I would pass on the extended warranty. If I thought the car would need more than $1,300 in work over 2 years I would get a different car. Like others have said, these things are moneymakers for the insurers and are difficult to collect on. Just my opinion.

You might want to shop around some. WarrantyByNet offers a 50K or 6 year warranty for a similliar price. Their warranty claims to cover everything except normal maintanence. My question is are these companies reliable and dependable when it comes time to collect.

You ask a very tough question. Selling of warranties obviously has to make the company money as they aren't runnning a charity. But obviously they have to pay-off to some buyers as 2 or 3 things wrong with your car can easily add up to $2k or more.

24K or 24months doesn't allow for much time to collect on your $1,300 you've spent so I wouldn't personally do that warranty.. especially knowing all of the other options out there that are similiar in price but much longer in terms.

You may do better with the after market warranties. ie viking, warranty gold, warrantybynet, etc. check them out to compare. IMO, if you can afford it, buy it. if just for the peace of mind.

I have a 98 S70 and a 95 855. With the 95, Volvo sent us a letter
offering the extended warranty. We declined. With the 98, no such
offer (hmmmm...). In any case, I've had the cars since new and
know their history. Since they have not had too many problems I
did not go for an extended warranty on either. I've speant about
$600 in repairs for both cars since the factory warranties expired.

I should add the 95 has 63K miles and the 98 has 53K so we don't
drive them as hard as some might.

Dealers sell warranties to make money period. It is nothing more than an insurance policy in the dealers favor.

Of course, if your evaporator goes or the transmission, you'll have wished you'd rolled the dice.
--
David \\ (98 S70 T5SE Black, misc mods (mostly lighting), red calipers) (92 940GLE)

Ask yourself these questions....

Is Volvo a charity?
Does Volvo like to make money?
Does Volvo like to make a profit?
Why does Volvo sell extended warranties?

I bought the Volvo VIP warranty, and even with an AC repair at 98,000 and the ignition switch at 99,000 it was still a loser to the tune of about $800, net. BTW, I put a LOT of miles on my car, which I wasn't doing when I bought the warranty.

An additional 24,000 miles of warranty isn't a lot.

Like everyting else it seemed a good idea at the time. Had I to choose again, I woulda bought a BMW 528iT, and forgotten about any extended warranties. Absent a crysta ball, if I had the Volvo and the warranty were expiring, I'd buy the warranty again.

We did buy a 100,000 mile Hondacare extended warranty ($0 deductable) for wife's Odyssey because we heard the stories about the power doors and transmissions.

It cost $725.

After we bought it, Honda extended their FACTORY warranty on the transmissions to 100,000 miles, gratis.

(Take note, any lurkers from Volvo NA! Wondering why your sales are plummeting?)

So, if 24 months and 24,000 miles of additional coverage is a good deal for $1340, what is 24 months and 64,000 miles of additional coverage for $725?

My point is that they (both Honda and your Volvo warranty co.) know the risks involved and it's interesting to see how they assess them! Since your extra 24,000 miles is rather more costly (per mile) than the additional 50,000 miles was on my VIP extended warrany back when I bought it several years ago, by now EVERYONE must be aware of how fragile these cars are!

-Punxsutawney Phil

'98 V70T5M, 101k mi.

I'd say extend the warranty. One evap failure and you break even. Throw in a transmission, abs, or rear oil seal problem (or more likely all the above) and you're way ahead.

Depending on how reliable your car has been so far should be a good indicator of if you need it. However, $1340 for an additional 24K miles seems a bit high. Then again if its a volvo factory warranty versus a dealer warranty might be a different story.

My 98 c70 is at 85,000 miles and in the last 11,000 miles since my warranty expired I had to replace a blower motor, and some a/c relays & fuses, my second ABS module, and window switch/motor. In total these were near if not over $1000 for parts and labor. If I had the opportunity to purchase an additional extended warranty I would.