Legacy Protection Plan, is it worth the money?

[SeaGreg]

I am faced with the decision of spending aprox $12k for the Legacy Protection Plan. I have read that it is a complete waste of money as there are too many exclusions as well as praise for "catastrophic failure" being covered. I would really appreciate some feedback on this subject as the peace of mind would be great but the agony of exclusions could make me feel ripped off.

 

[Converse48]

See if your dealer will give you the full paperwork on the warranty in advance. When I bought a 44DB new in 2007 the dealer would not until I bought it ($15k) but I had 30 days to cancel. I bought it, read the paperwork, and cancelled. The deductibles were too high and the exclusions to great for me to pull the trigger. Plus, after just having bought a new boat, that $15k was looking pretty good in my pocket.

That was the right choice for ME (particularly in retrospect), that doesn't mean it is the right choice for YOU. I looked at it this way, if I didn't buy the warranty I saved 15k. That meant that I had 15K in my pocket to pay for any repairs in the first five years; so I took that chance and "self-insured". Again, in retrospect, I had no problems over the 5 years so it was the right call. But that is too easy to say after the fact.

I also did not plan to sell the boat within the first five years. If I had planned to sell it, I may have considered the warranty since I think it does make a particular used boat more attractive. Not that you'd get any more money for it, but if a buyer were looking at two identical boats and one had the warranty and the other didn't, they's clearly pick the one with the warranty. So there is that aspect of it as well.

So basically view this as "insurance" and not a warranty. Read the coverage in the policy and see if you feel the insurance offers enough protection to cover the cost in your circumstances.

Good luck in your decision.

 

[SeaGreg]

Thanks for your reply, I have reviewed the brochure and shared it with a few captains of larger yachts. They too reiterated it is more of an "insurance" than anything else. To my knowledge, from what I have read, the warranty is actually sold and enforced by a dealer (MarineMax in my case) and they are the ones who have to deal with third and fourth party providers to get reimbursed for work done under the Legacy Protection Plan. It is a lot of documentation and follow up which they rather not do and simply deem your issue as an "exclusion" since it is easier to bill you for work and potentially put a lien on your boat than to fight on your behalf to get paid.

I am a bit disappointed that Brunswick Marine doesn't govern this warranty and turns it over to the individual dealers. I'm really on the fence with this as it would be nice to have the coverage of all the items the brochure touts it does (appliances, engines, generator, A/C, windlass etc) but I've read that many people who try to use it are told the repair isn't covered due to "neglect or lack of maintenance" even if the issue isn't an exclusion.

 

[dpmulvey]

$12K buys a lot of fuel. You could darn near put in an engine for that.

ALL "Protection Plans" are a cash cow for Marine Max and auto dealers and home depot and.........

 

[Gofirstclass]

I'd say no, but that depends on what effect a major breakdown would do to your budget. If a $25K engine replacement would head you to bankruptcy, then you might consider it.

Also, keep in mind that if you have a major breakdown that is not due to faulty maintenance on your part, your boat insurance might cover it. Say you hit s submerged log, for example. Your insurance will likely cover most of the repair, minus your deductible.

I've never bought those service contracts because they are a HUGE profit maker for the dealer that sells them and the insurance company and I prefer to self insure. Knock on wood, thus far with 35 years of owning boats and never buying them it has paid off.

 

[BillK2632]

Unless it is directly from the manufacture (ie Mercruiser to extend warranty on engines for example) I have never seen a program (these are not warranties, they are basically insurance programs) that was worth the money. Wether cars, boats, electronics, whatever - huge, huge money makers for the seller. On the other hand, the last new boat I bought, toward the end of my first year of ownership, Mercruiser offered to extend the warranty on the engines and outdrives for another 5 years, I forget the exact price, but it was under $2k. I bought it and was glad I did, it gave me some piece of mind and paid off - BUT this was a warranty directly from the manufacture, not a third party insurance plan.

 

[fwebster]

The value depends upon your service provider and the warranty plan.

Brunswick has a division that does warranty plans and it is available to Sea Ray dealers. I am not familiar with the "Legacy Protection Plan", but I'm not the target market for extended warranties so I am not current. Here is a link to the Brunswick warranty page where they mention Passport and Passport Premier plans, which I am familiar with.

http://www.boatwarranty.com


If your dealer has a good relationship with the warranty company and can dance with the system, then approvals are easy and the warranty on a 6 year old gas boat will probably pay off. A well managed service department with a full time warranty clerk probably makes more $$/hour on the Brunswick warranty plans than they do from retail customers so they want warranty work as opposed to trying not to get it.

On the other hand, $15K buys a lot of air conditioners, pumps and refrigerator/icemaker compressors. I'd be real close to self insuring on this one......................

 

[SeaGreg]

The Legacy Protection Plan is offered through Brunswick Marine, you would think that it is as good as a warranty directly from Mercruiser considering they own it as a sub brand in the umbrella. I am afraid that since I am buying the boat through a private party MarineMax will not accomodate the repairs as they really tried, and almost did, to sell me one of their boats and the plan. What a tough call, it is really not an easy decision to make and I agree with all of you, it is a lot of money that could be better spent elsewhere...

 

[dpmulvey]

The Legacy Protection Plan is offered through Brunswick Marine, you would think that it is as good as a warranty directly from Mercruiser considering they own it as a sub brand in the umbrella. I am afraid that since I am buying the boat through a private party MarineMax will not accomodate the repairs as they really tried, and almost did, to sell me one of their boats and the plan. What a tough call, it is really not an easy decision to make and I agree with all of you, it is a lot of money that could be better spent elsewhere...

MarineMax has enough problems.

Your thought process makes me think back in history to the days of indentured servitude, payola or an offshoot of human trafficing....all of which are frowned upon.

The plan is offered "THROUGH" Brunswick. It is not underwritten by them. If it were, they would have fixed their riser issue before the second boat hit the water....nope....off to court. They also would have ceased painting the inside of the cool fuel systems after Gen1. Both of those can cause expensive repairs if not catastrophic failure.

 

[ShaneOnYou]

For what it is worth... I just bought it...

Marine max sells it, but it's a Brunswick produxt...
Gave it to the Svc mgr at my marina and he was pretty confident that it was worth it...

MarineMax does not need to do the repairs, any marina can do it and put the claim in...

Everyone situation is different... I personally would rather have the peace of mind...

 

[skolbe]

I passed on my 320 when I bought it new. It was around 8k. What I realized was the engines had a 3 year warranty and the generator had a 3 year warranty. I really had only a few electrical cheap items it fix during that time. So I am glad I didn't buy it.

My father had a 290 Amberjack that both outdrives failed. The extended warranty paid for rebuilt drives. He paid 5k for the warranty and the drives alone made it worth the expense. My dad at the time paid extra for new drives. So for him he did quite well on the extended warranty.

 

[SeaGreg]

From the sounds of it I should really develop a relationship with a mechanic (which I believe I have already started) and go over the warranty with them to see if they will be able to fight on my behalf should something come up. It really is a tough decision because it is a lot of money but then again ShaneOnYou just defended its value. What to do, what to do... :huh: