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Not every car needs an extended warranty, and not every owner benefits from one. This category looks at the situations where coverage genuinely pays off (long-term ownership of complex used vehicles, certain known-problematic platforms) and the situations where you're better off banking the premium. Includes scripts for declining at the F&I desk and timing windows for buying coverage later.
Extended coverage genuinely pays off in a narrow set of situations. Here's the framework I use to decide, plus the scripts for declining at the F&I desk.
8 min read · Updated 10 Jun 2026
The dealer isn't the only place that sells coverage on your car, and it's almost never the cheapest. Here's how to tell when their offer is worth taking anyway.
8 min read · Updated 13 Jun 2026
Buying private-party means no F&I desk pushing coverage on you. It also means you have to organize protection yourself — and the window for doing it cleanly is short.
5 min read · Updated 23 Jun 2026
Tire and wheel coverage is profitable for the dealer for a reason. Here's the honest math on whether it pays off for you.
6 min read · Updated 24 Jun 2026
Robocalls, urgency tactics, vague company names — here's exactly how to spot a warranty scam before you give them a card number.
7 min read · Updated 24 Jun 2026
F&I managers offer it on every lease. The math almost never works in your favor. Here's why — and the one exception.
6 min read · Updated 25 Jun 2026
Past 100k, the math changes. Premiums climb, covered components shrink, and the odds of a denied claim go up. Here's how I'd think about it.
7 min read · Updated 24 Jun 2026
If your extended warranty starts the day you sign, you may be paying for coverage you already have for three years. Here's how to fix it.
7 min read · Updated 24 Jun 2026
If you can answer all twelve of these in writing before you sign, you've avoided about 95% of the regret stories I hear at the service counter.
8 min read · Updated 24 Jun 2026