Have you bought an extended warranty?

[acdii]

Ford ESP is Ford ESP. From what I know, its in the database when your car is serviced as still under warranty and what type of warranty. Non Ford warranties though you need to have the paperwork presented when you bring it in for service unless you are taking it to the dealer you bought the contract from.

[jsellar]

I guess that still leaves the question.... Flood Ford is NOT ford, so how can I be sure that they sell genuine Ford ESP's? My dealer was concerned as to why they were selling them several hundred dollars below the dealership's cost. Too good to be true, or will it bite us in the ass if they're not truly accepted at all dealerships?

[acdii]

Well only way to know for sure is having someone who bought the Ford ESP from them confirm they got the Ford ESP paperwork. I happen to have a copy of one from the F150 that Ford sent me.

[alpha754293]

I bought the PremiumCare extended service plan (ESP) for my Fusion Titanium Hybrid as well. 6 year/200,000 km. But I also drive like 60,000 km a year, so I'll burn through that very quickly, but it's just in case that something goes wrong with it. That plus I'll burn through the 3 year/60,000 km basic warranty in a year, so the time limit doesn't matter nearly as much to me as the distance limit does. (You figure that in the two weeks that I've had it, I've already put 1500 km on it...so...it's very easy for me to eat up any kind of distance-based warranty.)

 

The only real downside to it (apparently) is that it only bumps the 8-year/160,000 km hybrid unique components warranty up to 200,000 km (+ 40,000 km) which...mehhh....I don't think that it's that useful. But, *shrug*...I was doing research that said that if you're a high mileage driver (like I am) and that you intend on keeping your car for the long haul that you should get the extended warranty.

[neod192]

I bought the PremiumCare extended service plan (ESP) for my Fusion Titanium Hybrid as well. 6 year/200,000 km. But I also drive like 60,000 km a year, so I'll burn through that very quickly, but it's just in case that something goes wrong with it. That plus I'll burn through the 3 year/60,000 km basic warranty in a year, so the time limit doesn't matter nearly as much to me as the distance limit does. (You figure that in the two weeks that I've had it, I've already put 1500 km on it...so...it's very easy for me to eat up any kind of distance-based warranty.)

 

The only real downside to it (apparently) is that it only bumps the 8-year/160,000 km hybrid unique components warranty up to 200,000 km (+ 40,000 km) which...mehhh....I don't think that it's that useful. But, *shrug*...I was doing research that said that if you're a high mileage driver (like I am) and that you intend on keeping your car for the long haul that you should get the extended warranty.

Since you put so many miles on it, I wonder if getting less years would've made more sense? How long does it take you to put 200,000km on it? Is 200,000km the most miles u can get?

[acdii]

I figured I would pass the 125K mile mark in 4 years. 36,000 a year for 4 years is 144K miles. Even if we only put 32K on it is still over 125K.

[alpha754293]

Since you put so many miles on it, I wonder if getting less years would've made more sense? How long does it take you to put 200,000km on it? Is 200,000km the most miles u can get?

 

Less years = less miles. 200k kms is the most I can get on it. At 60,000 km/year, a little under 3 years 4 months. The time isn't nearly as much of a limiting factor as the distance is.

[whizkid21]

After reading about Flood Ford and their online offers I was ready to buy from them after picking up my car.

My dealer of course offered ESP while going thru the paperwork and I told him that I already had one picked out. He was curious about the price so I showed it to him on my phone and he couldn't believe the price. He kept saying it's his invoice and this can be from a Ford dealer.

So he went back to check his price and sold me ESP for his invoice price which was about 65 bucks over the one from Flood Ford.

 

 

I bought my first Ford Fusion in 2006 and had the same experience. I bought my ESP from Lombard Ford in CT. My dealer in Brooklyn was trying to scare me into believing that it was some kind of online fraud. Only had to use it once after the bumper-to-bumper expired, but it was a real deal legit ESP from Ford.

 

So don't let your dealer tell you otherwise!

[whizkid21]

In regard to value and peace of mind...

 

Before ordering my 2013 HyTi Ford Fusion from a dealer in Long Island, I visited one in Brooklyn, NY.

 

I was going to scope out the colors, and the sales dept. folks were too lazy to walk me over to the service department's roof, where a lot of the inventory was maintained.

 

Turned out to be my gain, because I had the chance to get the grand tour from the service manager, who was more than happy to share his more than 30 years of experience with me. He wasn't doing a sales job, and actually outright told me some of the "don't buys" when looking at Ford Vehicles.

 

However, he did advise me to go for the highest level ESP plan.

