Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Should I Extend My Land Rover Warranty

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 07-17-2007, 08:55 PM:

I received an offer today from SERVICE PROTECTION DIRECT in St. Louis to extend my Land Rover warranty by up to 6 years or 100K miles. Before I call these guys has anyone here on F-T delt with this company before? I may be interested in extending it a couple of years but probably not past that. I would just like to hear from soneone thats delt with them and claims before I bother to call about it. Personally I don't find LR parts any more expensive than their Japaneese counterparts but if you loose an engine or tranny in any vehicle its pretty expensive to deal with.

Thanks,
Mark

Posted by Anslem Rayburn (Member # 1267) on 07-18-2007, 04:24 AM:

Don't know anything about them personally, but they have had 16 complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau in St. Louis, and, according the BBB, they have only been in business for 11 months!

St. Louis BBB

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 07-18-2007, 05:02 AM:

The new cars that my folks, friends and I have purchased have received similiar extended warranty offers like these from third party companies and we just toss them away knowing that the dealer themselves offer extended warranties when signing the contracts at the point of sale...

...as with you Mark on that LR that you purchased if it came from a respectable dealer-they should have offered some sort of extended warranty if it warranted to be such at the time of sale...instead of being labelled as an "as is, no warranty" vehicle.

Posted by Phil Blake (Member # 2012) on 07-18-2007, 05:28 AM:

gee Mark you got a Landrover with warrant issues , the best fix is to quit it and go Landcruiser !

Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 07-18-2007, 08:10 AM:

find out the information about who furnished the warranty for the dealer you bought the Rover from. Was it the manufacturer or someone else. Then get with them to extend the warranty. I to have received these offers from third parties but they are assuming you did not already extend the warranty as I did when I purchased my car. I will say that after you car reaches 60,000 miles and or has had it's timing belt replaced forget about the warranties. Power train warranties will cover timing belt and related issues if it fails before 60,000 miles. After that it will not cover the costs if you fail to have it replaced at the 60,000 mile mark. Some warranties may have that mileage higher it depends on the manufacturer.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 07-18-2007, 08:57 AM:

I don't have any issues with the LR itself its been a great vehicle. The dealer did offer me an extended warranty when I bought it which I turned down and I can probably go back to them and still get it. I just thought it odd that one arrived in the mail like this as it had nothing to do with the dealer.

Daryl,
The LR timming belts are good till 72K. Had them done a bit past that. Fortunately we have several really good independent LR service places around the SLC area. So I'm not stuck paying LR $95.00 an hour, the independents are $75.00 an hour. The timming belts on this engine are a big deal because of the quad cams and three belts so a DIY is pretty much out of the question here. It typically costs about 1500.00 at a LR dealer just for the belts installed and not including any idlers, waterpump, and tensioner which are always extra. At the independent LR shop (Red Rover) the whole thing cost me about the same as just for the belts at LR. The 72K service is the single most expensive service to be done on the FL'er and the others are pretty minimal in cost. Most owners find that if you follow the prescribed LR maintainance schedule you'll have few problems with the vehicle.

Land Cruisers are nice but bad gas pigs and when I go to the food store or Home Depot which White Land Cruiser do I get into when I come out to leave? Toyotas are great SUV's but all too common around here AND just as expensive to maintain as a LR. I like the LR ALOT and I would buy another one again! The comfort and drivability are beyond amazing for an SUV... show me another SUV that drives and handles like a BMW 325 series?? The new LR-2 does outperform the BMW SUV in the latest Road and Track review. So far on off road outings the Freelander has left its bigger brothers in the dust... the AWD and electronic traction control are amazing and it fits down the narrow mining roads like a shoe horn in a new shoe. Owning a LR is like belonging to a exclusive club and best of all when I come out from Home Depot its the only one parked there(well usually) [thumbsup]

.

My biggest gripe about the FL'er is clearance so I'm installing a 2" lift kit on it in a couple of weeks. That also allows much larger tires to be fit with no modifications. In most cases that takes care of ground clearance issues with this model and the lift kit is only a couple of hundred and easy to install yourself.

