CX-9 Extended Warranty Question

New member and quick question for the group...

We got a CPO 2015 CX-9 GT, FWD in October of 2016. I felt like I got us a good price on the car and was pleased with the buying experience, except I was talked into the extended warranty when we closed. I wasn't aware that warranties could be negotiated or even purchased later and therefore took what was offered 8 year, 100k "platinum" with 100 deductible for $2300. This does offer some piece of mind, but I am thinking about cancelling the warranty. By my calculations I would get back a prorated $1900 and I can chalk up the lost $400 to a learning experience.

We have CPO warranty through 7/2019 and Powertrain through 7/2022. The extended would go through 1/2023. The main issue I see with CX-9s is the transfercase for the AWDs which is not an issue for us. Talked to the dealer and they tried to guilt me into keeping it because of the likelihood of items failing outside of warranty (sensors, electronics, etc). I'm not so sure I buy that.

What do my fellow owners think? You think 3.5 years of extended warranty is worth the $1900?

Thanks!

If I were you, I'd sell the CX-9 and buy a BMW i3

We have CPO warranty through 7/2019 and Powertrain through 7/2022

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How long do you expect to own this car? Past 2022?

Regardless of what the salesman called it, there is no extended warranty.* It is a prepaid service contract. It covers what the fine print in your paperwork says it covers IF you do what that fine print requires of you. Sit down and read the whole thing. You need to figure out if any failures that you need to repair are worth the money TO YOU. (*On a new Mazda, Mazda USA calls it their Extended Confidence Service Plan. No mention of the word warranty. https://www.mazdausa.com/mazda-extended-confidence)

These service contracts are covered by contract law. That is less generous to the consumer than warranty law which governs a real warranty. They almost never pay off. That price you paid includes a commission for the guy who sold it to you (which may be clawed back if you cancel it), a mark up for the dealership, a profit for the underwriter, and something left over to pay claims. Think of it as peace-of-mind insurance. If it helps you sleep better at night, good. If not, never buy another so-called extended warranty. Who is the underwriter? On a new car, or some used cars, only consider the extended service contract from the car maker. A 3rd party service contract disappears if the underwriter goes belly-up. You're left with nothing.

I tried to buy an extended confidence warranty, but no one would sell me one, so I gave up. I've had them on my past three cars, and it was worth it (contrary to conventional wisdom, I know.) But those were manufactuer-backed one.

Mazda doesn't care about this stuff, it seem. Maybe their cars run forever...

gingerbush69420 said:

If I were you, I'd sell the CX-9 and buy a BMW i3

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Do not listen to the Russian troll farmer.

Thanks for the replies. We do plan to keep the vehicle for a while, at least to 2022 and perhaps longer. You are also correct that this is a third party item offered by Fidelity Warranty Services, not Mazda.
We are a pretty low mileage family (7-8k/yr) and I know I'm not getting any peace of mind from it, so I think considering that, we are going to cancel the extended warranty/service contract.

...Or I might just buy a BMW i3, who knows?

I tried to buy an extended confidence warranty, but no one would sell me one

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Any Mazda dealer in your country can sell it to you. Check on line. It does not have to be the selling dealership.

All these extended service plans are a profit item just like tires or windshield wipers. Even better--there is no inventory cost. The dealerships will offer the plan that gives them the best profit, not what is best for the customer.

Has anyone been able to buy the Mazda Extended Confidence Service Plan mentioned above? My dealership here in Southern California wants to sell me EasyCare warranty: https://easycare.com/vehicle-service-contracts/

mcclary said:

What do my fellow owners think? You think 3.5 years of extended warranty is worth the $1900?

Thanks!

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I own the 2017 CX-9 Signature. So, I can't speak to the build quality or design engineering that went into the 2015. Having said that: 1900 / 3.5 = 542.