 

What most people don't realize is that modern cars are 4,000 lb. computers. For example, when you turn the steering wheel, you're not actually turning the wheel. It's more like using a joystick on a video game... You're not directly controlling what you are doing. Computers are translating your motion into electronic information that really turns the wheels. In fact, car companies actually have to install resistors because the steering wheel would move too easily without them.

 

So what does all this mean?

 

Basically the service guy told me all that and then said in the event that drive shaft needed to be changed or replaced, it would be an $11,000 proposition.

 

That sold me on the ESP, 1-2-3. LOL

[Powered By Fusion]

The Hybrid scared me a little with all those instrument gauge Panels and modules that could go wrong, so I bought the 5 Yr. 60-K Pkg. I got a small discount because I wasn't a happy camper at that point of the sell and I bought it directly from Ford.. I paid $875.00 for the 0 deduction, PremiumCare. We don't put much mileage on our cars anymore.

 

If you really wanna know what can go wrong with any Fusion with electronic parking brake... read this:

 

http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/6669-electric-brake-came-on-and-hyti-wouldnt-budge/page-3

[jjd]

Hi, new hybrid owner as of tonight and I too have some questions about the extended warranty options. Just a little background, I'm a computer/electrical engineer so I understand the technical complexities of every part of these cars. I've developed consumer electronic products for years and have always had the mindset of if an electronic product works for 6 months it won't likely fail after that, but in this case I have lots of questions about the reliability. I generally avoid service plans at all costs with only a few exceptions.

 

My wife was very interested in the extra protection, and given the complexity of these systems (made by people), I couldn't put up a good reason to not buy the ESP. I came here to find what other owners are doing.

 

In our case I become unsure about the decision when I started to asking questions of the finance guy which he was not prepared to answer. Right there I considered backing out. For example he couldn't provide any details on specifics of the hybrid and/or electrical systems coverage. I asked if Ford is the underwriter, and he said they are, however after reading the paperwork I'm not sure this is the case, it seems to be a different company. Does the Ford ESP go under any special name other than Ford? I'm a USAA member and I think they offer an auto ESP, does anyone have experience with their programs? I can only say good things about USAA and if they have an auto ESP I think it would be as good as it gets...

 

Thanks for the feedback.

Edited January 2, 2014 by jjd

[corncobs]

Welcome and congrats on your new ride.

 

There have been quite a few threads about ESP from Ford with all kind of different opinions. If you search for "flood ford" you should find all kinds of posts about buying an ESP in this case online for almost half what the dealer would offer.

 

Here is the website link for additional information in ESP.

http://www.floodfordesp.com/

[hybridbear]

Hi, new hybrid owner as of tonight and I too have some questions about the extended warranty options. Just a little background, I'm a computer/electrical engineer so I understand the technical complexities of every part of these cars. I've developed consumer electronic products for years and have always had the mindset of if an electronic product works for 6 months it won't likely fail after that, but in this case I have lots of questions about the reliability. I generally avoid service plans at all costs with only a few exceptions.

 

My wife was very interested in the extra protection, and given the complexity of these systems (made by people), I couldn't put up a good reason to not buy the ESP. I came here to find what other owners are doing.

 

In our case I become unsure about the decision when I started to asking questions of the finance guy which he was not prepared to answer. Right there I considered backing out. For example he couldn't provide any details on specifics of the hybrid and/or electrical systems coverage. I asked if Ford is the underwriter, and he said they are, however after reading the paperwork I'm not sure this is the case, it seems to be a different company. Does the Ford ESP go under any special name other than Ford? I'm a USAA member and I think they offer an auto ESP, does anyone have experience with their programs? I can only say good things about USAA and if they have an auto ESP I think it would be as good as it gets...

 

Thanks for the feedback.

Hybrid components are covered 8yrs/100k miles (10yrs/150k miles in CARB states). Some dealers will lie to customers to sell warranties. The finance guy lied to my parents when they bought their Energi and told them that the hybrid components would break in 5 years and that they'd cost $10,000 to repair & that they had no warranty at all. Don't let a dealer lie to you. Good for you asking questions and being an informed consumer :)

 

If you're buying a Ford ESP or other ESP that goes beyond the hybrid warranty, be sure to read the fine print to make sure the hybrid components are covered.

 

As you mentioned, if something is going to break it should break early on, and thus we have not purchased an extended warranty.

Edited January 2, 2014 by hybridbear
typo fixed

[hermans]

In non-CARB states the hybrid warranty is 8 years - 100,000.

[acdii]

I plan to keep mine for at least 10 years, and since its my daily driver I put a lot of miles on, and would blow through factory in less than 2 years, so having a 120K mile warranty covers me for at least 4 years. After that, it becomes the usual wear and tear replacements. My main concern is not the drive train, but the gadgets inside, the dash alone is $2k if it goes out. As with any insurance, good to have it and not need it, bad to need it and not have it. I got mine through my dealer at just a hair above what Flood sells it for.

