Need opinions on whether to buy Extended Warranty for 2 Years for $1,900 on the 2018 242X E-Series I just bought with 50 hours. Have 1 month to decide

[NewBoater]

As title states looking for opinions on whether to buy Extended Warranty for 2 Years for $1,900 on the 2018 242X E-Series I just bought with 50 hours. I called Yamaha and they said this boat has never had any major service repairs or warranty claims as far as they can see it’s been a pretty bullet proof boat. I just bought the boat got it in the lift and cleaned and cover on and winter hit hard and we already have snow. I only drove it from the trailer to my house. Everything seemed to work great but didn’t have a chance to check ballast pumps and bags and all that kind of stuff. Current YES warranty expires March 1st and don’t think I’ll have a chance to drop in in water again before that to test that stuff. What’s everyone’s thoughts? Buy it for $1,900 for piece of mind or save the money and pay for repairs as they come for next 2 years. My old boat had to have the whole dash replaced as water for behind it and the warranty covered it. Few small other things that were covered also. My local dealer seemed to be good with getting things covered. But on the old boat I believe we got a 4 year YES for free with the promotion when we bought boat. So this is a little different as I would be dropping $1,900. Boat is 3 years old 50 hours no major issues so far. Only thing so far I can find is the wind door does not reach all the way to the other side and clip into its holder on the head door. It’s like an inch short at top and fits in at bottom. Pretty weird and no clue how it could be fixed and not sure warranty would cover that? Added a few pics of door below. We won’t use this door much fully open so it’s not a major deal to us either way.

I don’t typically buy extended warranties (cars and other things) but part feels like I didn’t get to check all the stuff as the water was freezing and it’s winter so it might be good piece of mind to have the extra 2 years. Well if Yamaha covers any issues that may arrive under warranty that is.

 

[HangOutdoors]

I guess there are two camps. I am of the mind set that I will would purchase the warranty. I have the 1 year that came with mine that I bought last May, but Yamaha has been sending me the Warranty extension emails, so I will purchase it for a couple years. My thought is that if an engine goes due to something that is covered under the warranty, it pays for itself many times over. Let alone something else is wrong that is not as expensive. Also if I decide to sell it, the warranty, which is transferrable makes it more attractive as well and gives the buyer a piece of mind.

I used to not be a warranty person till I had an engine go in a Ford Fusion 4,000 miles out of the standard warranty. Now I negotiate the best warranty price possible and make sure I have it on big ticket items.

 

[NewBoater]

Any other opinions I would love to hear!

 

[F.M.]

I would personally save the $1900 and pay for any repairs with it.

 

[Dean P]

I've never purchased extended warranties either. The Yami's engines are pretty bullet proof and I wouldn't worry about it. If you're handy at all, I would definitely keep the $$.

 

[tdonoughue]

I did purchase the YES when I bought my (new) 2012. It certainly did not pay for itself. At all. I don't think I had one claim on it. Mostly I bought it because I didn't know anything about working on boats (knew about cars, but not boats) and knew boat repairs can be costly.

Fast forward a few years, and I know a bit more. Today I would not buy the extended warranty. I know how to do too much, the system is too simple, and the engines have been too reliable for me. Yes, there have been issues in Yamaha history (timing chain, oil cooler), but even those issues are likely not as widespread as they seem from the few tragic and well-publicized accounts.

So, I side with @F.M. in in the no warranty camp. Today.

 

[swatski]

I will say - yes, buy the warranty, and add as many years as they let you buy.
1.9k for two years is a good price, even boat show specials those are about $700-800 per year, the lowest prices I know of.

To be clear, I believe you are talking about buying "YES" warranty, correct? It is not a full warranty, covers only major mechanical failures, so NOT a comprehensive "bow to stern" type extended warranty, rather a bare bones one. I come to think of it as... an insurance policy, something I hope to never have to use but would be glad to have it if I ever need it, kind of thing. In the setting of what it covers, things that can actually break, it is actually a relatively cheap insurance policy.

We have had several warranty issues with our 2016 AR240, not all of them resolved, but one major issue that was covered under YES involved replacing the entire new head (the whole assembly) of one of the engines, I would guesstimate 5-6k worth of parts and labor; we have never seen a bill for that.

We just bought a new boat with a Yamaha motor, and got 6 years of warranty on it (3 years of factory coverage plus extra 2+1 years of YES - purchased at additional cost).
So, you could say - I walk the talk, lol.

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[OCMD]

Don't buy it. And never own a Ford either!

 

[HangOutdoors]

Get off the Ford......

 

[212s]

My opinion - don't buy extended warranties as they are just expensive insurance policies and they make money for the seller, not the consumer. Statistically you will never use it and you give your money to the seller with no return. If they were set up so that if you made no claims and they refunded the costs, then it's a win-win, but they don't do that.

With all the warranties over the years I didn't buy, I can easily pay for any failures with the savings.

 

[AZMark]

My opinion - don't buy extended warranties as they are just expensive insurance policies and they make money for the seller, not the consumer. Statistically you will never use it and you give your money to the seller with no return. If they were set up so that if you made no claims and they refunded the costs, then it's a win-win, but they don't do that.

With all the warranties over the years I didn't buy, I can easily pay for any failures with the savings.

This is my take too.
If you really really can’t afford a major repair then you shouldn’t have bought a B.O.A.T.
If you can afford a major repair then save your $1900 until you need it, which probably won’t be in the next 2 years.
Or go gamble it on something more fun than an extended warranty.

 

[AZMark]

I’m not sure what would make your door do that. Mine is a 21ft but the door fits evenly against the other side.

 

[swatski]

If you really really can’t afford a major repair then you shouldn’t have bought a B.O.A.T.

That is very true, but as far as the OP question of buying extra warranty - it is "true, true, and unrelated".
Albeit far from perfect, Yamaha/dealer warranty does provide the owner with priority access to parts and service, and it could be essential for getting back on the water.
Some major Yamaha parts, like whole engines, head assemblies, are simply not readily available to general public to buy.
Don't ask me how I know, lol.

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[swatski]

As title states looking for opinions on whether to buy Extended Warranty for 2 Years for $1,900 on the 2018 242X E-Series I just bought with 50 hours. I called Yamaha and they said this boat has never had any major service repairs or warranty claims as far as they can see it’s been a pretty bullet proof boat. I just bought the boat got it in the lift and cleaned and cover on and winter hit hard and we already have snow. I only drove it from the trailer to my house. Everything seemed to work great but didn’t have a chance to check ballast pumps and bags and all that kind of stuff. Current YES warranty expires March 1st and don’t think I’ll have a chance to drop in in water again before that to test that stuff. What’s everyone’s thoughts? Buy it for $1,900 for piece of mind or save the money and pay for repairs as they come for next 2 years. My old boat had to have the whole dash replaced as water for behind it and the warranty covered it. Few small other things that were covered also. My local dealer seemed to be good with getting things covered. But on the old boat I believe we got a 4 year YES for free with the promotion when we bought boat. So this is a little different as I would be dropping $1,900. Boat is 3 years old 50 hours no major issues so far. Only thing so far I can find is the wind door does not reach all the way to the other side and clip into its holder on the head door. It’s like an inch short at top and fits in at bottom. Pretty weird and no clue how it could be fixed and not sure warranty would cover that? Added a few pics of door below. We won’t use this door much fully open so it’s not a major deal to us either way.

I don’t typically buy extended warranties (cars and other things) but part feels like I didn’t get to check all the stuff as the water was freezing and it’s winter so it might be good piece of mind to have the extra 2 years. Well if Yamaha covers any issues that may arrive under warranty that is.

mine is the same way. those hulls are... flexible. I wouldn't worry about this.
Be carful not to ride with the center windshield closed in rough water, it will go through and cause damage. DOn't ask how I know. I'm on my third or forth.
You may see the size of that gap changing depending on where the boat sits, in the water vs on the lift vs on the trailer.
the FRP shell is strong but flexible. The hull and gunnels are paper thin (about 1/8 - 1/4" thin in some places, it's unreal), and they flex, a lot.
The good: these boats are light and easy to trailer.

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[tdonoughue]

Statistically you will never use it and you give your money to the seller with no return.

Just in fairness (and remember, I am in the 'anti' camp), I think we should clarify this. Statistically you will not use all of the money you put in. True. But you may use the coverage (and you may even use it to get more value than you put in). Because it is statistical, I don't think you can say 'never'. The nature of insurance, though, is that you are always paying more premium than you get in benefit--just in case you have a loss.

Important to recognize (for all of us) that there is no right answer to OP's question. It is a matter of your level of comfort with risk.

 

[GunsBoatsBikes]

Extended warranty on a Yamaha.....well that seems somewhat counter-intuitive but I’ll press on. If a catastrophic failure is to happen... 90% of the time it’s in infancy. That’s true both mechanically and electrically. If you break the boat in and do the initial service (assuming you use the boat >20hrs in year 1. You have cleared most major manufacture defects. Spending $1900 is not really an insurance policy it’s covering Yamaha Finances ability to offer 0% and widen the net on credit risk for that program during a pandemic or other financial crisis. A few rules of thumb. If they give it to you take it. If they give it to you for free it shows what the overall value really is. So we all know in the past they would hand these out in a negotiation (pre 2020). So if it was free then....it’s free now......free to a dealer = low to no value.

 

[ZGhost]

When these warranties change to # of occurrences instead of years, I’ll buy them. If they offered me a $1900 warrentry that covered say 3 occurrences over unlimited time, I would take it. That is value as I can choose which repairs I should apply it for. Major ones of course. But you have to ask if the has 50 hrs and there are no issues, I think you are past the worrisome time and statistics would suggest you shouldn’t have any major issues. So in my opinion, not a good investment to buy it.
however, warranties to some people are peace of mind and let them sleep better at night so it’s really somewhat of a personal choice. I think you‘ve heard it from both camps so you can now make up your mind. The most important thing is congratulations and enjoy every summer hour on the boat with friends and family

 

[mark_m]

Save the 2 grand. This website is your best source of knowledge on how to repair your boat!

 

[Chris Kasz]

Where did you get quoted $1900? I just got a 2018 242x for a Yamaha dealer and paid $2500 for an extended 2 year warranty which I think is a decent deal.

 

[jocolo21]

80 hrs on my 252se, so far no mayor issues just small thing i will get it covere with the 1 year warranty, on my 2019 242 i used the extended warranty to repair really minor stuff before the new owner taking delivery, latche on the cleanout port corroded and broke $80 for both and the seadeck over the engine blew off thats it. To tranfer the warranty over the new owner it has to be inspected by a yamaha dealer $175 new owner paid for it. Im debatibg about extending the warranty but like others have said you might get away saving money doing it yourself