Nate Waterfalls
Extended Ford Car Warranty or Service Contract?
You may be considering an Extended Ford Car Warranty or mechanical bredakdown protection, like many other Ford owners. Since you're Ford brand vehicle is an important member of your household, you want to make the right choice.
Hello, my name is Nate Waterfalls and I've been asked by the folks at auto-POM to share my experience with Ford brand vehicle reliability and repair. A Ford dealership was my first dealer-oriented service environment and it was a great learning experience.
Staying in business for nearly 110 years is no small feat for a company of any size, especially if you factor in the Great Depression and the recent recession. Although the Ford Motor Company has been weathering storm, they've slid from being the second largest automaker in the world, to the fourth.
Luckily, Ford has remained relatively unscathed in the last few years compared to the rest of the Big Three. The automaker pulled through the recession without the need of government assistance because they had enough liquidity within the company to move forward.
Ford Brands
Ford has four vehicle brands remaining in the North American market, all of which have a similar standard warranty:
- Lincoln - 6 year/70K Miles
- Mercury - 5 year/60K Miles
- Ford - 5 year/60K Miles
- Volvo - 5 year/60K Miles
Ford also places a Roadside Service Assistance program on new vehicles for the same term as the factory warranty. This covers:
- Towing to the nearest Ford Motor Company dealership, or towing to your selling dealership if within 35 miles
- Flat tire change
- Fuel delivery (limited to two occurrences in a 12-month period)
- Jump-starts
- Lockout assistance
Extended Ford Car Warranty or Mechanical Breakdown Protection
After the standard coverage has expired, drivers have a number of options for an extended ford car warranty. These fall in three main categories:
- Ford’s Genuine Extended Service Plan (ESP)
- A dealer-promoted third-party vehicle service contract
- A non-dealer, third-party vehicle service contract (or mechanical breakdown insurance in a few states)
Extended Warranty
The extended Ford car warranty is certainly a good option for some people. If you make this choice, just make sure that you're dealer is selling the genuine Ford Extended Service Plan (ESP). Keep in mind that you will have to take your car an authorized Ford facility (usually the dealership) for repair.
I would advise that you pass on the dealer-promoted product if it's not the genuine Ford Extended Service Plan. Dealers often like to put their own brand on a third-party vehicle service contract and these tend to offer the dealership more value than the customer. Sometimes the customer does not realize that this product may not a genuine Ford Extended Service Plan.
Mechanical Breakdown Protection
Your third choice is a non-dealer, third-party vehicle service contract also known as mechanical breakdown protection. This can be a very good choice offering very good value and service if purchased from a reputable company. I recommend that you read Kirk Steele's free report, available here, before you make your choice. The more information you have at your disposal will help you better prepare.
In any case, I suggest purchasing your extended protection BEFORE Ford's warranty expires because:
- It will be cheaper
- Your vehicle may not be eligible for an extended warranty or mechanical breakdown protection if you let the manufacturer's warranty lapse before getting covered
Time for You to Decide
During my time working in a Ford service environment, I saw thousands of unique vehicle problems on as many vehicles. I should stress that driving a high-mileage vehicle with out coverage is always a gamble.
According to multiple sources, Ford's products are on the upswing in terms of quality and reliability and the company is finally trying to come back and give the Asian automakers a run for their money.
Ultimately, the choice to purchase an extended Ford car warranty or a vehicle service contract is a personal one. Please explore one of the following pages to help make your decision.
Although, you will pay more, the manufacturer's extended car warranties are usually a solid choice. However, if you decide that mechanical breakdown protection is a better option for you, I recommend the folks at auto-POM! and Mercury Insurance Group.
auto-POM! backed and administered by Mercury can provide you with repair service comparable to the manufacturer's extended warranty. Not surprising, autoPOM! pricing is far less than dealer pricing and offers the flexibility of allowing you to choose the repair facility that you're most comfortable with.
autoPOM! has an A+ rating from the BBB and Mercury has a A+ rating from A.M. Best.See 10 Reasons To Choose autoPOM! and Mercury.
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