VehicleOne (Universal Warranty Corp.) - Bad guys
 

Back at the end of September 2005 I was planning on a purchase of a used vehicle. As such, I felt it prudent to get some sort of extended warranty on that vehicle so I might be covered for any mechanical or electrical failure that might crop up later on. You never know when buying a used vehicle, so in case there was something wrong (yeah, the guy selling it said it was in "mint" condition"), I would be covered somewhat.

I had been corresponding with Alex Hue of Berger Chevrolet up in Grand Rapids, Michigan about this and Alex offered to get me the warranty at the best price possible. I thought that was right nice of him, and accepted his help.

Anyway, he had a policy drawn up for me through VehicleOne, which is administered by Universal Warranty Corporation in Omaha, NE. Coverage was for 48 months or 48,000 miles and was pretty typical of what I saw for extended warranties for vehicles outside of the factory warranty. They cover ONLY those items that are in a specific list of covered parts, and nothing else. Not exactly what I wanted, but at least it would cover the major stuff. In any event I had the contract signed sealed and delivered, dated 9/29/05 for my 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06.

Well, sometime during the last week of October, my passenger side window stopped working on the vette, so on November 3rd I took it to Champion Chevrolet in Tallahassee to have it looked at. I dropped it off while Connie (my wife) and I did some errands. I gave the service writer the extended warranty details at that time. When I got back late in the afternoon, presumably to pick up my supposedly fixed vehicle, the service writer (Chuck) told me that the claim for the window regulator motor had been denied when he called it in. I then proceeded to show him the warranty contract where it specifically states that the window motor IS covered under warranty. He then checked with the service tech to verify that the regulator and motor is one complete unit, so it's not like one part is covered and the other isn't. So Chuck called back VehicleOne back to discuss this problem. In that subsequent conversation, Chuck was told by whomever it was he spoke to that my policy had been canceled effective immediately. Lovely.............

When I got back home, I contacted Alex Hue about this, since I had gotten the policy through him, and after he had researched the problem, he was told that VehicleOne does not cover the Z06 model Corvette at all. Even though it was plainly spelled out on the contact exactly what vehicle the policy was for and had evidently been seen by several representatives of that company, it wasn't until I needed to file a claim that they decided to cancel the policy out of hand. Now if this had been a MAJOR failure in that vehicle, I would have been royally screwed over by what they had pulled on me. I can't help but wonder if I had NEVER filed a claim if they then would have just happily kept my money for that policy.

And as a matter of fact, except for that second hand information from the Champion Chevrolet service writer via the phone call, I still to this day have not received anything official from that company telling me that the policy has been cancelled. From my perspective, it does appear that VehicleOne will drop a warranty policy such as the one I had at the drop of a hat, with no warning, and regardless of the fact that a signed contract is in effect at the time. Yeah, I suppose I could initiate legal proceedings against them, but what would be the point? I think that every subsequent claim I would file with them would be a major hassle to collect on. One of the reasons someone will get an extended warranty like this is to AVOID the hassles of repairs in a vehicle.

In my opinion, if you are looking for an extended warranty for your vehicle, give a wide berth around VehicleOne and the Universal Warranty Corporation while on your search. Who knows when they may decide to cancel YOUR policy on you?

File a Complaint with Fla Department of Insurance,Michigan Department of Insurance and Nebraska Department of Insurance!!! It will Cost you nothing,and Quite possibly will get there Underwriter License Pulled!!!!!:thumbsup: I did this to a Company that I sold several extended warranty's,after they denied a Clam on a Customer Vehicle that was Clearly within the Guidelines!!!!!:thumbsup::thumbsup: But they Paid the Clam and Then some ofter the Insurance Commissioner got done with them!!!!:lmao::lmao::thumbsup:

Right before I read this post, I got off the phone with a service adviser at Cox Chevy in Bradenton. I made an appointment to have my turn signals looked at. I have an extended warranty, but through a different company. Now I'll have to wait and see what small print I didn't read or wasn't there.

Extended warranties are generally full of surprises. Trying to figure out what is or is not covered is sure to be an issue. Check with your mechanic/service advisors BEFORE you purchase the policy. These guys work with various insurance companies on a daily basis and know which ones are easy to work with. However, if you ask a GM service advisor, you're sure to be steered to GMPP, as they pay them bonus money for each policy they sell. I know, I was a Chevy service advisor.

I just purchased a GMPP for my '07, hope there are no nasty surprises there down the road.....:nonod:

For the C5Z, I decided to just take my chances and pay for repairs as needed. An extended warranty would probably have gotten cancelled anyway once I had the turbos installed.

On the C6, I went with GMPP. I liked the fact that it specifically identified all parts that were NOT covered. Anything not on the list was covered.

Dropped the Vette off this morning for the turn signal problem and got a call from the service adviser. I believe he said the hazard switch was faulty and he called my warranty company and said there was no problem, my bill will just be my deductible. :thumbsup:

Hey Rich,

I didn't see it mentioned in your post, did they give you a full refund?

They should give him a full refund plus interest!

Alex Hue is a personal friend of mine and paid me directly from his personal PayPal account. He has since left that business entirely.

It would have been a real pisser to have had something major blow two years down the road and THEN find out they weren't going to honor the contract. Personally, I would avoid them at all costs.

thought
 

Your problem is with the DEALER not warranty Co. I know of VERY few warranty companies that will sell a VSC on a Z06. Selling a customer a VSC on a car like that is like selling life insurance to someone who has cancer. Its not the fault of the company but the fault of the person who sold it.

CNA National Warranty Corp.
I've had my C5 in the shop on three occasions, and they have only honored my warranty once.

I have a tire and wheel warranty with First Extended Service Corp of Florida.
Five weeks ago, I needed a tire repaired. On a Friday, I called the warranty co. and told them about my situation. I was told to take the car to any tire shop and get it fixed. On the following Monday I did just this and the bill came to $53.00. When I called the warranty co. this time I was told I didn't have pre-authorization so the claim was denied.
I called the Ferman Dealership were I purchased the C5 and warranties. I said I wanted to cancel the crap they sold me. I was told by the finance manager that they would check into the denials, especially the tire repair and get back with me. It has now been 4 weeks and they have not gotten back... I'm not surprised!

i hear you
 

Frustrating indeed. CNA and First Extended are BOTH Dealer owned service contract companies. The Dealer is the one that ultimately makes the decision to fix things or not. All these companies do is administer the monies. I have been in the car biz for 20 years and have seen alot of these companies. Anytime you give a dealer the option or power to approve or turndown a claim its never good for the customer. Go to the dealer principle. Thats where the problem is,

True but they're still and insuracne compnay and as such, to do business in Florida, they need to be authorized by the State of FLorida to operate here.

If they contract clearly stated Z0^ and the VIN # was properly dictated on the paperwork, and they accepted and have continued to accept premiums from you, then they're on the hook for the repairs.

File the complaints as GM stated and get the ball rolling. BTW, you may find the DOI in Florida to be soemwhat less than helpful. A few years back I was informed by them that they "don't have much to do with auto policies???"" WTF???

File the complaints in the multiple jurisdictions and file a complaint on the dealership (if thatis part of the problem) and lets see what happens next?

Sorry, but I disagree. The guy who sold me the contract sent me copies all along the way and they all had "Z06" plainly shown on the contract that eventually was signed and accepted by the warranty company. The guy is a personal friend of mine who also happened to have part ownership in a Chevrolet dealership up on Michigan. He was trying to help me out in finding warranty coverage for my car and to the best of his knowledge that was done when the contract was signed by both parties.

Personally I believe the warranty company was just hoping they could skate by and if I didn't have any claims, would be home free.

And as for the hypothesis that ALL Z06s are going to be run to death and therefore should be uninsurable, I seriously doubt it will hold water. I'm sure MANY MANY Z06s never see the track and are driven no differently than many people will drive their regular C5 or C6 Corvettes.

As with my previous Z28, I was "penalized" by the insurance industry due to demographics. To increase the premiums is one thing. To accept the premuim as stated then refuse to cover is quite the other:(

I'm know I'm late jumping in here but I once had an extended warranty with WARRANTY GOLD. Good rep, sponsor of a NASCAR team for awhile. After about a 1 1/2 years of ownership on the policy I received a letter from some class action suit layers that WG were going chapter 11 and if I wanted all or part of my money back to sign on the dotted line. Another letter saying that put up a bond of $10K and it would be split ....between any of the 20k owners of polices around the country. Meanwhile another letter from WG explaining that they would no longer except any claims from old members but as of a certain date they are back in business and would except claims from new policy holders. :ack2: Never did get a dime back. :mad:

Yeah, I know that sort of crap is probably perfectly legal, but ethically they should all be tarred and feathered and run out of the country on a rail.