Ford – protect continued service plan

[$4Ranger]

Hey everyone, I’m looking for your opinion here. My 2021 Ranger STX warranty is about to expire and I got this Ford protect continued service plan in the mail. It’s about 50 some dollars for protection on things like engine and transmission with a $500 deductible. So far my ranger hasn’t had any issues at all. It only has about 36,000 miles on it. Yes I don’t drive it very often.
The question: Do you think it’s worth the $50 a month or just let it expire and just pay as I go.
Personally I’ve never been a fan of extended warranty plans, but I know this forum has said stuff about common big ticket item issues like transmission.

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[Grumpaw]

Dosen't sound like a Ford based ESP plan....not for $50 bucks a month. Ford plans for ESP start much much much higher...thousands. Sounds like your getting offers form an aftermarket company.
I get these in the mail almost weekly for my previous Ranger which they think I still own, my current Ford Expedition and my wife's Subi Outback.
Beware !!!!!! Most are not worth the paper their written on, and most dealers will not accept them....you may have to pay up front and try to get reimbursed from the plan.....ROTS OF RUCK !!!!!
Additionally most will have some kind of instructs that you have to get your vehicle properly serviced along with receipts showing you had regular preventive maintaince done.
If you want a proper Ford ESP plan, contact one of the several dealers that post on the forum, like Flood Ford.....they will give you the straight scoop on plans along with the absolute best prices.

 

[Joeiconic]

I don’t like open-ended pay by the month plans. You look back in three years and realize you’ve paid two grand and if you stop paying at any point, you don't have the warranty anymore. Plus the deductible is too high. Just put $50 a month into a coffee can and cross your fingers.

 

[Grumpaw]

I don’t like open-ended pay by the month plans. You look back in three years and realize you’ve paid two grand and if you stop paying at any point, you don't have the warranty anymore. Plus the deductible is too high. Just put $50 a month into a coffee can and cross your fingers.

That's exactly what I have been doing for the used Expedition.....Ford didn't offer one for a 5 year old and the aftermarket is PooPoo. So I have a separate account that i put $$$ in every month.

 

[$4Ranger]

I don’t like open-ended pay by the month plans. You look back in three years and realize you’ve paid two grand and if you stop paying at any point, you don't have the warranty anymore. Plus the deductible is too high. Just put $50 a month into a coffee can and cross your fingers.

Yeah, was thinking along the same line.

 

[Big Blue]

That's exactly what I have been doing for the used Expedition.....Ford didn't offer one for a 5 year old and the aftermarket is PooPoo. So I have a separate account that i put $$$ in every month.

That's what I have been doing for years. It's my emergency account. If the truck has an issue I can use it on that, of the dryer dies I use it on that. All these extended warranty plan are fancy insurance policies. And we all know they are not in business to lose money. The odds always in favor of the house. If you take all their premiums together and put it on a separate savings account, you have a tidy sum fairly quickly. The important part is to not touch it except in an emergency.

 

[dozxab]

I put $50/mo in a dedicated savings account. Have since new. If anything breaks, not a big hit. I go about 8000 miles a year. When I hit 80K and don't need it, I have a big chunk of cash towards my next vehicle.

 

[woodworker]

Hey everyone, I’m looking for your opinion here. My 2021 Ranger STX warranty is about to expire and I got this Ford protect continued service plan in the mail. It’s about 50 some dollars for protection on things like engine and transmission with a $500 deductible. So far my ranger hasn’t had any issues at all. It only has about 36,000 miles on it. Yes I don’t drive it very often.
The question: Do you think it’s worth the $50 a month or just let it expire and just pay as I go.
Personally I’ve never been a fan of extended warranty plans, but I know this forum has said stuff about common big ticket item issues like transmission.

Just my opinion but I would say look for a nearly invisible fishing line tied to that $50 hook. Sounds rotten in Denmark.
What I would also say is be careful of any of these “you never pay a dime for repairs” programs you see being pushed on the idiot tube, or in current times, the flat screen. One customer said I saved $1400.00 on a seat sensor. Well, that’s pretty good but how much money did you pay into that plan before you finally saved $1400.00 on your seat sensor? These companies are not in business to LOSE money so in my personal opinion, you are mostly just paying in advance for your repairs. I use your “pay as I go” process and in fact just laid out $1120 out of pocket for a new complete rear drive shaft but my 2021 Ranger is also nearing 149,000 miles.
Again, this is just my opinion or experience over the years. If anyone has any stories that really paid off, that could be interesting.

 

[woodworker]

That's what I have been doing for years. It's my emergency account. If the truck has an issue I can use it on that, of the dryer dies I use it on that. All these extended warranty plan are fancy insurance policies. And we all know they are not in business to lose money. The odds always in favor of the house. If you take all their premiums together and put it on a separate savings account, you have a tidy sum fairly quickly. The important part is to not touch it except in an emergency.

I didn’t see this before I posted but we are saying the same thing. Well said.

 

[$4Ranger]

Thanks everyone. In the back of my mind, I probably knew this before I posted. Yeah, @woodworker, the stuff you see on TV is ridiculous. I, too, would like to see anyone who actually benefited from one of those. I guess I was being sucked in by the official Ford logo in the junk mail. I like the 'put $50 away a month' idea.

 

[woodworker]

Thanks everyone. In the back of my mind, I probably knew this before I posted. Yeah, @woodworker, the stuff you see on TV is ridiculous. I, too, would like to see anyone who actually benefited from one of those. I guess I was being sucked in by the official Ford logo in the junk mail. I like the 'put $50 away a month' idea.

No problem, it never hurts to ask. The only stupid question is the question that never gets asked. I’ve been around the sun quite a few times and the more trips I make, the more I figure out that if it looks and sounds too good to be true, it most likely is. I suppose there are a few lucky ones out there that have benefited from a warranty program but I never have yet in all my years and I stopped buying them on anything years ago. I did buy a $600 ten oil change and ten tire rotation program when I bought my Ranger five years ago this month but again, that was just paying in advance as I mentioned. Maybe someone will list an instance where their warranty helped but I’m not going to hold my breath on that. I guess I’m one of the lucky ones having clocked just short of 149,000 miles with the rear drive shaft center bearing noise being the only “broke fix” issue to this point. I’m very well pleased with this truck.

 

[AzScorpion]

No problem, it never hurts to ask. The only stupid question is the question that never gets asked. I’ve been around the sun quite a few times and the more trips I make, the more I figure out that if it looks and sounds too good to be true, it most likely is. I suppose there are a few lucky ones out there that have benefited from a warranty program but I never have yet in all my years and I stopped buying them on anything years ago. I did buy a $600 ten oil change and ten tire rotation program when I bought my Ranger five years ago this month but again, that was just paying in advance as I mentioned. Maybe someone will list an instance where their warranty helped but I’m not going to hold my breath on that. I guess I’m one of the lucky ones having clocked just short of 149,000 miles with the rear drive shaft center bearing noise being the only “broke fix” issue to this point. I’m very well pleased with this truck.

You're right it never hurts to ask, that's how we learn. I use to tell my employees "I'd rather have you ask me 10 stupid questions than make 10 stupid mistakes." Trust me I've seen my share of their dumb mistakes!

On that note I did buy a 10/100K ESP for my Ranger for a couple reasons. I knew I was about to retire (usually I buy a new truck every 3 years for the write off) and would probably keep this truck for a while and could write it off through the business. Second was even though it has the updated CDF drum I still didn't trust it and it's just another piece of insurance against that and anything else that could go wrong with it. I definitely wouldn't buy a month to month warranty and would do exactly what was suggested. Some love to be insured, some over insured and some roll the dice and hope it's the right decision. At the end of the day you have to do what helps you sleep better at night

 

[woodworker]

You're right it never hurts to ask, that's how we learn. I use to tell my employees "I'd rather have you ask me 10 stupid questions than make 10 stupid mistakes." Trust me I've seen my share of their dumb mistakes!

On that note I did buy a 10/100K ESP for my Ranger for a couple reasons. I knew I was about to retire (usually I buy a new truck every 3 years for the write off) and would probably keep this truck for a while and could write it off through the business. Second was even though it has the updated CDF drum I still didn't trust it and it's just another piece of insurance against that and anything else that could go wrong with it. I definitely wouldn't buy a month to month warranty and would do exactly what was suggested. Some love to be insured, some over insured and some roll the dice and hope it's the right decision. At the end of the day you have to do what helps you sleep better at night

Exactly right. Having worked on anything over the many years from a 5 HP Briggs & Stratton to several 2400 Mw nuclear reactors, I have made my share of mistakes and witnessed others making mistakes. I used the experience from those mistakes to teach myself and others how NOT to do stuff. I always told my crews in lift briefs that you can always stop a lift or move if something doesn’t sound or look right before it’s too late. I’ll take the heat all day long over a critical path delay but I don’t want the heat for a screw up because you didn’t question the action that didn’t seem right and something got damaged or even worse, someone got hurt. I managed to luckily get out of all those years of mistakes with all eight fingers, two thumbs, and ten toes still attached.
WINNING……!!!!

 

[Danzona]

Hey everyone, I’m looking for your opinion here. My 2021 Ranger STX warranty is about to expire and I got this Ford protect continued service plan in the mail. It’s about 50 some dollars for protection on things like engine and transmission with a $500 deductible. So far my ranger hasn’t had any issues at all. It only has about 36,000 miles on it. Yes I don’t drive it very often.
The question: Do you think it’s worth the $50 a month or just let it expire and just pay as I go.
Personally I’ve never been a fan of extended warranty plans, but I know this forum has said stuff about common big ticket item issues like transmission.

I have a Ford Protect service plan (Gold level) - I bought it directly from the Ford dealer when I bought my truck used from them in 2022. My Ranger is a 2020 and had high mileage for its age, so I felt it was a wise option. This proved to be true when I recently had my transmission serviced - turned out I needed a new valve body installed due to the old one being damaged internally. it was 100% worth the extra money I put into the truck upon purchase.

Now, I completely agree with the others above that a pay-by-the-month plan isn't a great option. If you can put money aside in a high-yield savings account, or hang onto it in some other way in case of an emergency repair need, that may work really well. In my case, the total cost of the service plan was added to the initial purchase price - yes, it increased my total cost, but I've used it twice since I bought the truck. Once for body damage I discovered not long after purchase (looked like someone had tried to crowbar the passenger door open), later for the transmission issue mentioned above (there is a whole separate thread about that that I updated earlier today).

My recommendation is to contact Ford Protect directly - the website is https://fordprotect.ford.com/extended-service-plan. If the ad you got was actually from Ford, I'd trust it a lot more than if it came from some fly-by-night 3rd party reseller - I agree with Grumpaw that those are definitely a scam and a half.

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