Contrary to what others are posting about not getting the warranty, I would suggest you purchase one. I bought my 1999 Trans Am Firehawk with 60,000km on it, ex-lease. I bought the 3 year, up to 120,000km GM warranty for about $1200. I've had three things go wrong with the car in the 45,000km I've driven it: the headlight motor went out, the air conditioning high pressure hose blew (so the air conditioning had to be recharged), and the water pump needed replacement. All three were fixed under warranty. So the warranty more than paid for itself. Unless you are mechanically-tallented, which I'm not, and want to "roll the dice" on the reliability of a used car, I'd suggest buying the GM extended warranty. It was money well spent, for me.

 

yea well my trans did just that and was never abused,it went out at 34,000 miles and warenty did nothing about it!!!
now to get it rebuilt at a speed shop(stage II rebuild and a stall converter)cost $1500.00.i say save the money and get ready for any repairs(if needed)and not get their warenty.

 

I had a bad 02 sensor when I bought mine but the dealer fixed it after I bought the car. I had to replace the BCM after about a month. 400 bucks I think it was with one year GM parts and labor warranty. The alarm still gives problems if it rains alot and stuff gets real wet ????? The dealer says there is nothing wrong with it though. Go figure. I would not purchase the warranty but I would have the car inspected at another dealer or by a mechanic you trust. I have 108 k on my motor now with nothing major wrong. (KNOCK ON WOOD)

 

The 4L60E shares alot of it's components from the Turbo 350. In fact from the guy that rebuilt mine for my LT1 for race spec he said it was pretty much an electronically controlled Turbo 350. I wouldn't worry about your tranny. I was pushing alot of horsepower before it went (600+ at the crank). I wouldn't get the warranty. You probably will spend less than what the warranty will cost and it will last till 100K miles.
Later
Nate

 

Um......it's a little more than a turbo 350. Maybe like 20 years of difference, i'm sure they added more than electronic controls. Notice the words "alot of horsepower before it went". Hmmm, maybe that's why it did blow. The 4L60E can't safely handle that much power, of course it won't make it past 100K. So you buy a warrant just to replace a tranny every 100k, as the car gets more miles, the warranty prices go up or become nonexistant. Why not just get one that will last longer than the car and performs great for life for a one time price. If your "guy" that rebuilt yours said it could handle 600hp, he is an idiot, and if it could handle it then why were you rebuilding it. Not safe at all.

 

I noticed you missed some key words. Like "it's BASICALLY a turbo 350" and "it shares SOME of the same components as a turbo 350". Also that's a stock 4L60E handling 600+ HP for 3 years on a car that had 117K miles on it when the stock (meaning it hadn't been rebuilt yet) transmission did go. After it was rebuilt I used it for a year like that and then sold it. The guy that bought it, changed some engine components around and added 12PSI of boost along with the 100 shot of nitrous and everything else I had done to it. As far as I know, that transmission is still running because I still see that car every weekend at the track and the guy that bought it hasn't said anything to me about the tranny going bad again. It's been about 2 years since I sold it. I owned a '94 Trans Am. I'll ask him how it's been holding up if you really want to know. If you have any doubts about the 4L60E not being able to handle alot of horsepower, you might want to ask on the LT1 forums also, I know there was a video a couple years back of an '96 Impala SS on the dyno running over 700WHP and 700RWTQ with a built 4L60E. I'd find someone like that and ask them how it handled it.
Later
Nate

 

I definately think the extended warranty is crap! Not worth it. Most of the time they will try to make an excuse not to fix it anyways

 

I hope I am understanding this correctly, but they want to sell you a 3yr/36000 mile warranty for a car with 32000 miles already on it for $1300?

I have never seen these packages sold on cars that are outside the manufacturers warranty. In other words, I have seen them on new cars where the warranty ends on whichever comes first the mileage or the years. So at first glance I was like "wait a minute"

However, if the warranty is 3yr from YOUR purchase date or after you have added 36000 miles to it, its not a bad deal. On new cars, the chances that the car will see any major damage by then is slim. But on a 98, who knows. I had an ext warranty on my 98 camero V6 and actually used it for a couple of repairs. But the amount of repairs were small and the warranty didn't pay for itself during the life of the warranty.

In my past experiences, warranty's are given more for piece of mind for the owner and a quick buck for the dealers.

 

Think of the warranty like car insurance. If you need it you are glad you have it. If you never need it you are wishing you spent the money on mods.

I've bought many a new cars, and know lots of guys in the new car biz. Extended warranties are a huge profit item for the dealer. No way I'd spend $1300 for the warranty. If they won't come down to, say $700 I'd forget the warranty.

Here's the thing on extended warranties ... You don't need to buy it from the dealer. There are many other reputable warranty companies out there who will sell you a warranty for way less than $1300. In fact, if you buy the car new in about 3 years your mail box will start to fill up with warranty offers. The only down side is you can't put the price of the warranty in the car note like you can with the dealer. BUT many of these "aftermarket" warranty companies will offer an installment plan. Most any car mechanic will take the warranty (they don't care whose name is on the check).

Obviously, the older the car the more likely it is to break down. Emissions parts, air conditioners, tranny rebuilds, rearend rebuilds (mine was history at 25k) are very expensive to fix.

My $.02 is take the warranty if you can get it for $700 or so. If not, pick up an aftermarket warranty (make sure you research the warranty company to make sure they are legit!) when the original warranty is about to expire.

 

Well, for it to go 3 years with that much power, I think you lucked out. Do you know for a fact that the new own didn't install a new tranny? cuz 600hp + 100shot + 12psi is way more than the stock 4L60E can handle safely. As for that Impala, with a built 4L60E, i have no doubt that it can handle 700rwhp. In fact, my next major mod will be a cmotorsports level II 4L60E capable of 600hp. I'll eventually be running about 550-575 @ the motor. So that will be a nice safe way to handle it. I'm not a big risk taker when it comes to putting hp through stock drivetrains as I have been in a car when the tranny failed because of too much power and literally came apart and off the car at freeway speeds. Very very scary. I just don't want anyone to get hurt.

 

I would definitely get the warranty. You NEVER know what is going to happen. I had the gold (best) warranty on my 1996 3.8L Camaro and it paid off when my tranny died. When I bought my 00' Z28 with 20k miles, I got the warranty on it too. It doesn't make your car payment that much higher, and it makes me feel good to know if I rip out the rear I can get it fixed for $50.

 

I bought my 98 used with 37k miles. i work at a dealer and have seen some of the money that people had saved by having the warranties. i bought one and have gotten 2 jobs done for almost the full amount. i will not have the money to mod the car if something breaks. so this was a good idea for me. maybe i am biased since i work at a dealer but it makes sense to me

 

Warranty good, rabbits foot bad! 2 inj went bad(took them 4 days to find and fix). GM said my car needed the entire fuel system flushed, including dropping the tank. Pwr window motor. Fuel pump(drop the tank again). 2 o2 , and the PCM said to replace itself! I think the warr has more than paid for itself!!! And you say you are light on the pedal, just wait and hold on!