I took a route similar to a few others on this thread. Bought a used 2018 Max Platinum years ago that we work pretty hard and wanted the best extended warranty I could get. I got a quote from Ziegler in advance and took it with me when I bought the Expedition. The dealer matched it no questions asked. For a general list, I have had:
- 3 Repairs for the cam phasers and some associated pieces
- 2 Repairs for the transmission
- 2 Repairs for the rear seat entertainment system
- 1 Repair on the fuel pump (Didn't even know this problem existed but the tech noticed it during a visit for something else and fixed it for me)
- 1 Repair on the turbo
- 1 Replacement of the rear evaporator
- 1 Repair of the cylinder head and head gasket (We're pretty sure this issue was caused during the work on the cam phasers)
- 1 Repair on the thermostat
- 2 Repairs on the coolant hoses (first I paid for because they're hoses, 2nd they paid for because it was within a year of the first)
- 1 Replacement of one of the LED headlight assemblies
To be honest, the warranty almost paid for itself after the headlight assembly alone when the service person showed me just how much the assemblies cost on parts alone. On top of this, keep in mind that every single one of these visits, I was given a loaner vehicle covered by the warranty while mine was repaired. Needless to say, it has more than paid for itself for me. I'm mostly worried that I'm almost to the mileage limit of my extended warranty and hopeful that I won't continue to experience issues from there. The 2018's definitely had the worst of the issues, and to make it worse, the used one I bought seems to be one of the early ones off the line by the original service dates.
One thing to keep in mind when deciding on a warranty is that people tend to think in absolute's in either a situation like mine with tons of work needed on the vehicle, or a situation where they will never use the warranty and the entire cost is "peace of mind", but keep in mind most people will probably fall in the middle there. You might use it a little and maybe make some of that money back, which lowers the cost of whatever "peace of mind" the warranty is granting you. I would just decide how long you plan to own the vehicle. The money for repairs is coming out of your pocket somehow, either eventually in the moment or now as a hedge against those future repairs. You're probably just as unlikely to end up with 20 different repairs as you are to end up with none. You just have to decide which you think will put you in a better situation, and feel at peace knowing you will never know for sure which route was the best one until after it's done.
