I wouldn't own a Rover without the extended service contract. We kept our LR4 for 10 years and plan to do the same with the Defender. I believe it's important to get an exclusionary contract. Some contracts list what they "include" and some what they "exclude", obviously the exclusionary contract will always cover more, and be similar to the factory warranty coverage (typically excluding maintenance, and wear and tear items) I went with an All State contract as it is a good company that pays claims well and for 10 year 100,000 miles of coverage cost less than $5k. As you know the risk of a mechanical failure on any vehicle over a 10 year period is somewhat high, but with a Rover, one claim will; pay for the service contract.

 

My dealer didn't offer a JLR extended warranty. They offered a third-party warranty through some place they've quote 'been working with for years'. When I switched up my build from coil springs to air suspension the cost of the extended warranty went up a bit but not much. I think you're smart to do the research on it because I simply fell in line with the dealer's recommendation which could turn out to be a bad move. As far as I know the warranty is pro-rated, which would be like carmax in that if you sell the car early then you get refunded for whatever warranty remains (if anything). As long as the price on the warranty doesn't go up I guess waiting doesn't hurt. If my warranty quote were 7k I'd have considered waiting but it came in at what I felt was very reasonable so I'm just going to roll it into the loan.

 

You can wait and buy coverage later, but the price will go up—a lot. Best time for a deal is when the finance department is trying to get you to pay for the car. They will try to sell you everything from mats to paint treatments to extended warranties. Turn them all down as many times as you can, and don’t give in on the extended warranty until they get the price down to around $3K for 7 years 100K miles. Then reluctantly accept. Don’t buy any of the other junk or they’ll be less desperate to deal on the warranty. The finance guy needs to show value add by selling you something, even if it’s heavily discounted. He will tell you a 7 year plan will cost $8K. Just say no until he lowers that price way down.

 

Quick question for anyone who did buy the warranty: If you want to buy the Extended Warranty from Land Rover, can you shop around at different dealers (i.e. other than your selling dealer) to find the best price? Or do you _have_ to buy it from the selling dealer? If the former, does anyone have a recommendation on the dealer that gave them the best price?

 

I want to know if anyone has a referral as well. Thanks!

 

Anyone can sell you the warranty. I called around and got quotes from several dealers in my area. I haven’t made a buy decision yet since I have just under 4 years to make a decision.

 

In my case it was not a genuine Land Rover extended warranty, if such things even exist I don't know, my dealership never made mention of any genuine LR warranty. It was a warranty from a third party which is the only extended warranty this particular Land Rover dealership offers and it is only sold with a new vehicle purchase. So this particular warranty company would not sell any extended warranty on a used car. I got rid of my Defender early due to too many issues for such a high payment but did get back most of the money from the extended warranty (pro-rated). I would highly recommend purchasing a 'good' i.e. exclusionary extended warranty for these vehicles because even brand new they have IMO far too many issues to deal with without having any kind of coverage. I had a laundry list of issues even in the first year of ownership and I doubt it gets better with 50k after the factory warranty is expired. lol They're very cool to look at and very cool to drive but be fully prepared to bring them in for fixes on a regular basis.

 

as with all insurance and warranty products, the purpose is to make money for the people selling them. it doesn't mean you might not end up on the right side of the money in the long run. but there are a lot more people out there who never see their investment pay off vs. those who do. it's a very personal and individual decision based on a lot of factors, and only you know if it's right for you. i never buy extended warranties as i never know how long i'm going to want to keep a particular car. i do agree with some earlier posters that if you're going to buy one, shop around and negotiate hard. there is a ton of markup in these warranties. the last car i bought for my wife a few years back (audi) i was initially offered an extended warranty for about $6,000, and within 10 minutes, they were down to $3,200 for the exact same product. i skipped it, and am glad i did. either way, always negotiate a cash price for the car and all add ons, and don't fall for the "it's only another $97 per payment" line (unless of course you're good with that.) again, only you know what you're comfortable with, but the odds are always on their side.

 

I wasn't so much expecting an investment to pay off as I was interested in controlling monthly expenses. If I pay 4000 for a warranty and roll that into the financing and only use 3500 over the course of ownership there's still a tidy profit for the warranty company. I'm fine with that, that's how they survive. If someone didn't buy the warranty and paid 3500 out of pocket again they're ahead of the game, smarter than me when it comes to money I suppose but they may have also had several months where they had to cough up 3000 or even more between the repair and the payment. This will be no joke for most people especially when they have to replace whole headlight or taillight assemblies after the factory warranty runs out, it's going to be an incredible bleed out during those months. The parts are incredibly expensive. I get it for other brands, I mean right now I own a Passport Trailsport, so I get it when people go without an extended warranty on a Honda, but on Rovers and Jags? As I said above, people who are truly wealthy then it doesn't make sense to buy into an extended warranty but for anyone who is actually cringing at the thought of a $1300 car payment plus say a $2500 repair bill on top of it... I think they really should consider a good warranty to smooth out the potential for serious monthly variance.

 

absolutely. can't argue with that. everyone needs to decide what works for their individual situation.