Mark

Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 07-18-2007, 09:23 AM:

It sounds like this is a 3rd-party warranty (not from LR.) Read the fine print, because I have heard that they avoid paying out by covering only things that rarely break. Many will also void the warranty if the car is used off-road. I would suggest reading through some of the Land Rover forums:

http://www.landroversonly.com/
http://www.landroverexchange.com/forum/messages.html
http://www.discoweb.org/

I paid $1400 to extend the warranty (with a $100 deductable) on my '02 DII for two years. If I waited until I reached 50K miles, I would have had to pay a $1200 'certified status check' fee, and then pay the $1400 to extend the warranty. I don't know if this would also apply to your Freelander.

The opinions I have read on this sort of lean towards: The warranty from LR is the only one worth doing, and only if you can get it without the 'certified status check' fee.

The Freelander has been discontinued in favor of the LR2. I an LR2 as a overnight loaner, and it was pretty nice. It has a Volvo engine. The "key" is a square block that fits into an opening on the dashboard (although there is a regular key in case the batteries go dead.) When you put it in reverse, the side mirrors tilt down so you can see the curb, but then you can't see where you're going! With the nav system, a sexy English lady tells you where to go. Ohh, baby!

Posted by Lyle Romer (Member # 1266) on 07-18-2007, 10:25 AM:

Be very wary of all auto (and other product) extended warranties. This is especially true with Land Rover. Because of statistical failure rates most reputable warranty companies don't cover Land Rover. You have to read all the fine print of the contract about what's covered. You also must be very careful about the viability of the company and what is backing the warranty.

Be very careful!

[ 07-19-2007, 06:25 AM: Message edited by: Lyle Romer ]

Posted by Bruce Hansen (Member # 281) on 07-18-2007, 12:03 PM:

I made the mistake of buying an extended warranty form the dealer when I bought a new car one time. I will never do that again. I found out it did not cover anything. Any time I would call about anything they would tell me "that's not covered". Whenever someone pushes something like this on you, it is because they are making money on it. If they are making money on it, you are losing money on it. Bad idea.

As for the third party warranty, this sounds like a very bad idea to me.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 07-18-2007, 12:26 PM:

We have 2002 and 2003 Fords and we started getting those third party warranty sales pitches when the factory warranty was about to run out. We didn't buy them. Our vehicles have 101,000 and 49,000 miles on them and never have needed a major repair yet (Go Ford!)

I've never bought an extended warranty on anything except a computer. They're not worth the money. Today's cars are built so much better than they were 15 or 20 years ago, if you just keep the oil changed and do the other regular maintenance, you'll probably save money even if you have to do the occasional repair. Extended warranties are a huge profit maker for whoever sells them, that's why they're always pushed as the standard part of a sales pitch these days.

If you decide to get a third-party warranty though, I would be sure to find out who does the work on the vehicle. The warranty company might specify some shop that you don't like. Find out if you can pick your own shop or not.

Posted by Brad Allen (Member # 470) on 07-18-2007, 01:05 PM:

Extended warranty's on most anything is a waste of money.
It's almost pure profit for whom ever is selling them.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 07-18-2007, 01:23 PM:

Well, the extended LR warranty is actually a pretty good deal since it covers just about everything. I'll definately pass on these guys though...

Thanks!
Mark

Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 07-18-2007, 02:47 PM:

I know 2 people who own Land Rovers. Neither bought the extended warranty, both wish they had. Forget your emotional feelings about L.R. and check vehicle brand service issues. You'll find L.R. at the bottom for most years. One of these people had the pneumatic suspension develop some problem that cost a little over $4,000 and a 2 week wait for parts to fix.
The other continues to have a myriad of electrical and heating and a.c. problems. Both vehicles were bought new, one is a Range Rover and the other a Discovery.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 07-18-2007, 08:38 PM:

I too received extended warranty notificaitons the moment my car's warranties were running out (5-years later). I generally get extended warranties on cars...particularly the more expensive ones and have never regretted it...but I always went though the manufacturer. It is like other insurance...you are betting on having a problem. Most extended warranties are about as much as one major repair (for the long term warranties...not just one extra year...but usually in the 5-6 year and the 70-100K mile ranage). Now if there is a 0% financing campaign going that you can put the extended warranty in...then it is almost stupid not to get it...you are effectively paying for all major repairs over the life of the loan in small increments.