Thus, in net effect you have spent $542 per year on EC. That translates to $45 per month in EC costs. I'll spend $200 per month ($10 per day for an average of 20 workdays per month) on Starbucks, or $2,400 per year. At this level of expenditure it boils down to peace of mind for many people. Would I value what I received from Starbucks more than what I would receive in coverage, should something indeed go wrong with a 2015 vehicle - is one question I might as myself. What value do I place on that kind of peace of mind, is another question.

I was able to purchase my 2017 Signature at more than $2,500 below MSRP. That made room for the eventual "sales pitch" for the Extended Coverage - which I felt comfortable buying after balancing the Value question in juxtaposition to other ways I might have used the same cash over time.

My job today, is to put capital to work so that it makes more capital in return (right now), or so that it provides a hedge against loss of capital (in the future). The EC falls in the category of hedging. Thus, I have to consider the cost to put on that hedge against the benefits of the hedge itself. The cost is defined as Risk. When viewed that way, I would be risking out of warranty repairs at a higher future cost on something that could have been covered by relative lower dollar value cost today.

If you can "put to work" $45 per month (right now), such that over the life of the current warranty period the gains each and every month meets or exceeds potential out of warranty repairs in the future over the same EC period, then you are better off (mathematically) killing the EC right now. If not, AND you "Value" not paying higher dollar costs in the future for 'potential' out of warranty repairs, then keeping the EC makes more sense.

It really all depends on how you distinguish Present Value from Future Value relative to Present Risk vs Future Risk. Think it through and you will make the right decision. Most people simply consider Present Value vs Future Value and they miss the Present Risk vs Future Risk analysis.

mcclary said:

Thanks for the replies. We do plan to keep the vehicle for a while, at least to 2022 and perhaps longer.

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Then the analysis should be more heavily weighted to Present Risk vs Future Risk. The more exposure to Risk you have, typically the more costly the hedge against such exposure is required. This is not always the case.

However, with dramatically depreciating assets such as personal passenger vehicles in combination to their almost guaranteed rising repair costs coupled to a simple statistical model for the probability that at least 'some' repairs will be necessary in the future, that $45 bucks a month is looking like a pretty darn good hedge right about now.

Of course, all of this depends on whether the vehicle is well maintained in the long run, suffering as little extraneous depreciation as a result beyond that of alleged "normal wear and tear" which is going to be in the eyes of the Next Buyer should you decide to sell someday in 2022.

$45 per month is a $1.50 per day nominal Risk Buy Down. Given a 2022 event horizon for disposal, deciding what to do would seem to be extremely easy at this point. Hint: Given the relatively low dollar cost of the EC today, keep the EC in place now and bank the future Risk Mitigation against a significantly steeper value curve associated with the 'potential' cost of repairs.

Cessna CJ4 said:

Then the analysis should be more heavily weighted to Present Risk vs Future Risk. The more exposure to Risk you have, typically the more costly the hedge against such exposure is required. This is not always the case.

However, with dramatically depreciating assets such as personal passenger vehicles in combination to their almost guaranteed rising repair costs coupled to a simple statistical model for the probability that at least 'some' repairs will be necessary in the future, that $45 bucks a month is looking like a pretty darn good hedge right about now.

Of course, all of this depends on whether the vehicle is well maintained in the long run, suffering as little extraneous depreciation as a result beyond that of alleged "normal wear and tear" which is going to be in the eyes of the Next Buyer should you decide to sell someday in 2022.

$45 per month is a $1.50 per day nominal Risk Buy Down. Given a 2022 event horizon for disposal, deciding what to do would seem to be extremely easy at this point. Hint: Given the relatively low dollar cost of the EC today, keep the EC in place now and bank the future Risk Mitigation against a significantly steeper value curve associated with the 'potential' cost of repairs.

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My cat's breath smells like cat food.

gingerbush69420 said:

My cat's breath smells like cat food.

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My dog meows but my cat barks. Then they both wake up and realize it was just a dream.

