hey all, just got my kia niro last night and loving it! What is everyone's thoughts on buying the extended warranty? Is it worth it? I know kia has a great warranty already but this is my first hybrid so I don't know much about them, but the guy was like... "you should get the extended warranty, this car runs on like 13 different computers so if something happens to one of those, you aren't covered" . So should I get it?
extended warranty
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In a word, no. Extended warranties are an extra money maker for the dealers, they have too many caveats to the coverage, the car runs on one main ECU,with branches like any car, and it's covered for 6 years/60k miles by Kia.
Actually, if you want to count microcontrollers, a modern car has more than 75 "computers" and they're extremely reliable. I agree with realto, extended warranties are big profit makers not only for the warranty companies but for dealers too at your expense. Think about it; extended warranties are insurance policies and the only way an insurance company can stay in business is by carefully assessing the odds and costs of a repair and then charging more money than that. Why invite this expensive middleman to make your costs even higher?
You can make out on an extended warranty if someone is foolish enough to offer one on a basket case car like any Fiat Chrysler product or Land Rover. Kia? No.
You can make out on an extended warranty if someone is foolish enough to offer one on a basket case car like any Fiat Chrysler product or Land Rover. Kia? No.
Waste of money. Length of hybrid system, hybrid battery, warranties varies by state mandates but most any state that follows California emissions and warranty standards (we live in NY which is California compliant), those states mandate minimum hybrid battery and related hybrid parts coverage at 10 years/150,000 miles, some manufacturers offer this hybrid warranty in all states (not sure about Kia) and as we know Hyundai has lifetime hybrid battery warranty.
Many automobile extended warranty companies have gone bankrupt over the years leaving consumers out in the cold. There are also very tight restrictions, ifs ands and buts, to getting coverage, and you MUST be religious about keeping, yes keeping your paper records, invoices, receipts regarding your strict adherence to ALL maintenance, and it MUST be done at the exact time/mileage intervals recommended in the owners manual. They will look for anything to get out of covering a costly repair.
Had these warranties existed in the 1970's when buying a reliable vehicle was near impossible, it would have been a good option. In today's consumer driven world automobile reliability has gotten to the point where we can expect 200,000 - 300,000 miles out of ANY of the big name manufacturers before major repair work due to failure is required.
Many automobile extended warranty companies have gone bankrupt over the years leaving consumers out in the cold. There are also very tight restrictions, ifs ands and buts, to getting coverage, and you MUST be religious about keeping, yes keeping your paper records, invoices, receipts regarding your strict adherence to ALL maintenance, and it MUST be done at the exact time/mileage intervals recommended in the owners manual. They will look for anything to get out of covering a costly repair.
Had these warranties existed in the 1970's when buying a reliable vehicle was near impossible, it would have been a good option. In today's consumer driven world automobile reliability has gotten to the point where we can expect 200,000 - 300,000 miles out of ANY of the big name manufacturers before major repair work due to failure is required.
Kevhead- Really, in a word, no. Do a search with BBB or other consumer groups on extended warranty companies. It's not pretty. There are tons of complaints, I've never seen a non-affiliated group ever recommend them. And just from what your salesman/finance person said, he's wrong. All those 13? computers are covered under warranty for 5yr/60.
Don't waste your money.
Only reason to buy one is if you drive a lot less than 10k miles/years. Then, extending to 10 years, 100k might make sense because you would be getting the 10 years, which is the thing to worry about when computers are involved. Having a car go through 10 years of changing seasons puts the biggest stress on a car, not the miles driven.
The 2017's do as well. Our 2017 Niro EX has 10years/100,000 miles on the hybrid battery AND ALL hybrid components. New York State puts hybrid battery warranty at 150,000 miles......... no mention of "years" ..............
Has anyone heard that a rustproof/oil spray can void your hybrid powertrain warranty? My brother drives a Kia Optima and was notified of this upon looking into/prepping his car for winter. I wonder if that's simply to try and encourage drivers to bring in their car to the dealer for all maintenance.
I was told there could be a possibility of overheating or damage to electrical components if rustproofing is applied!
I bought my EX last June. Paid up front for rustproofing. Dealer set up rustproofing appt. and a week later I dropped my car off at dealer to get done. Dealer called me an hour after I dropped it off and told me car was ready.
Really? ... 1 hour??
I went to dealer to pick up my vehicle and they said it had not been done. The rustproofing shop would not touch hybrids. Said there could be a possibility of overheating or damage to electrical components. Fair enough!
Dealer then kept me on a string for 2 months telling me they were looking into another type of rustproofing specifically for hybrids. After much frustration of calling dealer and getting the same B.S. I finally gave up and got a refund on the money I had paid at delivery. Needless to say I was not a happy camper, and let them know. They have sold Optima hybrids over the past years, so they knew at time of sale that it was not available for my Niro!
A valuable lesson learned for me with this dealership!
This is about the only negative I have with this vehicle after 23,000 km's.
I agree. The car is already well rustproofed from the factory, the frame is not sprayed but dipped completely in a tank. At a dealer they are going to spray something over it, and you can believe it won't be the master mechanic doing it, but the newbie. In worst cases those sprays can trap moisture and cause rust. I thought that rustproofing dealer add-on went out with the 60's cars.
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What about AFTER 60,000 - they want you to buy another Extended Warranty for 5yrs / 60K.... is it worth it THEN since a battery replacement is $8K?
Well, the traction battery has a much longer warranty than the rest of the car. It's good for 10 years, 100,000 miles.
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in Florida the warranty is 5 years 50,000 miles, b to b, 10 yrs 100,000 miles drivetrain on 2017 EX
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