Steve

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 07-18-2007, 09:06 PM:

I agree with both Bill and Steve on this,

LR has never had a good track record for reliability but the odd thing is you'll find that LR owners are extremely loyal to the brand. Either you get a good one or you get a bad one, there is no maybe or in between. I assume I got lucky though as there have been no major problems with this one in almost 90K now. The FL has had major engine problems when it forst appeared but those were obviously solved before the FL'er hit the US market and the Diesel version had more problems than a pack of Weasels but the Diesel was never sold here. Oddly with all its problems it was the best selling SUV in Europe for many years. It has a JATCO tranny which is basically the same as a Nissan. Nissan spun off the tranny end of things a number of years back and its now called JATCO. For all the high tech stuff in this vehicle its amazing how reliable its been. Its got 6 computers on a network and is all fly by wire. No throttle cable here. The engine has a HP to weight ratio that is unbelievable even today and the design is some 6 years old now, the engine is all alumnium except the cylinder liners. Anyway, I'm tossing the offer that came in the mail. I might keep this vehicle another two years but if I loose the engine or tranny in that time to me its still worth 4 grand to fix it. Heck the equivelent Subaru tranny costs about the same.... for a VW tranny or engine you don't even want to know how much. So its still cheaper than another equivelent vehicle and bodies last darn near for ever out here to boot. The car is still immaculate and besides... the fun factor is very definately there and that is not present in many other SUV's.

Mark

Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 07-19-2007, 07:49 AM:

Yeah, you'd have to drive a LR (especially off-road) to appreciate them. I've not had any major problems; I have 90K on mine, get 18mpg, and all tires and the front brakes are original. I think I avoided most headaches by not getting fancy options (self-leveling suspension, active cornering enhancement) which might break.

Many people do seem to have problems, but my own guess is at least 50% of people buying a LR do not understand fully what they have purchased. They think they are buying a sporty car for the highway and to load antiques into; the advertisements showing the car off-road just looks 'fun' - they would never actually go off-road. But after buying, they complain about the rougher ride (because the suspension is beefed up for off-road) or how it doesn't go real fast, (because it's geared lower for pulling) etc. It's not a great on-road vehicle, it's not a great off-road vehicle. It's a great combination of both.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 07-19-2007, 08:49 AM:

quote: John Walsh
It's not a great on-road vehicle, it's not a great off-road vehicle. It's a great combination of both.

John,
I think many people that have troubles just don't follow the prescribed service reccomendations. As for the FL'er I would have to say that it is a really great on road vehicle and a good off road vehicle. The added safety that the traction control offers is pretty amazing on snow and ice... and gravel. Yep! I've done right around 100mph on gravel! Since I don't have true 4wdL1 on mine there is that disadvantage but I have yet to come into any circumstance where it couldn't make it up a hill and over the rocks and loaded with 4 people. It has the same dowhill mode and that works great.... lets you come down out of a tree easily. With the 2" lift kit and larger tires added things will certainly improve. The typical LR's back seat has always had more room than any other comparable vehicle, people can actually ride back there, have a good view and enjoy themselves. And... LR's certainly have a proven heritage that no other manufacturer has been able to touch.

I'd like to see Richard try this with his Sport Trac or what ever it was...

Get any orther brand vehicle into this position and see if you can still open and close the doors! It just ain't goin to happen...

Posted by Mark Hajducki (Member # 1732) on 07-19-2007, 10:29 AM:

Would extending the warranty force you to use approved (and expensive) service centres?

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 07-19-2007, 10:41 AM:

quote: Mark Hajducki
Would extending the warranty force you to use approved (and expensive) service centres?

