[Mongo Johnson]

We bought the Autonation warranty knowing we might cancel and got assurance we could . . .

This is my due diligence on "extended warranties" ... Consumer Reports says no to them but admits to piece of mind and such if from a reputable source.

I've seen threads here on Honda Care extended warranties via Saccucci Honda and wondered at the details.

Are these Honda Motor Corp warranties honored by their full dealer network?
Are they extensive warranties? What do they cover? Any loop holes or good?
Has anyone used one and is it worth it? (I say $100 deductible and zero deductible.)
Are they transferrable?

 

[Sparkland]

The OEM HondaCare Extended Warranty is honored at ALL Honda dealerships. There is a list of exclusions which you can find online. The $100 deductible applies to each occurrence of a warranty claim. Zero deductible is the way to go.

The Honda warranty is transferable if you sell the vehicle to a private party. If you trade it in then you can get a pro-rated refund of the purchase price.

I would not even consider an AutoNation warranty.

 

[Mongo Johnson]

After some legwork, I'm finding you're right. The OEM Honda Care Extended warranty is a good value if bought at the dealers that sell them online with very limited markup.

I've read all the pro/con on add-on warranty coverage and the OEM seems the only way to go if it's something you want. Many folks are leery of their nav, head unit or safety electronics taking a dive and see the warranty as a good band-aid.

We were reluctantly seduced by AutoNation Honda's offer of their Autonation branded warranty. We only left there after checking it was FULLY cancellable and then went to do our due diligence. We canceled it this morning.

While the product may not be "bad" or crooked, the pricing was high compared to the Honda Care OEM that Autonation doesn't push since they have their own warranty product. I do need to give the company HUGE kudos for how they did the car sale and even the finance phase. All were done very, very well.

But, we found the classes of vehicles where Autonotion goes beyond the Honda OEM really don't apply to the typical Honda product, but would be valuable at their other branches selling Toyota or Jeep etc. It also seemed "safer" to go with an OEM from Honda than a third party even if they may have a legit' network.

I'm not finding a lot of info from people who've used the Honda Care "Sentinel" and Maintenance add-ons.

 

[F6Hawk]

I got the Hondacare with mine. They started out trying to sell it for a pretty hefty price. I talked them down to $1595 for the 8yr/120K (I think that was the terms). But that was with me walking out of the dealership to "check out my options", not taking it on the spot. I would imagine they only made a couple hundred on me, which was bad, cuz I had already gotten the lowest price they ever sold an RTL-E for according to the sales manager that day.

 

[PETDOC]

I purchased my 2017 RTL-E from an AutoNation dealership on 8/29/16 and am very satisfied with deal and follow-up service. My purchase was a cash deal and the only thing I was mildly irritated by is that they offered the AutoNation extended warranty as a 'now or never' opportunity. I like to research things thoroughly before buying. While awaiting delivery of my vehicle I asked the dealership if they offered an extended warranty. I was told they did and that I would receive information on the warranty when I purchased the vehicle. I found no literature at the dealership that gave a detailed explanation of the AutoNation warranty. During the 6 week wait for the RTL-E I researched the Honda Care warranty options. When writing the check for my vehicle I was informed of the details of the AutoNation policy. When told that, unlike the Honda Care warranty, there was no "window" to consider the option (i.e., you walk out the door and the offer is forever gone) I asked if they sold the Honda Care warranty. They did so I gave them a 'take or leave it option' to match the price I had been quoted ($1195 for 8yr/120,000 mile/0 deductible). Like me, they said no. When giving AutoNation a review over my buying experience I gave the dealership high marks except for the old school technique they used on pushing their warranty.
I very, very rarely buy extended warranties, but all of the electronics on the RTL-E are way beyond my skill set; therefore, because I keep my vehicles for a long time I decided for peace of mind to part with the extra cash.

 

[ScooterS]

Here's a link to the (rather long) thread on extended warranties.

I did a pretty comprehensive review of pricing on the genuine Honda warranty.

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/...1922-re-extended-warranty-10.html#post2525282

I'll bet that your Autonation warranty was a lot more expensive than the Honda one.

 

[wrenrj1]

When buying our Subaru a couple years ago, we initially didn't buy the extended warranty. About a month later I emailed three Subaru Dealerships in the area and asked for their best price on the extended warranty. I got three different numbers, and took the best number down to my local Subaru dealership (which wasn't the lowest quote) and they matched it.

Take home point is that you can deal on the warranty just like the vehicle, and you don't have to make the choice at the point of sale with new vehicles.

 

[Mongo Johnson]

Our Autonation sale experience was very very good. In a positive way, they were the opposite of a bunch of very "old school" Honda stores we tried online and in person.

