Good Times Protection Plan...

[JaeL]

Mines expires at the end of the month. 1 more year for $286, 2 years $330, 3 years $418 and 4 years for $528. New baby coming on Monday really shouldn't be spending money on myself.... My Ninja is an 2008 and I haven't had any problems other than my tail light, but it has been dropped on more than one occasion. This is my first bike so I don't really have a gauge for **** going wrong with it as opposed to a car so I don't know what to expect. I'm just looking for some feedback. I don't plan on ever selling it, but I will get a new bike in 2011.

[backinthesaddleagain]

i would pass on it. in fact my dealer even told me to pass on it.

[noche_caliente]

from yesterday:
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=24541

[TrueFaith]

Extended warranty plans offered by manufacturers are usually a very bad idea. The Good Times Protection Plan is no exception. If you've had the bike a year the chances of something that is covered by the plan going wrong are remote.

[billmi]

Consumer Reports did an article about extended warranty programs in general (not just for vehicles) a few years back, and said that on a national average they pay out 1 to 10, which isn't very good odds.

If you read through the deductible, coverage limits, and exclusions you may find it's not as protective as the people selling it would like you to think.

I was offered an extended warranty my phone, and when I added up its cost over 2 years and considered its deductable, it would be cheaper to just buy a new phone than use the policy during that time.

Yesterday, I received a letter telling me the bumper to bumper coverage on my car is about to expire, and recommending I buy an extended warranty, telling my how expensive a transmission is to replace - and totally ignoring that the policy would not cover my transmission, since it is still covered under the car's drivetrain warranty that has several years and miles left.

[Alex]

I've had good luck with the Good Times plan in the past. I had a number of things go wrong with a ZX-12R after the basic warranty would have expired, and it ended up saving me a few thousand $, way more than it cost to have that same plan on all of my kawasakis put together to date. Some more info in this thread.

[g21-30]

Fremont has the plan (4 yrs) available on Ebay:

http://tinyurl.com/nt5ejv

for $375. When I bought my bike in Nov '08, I mentioned this to my dealer and got the warranty for $350. If my ignitor has to be replaced after the first year, the plan has paid for itself!

[Sailariel]

I went for an additional two years on the warranty. 1)Because of Sunny`s (Blue Tyke`s)experience. 2)Friend and Friend in Ellsworth ME has an exceptional hands on service manager and some really experienced wrenches.

[Nickds7]

I'd skip it... unless you are crazy unlucky, all the warranties you buy in your lifetime won't cover that amount it payouts.

Alex, your experience is from a zx-12r, not a ninja 250r, a $3,999 msrp bike.

[Alex]

And luckily, the price of that extended warranty on the ninjette is lower than on the larger bikes as well. There are any number of things that can go wrong with a bike after 1 year that could be money out of pocket, even if someone does all of their own work flawlessly. On the 12R two of the problems were a catalytic converter that basically exploded/disintegrated fully in the exhaust system, and I got an all-new exhaust out of it. OEM price is > $1000. The bike developed some tiny stress cracks on the front and side fairing, and they replaced that for free under warranty after the bike was several years old, OEM price for the front/side fairings approached $1000. Without the extended warranty, I would have been out of pocket a good amount on the exhaust with no choice in the matter, and I probably would have lived with the cracks/cosmetic issues rather than spend the money. But I'm glad I didn't have to make that choice.

There is no right answer here, folks. It may work out, it may not, and nobody's forcing anyone to choose either way. Those who are adamant that these are such a bad bet may very well turn out to be the same ones wishing they had it 18 months into ownership when they finally want to get that CDI replaced... Or maybe not.

[Snake]

When I first bought my bike 5 yrs ago I got the extended warranty for a total of 4 years of coverage. Luckily nothing has gone wrong with the bike. I still feel that for the price I paid (aprox $400) it was good insurance because you never know what can happen.
Perhaps i will start a poll to see how many people have had problems with their bikes and after how many years the problem(s) happened.

[Banzai]

One thing to worry about with aftermarket warranties.....they're really NOT warranties but cleverly disguised insurance plans.

The fine print also says that they can use a like item, in same or similar condition and mileage to the original. Translate=they can use used parts that fit, and have NO obligation to provide anything in "new" condition.

Example, your engine goes out after 10K miles for something covered under warranty. They can replace your engine with anything from a completely new one, to a rebuilt one, to a used one from God only knows where as long as it has no more miles on it than the one they replace.

Buyer beware!

With warranties, especially aftermarket, you RARELY get exactally what you think you paid for.

The Kawi plan seems pretty reasonable on what it provides, but with 1 in 10 pay out on average, it's a long shot.

[Alex]

I would take that 1 in 10 number with a grain of salt. Was that on everything from refrigerators to lawn mowers? Or on vehicles in general? Or on motorcycles specifically? On Kawi's or Benelli's? It's a rule of thumb, but not sure if anyone can tell us whose thumb and how solid a rule it is.

What can be assumed is that it's a bet that on average will pay off for the company offering the terms of the bet, otherwise they wouldn't be offering it. But assuming that it will only be worthwhile for 1 in 10 owners, rather than 3 in 10, or 4 in 10, remains an open question that won't be answered by anyone without much more detailed information on claims data for the kawi warranty.

[Banzai]

Having once been married to an insurance underwriter, I can tell you with certainty that pay out on insurance is more like a 1 in 100,000 shot, in favor of the insurance guy. Hard to imagine a warranty being much different.

In any case, if you take it on trends of ownership as reported here in this admittedly small sample and short duration, there are relatively few items that have gone bad with the new gen Ninjas.

Most notable among them is the heat related CDI issue. But even that can range from annoying to actually impacting the performance of the bike. Certainly, other than the lottery of factory parts, there is no fix from Kawi. Hard to leverage the long term cost of the warranty against a hope for a fix.

[richierich781]

I say get it. It can save u out of pocket cost. I got a 4 year warranty from my dealer for $360 when I got my bike and if I don't use it after the four years then they will give it back to me via in store credit.
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[BlueRaven]

I got it cause it came with Roadside Assistance. I will always buy an extended warranty on every vehicle that i buy. I've learned my lesson with last vehicle which the warranty had just expired and did not buy the extended warranty. It would of cost me $3,000 if Nissan Canada hadn't decided to cover it. I figure for a few hundred dollars it's worth the peace of mind.