General Motors Major Guard Warranty (GM Major Guard)

[GMTruckGuy74]

Okay, so March 12 will be my one year anniversary since I purchased the 2006 GMC Envoy SLT 4WD. The GM Certified Used Vehicle 12k mile/12 month bumper-to-bumper warranty is due to expire at 46,942 miles or on 3/12; I'm currently at 46,146 miles right now (796 miles left, so I will not make it to March). I have gotten great use out of the bumper-to-bumper warranty on my truck this past year, and feel that since I still have 4 1/2 years left to pay on the loan I should consider purchasing an extended GM Major Guard warranty before I hit the mileage expiration very soon.

I have spoken to the closest Buick-GMC dealership, the one I use for service, and got information on the GM Major Guard warranty. The longest term I can get would be 36 months/45k miles with a $100 deductible per occurance. It's not cheap and I can't afford the entire payment all at once, but good ol' GM will allow me to put a small amount down and make payments for a short period of time (12-24 months). I like the fact that it will cover the truck for another 3 years while I'm paying the loan, plus continue with rental coverage and roadside assistance too. I don't like that I'd have to pay the first $100 of each repair bill, but $100 is better than $500 or a $1000. Seeing as how it is a 4WD vehicle, and a top-of-the-line model with a lot of gizmos and gadgets, I'm thinking it might be a good idea to go ahead with the warranty purchase. I also like the GM Major Guard because it uses GM parts and is covered at any GM dealership nationwide without hassle.

Does anyone disagree about this purchase? I understand it is a 5 year old truck, so things will break down (and hopefully the warranty will cover those issues). I'm not 100% satisfied with the price the dealership gave me, and another dealer said he can't offer me the GM Major Guard warranty because it's too far out of it's original warranty (even though I explained twice that it is currently under the GM Certified Vehicle warranty). I will contact a few other GM dealers to see what kind of pricing they give, but I don't have a lot of time left until the warranty runs out.

Your input/advise is requested

[Catfan96]

I'm a big believer in extended warranties, and the GM Major Guard specifically. I work at a Chevrolet dealership in Phoenix, and I'm pretty sure that warranty is offered with a $0 deductible, of course, the price would probably be a little higher. I had the Major Guard on my '07 Impala SS, and it definitely saved me money...

[Northstar]

The dealer has a TON of wiggle room in that price. Shop around and get the best price. We may get an extended warranty for the Civic we just bought a couple weeks ago. We will end up buying it online at a Honda dealer's website, where it costs $900 compared to the same exact warranty we were quoted on here for $1600 (and the warranty is good at any Honda dealer - in your case any GM dealer).

I was reading on Edmunds, and many people who bought Pilots and Odysseys were quoted $2500 for this same warranty from the dealer they bought it at, and got it online from a dealer for $1100.

[Drew Dowdell]

Shop it around on price AND deductible. I got a $0 deductible, 4 year, unlimited mileage warranty on my 3.4 DOHC Cutlass Convertible for $2,000 and laughed all the way to the next repair shop.

I knew I was going to need it.... you've gotta love those cars to put up with them.

[caddycruiser]

Absolutely positively go for the GM Major Guard. We have on our latest GM vehicles, in the idea of long term, and they cannot be beat. Full factory coverage, rental, roadside assistance, etc. Yes, in the end you're essentially paying up front for $xxx amount of repairs, but that's a nice safety net. Your Envoy will continue to provide many happy miles...but nice to have that umbrella, affordably.

Just shop for best price, because yes they can vary widely, and go from there. I'm not a fan of deductibles if you must, but see if the price is any different elsewhere. On a GM vehicle, you simply can't beat GMPP warranty.

[GMTruckGuy74]

The wife laughed when I told her I want to buy an extended warranty for the Envoy... she thought I was going to say since the warranty is just about up it's time to buy another new vehicle (and I thought to myself, my name's not Derek - j/k with you man !!). It was an intriguing idea, but the only new GMC I may be able to afford is a FWD, 4cyl SLE Terrain and not only am I not interested in a base model truck, the size is an issue for my family of 5 (before buying the Envoy, I seriously considered a 2008 Pontiac Torrent GXP AWD but the rear seat wasn't accomodating enough with a booster seat, and infant carrier base, and room for one adult). A Sierra, equipped the way I want, is not only out of my comfort zone but the gas costs would kill me on top of the monthly payment. Moving back to a car is not really an option I want to take.

