Would you buy an extended warranty?

[mattyjman]

First off people - I'm obviously asking a lot of newb questions as I'm closing up on the buying process for our first boat. Appreciate the consideration and willingness to "train me up"! It's great being able to rely on other's people experiences to supplement my lack of experience

Second, I'm wondering if there is any sort of anecdotal information that could be shared with me that would help me assess what sort of mechanical maintenance (outside of the obvious oil changes, winterization, etc) people run across and how much these cost. I'm being presented with an opportunity to purchase a 2 yr extended warranty on a '17 G23, H6 Motor, with 270ish hours. As a matter of principle I always decline the warranties for cars, products, etc... but this is different and I just don't know what to expect.

Is it reasonable to expect that over the course of the next 2 years I might have enough break/fix related issues that would cost me upwards of 4k, or more? I assume after 5 years, any major kinks have already been worked out, but at the same time maybe it's getting old enough to start having different issues. Anything you can share with me that will help me assess the viability here?

Thanks in advance!

Matt

[bturner]

Who's the warranty through? Makes a difference. If you're somehow transferring the factory and getting 2 more years, possibly. If it's a third party offering the warranty it's toss up for me. That and what if any co pay are you responsible for? I got burned by one of those years ago so I'm a bit jaded.

As far as what goes wrong, worst case is electronics. Lose a screen and you'll have more than your purchase price back. Typically though unless you do something to the boat it should be fairly reliable. Aside from upgrades and maintenance items my 2016 has been (sound of me knocking on this wood table) very reliable. I've done nothing. Upgrades are another story.

The other side of the coin would be how handy you are and to what level of repairs you are capable of doing yourself. If you can't change a light bulb the peace of mind may be worth having it.

$4K is a lot of coin for 2 years. If I were faced with this I would probably consider having a thorough independent survey done to ensure the boat is in great shape and going without it.

[MN Ryan]

With the caveat that I have no experience with a boat of that caliber, I personally would say no. To buy a boat like that, I assume that you're in pretty good financial shape. It's a gamble, sure, but I would rather take a chance and end up paying for a repair rather than spend a definite $4K upfront for something that could help you out in the event of a major repair (provided that the repair is even covered by said warranty). So, I say roll the dice and cross that bridge if something breaks--it's easy to spend another guy's money, right?

Boats are terrible financial investments, but they sure are fun!

[bird_dog0347]

What is the Co-Pay as mentioned already, but more importantly, what is covered by the warranty and what is explicitly not covered? The only thing I can think of on the boats from that generation was some of the earlier ones had the prop shaft fail and break off stranding you on the lake. I do not know exactly what year that stopped, but you should ask the dealer if it was replaced already or if it's new enough to not be a concern.

[mattyjman]

The co-pays would be 100 per issue. And there are two packages, one that covers drivetrain and the other is the electronics and ballast systems. I don't have details on the provider, everything goes through the dealership so none of me working with a middleman - I just deal with the dealer. I should ask for the name though.

I think y'alls comments helped me regain some sense... I was just thinking what if there is an issue that instantly puts me at a loss for 6k, where the warranty would have more than paid for itself. It's that's an extreme edge case and not the rule then I'd rather save the cash and not spend it until I have to. Plus, dealing with what if's... that never plays out the way you think it will.

[BYLKN]

I bought an extended warranty on 16 G that we put 700 hours on, and only used it for upholstery. Wouldn’t recommend it. If it were another manufacturer other than Nautique, possibly.

[bird_dog0347]

I'm not trying to sound "preachy" here, but if there's a $4k issue on a boat worth $100k+, can you cover it with liquid money? If so, the insurance isn't worth it, especially if you can invest it in something short term that may not make you much but won't cost you anything and you'd be able to cover the issue that way while paying yourself.

[Scooter G]

Boats are terrible financial investments, but they sure are fun!

(Don't tell Jeff that) Lol

~Bust Out Another Thoasand

[g_force]

I've a '17 G23 with about 300hrs. In its life, there've been a few things here and there needing repair, but all was taken care of under the original warranty and nothing major - except, the bottom 1/3 of the screen lost responsiveness to touch. Fortunately, it happened in the last year of my warranty, as I understand that it is otherwise a ~$4k repair.

With this track record, I didn't buy an extended warranty when my warranty was up. But, I'm also somewhat handy, and not afraid to change a bilge pump or an alternator or the like. Also, I'm not willing to wait long for someone to repair the boat if I have the time and it's something I can fix in a few hours. You'll find that, during the summer, the wait to get the dealer to work on your boat is often several weeks. Thus, I'd probably not use the warranty, except for big things and I've only had that one big thing.