Portfolio vs FMC extended warranty

[dflynn5]

I went into my Ford Dealer today looking at extended warranties and he was pointing me at a Portfolio plan. Looks good and is marginally cheaper than the premium Ford plan. Any one have any info on the company/plan? Looks from my research that the company is reputable.

I'd be interested in hearing what the folks here have done.

[HwyCruiser]

IMO I wouldn't buy any extended warrenty other than one backed by Ford.

[MENINBLK]

Don't buy any Extended Service Plans or Warranties other than a MANUFACTURER'S plan.
Ford plans are good at ANY FORD DEALER. not just the one you bought it from.
So if youy decide to take your Marauder to MVIII and you need to stop
at the Dealer for a problem - You are covered.

With anyone else's warranties there is so much red tape and BS
for them to get through to pay that it isn't worth the trouble.

When I worked at a Buick Dealer, we had a customer with a Buick Regal that purchased an outside warranty.
The MultiFunction switch, INSIDE THE STEERING COLUMN broke, and her Insurance would NOT cover it.
The repair would have been covered under a GM Warranty with no questions asked.
When I asked why, they stated the following...
"We ONLY cover those parts that come into physical contact with the driver of the vehicle.
Since the Multifunction switch is operated by a Multifunction lever,
and the driver operates the switch through the lever, if the lever were the damaged/defective part, the repair would be covered.
Since the Lever is fine and the switch is damaged/defective, and the driver cannot directly touch or operate the switch, this repair is not covered."

I SWEAR TO GOD, those were their exact words.
When I told my Service Manager what they told me, his response was,
"That's what you get for saving a few bucks."

The repair cost the customer about $400.
We had to remove the steering column form the car,
disassemble it, replace the Multifunction switch,
reassemble the column, and reinstall it.

BTW, you have up to 3 yr or 36,000 miles to buy your FORD PREMIUM CARE WARRANTY,
from the in-service date. After this there is no warranty at all that you can purchase.
I just purchased a 5yr/100,000 mile, $50 Deductible, Premium Care warranty, from my dealer,
for my 2004 Marauder for $1620, with 34,000 miles on it.
It cost me an additional $100 because I waited.
If I had done it within the first 12 months/12,000 miles, I would have saved $100.

[sailsmen]

I have seen a number of them go bust, inlcuding one owned by Borg Warner.

[TheDealer]

In my 36 years at this Lincoln Mercury Dealer, I've never seen an outside warranty that was worth the paper it's written on. Don't be penny wise and dollar foolish!!!! :beer:

[thePunisher]

the dealer is pushing the portfolio on you because they make more profit on it. however the premuin care or extra care ford warranty is great. they cover anything that will cost big dollars to fix....i have first hand experience with portfolio...and every time we went to make a claim it was a big drawn out hastle.

[MadMarauder]

Do NOT buy third party warranties.They are a headache to deal with. They will try and come up with any excuse to deny your claims.

If you want competetive pricing on a FORD ESP warranty try fordesp.com, fordwarrantycentral.com, fordwarrantys.com.

If I remember correctly fordwarrantycentral gave me the cheapest price, but they would not sell to me at there discounted price because I live in FL, and all extended warranties are regulated by the state. However that didnt stop the others from trying to sell to me. I bought a 6yr 100K premium warranty from fordwarantys.com for about 1300.

[TheDealer]

I agree and don't think very highly of a dealer that's trying to sell you junk just so they make more profit. I wouldn't buy anything from them.

[dflynn5]

Thanks for the great advice. I was surprised at the dealer pushing a 3rd party and my first assumption was that they were making more profit.

[GreekGod]

36 YEARS? Hmmmm....enough said, case closed!
In my 36 years at this Lincoln Mercury Dealer, I've never seen an outside warranty that was worth the paper it's written on. Don't be penny wise and dollar foolish!!!! :beer: