From a dealer perspective, extended warranties on new and pre-owned vehicles have been a fabric of genuine protection for their customer bases for decades and a stream of revenue in variable and fixed operations.  Extended warranties enable a dealer to maintain a consumers vehicle and increase customer retention for the dealership.  We have seen warranty companies come and go for years, so to us, this is part of the automotive landscape.  Dealers are, in most cases, very sincere in backing any of the products that they have vetted themselves and sold at their dealership, and have paid in hundreds of thousands to right a wrong by endorsing a warranty company that has simply run out of funds and reinvent themselves under a new name to continue an assault against our customers and industry for years.  

With a rise in longevity of consumer vehicle ownership, fixed operations in dealerships have seen a sharp increase in business and the need for extended service contracts that are designed to insulate the consumer against the cost of repairs that often come in numbers that are not budget friendly to the average consumer that lives month to month.  As dealers we must be vigilant in informing the consumer of the advantages to our store bought products vs. extended service contracts that are printed in a number one font and accepted nowhere. 

Any dealership management staff should really look hard at the finance department, where a majority of dealership endorced extended service contracts are sold, and have them lift the mask for the consumer that really does appreciate solid automotive breakdown coverage.  We can back our product because of our servicing and reconditioning of a vehicle, most of the companies are claiming to back vehicles without a proper mechanical inspection of a vehicle, which makes no sense when the risk to large claims can loom for these companies crippling the ability to process and pay claims.  Have your finance department research this and share their finding with our customers.