The Extended Warranty Question

GeorgeSK · Post by **GeorgeSK** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 9:59 pm

I will be picking up my new PCX150 on Monday. During final payment discussions, the offer of the store's extended warranty came up. It adds four years to the standard one year, and seems to cover the obvious major pitfalls. The cost is $480. I went for it, but have the right to decline it when I pick up the scoot.

Their interesting twist is that, if I do not make a warranty claim, they will give me back the $480 at the end of the five years. I can do my own oil changes and it will have no effect on the coverage. I'm not sure about performing other services myself, but I do hope to keep this little guy for quite a while. Their shop rate is $90/hr, so it would not take much of a repair for the warranty to pay for itself. They will also pick the scoot up at my home if it needs work, or within 25 miles of one of their dealerships should I be stranded within range (and during working hours, I presume).

I usually figure that an extended warranty is better for the dealer than the consumer, but that give-back offer throws a wrench into my usual logic. I'm very happy to discover a message board of enthusiasts, and I'm looking forward to the variety of opinions that I hope will be offered.

Should I go for it, or let it go by?

gn2 · Post by **gn2** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 10:46 pm

Tell them yes you'll have it but want the arrangement to be that you keep your $480 and don't pay them unless you make a claim within the five years.

Sputnik · Post by **Sputnik** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 11:24 pm

You can probably get the warranty for a little less than the amount proposed by the dealership. The Honda USA site lists the 4 yr Honda Protection Plan with roadside at $450 ($350 without). I got my 4 yr Honda Protection Plan extension for $175 from the dealer (w/o roadside). Enjoy your new PCX. It's an awesome scooter!

Slickvic · Post by **Slickvic** » Fri Jun 28, 2013 4:54 am

gn2 wrote:Tell them yes but you will only agree to it if you keep your $480 and don't pay them unless you make a claim within the five years.

X2. This is the only way to sign up for it.

GeorgeSK · Post by **GeorgeSK** » Fri Jun 28, 2013 6:13 am

gn2's idea is great, but I expect that they would decline my offer.

My thoughts in favor are that this is a new model scooter and engine, and I don't want to be a part of a first model year design issue. My thoughts against are that the dealer has years of data on repair frequency and costs and warranty claims to work with, and should be able to easily make money based on statistics (it is a HUGE dealer - five storefronts and over 5000 unit sales annually).

They did offer the warranty at $430 but without the return clause. I'm going to ask them about my being able to decline a warranty repair in the event of a small ($200, say) problem cropping up four years in. It might be worthwhile to cover it myself and get the cash back.

The 125 has been out a couple of years; has that been at all prone to any costly problems?

ScooterKim · Post by **ScooterKim** » Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:39 am

did you ever notice that when you buy something new, the sales person always pushes the extended warranty???? that's where they make their money, from the extended warranty and the accessories. you actually have the option of purchasing the extended warranty up until the regular warranty ends.
personally, if feel that if you purchased a lemon (and you will know that real quick) then it is time to buy the extended warranty. hope that gives you something more to consider before you make your decision. ScooterKim

Slickvic · Post by **Slickvic** » Fri Jun 28, 2013 9:48 am

GeorgeSK wrote:
My thoughts in favor are that this is a new model scooter and engine, and I don't want to be a part of a first model year design issue.

The 125 has been out a couple of years; has that been at all prone to any costly problems?

Your rationale is not valid. The 150cc engine is a variation of the already proven 125cc engine. There are no major issues with this engine unless you factor in the center stand being mounted to the engine block. A few have been broken due to not being mounted to the frame.

Also the Honda engineers are pretty good at what they do.

Also this is why you buy a Honda scooter and not a cheap Chinese scooter.

However, if you still have anxiety over this then yes, you should purchase an extended warranty.

maddiedog · Post by **maddiedog** » Fri Jun 28, 2013 11:30 am

The extended warranty is a waste. The PCX engine is rock-solid, they don't fail under normal circumstances.

The only engine failures I've heard of were from someone intentionally neglecting the first service ("it is still under warranty!") and from Snoopy's engine throwing a rod (http://hondapcx.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=526). The former failure was from gross neglect, the latter from extreme usage, and likely gross neglect as well... You can't take a scooter through creek crossings repeatedly and not expect it to grenade itself eventually.