I will definitely shop the GMPP/Major Guard around - there's plenty of GM dealers around and the Internet is a great tool to use (especially when dealerships are closed for the night).

Thanks for the input so far, keep it coming

[caddycruiser]

Also, and of course, the other nice thing about a GMPP/other warranty is yes, you will pay for it, but say on a whim you do trade/sell/etc. early on a whim (Derek...ahem), just cancel with GMPP and get the refund check back for the pro-rated difference. I was 10 months into my truck, so some was used, but then I got a nice $700+ check back for the unused portion. Always nice, as you're never locked in, should the need arise.

And when you do have it, you've prepaid and are covered for repairs. Pay for it once up front and then not have to figure out how you'll pay for random repairs x, y, and z as they arise.

[GMTruckGuy74]

Yeah, I defintely want to get the Major Guard/GMPP warranty, but not happy with the price quoted by the dealer nor their willingness to budge on the price ($2,650 for 36mos/45k with $100 deductible). I didn't have any time to log on the computer at home this weekend, but I will try to get out some e-mails to the business managers of some local GM dealerships around me to see what they have to offer.

The new vehicle idea is intriguing, but I can't let go of the Envoy quite yet (and I can't believe I'm saying that - me, not lusting for a new vehicle purchase - I must be sick!!).

[Drew Dowdell]

Given the current economic climate, it's best you keep the vehicle you have now and get a warranty

[GMTruckGuy74]

Given the current economic climate, it's best you keep the vehicle you have now and get a warranty

I concur. And since I've found I'm happiest behind the wheel of a truck/SUV, and can't afford what I want new, protecting the Envoy (and my thin wallet) is the best course of action. Plus as you've pointed out numerous times over the years ( ), I've had my fair share of new vehicles. I'm glad though that caddycruiser/Derek has taken over that title now

[GMTruckGuy74]

Okay, so none of the local GM dealerships are really interested in "making a deal" with me for a GMPP/Major Guard extended warranty. Some have flat out refused to sell me one, saying I'm out of my original 36/36 factory warranty, whereas others have varied in their costs - one dealer wants $3150 for a 36mos/54k $100 deductible GMPP/MG, and another wants $2250 for a 24mos/24k $50 deductible GMPP/MG. No one is consistant, and a few have tried to offer me their specific dealership warranty, telling me it is better than the one GM offers

One business manager, to whom I personally know, recommended the AAA Platimun, Gold,or Silver warranty, saying that is what the Cadillac Service Dept recommends to Cadillac owners once they are out of the factory warranty. I know that several posters here believe in their AAA memberships, but I wanted to get advice on what anyone thinks of their warranty. You can check out here if you aren't familiar: https://midatlantic.aaa.com/CarsDriving/ExtendedWarranty/CoveragePlans

I am 299 miles away from the GM Certified Used Vehicle 12mos/12k bumper-to-bumper warranty from expiring, and I'd like to do something very soon. I appreciate all insight/advice/opinions on this matter.

[Drew Dowdell]

My advice to you is don't drive it anymore until you sort out the warranty.

How many miles do you do in a typical year. (i.e. how long would it take you to burn through 24k or 36k miles?)

[GMTruckGuy74]

I'm figuring approximately 15k a year, and of course that would go up more if I drove myself into work (that is, if the wife and I took separate vehicles instead of carpooling, which doesn't make good financial sense whatsoever). Right now I'm only using the Envoy when the weather reports look bad (too much snow this year!); the G6 desparately needs new tires to handle the winter weather (the factory 17" Hankook Optimo tires suck in wet weather of any kind, and only have 39k on them). Of course the Envoy is better suited when all five of us go out somewhere, so I have to work quickly on the warranty issue. The AAA extended warranty is a call-in for price quotes, and I'll do that tonight (Internet requests can only be accessed after hours, and I'm sure they follow-up with a call). I did get an e-mail a few minutes ago from a stand-alone Buick dealer in Bristol, PA to call for the quote, so I will do that when I get home tonight too.

[Northstar]

I heard Geico offers some sort of warranty for used vehicles as well. You might look into that.

I didn't realize that you are out of the original warranty. That probably is the reason why the prices are relatively high.