On November 18 my wife and I bought a used car and purchased the First Future 2 year/24K mile extended service agreement for $1,695. The coverage of the First Extended Service Corp extended service agreement was in effect 11/18/07 though 11/18/09.in late October I noticed that the car had a rough idle in the mornings, but ran fine once the car warmed up. When the check engine light came on, I promptly took it to my local mechanic on 10/29/09. This visit documents that the problem with the car developed well within the 2 year coverage agreement.
The mechanic suspected a vacuum leak so the problem was thought to be a minor. I returned to my mechanic on 11/03/09 as the cars idle progressively became worse in the morning. The mechanic performed several maintenance items that he thought would help; Oil conditioner, fuel injector cleaner, combustion chamber cleaner and throttle body cleaner. He informed me that it could take up to 2 weeks before I would see any difference. After two weeks without improvement, I returned the car to the shop on 11/21/09 for further diagnosis. At that time they discovered it was not a simple fix. The car failed the block test and the problem was identified as a bad head gasket three days after the extended service agreement ended. After returning home, the car has not been driven since for fear of further damage. The car has since been towed to be repaired at an engine shop.
The following Monday after the diagnosis, 11/23/09, I contacted First Extended Service Corp and the Customer Service Rep denied my claim, as it was reported after the term of the agreement. I asked to speak with his supervisor, Mike Green. Mr. Green stated that he understood my situation and asked that I fax the supporting documentation to him for review. On 11/24/09 I followed up with Mr. Green and was informed that my claim was still denied since there was too much of a lag time between my second and third visit to my local mechanic, (visits on 11/03/09 and 11/21/09). I made a second appeal and spoke with Mike Nolan the claims manager and was also denied coverage.
Since I purchased a two year extended warranty, I would expect that the car would be under warranty for the full two years and any problem that is documented within that time would be covered. The service agreement does not mention that a claim need to be filed with in the two year window, only that the car is covered for 24 months from the date of sale. The problem was evident and documented well within that dates of coverage.
I tried to appeal to the dealership which sold the service agreement to me, but it appears that they are no longer in business. I also tried to appeal my case to The Virginia Surety Company (which appears to be the same company) who insured the selling dealers obligations (as indicated on the back of the service agreement) and discovered that they already had a file on my case and that my car was not eligible for the warranty since it was not fully diagnosed until after the agreement had expired.
Dont bother purchasing an extended warranty from First Future youd be better off just putting in a savings account.
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