My engine block failed in the first few months from the centerstand mounts being defective. The basic warranty covered it 100%. If it had not, I would have just removed the centerstand and only used the kickstand.

gn2 · Post by **gn2** » Fri Jun 28, 2013 12:32 pm

My initial post was intended to highlight the idea that if you make a claim, the claim will see your $480 off down the swannee, so it's only worth having if any claim is over $480
$480 buys you a lot of repairs...
Think of it this way, you walk into a shop and are told by the salesman how good the product is, great quality, very reliable etc.
Once you commit to purchase the salesman now does a u-turn and says but would you like to spend some more money (on this top quality reliable product?) in case it breaks?
It just doesn't add up.
The PCX is a basic single cylinder machine, as Maddie says pretty much bulletproof so long as you do the servicing properly.

Alibally · Post by **Alibally** » Fri Jun 28, 2013 3:09 pm

Keep the cash and if something terminal happens to the bike use the $480 to pay someone to torch it and get a new one on the insurance.
#onlyjoking

Taz · Post by **Taz** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 11:59 pm

I extended my warranty by one year at the time of delivery and regret it. It just forces you to pay for 6 monthly dealer servicing for 2 more times than necessary!

haildamage · Post by **haildamage** » Mon Jul 01, 2013 5:27 am

sound too good to be true that you get an extended warranty but can get the money back if you dont make a claim. read the fine print very carefully!

GeezyRider · Post by **GeezyRider** » Mon Jul 01, 2013 9:51 am

haildamage wrote:sound too good to be true that you get an extended warranty but can get the money back if you dont make a claim. read the fine print very carefully!

That's the way my dealer explained it to me. He also said that if you join the Honda Rider Club, they would reimburse a portion of your MSF course fee. I haven't checked into that yet.

Don

Mel46 · Post by **Mel46** » Mon Jul 01, 2013 10:51 am

We purchased the extended warranty even though we doubted that we would use it. I know that sounds strange but because the 150 had just come out we wanted to make sure there weren't any unknowns. The fact that we could get our money back if we didn't use it was also good. I know that they will use the money before returning it but I think of it as a comfort thing.....and yes, the center stand issue was something I had thought about before purchasing it. We baby our scooters but I'm not sure how to wash the undersides of them, so I haven't done anything to the undersides. I have heard multiple times not to use a pressure wash on the scooters, so how do you clean the underside so that the center stand problem won't occur ??

ben · Post by **ben** » Mon Jul 01, 2013 1:42 pm

Servicing is so expensive i will never have a new scooter again, plus fixing up/servicing and learning about your vehicle is actually fun. For my next bike i'll get something thats just out of warranty so its cheap and let someone else pay out all the servicing costs. Seen a few very cheap S-Wings out there!

I think in 5 years your more likely to have it stolen or dropped than something break thats under warranty, personally i would go for 'gap insurance' instead, then your properly covered.

GeorgeSK · Post by **GeorgeSK** » Mon Jul 01, 2013 3:36 pm

Well, ladies and gentlemen, we are now key-carrying member of the PCX club. Pick the new baby up this morning. There was a downpour while we did final paperwork and plating, but the roads dried up pretty well for my ride home. I'm thinking this is going to be a great deal of fun, and my commute home may not be a direct as it has been in the past.

We decided against the money back extended warranty. I figure that if I actually need to use the 1 year warranty, then I can pony up the money for the standard Honda Protection plan (or the dealer's... jump off that bridge when I come to it), so long as I do it before the 1 year expires. If I don't need any warranty work, then indeed the machine is as bulletproof as a number of this board's members think, and I've saved a fair buck or two.

The center bracket thing is a bit of a concern, but the posting of the assembly suggests that it would be quite easy to pull the cotter pin, release the spring, pull the pivot axle, and give it a fingerful of waterproof lithium grease (or something like that). From the diagram, simply spraying with lubricant will not really get the goods where they need to get (unless one was to lay the machine on its side to allow the lubricant to flow down the axle - not something I want to do right now). BTW - I would not depend on WD-40 as a long term lubricant; that really is not its purpose. The WD stands for water displacement. Yes, the squeeking stops, but not for very long.

gn2 · Post by **gn2** » Mon Jul 01, 2013 4:02 pm

Mel46 wrote:so how do you clean the underside so that the center stand problem won't occur ??

The centre stand problem is not due to lack of washing it is down to cheap and nasty design and failure to lubricate the pivot adequately.
To wash the undersides use the same method as used for cleaning the topsides.

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