And, our finance office closing session was good save that we got the same warranty pitch you got. "Buy now or it's gone."

The difference is when we balked, the rep saw an opening for a warranty sale in that we'd buy it if we could cancel later. He knew we wanted to do due diligence on the darn thing. He check-marked the parts of the contract that allowed it to give us a comfort factor.

I suppose he played the percentages that we'd be happy with our new ride and not follow up. Or we'd find Autonation's dealer net to be strong enough to be comfortable with their warranty.

When we did our research, there was just more peace-of-mind in going with the OEM Honda Care Warranty. And the discounted online offerings from legitimate dealers made it better financially.

We called to cancel on a Friday morning but were told it was a very big sale event day and they weren't sure when someone could get back to us. So, we just headed to the dealer and found our finance rep. He was fine but subdued. I suppose no one likes to lose a gravy deal. He did helpfully accommodate us.

Based on multiple posts and our calls to the Honda dealers selling the OEM Honda Care warranty made it a legit' option.

 

[John David]

I am in Canada and I we just purchased a 2020 Ridgeline Touring edition. On extended warranties I usually do not purchase these but with the amount of electronics in this vehicle I figured I better. The dealer ended up selling me a plan from 1st Canadian rather than the Honda extended warranty. The deciding factor was his statement that the Honda Canada extended warranty would not be honoured when/if I travelled in the states and had a breakdown. Since I live 15 km's from the border, before COVID and After COVID we will probably be travelling in the states. This was a deciding factor in us not choosing the Honda extended warranty. Can anyone verify this for me before I ask Honda Canada?

Also, we were pressured to buy the 1st canadian now or never. This despite the fact that there were three days between us putting a deposit down to "hold" the vehicle until we completed an acceptable deal. In those three days we could have been given all the information about the 1st canadian coverage. Instead we were encouraged to check the information and make our minds up in the hour. Afterwards I felt I should have said, give me the info, we'll go home and review it, you have my deposit to hold the vehicle. I'll let you know if I want it back or I want the vehicle.

Thanks in advance. Love the truck, hate the pressure sales tactics.

 

[TommyG]

Our Autonation buying experience was not a good one! They tried to rip us off. This was at the Sanford, Florida store. I did my pricing via e-mail and got a great price. Stoped into the store to close the deal, wham. That was the old price. Here's the new price. Then onto the finance guy and he was worse. $10,000 for the full package. Paint, interior, wheels and tires. And their warranty. Had to get the Autonation General Manager involved. Good thing I had all my e-mails printed out. They still refused to negotiate on the warranty. Offered me the Honda warranty for $2050! I just laughed.

 

[wrenrj1]

I am in Canada and I we just purchased a 2020 Ridgeline Touring edition. On extended warranties I usually do not purchase these but with the amount of electronics in this vehicle I figured I better. The dealer ended up selling me a plan from 1st Canadian rather than the Honda extended warranty. The deciding factor was his statement that the Honda Canada extended warranty would not be honoured when/if I travelled in the states and had a breakdown. Since I live 15 km's from the border, before COVID and After COVID we will probably be travelling in the states. This was a deciding factor in us not choosing the Honda extended warranty. Can anyone verify this for me before I ask Honda Canada?

Also, we were pressured to buy the 1st canadian now or never. This despite the fact that there were three days between us putting a deposit down to "hold" the vehicle until we completed an acceptable deal. In those three days we could have been given all the information about the 1st canadian coverage. Instead we were encouraged to check the information and make our minds up in the hour. Afterwards I felt I should have said, give me the info, we'll go home and review it, you have my deposit to hold the vehicle. I'll let you know if I want it back or I want the vehicle.

Thanks in advance. Love the truck, hate the pressure sales tactics.

John David,
Your post was interesting, so I went to look at my 2018 Honda Ridgeline's warranty and it was interesting. I've snipped a page from the warranty manual and North American Honda does not cover vehicles driven outside of the U.S. Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas. It's like Honda treats the North American Honda and Canada as different car companies. I would check your warranty book that will clarify if you are covered in the US. Otherwise, if you have a problem I don't see why you couldn't be towed back to Canada for repairs. If you have not done so, the owners.honda.com is a great website for owners manuals, warranty info. and tracking your maintenance.

Saying all of that. My 2018 was bought a year old. I received an additional year of warranty (4/48) and bought a 3rd party warranty as well from a company called Assurance that takes me out to 7yrs./100,000 miles.

 

[SeattleR]

John David,
Your post was interesting, so I went to look at my 2018 Honda Ridgeline's warranty and it was interesting. I've snipped a page from the warranty manual and North American Honda does not cover vehicles driven outside of the U.S. Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas.

Honda Care will cover a US registered vehicle that is in Canada (e.g. on vacation) when it breaks down.