but most insurance companies only ever want to use cheap aftermarket parts, especially on cars which are a few years old. Technically, those aftermarket parts "must be of like kind and quality as OEM parts," but in reality, they're usually cheap Chinese junk that won't provide the same performance, comfort, durability, fit & finish, etc. as authentic parts, and you'll be left miserable and/or stuck paying to replace them sooner rather than later.