One of my companies owns a fleet of trucks. My drivers, though responsible, put the trucks through the natural wear and tear that driving them hundreds of miles a week will cause. They drive safely and carefully, but in the end, the elements win over. Parts wear out with use, and for that reason, I opt for the extended warranty on every vehicle I buy, be it for my business or my family.

My business has saved literally thousands of dollars in maintenance repairs because of extended warranties. Last year alone I had five different trucks that needed repairs caused by just regular wear, and thanks to my extended warranty, I didn't spend a dime. Without these warranties, I literally would have been out over 2000 bucks. But when the problems arose, I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that we were covered. I just had my drivers take the vehicle down to our local dealer where his mechanics fixed the problem pronto and put my drivers back on the road. And again, I was never out the cash for fixing them.

I admit that I hesitated the first time I bought a vehicle to put an extended warranty on it. After all, they cost on average around an extra $1500, and when you are buying a new vehicle to boot, the extra 15K seems a bit excessive. But a year later when vapors start rolling off the gas tank and you scratch your head wondering why your new car is malfunctioning, you can just take it over to the qualified mechanic and ask him to fix it without even asking for an estimate. There goes your $1500, and that was just the first fix. The next one could have cost you even more.

Extended warranties buy you more than just repairs. They buy you security. When my wife calls me from the grocery store saying that something sounds "funny" on the car, we both rest in the security that this little ping will not take a chunk out of my next pay check.

Warranties cover a variety of things. They will cover basic maintenance on the car often times along with everything under the hood and in the car, like blinkers, engines, and even automatic car seat adjustments. If your lumbar support starts to deflate, you do not have to worry about spending extra cash on an obvious luxury because your warranty will cover it.

In the end, one has to wonder why he would not include a warranty on his new vehicle. If you have the cash to fork over every time something goes wrong, then I can see why you might want to reconsider the warranty, but if you have saved for years for this particular car or truck, then save a little longer, and get the warranty. You just never know when you will need it.