Buick offers an extended warranty that increases the bumper-to-bumper coverage on a new car to 5 years or 60,000 miles. There are also several additional protection plans you can purchase for coverage of up to 8 years or 120,000 miles, at a cost between roughly $2,500 to $5,500.
Extended warranties—it seems like they’re offered on just about everything these days, from the smallest household appliance to new cars. But are they worth it? By the time you’re talking about extended warranties at the car dealership, you’re probably too worn out to even think straight—and that’s the way the salespeople like it.
Luckily, Jerry
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out there—we’ve also put together this guide to Buick’s extended warranty options to help you decide if it’s right for you! And since it’s what we do best, we’ll also give you some tips on how to lower your Buick insurance costs
. Overview: what is a Buick extended warranty?
When you buy a new car, some type of factory warranty coverage is generally included in the purchase price of the vehicle. This warranty is essentially the manufacturer's guarantee that the vehicle will be free of defects for a certain period of time, and that they’ll pay for certain types of repairs that could arise.
Buick’s factory warranty includes three years or 36,000 miles of limited bumper-to-bumper coverage and five years or 60,000 miles of powertrain coverage. The term limits apply to whatever parameter comes first, years or mileage.
Buick also offers an extended warranty that’s only available at the time you purchase your new car. This extended warranty increases the term of the limited bumper-to-bumper warranty from three years to five, making it match your powertrain coverage.
There’s no deductible, and pricing will vary by dealer. Some sources report that this extended warranty costs just under $3,000—which is a lot to pay for only two more years of coverage.
Buick Protection Plan: coverage and cost
Buick also offers a group of Buick Protection Plans. Unlike the extended warranty, it looks like you can purchase these at any time, as long as your Buick has less than 80,000 miles on it—but ask your dealer for verification.
There are three levels of Buick Protection Plan coverage:
Powertrain: provides basic coverage for your car’s most vital components
Silver: expands coverage to include things like brakes, suspension, and steering
Platinum: the most comprehensive package, covering a wide range of components
These plans are sold through Buick but are administered by a third party, and there’s typically a deductible of a few hundred dollars. Any Buick dealership in the U.S. should accept these plans, so you’re not limited to just the dealership you bought the car at. They are also transferable to another private party if you should sell your car, but there may be a $50 fee.
What’s covered
The plan that you’ll choose will depend on how much protection you want.
The lowest level is the Powertrain Plan, which is pretty bare bones. This only covers limited parts in four primary components: the engine, the transmission, the drive axles, and hybrid/electric systems. While those are some pretty major components, it still leaves a lot of areas uncovered.
Buick claims the most popular choice is their highest level, the Platinum Plan. This will cover just about everything, including things like audio and navigation features. But if you’re more concerned about covering the functional essentials and not the bells and whistles, then the mid-range Silver Plan seems like a good option. This will cover all the mechanical components that the Platinum Plan does, but leaves off the coverage for high-tech features.
Take a look at the table below to see how the coverage breaks down by plan:
All of the Buick Protection Plans include Roadside Assistance, which will provide you a limited amount of emergency towing, jumpstarts, tire changes, and other remedies for car troubles.
Rental car coverage is also included with coverage amounts of $40 per day up to 10 days, as well as Trip Interruption, which will pay for up to $200 a day for five days for emergency travel expenses.
What isn’t
No warranty covers everything, though. Here are a few things that won’t be covered under any of Buick’s extended warranty or Protection Plans:
Wear and tear items: the things that will wear out by design, like brake pads and rotors, belts, hoses, tires, bulbs, batteries, etc.
Damage caused by improper use: repairs needed due to things like taking your Buick off-roading or participating in a demolition derby will not be covered.
Modified or custom parts: any aftermarket parts or modifications you do aren’t covered under warranty.
Damage due to improper maintenance: repairs that are needed due to neglecting routine maintenance like oil changes are not covered.
Other components: Glass, fabric, tires, paint, upholstery, carpets, wiper blades, etc.
Buick also offers prepaid maintenance plans in two levels and three different terms lengths. You can get basic coverage for oil changes, tire rotations, and multi-point vehicle inspections, or you can upgrade and get a plan that covers the replacement of cabin and engine air filters, wiper blades, and brake fluid.
But wait! There’s more! You can also opt for Buick’s tire and wheel coverage, which will cover anything from simple tire replacement to cosmetic wheel damage, depending on the level of protection you choose.
> **Pro tip** Make sure you’re diligent about keeping up with your car’s routine maintenance, as failure to do is often used as grounds for not honoring a warranty.
Duration
Buick says they offer many different term lengths—up to eight years or 120,000 miles. They don’t offer any more details than that upfront, so you’ll have to talk to your dealership and see what the available term lengths are. Remember, the year/mileage expiration limit applies to whichever one you hit first.
Cost
Automakers are frequently cagey with the costs of their extended warranty plans, preferring to make people come into dealerships or call for details. But in general, prices have been reported at around $2,500 for a two-year Protection Plan and up to roughly $5,500 for a five-year Protection Plan.
This is a lot of money, and suffice it to say that getting coverage for eight years will be even more expensive. Buick also offers several different deductibles—the lower your deductible is, the more you’ll pay for the coverage upfront.
Remember that just like the price of a new car, the price of extended warranty coverage is negotiable with the dealer. So if you want an extended warranty, don’t shy away from playing a little hardball.
Is it worth getting a Buick extended warranty?
Whether or not it’s a good idea to get an extended warranty for your Buick is up to you. Some people like the peace of mind and added convenience, but others consider it a big waste of money.
Buick earned a 3.5/5 rating for reliability on RepairPal, which is above average, and they calculated that a Buick’s average repair costs are around $608 a year in repair costs. If you’re paying more for your warranty and deductibles than you would be if you just paid for the repairs out of pocket, that’s when it becomes a waste of money.
An alternative option to a Buick extended warranty is mechanical breakdown insurance
, which is offered by some insurance providers. This coverage helps to pay for non-wear-and-tear related repairs once your car is past its manufacturer’s warranty. This might be a more reasonably priced coverage as well, as it’s not provided by a dealership with a big profit incentive. MORE:How to choose an extended car warranty
How to lower Buick insurance costs
Buicks occupy a transitional space between daily commuter cars like Hondas and luxury brands like Mercedes-Benz or BMW. As such, they’re often a little bit more expensive to insure than the average sedan on the street. But when you shop with Jerry
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All you need to do is choose the policy that works for you, and Jerry will handle the sign-up process through the app. You can even get help canceling your old coverage if you like! Check it out and see for yourself—the average Jerry shopper saves more than $800 a year on their car insurance!
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