I have an interesting warranty question. I'm about to pull the trigger on a 2017 signature. I like the upgrades for 2018 but cannot justify the 5 grand difference. The dealerships here all give "lifetime powertrain coverage" for free. Honestly the least likely thing to break. The dilema is in their extended package. For $2700 they will do bumper to bumper (not on consumables) coverage for life. Typically this was a poor proposition, but with all of the tech involves with HUD, infotainment, and safety, I'm wondering what you guys think. I feel like these are expensive repairs and it may pay for itself with 3 fixes. I probably will keep the car 8 to 10 years. So an extra 5 to 7 years of coverage. I still hate extended warranties but for some reason this one doesn't feel as bad.

What do you guys think?

SmCaudata said:

I have an interesting warranty question. I'm about to pull the trigger on a 2017 signature. I like the upgrades for 2018 but cannot justify the 5 grand difference. The dealerships here all give "lifetime powertrain coverage" for free. Honestly the least likely thing to break. The dilema is in their extended package. For $2700 they will do bumper to bumper (not on consumables) coverage for life. Typically this was a poor proposition, but with all of the tech involves with HUD, infotainment, and safety, I'm wondering what you guys think. I feel like these are expensive repairs and it may pay for itself with 3 fixes. I probably will keep the car 8 to 10 years. So an extra 5 to 7 years of coverage. I still hate extended warranties but for some reason this one doesn't feel as bad.

What do you guys think?

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These are cash cows for these companies that provide these warranties. The F&I manager, who gets a commission on every extended warranty sold, tries to scare you into thinking that the electronics, the AWD system, the modern safety systems, are all going to fail 3 years and a day after you buy the car. It's just not the case.

Could something go wrong? Absolutely. Will it? With a Mazda, it's much less likely (unless you believe the December issue of Consumer Reports).

Me personally, I've had my Mazda 5.5 years, with no issue that wasn't covered by warranty or recall.

My prior cars were: Honda, Lexus and Acura. On my Acura, I had a seat heater that failed about 5 years out. That's the only issue I had on any of those 4 cars which was not covered by the factory warranty or recall. You are asking about $2700--that's a pretty major repair. But what if you drop $2000-$3000 on every car you purchase for an extended warranty? If you pocket that money, and put it in a rainy day fund, you will almost be guaranteed to come out ahead.

tex2670 said:

These are cash cows for these companies that provide these warranties. The F&I manager, who gets a commission on every extended warranty sold, tries to scare you into thinking that the electronics, the AWD system, the modern safety systems, are all going to fail 3 years and a day after you buy the car. It's just not the case.

Could something go wrong? Absolutely. Will it? With a Mazda, it's much less likely (unless you believe the December issue of Consumer Reports).

Me personally, I've had my Mazda 5.5 years, with no issue that wasn't covered by warranty or recall.

My prior cars were: Honda, Lexus and Acura. On my Acura, I had a seat heater that failed about 5 years out. That's the only issue I had on any of those 4 cars which was not covered by the factory warranty or recall. You are asking about $2700--that's a pretty major repair. But what if you drop $2000-$3000 on every car you purchase for an extended warranty? If you pocket that money, and put it in a rainy day fund, you will almost be guaranteed to come out ahead.

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Thanks for that. My current vehicle is a Santa Fe. It's had random stuff fail like a baffle motor for the A.C. a brake sensor and now the fuel level sender. All these were rather inexpensive to fix. A knock sensor triggered my check engine and would be a $900 repair because they have to pull the engine, thus me upgrading. The first few things were between 3 and 5 years out and covered by Hyundai. All the Japanese cars have 3 year warranties instead of 5, but reliability ratings are higher th

SmCaudata said:

I have an interesting warranty question. I'm about to pull the trigger on a 2017 signature. I like the upgrades for 2018 but cannot justify the 5 grand difference. The dealerships here all give "lifetime powertrain coverage" for free. Honestly the least likely thing to break. The dilema is in their extended package. For $2700 they will do bumper to bumper (not on consumables) coverage for life. Typically this was a poor proposition, but with all of the tech involves with HUD, infotainment, and safety, I'm wondering what you guys think. I feel like these are expensive repairs and it may pay for itself with 3 fixes. I probably will keep the car 8 to 10 years. So an extra 5 to 7 years of coverage. I still hate extended warranties but for some reason this one doesn't feel as bad.


