Extended Warranty Yes or No

[Johnny Corlano]

My 09 1125R's factory warranty ends in Nov. I'm seriously considering buying the extended warranty HD sells. It'll give me an additional 3 years of moderate coverage for 1500 (roughly the cost of a complete stator replacement). In the year I've had this bike, it's been to the dealer 3 times, to include a(surprise)stator and now my IC is on order since the tach itself has lost 2k RPM. (registers 0 at idle)

Does anyone use this warranty and how do you like it, or does anyone have other options they use and recommend?

 

[Ebeo1]

All the times I have been offered an extend warranty plan I turned it down except once when I bought a digital camera and then I never used it.

I don’t think I would ever get another plan, so I would say no but I do not have experience with HD warranty and with your recent needs of repairs it does sound like a good idea.

How has your experience been with the regular warranty and do you think you will receive the same satisfaction for any future repairs over the next three years?

 

[WALLSXB]

I'd never bought extended until my last 2 XBs and it does pay off. My 08 had a leaking rocker seal which in turn blew oil on my cooling fan and burned it up. An $890 repair cost me $50. I figure it's like insurance, it sucks to pay for it but when you gotta use it, it's the best thing ever.

 

[Alfatango1]

Got it on my XB and never used it, but the 1125's are quite a bit different. You may want to look at it this way, will you be financing it or paying cash for the warranty? If you pay cash I wouldn't do it, theorizing that most repairs would be less than $1500. If you can finance it I'd say go for it. Or, if you feel the bike will be at the dealer more than in your garage, you may want to go for it.

 

[freight dog]

I bought the extended warranty when I got the bike during the fire sale and I haven't regretted it. Of course it was also offered at half price at the time to help sweeten the fire sale deals. I got it because at the time I figured it would give HD more incentive to support the bikes. I have no regrets. Everything so far has been covered under the original warranty, but the cost of repairs saved has already paid for the extended warranty. I can only assume with dying stators/VR's, weeping clutches, turn signal failures rear brakes turning brittle due to exhaust heat and the occasional engine grenade it will continue to be useful.

 

[xtreme]

I wouldn't do it, ecspeccially if you are like me and can't leave anything stock.

 

[boreas]

^^ dont forget weeping water pumps,bad vss sensors and a new one that has popped up on my bike (replace throttle body)[sad]

 

[Iamarchangel]

Insurance/warranty: the lottery you don't want to win.

Is it HD's full warranty (which some people have had trouble with) or a dealer's limited warranty (which a lot of people have had trouble with)?

 

[Tork]

I know there's the potential to save money on expensive repairs, but the issue for me regarding extended warranties is that I simply don't trust 98 percent of the dealerships out there to competently work on my bike. If it's possible for me to do the work, I'll do it myself and be assured that it's done right.

If you buy a warranty, you're basically enslavened to the dealership to work on your bike, whether you like them or not. Otherwise, you risk voiding your warranty. Sadly, it's getting increasingly more difficult to find a HD shop that has their shit together. Most of them nowadays seem to troubleshoot by systematically replacing every part on the bike until the offending symptom goes away, sometimes introducing new problems as they go along.

A guy I now had an idling problem that wasn't curable by quick diagnosis, so he took it to the local dealership. He had the extended warranty, but it took about 6 months for the shop to resolve the problem. By then, they had replaced so many parts that they really couldn't say what the culprit was. He must have picked it up at the shop at least 5 or 6 times. Each time it was supposedly "fixed". The first time he picked it up, they had replaced his rusty muffler and reported that it was the cause of his idling problem. Idiots.

I guess if you don't have a garage or tools, your options may be limited. If you do have someplace to work on your bike, a manual, and some basic tools, you can probably get by and save yourself some money and frustration as well.

 

[americanthunder]

there service sucks but they will fix anything i got it on my 07 bolt and im 50/50 with it one day i hate it then the next when something breaks im glad i have it but then when hd has my bike for a month i hate it.

 

[freight dog]

Tork, that is not really true. The dealer cannot force you to have all periodic maintenance done by them to keep the warranty valid. The warranty is good as long as all the maintenance is done, even in your garage, as long as you have receipts as proof. I have been keeping a maintenance log on mine.

I have an exhaust and an EBR ecm in my bike that will void the warranty if the dealer doesn't want to honor it but it is the dealer's discretion. Fortunately, I have a good dealer.