I bought a used 1986 Honda CBC-650 in 1989 from the from the original owner who bought a new bike. The 650 was sitting at the dealer on consignment, still in original owner's name. As I was deciding whether to buy the used bike or a new one, the dealer told the original owner and me that the original owner could still get the 3 year extended warranty for $200, extending the original 3 year warranty. It was the best deal ever. Because while it was a fantastic riding bike it had all sorts of issues. In the three years I owned it both front fork seals leaked, some chain inside the engine broke and the carburetor kept clogging until they replaced the fuel tank (which had rusted). The warranty was limited to the full value of the bike, which when I sold it was about $2,000. The chain inside the engine required the engine to be opened up and would have cost me about $1,500. Aside from the repair itself, the warranty paid for the tow from the breakdown spot. When the engine chain broke I was 250 miles from home. They shipped the bike back to my home dealer for repairs. Ever since I've always gotten the extended warranty if it was available. While no other bike has been as unreliable as that Honda, the extended warranty on my 650 Burgman paid for the crazy drive system/transmission that bike had to be resealed when it started leaking with 17,000 miles on the odo. In 2009 Suzuki was only offering a 12,000 mile warranty, so I paid up for an unlimited mileage +3 years (total 4 years) warranty on that bike. As I recall the repair to the Suzuki was about the cost of the warranty. One thing I do recall was that the dealer was a strong advocate for me (on both bikes) in dealing with the warranty. (as they should have been, I guess).
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