[jjd]

I'm really questioning what they guy "sold me" as being Ford's ESP because it's it's administered by "first extended service corp", along with that the guy didn't check the coverage type... not feeling good. Biggest problem is wife wanted to roll the cost into financing and we ended up doing so which means I can't get it out of the loan/payment schedule.

 

I've seen the info on floodford's esp discussed here. I may look into that.

 

I did check with USAA whose extended plan is run by Assurant (which I have mixed opinions on). Given this is through USAA I think I should be OK and the quotes I got on comprehensive coverage for 5-6 year 75k/100k end up being a lot less.

[hybridbear]

In non-CARB states the hybrid warranty is 8 years - 100,000.

Thanks for pointing out my typing error. I fixed it now.

[hytibill]

I bought a PremiumCare 7 year 100K warranty from Flood ESP. Discover Card had a "spend over $1000 get $100 cash back" so I did that. I then tried to purchase an ESP from the Ford website but it indicated that I already had a ESP plan so I know that the Flood ESP is legit. There's just too many little doodads on the car. It cost $1000 out of pocket so to me it's good insurance.

[klatoo]

I shopped around for cheap ESP's online and ended up choosing one from a dealer in Springfield MO. When I bought my FFH at my local Ford dealer, he tried to sell me one and it was double what the other guy said. I said "No thanks" and being the curious fellow, asked why. After the little spiel he went to get a manager who told me a little story. He said that buying a ESP from a Ford dealer means that the dealer has "inspected" the vehicle and verifies the car and VIN number. Buying a ESP online the Ford Dealer that sold the ESP did not do this, therefore the ESP is null and void. Maybe this was a scare tactic but after holding my ground because this Ford dealer never cared when they fixed my Expediton, he finally agreed to match this guys price. I ended up getting the 7 yr 100K plan for around a thousand.

[ByebyeWrangler82]

I'm glad I opted for the ext warranty...saved me $$$$! Bought mine used from a Toyota dealership with 39k on her...

[corncobs]

I'm glad I bought one too (actually two) :) For my FFH (so far no need for it since it's still under B2B) and I also bought one for my wife's Explorer and that has already paid for a good amount.

 

There is little fan that blows inside air over a temperature sensor for the climate control. This thing was making an awful noise (quite common for this MY) so they replaced it. When we dropped of my car my wife was following me and something seemed off with the headlights so I had them check it.

While the Explorer was getting the things taken care of my SA called me and said that the passenger side was stuck on high beam and they had ordered a new headlight assembly.

 

I would estimate close to 1k for fan and headlight replacement (headlight alone $450) so I would have been pissed without the extended warranty.

Edited March 15, 2015 by corncobs

[TonyHzNV]

I would estimate close to 1k for fan and headlight replacement (headlight alone $450) so I would have been pissed without the extended warranty.

Hey corncobs, did you buy the "bulb replacement" coverage as part of your ESP? That's the only extra I bought on my Flood Ford ESP. I had bought one at my dealer when I bought the car, but when I saw the Flood prices, I cancelled it and bought one at Flood for about 1/4 the price I had paid. 5 yr/60K for $550 with bulb coverage.

[corncobs]

Hey corncobs, did you buy the "bulb replacement" coverage as part of your ESP? That's the only extra I bought on my Flood Ford ESP. I had bought one at my dealer when I bought the car, but when I saw the Flood prices, I cancelled it and bought one at Flood for about 1/4 the price I had paid. 5 yr/60K for $550 with bulb coverage.

I never heard of such option so I don't think I have it. I bought mine at the dealer when I picked up my FFH after they pretty much ($50 more IIRC) matched the Flood Ford terms and price.

[TonyHzNV]

I never heard of such option so I don't think I have it. I bought mine at the dealer when I picked up my FFH after they pretty much ($50 more IIRC) matched the Flood Ford terms and price.

I hadn't heard of it either and it might be something new because GrySql told me he didn't see it as an option when he bought his ESP at Flood. It could be because of the cost of some of these LED/HID/"special" lights that are being used nowadays. They can be expensive. In my case, I know if a fog light quits, you have to remove the panel under the bumper at least to get to it and if a headlight goes, well, I don't want to mess with that either. So, for $60 for the term of my ESP, if a light goes out, Ford has to change it for me no matter how much work it is, and that includes interior lighting as well. I thought that was well worth $60 for 5 yrs/60K miles.

Edited March 16, 2015 by TonyHzNV

[corncobs]

I agree with HIDs those can get expensive even though they should last at lot longer than regular bulbs. Also with more and more LEDs being installed in new cars that will always be a full replacement when they go bad no question. It even says that in our manual with the tail lights > go see the dealer.