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Is An RV Extended Warranty Protection Plan Really Needed?

by Shirley
(California)

RV Extended Service Plans Do you Really Need One?

RV Extended Service Plans Do you Really Need One?

My husband and I are in the process of purchasing an RV and there is an extended warranty protection that the dealer wants to sell to us. We're buying an RV that was on consignment and has approximately 7,800 miles and a 2008.

As a new owner, we aren't sure if we should pay the 6 years left on a 7 year warranty to protect us from high repair costs. We are seeking advice on this since this is our first time purchasing an RV.

ANSWER Hi Shirley, I am going to assume that the RV you are looking at is no longer covered by the new RV warranty. If the sales people are asking you to sign a contract for the remaining 6 years, I would highly recommend that you do not do it.

You do not say what company this extended warranty is from. Not all Extended Service Plans (extended warranties) are the same. Locking yourself into a 6 year extended warranty contract is not a good thing. Once you drive your RV off of the lot; you can go out and purchase an Extended Service Plan yourself (if you want) and you do not have to sign a 6 year contract to do it.

If you decide that an Extended Service Plan is right for you, I would highly recommend you purchase the Good Sam Extended Service Plan. The Good Sam Extended Service Plan is a mechanical breakdown plan for your RV, 5th Wheel, Trailer, and Tow Vehicle!. Listed below are the

reasons I recommend the Good Sam Extended Service Plan.

* Covers parts and labor
* Charges deductible per occurrence (versus per item)
* Transferable (without fees)
* Duration of coverage controlled by the customer
* Customized Plans with Deductible Options
* Freedom to Choose RV Repair Center
* Regulated by insurance industry
* Travel Expenses Covered
* Backed by the Good Sam Club the world's largest RV owner's community

Whether you should purchase an Extended Service Plan or not is totally up to you. Some RVer's swear by these plans because the plan has saved them hundreds of dollars in repair bills, others say they do not need them. The one thing I would not do is sign a multi-year extended service plan contract at an RV dealership.

One thing I do recommend all RVers get whether they have a new or used RV is an Emergency Road Service Plan. Again I recommend the RV Emergency Road Service from the Good Sam Club.

This is the plan that I have used for all of my RVs over the years. Here is why:

*Unlimited Distance Towing Services 24/7

*Flat Tire Service

*Minor Roadside Mechanical Repairs

*Protection for all Household Vehicles which would include your towed vehicle or your towing vehicle

*Free Battery Jump-Starts, Emergency Fuel Delivery, Lost Key / Lock-out Service

*$1,200 Trip Interruption Assistance

*They have had Over 1,500,000 successful roadside rescues.

I hope that all of this information has been helpful to you. I also hope that you enjoy your new RV. You will never regret becoming an RVer.

Happy RVing

RVing Al


Comments for Is An RV Extended Warranty Protection Plan Really Needed?

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Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		NCompass
by: Gary

Their Brochure that is suppose to give you the details does not work.
Compass Protection Plan Brochure. So you can go to a chat line where no one ever connects with you. I have tried twice now, and all I get is "Your request is important to us. Please wait and one of our operators will be with you shortly." but they never do. They have been taken over by AGWS. Some huge conglomerate. At least Good Sam ESP spells out exactly what they provide. If you can't spell it out, you you probably do not have much. And these guys on this thread that say compass is the bomb, are probably sales people. They are not RVers. A bunch of Hacks
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Good Sam extended warranty
by: Lynn

We owned a Jayco Eagle 2013 we did not have trouble with our camper but we did have trouble with our tow vehicle and we were on the side of the road about 30 miles from our destination. We called our goodsam and we were provided with being picked up that is truck a 40ft trailer and they said a tow truck with 3 wheels on it so they sent a monster they not only picked us up they took us to our campsite dropped are trailer at our campsite and then proceeded to take our truck and loaded on a flatbed to carry it into a repair center we've also had trouble with our camper recently the black tank went out we were in Nevada we were able to take it in and they repaired it in one day's time with no problem, we have had Good Sam extended service on three campers now and we are very satisfied.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Extended Warranty
by: Erin

Will let you all know. Will be calling for a claim with Compass RV Protection today.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		N*Compass is a huge ripoff!
by: Frustrated RV'R

N*Compass will plain and simple leave you out to dry!

We had a wheel bearing burn out on our 2-year old travel trailer with less than 5000 miles on it, and they refused to cover any of the $1000 repair bill.

In other words, when we needed our warranty most (1000 miles from home) they turned us down!

Plus, we still have close to $3000 damage to the trailer as the springs are flat and the trailer has been bottoming out on the tires plus both axles are shot . . . and they offered to cover $150 of that repair.

Read the fine print and you'll find that it covers N*Compass . . . not you!

Might as well flush that money down your RV toilet!

At least you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you are not helping them pay their monthly Mercedes payment!

I will be calling them up Monday morning and using the opt-out clause (yes, I can read fine print, too!).

