Do the gadgets make you sell/trade in sooner?

3540 Views 15 Replies 10 Participants Last post by Static, Jun 30, 2007

Static

Discussion Starter · Jun 30, 2007

I traded in my totally loaded '06 Armada with 32,000 miles for an Enclave. We loved our Armada but the only reason we were looking for another vehicle in the first place is because we were close to running out of warranty. This made me think about how all the bells and whistles in these vehicles are affecting my purchasing decisions.

With power lift gates, moonroofs, DVDs, Navigation, AWD, 360 degree airbags, Stability control, Automatic air/heat, remote start, pivoting headlights, etc, etc, it is getty scary to think about owning something past its warranty. All of these bells and whistle are great until they stop working and then they are very expensive to fix. That really helped me pick the Enclave over its sisters due to the longer warranty.

When cars were simpler, that warranty didn't seem so critical. Anybody else feeling this way?

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krm

· #2 · Jun 30, 2007

I don't know about the gadget aspect of it, but I traded in my MDX for the enclave after owning it for just under two years. The reason....I had reached the end of the warranty, and my husband doesn't like to keep cars past the warranty coverage. Just not willing to risk it based on past experience. As I said on a different thread, I got the extended warranty w/ this one because I really want to own it more than two years, but w/ the driving I do, we'll reach 50,000 in about that time.

TexasNana

· #3 · Jun 30, 2007

I'm trading in an '05 Chrysler Town & Country that just past the warranty of 36,000 miles. Have you noticed that once we experience all those bells & whistles, we won't settle for anything less? Guess that's why I insisted on the navigation, even though my husband told me with OnStar, I didn't need it. We never upgraded the CD for our navigation---they always told me, in your area, it isn't any different from your present one.

krm

· #4 · Jun 30, 2007

We never upgraded the navigation either, but after my last car, I said that all cars I buy from now on will have navigation and a seat warmer (love that seat warmer in Michigan). I never thought I would use the back-up camera, but it's amazing how you can get used to such things so easily.

Static

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jun 30, 2007

That is true. Once you get used to something, you wonder how you got along without it. We had a backup camera on our Armada and the fact that the Outlook and the Acadia did not have one, was a HUGE selling point for us.

Kind of like TIVO at home. I have a hard time watching regular live TV anymore because I can't skip through commercials.

monstersinc1

· #6 · Jun 30, 2007

Yes, I'm so used to DIC (Driver Information Center) stuff that I can't do without it. I actually a little upset the Enclave does not do Instantaneous gas mileage :sosad: (it just does Average). My trailblazer does both.

coopermine

· #7 · Jun 30, 2007

Static said:
I traded in my totally loaded '06 Armada with 32,000 miles for an Enclave. We loved our Armada but the only reason we were looking for another vehicle in the first place is because we were close to running out of warranty. This made me think about how all the bells and whistles in these vehicles are affecting my purchasing decisions.

With power lift gates, moonroofs, DVDs, Navigation, AWD, 360 degree airbags, Stability control, Automatic air/heat, remote start, pivoting headlights, etc, etc, it is getty scary to think about owning something past its warranty. All of these bells and whistle are great until they stop working and then they are very expensive to fix. That really helped me pick the Enclave over its sisters due to the longer warranty.

When cars were simpler, that warranty didn't seem so critical. Anybody else feeling this way?

I am going to lease the enclave so I care less about the gadgets at this time.

My other vehicle is a loaded 2001 Pathfinder, I have 92k miles on it. Of course it doesn't comes close to Enclave in the "gadgetry" area, but I do have moonroof, six disc changer, heated seats and mirrors, steering audio controls etc, which could potentially fail. To date they are functioning as good as they were six years ago. I hope to get another 40-50K miles out of it before I trade that in for something else.

shappy

· #8 · Jun 30, 2007

I lease my cars, and warranty coverage is one (but not the only) reason. I never have to worry about a repair bill and most costly maintenance items, like brakes and tires, don't have to be taken care of within the lease. Of course I am lucky in that both of my vehicles are driven less than 10K miles/year.

For those of you who are buying cars and keeping them less than four years, leasing is generally a much less expensive way to go. Yes, you never own the car, but if you are getting rid of it after only three or four years, chances are you are still making payments anyway. Just some food for thought.

budi

· #9 · Jun 30, 2007

I tend to keep my cars for a long time so I am concerned about things breaking past the warranty but I like having a paid off car. I like to go at least 2 years without a car payment.
I also always do 48 month loans with at least 30% down. I take most of that money that was going towards a car payment and invest it in mutual funds making at least 12% and the rest goes into the "car fund" for the next purchase.
I apply the proper lubricants to doors, seals, motors etc from day one and have never had a problem with sunroofs, power windows, power seats etc. What I hate is simple fix items that are made complicated because you have to remove the front bumper to replace a light bulb, or you need a vehicle jack to get access to things.

krm

· #10 · Jun 30, 2007

I really drive too many miles to lease. My last car was about 25000 a year. The lease would be sooo expensive.

axiama

· #11 · Jun 30, 2007

budi said:
I tend to keep my cars for a long time so I am concerned about things breaking past the warranty but I like having a paid off car. I like to go at least 2 years without a car payment.

We do the same thing. My husband and I each drive our cars for 6 - 8 years so that we are only making payments on one at a time.

I haven't looked into the extended warranty with GM other than to confirm that it is available after purchase. The dealer showed me a brochure and I noticed that there were quite a few items excluded from the extended warranty. Are gadget items covered by the extended warranty?

Static

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jun 30, 2007

The Extended warranties that I have seen exclude DVD and Navigation. Lots of fine print to read on exceptions. As far as I know, NO company has a true bumper to bumper extended warranty.

gbshuler

· #13 · Jun 30, 2007

axiama said:
.. Are gadget items covered by the extended warranty? ..

It depends..

First? Who's extended warranty?
Did you know there are many companies out there selling extended warranties on GM cars?.

Assuming you insist on a GM extended warranty(knoqn as the "GM Protection Plan", or GMPP) then .. it depends (again).. on which level of protection you buy.

GM Offers 3 levels of protection:

Major Guard (BEST - Covers everything but wear and tear items like tires and brakes)
Value Guard (BETTER - Covers the "9 Major Assemblies", or "wallet breakers"
Basic Guard (GOOD - Just the powertrain)

You can guess that the Major Guard costs more than the others. It will cover all the gadgets though.

You can buy them from any authorized seller (you do not have to buy from the dealer where you bought your car).

Here is a PA dealer, for example, who sell these to you anywhere in the USA.

http://www.gmoutlet.com/gmppcoverage.html

[UPDATE!]According to the order form at GMOUTLET.com: "the vehicle must be within the 3 year or 36,000 miles original manufacture warranty period – 4 year or 50,000 miles on all Cadillac Models)". I would presume this would mean 4yr/50,000 of the Enclave.

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zman

· #14 · Jun 30, 2007

gbshuler said:
You have 12 months or 12,000 miles to make up your mind to buy one of these plans. You can buy them from any authorized seller (you do not have to buy from the dealer where you bought your car).

Don't you actually have until the expiration of the bumper-to-bumper warranty to decide? You pay a little bit more later on but at least you aren't paying 4 years/50K miles in advance for coverage.

axiama

· #15 · Jun 30, 2007

That's what I thought also.

Static

Discussion Starter · #16 · Jun 30, 2007

Does the GM extended cover the DVD and Nav?

As for when you can add it, the aftermarket warranties are cheaper when you get them earlier (I believe)

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