I didn't get that far with checking this offer out to know. When I originally bought the vehicle the dealer offered me an extended warranty thorough some reputable company....can't remember who it was but I could use that warranty where ever I wanted to... Land Rover dealerships included. The problem was it that it only covered the basic drive train and I thought 1500.00 for that was a bit out of line. Usually an extended warranty covers all the stuff. The single biggest problem with Land Rover dealerships over here is that they prefer to replace stuff not repair it. That includes drive trains and such. Even though you may just have a blown head gasket which is a pretty simple thing they might opt to replace the whole engine. This happens both when it still under LR's warranty and out of. Geez, its common for entire transmissions have be replaced just because of a $20.00 solonoid failing! Its That reason why there are so many independent LR specialty shops... at least out here. I think if my engine or tranny went I'd be able to change either of them out myself pretty easily. There are sevaral sources now for FL'er trannys and the pricing has become more reasonable. A entire new engine is $4200.00 plus shipping but with the core credit that works out to about $2500.00 which again is reasonable compared to other brands. Since its all computer controled there are no adjustments after installation to either of them.

Mark

Posted by Pete Naples (Member # 761) on 07-19-2007, 11:11 AM:

Mark, there's a whole industry devoted to them over here! The dealer prices for parts and labour are utterly ridiculous, and dealers don't want to know about anything over 3 years old, so there are specialist suppliers and workshops all over the country. You'd be in your element.

I'm a Range Rover man myself, best of both worlds. It'll go anywhere, tow an articulated truck and leave most cars in it's rear view mirror on the road, yet still not be out of place parked outside a posh hotel.

That said, mines in bits in my garage right now.....

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 07-20-2007, 08:18 AM:

Pete,
How come yours is all apart? Air suspension problems?

Posted by Pete Naples (Member # 761) on 07-20-2007, 10:07 AM:

No, I binned the EAS years ago and fitted old fashioned coils and dampers.

It's currently got half the body stripped off cos we're chasing out rust caused by years of competitive off road use. Thus far I've replaced both sills, both rear wheel arches, front footwells and we're currently working on the rear body cross member.

Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 07-20-2007, 11:05 AM:

Yep, leaf springs and regular shocks; the way God intended off-road vechiles to be......

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 07-20-2007, 11:14 AM:

WOW! You're really goin to town on that rover. Are you going to do new pait as well?

I agree on the air stuff... it seems to cause the most trouble in Range Rovers... the replacement springs and stuff are the better route. The air stuff sure give a nice ride when its working though off road or on....
MArk

Posted by Richard Hamilton (Member # 321) on 07-20-2007, 01:06 PM:

quote: Mark Gulbrandsen
I'd like to see Richard try this with his Sport Trac or what ever it was...

Ha..When I had it, I would've taken you up on that! [beer]

Actually it was perfect for the beach, I pulled a few trucks out of the sand. It was also great on the highway. I pulled a trailer with everything for a Megasystems booth and couldn't tell that it was behind me.

quote:
Get any orther brand vehicle into this position and see if you can still open and close the doors!

So who pulled you out of that one? [Big Grin]

The Escalade isn't meant for offroading, it's meant for pimp'n. The only 4 wheel excitement I'll see in it is in the snow. If it gets stuck, I'll turn on the heated seats, push the Onstar button, drop down the T.V. screen and watch whatever good show is on or pop in a movie [thumbsup]

Rick

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 07-20-2007, 01:33 PM:

Read today in the paper that FORD is hurting so bad that they are moving agressively forward in dumping JAGUAR and LR .. to bail themselves out of the mire..

and you're gonna see "Dr.Z" drop Chrysler pretty soon ...

Posted by Pete Naples (Member # 761) on 07-20-2007, 01:42 PM:

Problem for me with the EAS was not it's reliability as such, it was the more than once being left on the bump stops due to stones, tree roots or similar getting where they shouldn't and puncturing one of the bladders.

JW, it's running on progressive coil springs, Range Rovers have never been fitted with leafs, in fact Land Rovers haven't since about 1982. The progressives with gas dampers give a really nice ride on or off road, often likened to a magic carpet

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 07-20-2007, 02:16 PM:

Richard... any other vehicle woulda sunk in the river... or there'd be water up to your knees... I can thnk of only one other vehicle that is built to do that and thats the Hummer.

quote:
If it gets stuck,

Now you know darn well if it does it'll cause you to be late to the next hearing.... Then there'll be a warrant and the net result is you'll have many years to watch lots of films....

Mark

Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 07-22-2007, 07:07 PM:

Sorry Mark, nothing out of the way in those pics. Every enthusiast for every brand of semi off road vehicle out there has a stack of outrageous water and wheels off the ground photos with the same claims. The greatest hazard in driving thru deep water is getting in just a little too deep and having some water go into the air intake and into a cylinder, blown head gaskets and bent con rods and cranks.

If the servicing shop finds a drop of water in anything, all warranties are over.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 07-22-2007, 07:34 PM:

Bill,

Actually the bigger danger is the vehicle interior fill'n up with water. So far only Land Rover and Hummer have the special door seals that are up to the job and proper compartments that
are also sealed for all the on board computers and electrical systems. Ya don't wanna ruin that nice leather interior if ys have one... Or the Seimens computers! Land rovers are supplied from the factory as such that they can be dunked without damage to anything electrical or interior... in fact the Freelanders ignition coils are individually mounted on each spark plug. Also of you're going to go way under then a snorkel is mandatory as wouod be raising the levels of the nvents for the differential and transmission [uhoh]

. This is a snorkle on the G-4 Freelander.

And then... none of the Jeeps have anything resembling true electronic traction control... It makes a HUGE difference as to not getting stuck in the mud and sliding or spinniing out on snow, ice or rain! In fact you could stop half way through a muddy hill climb and then start up again and get right to the top... This is probably my favorite off road feature on the Freelander. The downhill button is not to shabby either!

As they say... "Only Land Rover"!

P.S. I have ordered a new tire cover... It says "Jeep Rescue Vehicle" on it with the Land Rover insignia below that [thumbsup]

Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 07-22-2007, 09:22 PM:

If you're going off road and think you have to have electronic traction control, maybe you shouldn't go, not a substitute for judgement. No question that L.R. has the best list of off road accessories. L.R. and Jeep are fairly poor in reliability maybe at least partly due to the abuse owners heap on both. The electronics in most everything do OK in water these days, with all the sensors, etc. nothing would run at all if water got in. Even my 93 Ford Escort runs with water up to the air intake---that means both coils, crank and cam, oxygen sensors, one of the electronic engine modules, alternator, spark plugs, are under water, and by the way, water 8 inches below the drivers window with no water inside, tight closures on vehicles that have not been damaged is not unusual, even on cheapo cars like this. Drove about 1000 feet in this during hurricane Gaston a couple years ago. Wouldn't recommend it though, changed the manual transaxle oil the next day since the vent was below water, got about 4 ounces of water. Car is well maintained but that is necessary even for the L.R. when driven thru high water.

Does the warranty cover engine damage caused by sucking in water leaking into the extended air intake while driving thru 4 feet of water? Likewise does it cover the interior if the door seals leak during same. I'll bet not.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 07-22-2007, 10:23 PM:

quote: Bill Enos
If you're going off road and think you have to have electronic traction control, maybe you shouldn't go, not a substitute for judgement.

I agree 100% but its not something you can turn off. It makes all sorts of driving much safer. Safe off roading requires safe judgement in any vehicle but Land Rovers are safer for off roading and hence its easier for those inexperienced at it to learn without killling or stranding themselves. LR also has off roading course they teach to all customers that have bought one that want to learn.

At some point your car is going to displace more water than it weighs.... With your Escort you're MORE lucky that you didn't float away than leak. At least had you filled with water you wouldn't be able to float away.

On the warranty thing it would be no because LR's don't normally come with a snorkel(except the G-4 versions) and for those the motor would probably be replaced under warranty. As to the interior, Yes, Definately if a door seal leaked as long as you didn't submerge it past the approved level that each model is rated for. The interiors are rather robust but the leather interiors... phew, that'd be a mess! I have the Kalahari interior in mine, cloth... no leather!! A good cleaning and I'd be back in action. Even LR doesn't expect you will just be using these vehicles for trips around town!

Mark