Ford Maintenance Protection Plan

[Galway]

I'm new to the forum, and new to Ford. I've driven imports for the past 20 years+. I purchased my Ford Fusion Sport about 2 weeks ago. I must confess that so far I have been pleasantly surprised . However, I am wondering if it would be a good idea to purchase the"Ford Maintenance Protection Plan" or is it just a waste of money?

 

Dennis

[jeff_h]

However, I am wondering if it would be a good idea to purchase the"Ford Maintenance Protection Plan" or is it just a waste of money?

 

These are actually 2 plans, one as an extended warranty and one is a pre-paid maintenance plan.

 

The Ford ESP plan is the extended warranty that you can purchase for up to 7yr/100k (I think that is the max) or shorter time periods. This is at its core an insurance policy against something big going wrong, so I guess it depends on each owner's tolerance for the chance of big repair bills. Some will always buy them and be glad they did, but I tend to think more of them buy the plans and don't recoup the money invested. So these are generally a good moneymaker for dealers, as they sell a factory warranty contract for a profit. My dealer wanted $1,581 for the coverage and I bought it from www.myfordwarranty.com for $845, so you can see the profit dealers make. So my guess is that dealers buy the warranty policy from Ford for about $750-800, which tells me the average car gets around there (or maybe just below there) of unexpected repairs during the first 100k miles. I just say that because I bet they have it set up so "the house always wins" although the player thinks they probably have the upper hand. But everyone takes their chances, I bought mine as I'd rather have one manageable and expected chunk of expense than one huge unexpected one that I would be very unhappy about.

 

If you go to the above link you will also find into on the "Premium Maintenance Plan" which covers all scheduled maintenance every 10,000-12,000 miles or whatever the interval is. This probably depends on how meticulous you are about getting the maintenance done, or maybe how adept you are at car maintenance yourself. As for me, I have driven my past 8-9 cars over 700,000 miles and have spent exactly $0 getting scheduled maintenance from a dealer. I have always changed my own oil and brakes, know when the tires and exhaust need replacement, don't need to pay someone $100 each time for something I can crawl under the car and look under the hood and check for myself. But again, each owner is different and some probably love the peace of mind of going to the dealer every 10,000 miles and turning over the keys and happy to have someone else do it... if so, good for them. So check out the above link on the maintenance plan and you might find it worth your while if you prefer to use the dealer, I think it might save you a little money over paying separately at the dealer each time.

 

Good luck!

[txhoser]

Jeff, good answer. I, like you, can do the maintenance myself it is just quicker for me to have the dealer do it. But then again, I am probably not as good at it as you. I haven't worked on a car since high school and that was because I couldn't afford for anyone else to do it for me.

[DaveM]

Jeff, good answer. I, like you, can do the maintenance myself it is just quicker for me to have the dealer do it. But then again, I am probably not as good at it as you. I haven't worked on a car since high school and that was because I couldn't afford for anyone else to do it for me.

Main reason I stopped doing my own maintenance is it is getting harder and harder to find a place to dump the used oil plus I watch for coupons as my dealer will match most honest coupons and that puts on record that all work has been done by Ford so no arguement if a problem ever crops up.

[fordfitted]

Im not going to buy the extra plan, i mean the 3.5 motor has been around, if you think about it in theory its actually more relaible than the 3.0 and i have not heard any horror stories about motor failures with those, and the 6 speed tranny although it can be a little wierd sometimes i have not heard any horror stories about those either. But hey i am brand new to this forum so maybe people are having lots of issues, my gut instinct is that with this car you dont need to spend the extra money on it but regardless you would probably sleep better at night with it so its all up to you.

[royroddey]

I'm new to the forum, and new to Ford. I've driven imports for the past 20 years+. I purchased my Ford Fusion Sport about 2 weeks ago. I must confess that so far I have been pleasantly surprised . However, I am wondering if it would be a good idea to purchase the"Ford Maintenance Protection Plan" or is it just a waste of money?

 

Dennis

 

fyi: I work as a ford salesman in Eau Claire, WI...

 

I personally bought a 2010 Fusion Sport. I also bought a Extended Service Plan.

 

Couple things to think about: 1) if you trade the car to a dealer, we know your car probably has no problems because of the plan you purchased and would be able to offer you more for the trade - would cost very little or nothing to have a problem fixed. 2) If you sell the car yourself, the plan can be transfered for very little money to the purchaser - making the car more valuable (along with the buyer knowing any problem can/was fixed.

 

As for the maintenance plan: 1) they are usually cheaper than having the maintenance performed by the dealership - you are really buying all the factory maintenance up front.

 

Finally: you can roll both of these plans into the current low/zero percent financing.

 

hope this helps.

[Dyoct]

If you're going to buy an extend plan, always go through the manufacturer's program. They are nation-wide and compared to the other aftermarket companies, more likely to be around. I saw a guy that bought a vehicle from one of those "buy here, pay here" dealers along with an aftermarket plan. The dealer never submitted the paperwork, took his $600, and he was on his own when he had to pay for his Escape's transmission repair.

 

A co-worker had a contract on a Chevy Impala that he never got to use...the company went under a few months later. He did receive a settlement check a few years later though after a class-action suit.

[akirby]

Also note that a lot of the cost in scheduled maintenance is inspections which you can do yourself. I do my own service except for transmission fluid and coolant replacements. Costs me 2 oil filters and 10 or 12 quarts of oil per year for the first 3 years.

[garsarno]

Also note that a lot of the cost in scheduled maintenance is inspections which you can do yourself. I do my own service except for transmission fluid and coolant replacements. Costs me 2 oil filters and 10 or 12 quarts of oil per year for the first 3 years.

[garsarno]

Bought the Premium Care plan: 5 years / 100,000 miles / $0 deductible for $1,400. Will drive the car close to 100,000 miles in three - four years and just wanted to insure that any parts that expire will be covered other than regular maintenance items.