Extended Service Contract - Diesel Forum

Yardbrew · 02-18-2003, 11:01 PM

I'm coming up 31000 miles and have decided to get an extended service contract.

Am just about convinced that it will be a F**d ESP as there is not a decent diesel shop between here and Waco except the local Ford dealer. If I have to go to Waco, there are some big dealers there.

Am shopping around.....there are a half dozen or so sources mentioned in this web site....so far, they have all been interested in selling me their product.

<font color="blue">Would be interested to hear if any vanners have bought extented service contracts.</font>

The need for diagnostic electronic equipment to assess and repair whatever is wrong with our vans just about eliminates much of the "shadetree" work that we did in bygone years.

I had an 83 6.5 Chebbie diesel van and did everything myself. Overhauled the main pump, injectors, put new kit in the transmission......

Wouldn't even consider tearing into my 02 PSD.

Yardbrew.

yaric008 · 02-18-2003, 11:49 PM

Yeah, that's definitley true. These new computurized enginges sure do take the fun out of it sometimes, [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]. Even though it's much harder to work on they definitley... (in theory) don't break down as much and when they're running, run a hell of a lot better. Can't really help you however, I'm in florida here. And don't have an Extended Service Contract. Goodluck.

Larry M · 02-19-2003, 03:32 AM

Yardbrew,

I also don't have an ESP, but think there are a couple of links to some old threads under "warranties" in my little secrets post further down in the threads in this forum that might be worth taking a look at.

Larry

JCooper · 02-19-2003, 10:02 AM

Yardbrew:

I got one on our new van. Not the Ford ESP, but something called EasyCare as I remember. Ford Dealers are selling them. They swear they will be honored by any Ford Dealer in the country and cover the same items for the same time/mileage as ESP but much cheaper. It was explained to me as another one of those deals where Ford basically competes with themselves (??). Since I got mine through Cochise at Lone Star, you might give him a shout. They wanted $2700 for the ESP, Easy Care was $1,695. Still seems awful high, but I bit the bullet and did it. We have had ESP on the last 3 Fords we've had (Not diesels)and they've all paid for themselves.

Jeff

camperman · 02-19-2003, 03:34 PM

I've had extended warranties with http://www.warrantydirect.com & General Electric. I never had a problem getting service at any dealer under either contract. With my 96 Dodge Grand Caravan I had plenty of visits to the dealer. The zero deductible contract more than paid for itself.

Regards;

David

PSDVanMan · 02-19-2003, 04:09 PM

I can speak from experiance as both a former Ford tech, and a current van owner.

If you are getting an ESP, absolutely get a Ford one. I have dealt with almost all the major ESP companies as a tech, and they all suck. Remember than an ESP is just an insurance policy. And when it comes time to pay up, aftermarket ESPs will usually try to take the cheapest way out possible (such as used and non-OEM parts), and that's if they even COVER the repair. There are tons of loopholes in the aftermarket ESPs, and you'd be surprised how many items they DON'T cover, even if it looks like they cover those items by reading your paperwork.

Now, with that said, the Ford ESP is the best mainly because it has to live up to Fords standards. I've had Ford ESPs on several of my own vehicles in the past, and have used them, with zero issues. Also many Ford dealers will not even deal with aftermarket ESPs anymore. As for my van, I DID get a 6 year, 75k mile Ford ESP. Mainly because I will be towing alot, and it's just some extra insurance for the auto trans.

BTW Jcooper, the EasyCare IS a Ford ESP. There's EasyCare, ExtraCare, Premium Care (the best one) and I THINK one more.

Yardbrew · 02-19-2003, 06:44 PM

Vanners,

Thanks for your advice. Yeah, I had researched the archives and got a lot of info there.

Just wanted the latest from van folks who used them. As we all know, there is nothing that will make the mechanics scatter faster than pulling in with a PSD van.

Right now I'm leaning toward F**d ESP Extra-care with no deductible and am calling several dealers for the best price.

If I lived in an area with a batch of places to get it worked on, I would certainly consider another option such as WarrantyGold. If I don't deal with the nearby F**d people, I am looking at driving an hour to find a good diesel shop.

<font color="blue"> PSD VanMan,</font>

I believe the other plan is called BasicCare.

Yardbrew.