What do you guys think?

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By my estimate, I've just highlighted your Value proposition above. The decision should be easy now. $2,700 / 120 = $22.5 per month. LOL, this is a rather easy decision to make. I notice in the other thread that you bought the CX-9. Congrats! Now, did you Buy Down your Risk at a premium of $22 per month along with it? Please tell me you did. Oh, please say you did.

SmCaudata said:

Thanks for that. My current vehicle is a Santa Fe. It's had random stuff fail like a baffle motor for the A.C. a brake sensor and now the fuel level sender. All these were rather inexpensive to fix. A knock sensor triggered my check engine and would be a $900 repair because they have to pull the engine, thus me upgrading. The first few things were between 3 and 5 years out and covered by Hyundai. All the Japanese cars have 3 year warranties instead of 5, but reliability ratings are higher th

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This is THE primary reason why no matter what I buy, I always purchase the flagship. Flagships can and do have their problems but statistically, they should have fewer and result in an investment well made. With Hyundai, we bought the 2004 XG350L. The last of its breed and the first of its kind for Hyundai in the US (though it sold earlier elsewhere under a different name). We drove that vehicle for 14 years. We paid for it with cash and got the best deal possible at just over $26k.

Now, here is the coupe. We recently collected $2,400 on it cash. Our net in cost was therefore $24k with 14 years of use. That's $142.85 per month in base ownership cost (not including maint/service/repairs/insurance). It had two problems the entire time: A) Parasitic drag and B) Cracked (worn) EGR vacuum return hose. Outside of routine maintenance that was the extent of extra costs. The electric parasitic drag was never solved as it was a design flaw and Hyundai never dealt with it. The vacuum return hose was under $20 and I installed it. If Hyundai's flagship were an SUV back then, we would have bought it hands down.

We wanted an SUV and fortunately, Mazda came along with the newly designed CX-9 Signature with perfect timing. We waited more than a year (never like to buy in the first model year) and then pounced on it. The timing could not have been better.

Thank you, Mazda! And, thank you Volvo for making such a wonderful benchmark for our comparison in the XC-90 T6 Inscription, too!

Timing straight form heavenly. (angel)

Cessna CJ4 said:

By my estimate, I've just highlighted your Value proposition above. The decision should be easy now. $2,700 / 120 = $22.5 per month. LOL, this is a rather easy decision to make. I notice in the other thread that you bought the CX-9. Congrats! Now, did you Buy Down your Risk at a premium of $22 per month along with it? Please tell me you did. Oh, please say you did.

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I actually went with a different dealer since the first revealed to me that their "great price" was on a car that was hailed on and had some painless dent repair.... I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and then they wouldn't even come close to matching another dealer ad they were "no haggle". In the end the dealer I went to only had the more classic extended warranties with "vanishing deductibles". This made the value not as great. I'll invest the $3k saved. I figure if there are recurring issues I'll sell and buy a new car. Maybe a self driver.

zoomsd said:

Has anyone been able to buy the Mazda Extended Confidence Service Plan mentioned above? My dealership here in Southern California wants to sell me EasyCare warranty: https://easycare.com/vehicle-service-contracts/

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After reading mixed reviews on EasyCare, I decided to pull the trigger purchasing the TotalCare package for a piece of mind this afternoon. It is for 7 years/ 100K miles .The contract is pro-rated and transferable (with a $50 transfer fee).

But what about the navigation screen, navigation system, control knobs, etc.?

I also notice they don't cover shocks/struts, which in my experience, are common failing components.