If anyone here was as unfortunate as us and listed to our salesperson schpeil . . . I suggest you do the same!
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		The plan works
by: Anonymous

I bought a new RV bak in 2006 and with a 7 yr. plan that for most part worked just fine anytime i had a problem with the rv i paid my deductable and they fixed my problem.I bought my rv from Camping World in Anthony,Tx.,i

I paid 4700.00$ back then and my plan was not renewable so we are thinking of buying another plan from Good Sams Club and see how this works.I know that they are expensive but whne you need them the plan works. What i like about the plan is that ypu can pay every year and cancell if you don't like it. Good Luck everyone
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Motor Homes
by: Del

I originally bought a 2008 Fleetwood. I purchased the good Sam warranty for 3 years for about 2700.00. It was a good warranty and paid out more than the purchase in one year. I was very unhappy with the motorhome and the dealer talked me into buying a new 2013 Holiday Rambler Endeavor. I have had numerous problems with the new coach and am tired of fighting with Holiday Rambler about what is covered.

I would recommend to anyone purchasing a motorhome to buy an extended warranty. Based on my experiences and talking to other coach owners there are going to routinely be repair problems with motorhomes. I am now shopping for an extended warranty because my 1 year is up in about 5 weeks.
Rating
starstarstarstar 		N compass vs. good Sam extended warranty
by: Robert M

My quote on a 2014 voltage for a 6 year term from good Sam was 3400.00. And from the dealer for a 5 year term and identical coverage is 1100.00 from N Compass. My decision will be obvious
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		N. Compass RV
by: Anonymous

N. Compass RV Extended Service Contract -

I have no way to weight if they are the best or the worst; however, my current experience is as follows -

I purchased a used 2008 5th wheel in September 2011, and although I am extremely mechanical and can repair anything on the camper on my own, I decided this was one project I didn't want to repair for a while.

Purchase price of N. Compass RV service contract $1,574.00.

Generator failure at 4 Months of ownership. Belt, belt tensioner, and starter damaged. What caused what to break as "Belts are a wear part and are not covered". I say the tensioner failed causing the belt to break and damage the starter, and they say the belt broke causing damage to the starter and tensioner.

Conclusion: N. Compass RV happily paid $900.00 of the $1100.00 repair bill (I had a $50.00 deductible and they would not pay for the cost of the starter ($150.00), but they did pay the extra labor). Even though it is not perfect, they have done a pretty good job in this case, and I currently have 3 years and 8 months left to milk them out of my other $674.00 that I paid since they didn't fully cover this.

PS a new Cummins ONAN 5500 watt generator costs around $7,000.00. Ultimately, I hope this experience helps someone else.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		NCompass RV
by: Anonymous

NCompass is a contrat from premier dealer services. I like that they include tire and wheel benefits in the contract. I had to add,at a fairly high expense to my other contract.

I understand that Good Sam is only available at camping world now. My problem was not what the contract said it covered,rather the loop holes they found to deny coverage.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		RV Extended Warranties
by: Charles May

We, too, purchased a pre-owned RV from a dealer that was being sold on consignment for the owner. We negotiated a 3 year extended warranty to be included in the deal. I don't know if the extended warranty was paid by the former owner as a deduction from the purchase price or the dealer as a reduction of the sales commission, but we were satisfied with the deal in either case. We are happy we had the extended warranty which was worth about $3,000 because we had occasion to use it for a number of claims. The extended warranty was "RV Shield" and it lived up to it's promise of coverage. When this extended warranty expired, we tried to renew it but apparently it didn't have renewable option and we were told we would have to purchase a new extended warranty. After learning that the usual pitch was more $$$ probably due mostly to commission of salesman, we decided to go with Sam's Club Extended Warranty. We are very pleased with our decision (GSEW is renewable annually for up to 150,000 miles and is reasonable (this past year we had two claims that more than made up for the monthly premium. I would highly recommend the GSEW for anyone in our situation (we're full timers with a 2004 Itasca Suncruiser and will have been on the road for 4 years in April)

Note From RVing Al: For clarification purposes I believe that Charles is talking about the Good Sam Club Extended Service Plan, as Sam's Club does not have an RV Extended Service Plan.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		NCompass RV service contract
by: Anonymous

a WARRANTY IS A MUST! Good Sam is not very good. I went with NCompass RV. It had the most to offer at the lowest price. Hope this helps!

Comment from RVing Al: I appreciate your comment however when you make a blanket statement that one extended warranty is better than another, you need to provide us with some examples of what you get for the money. I tried to find some information on the NCompass RV Extended Service Plan and was not able to locate any information on what they cover as compared to the Good Sam Extended Service Plan. Without being able to do a comparison of the coverage it is hard to confirm or deny your statement.

There are scores of RV Extended Service Plans out there and after much research on my part, I still stick with my original recommendation of the Good Sam Extended Service Plan. If any of our visitors
have more information on NCompass, please feel free to share it with us by adding your comment on this page.

Happy RVing
RVing Al

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