Extended Service Agreement Experience

[venomvee]

250 PRO XS 2B735045

I recently purchased a 3 year extension of Platinum coverage for my motor. After reading the details of the service agreement limitations, I had a hard time determining just what repairs they actually will cover.
Some key exclusions are: seals, normal wear, compression loss in cylinders, of course anything damaged by physical force contact, such as lower units. I was just wondering what other forum members might have experienced when they have needed to use the extended coverage. Have there been repairs that surprised you when they did not cover the cost? I'm kinda having buyers remorse, thinking I should have just saved the money for repairs, since Mercury will likely exclude almost any serious claim based on their exclusionary clauses. For example, they sell the agreement by mentioning expensive items like an alternator.
Well if I have run my motor for 4 years, and the alternator quits, why would that not be classified as "normal wear". Obviously no mechanical part has an infinite service life. And the agreement does not list any natural life expectancy for an alternator. I think when we buy these contracts, we assume all of the listed covered items will be paid for if they break, but maybe not. Each has to be approved by Mercury in order for repair to be paid by the plan.

Anyway, just wondering how many happy service contract holders might be willing to testify.

Thanks.

[Dodger123]

I'm following this as I am curious on comments. New 40/hp and purchased Platinum coverage.

Dodger123

[printman71]

An outboard extended service agreement is kinda like health insurance for me.
It will take care of the catastrophic events, and I will take care of the day to day normal maintenance items.

2022 Mercury 250L Pro XS 3B093561 hanging on a 2022 BassCat Cougar

[moymurfs]

Have a 150. At 12 hours it lost oil pressure-went into guardian mode and I limped slowly back to the dock. Faults said low oil-check oil level. I had the platinum plan (properly transferred to me since I bought it used). Took it to my local dealer who plugged it in. They pulled up the running history and saw it had NOT been abused. Found metal chunks in the sump. Merc sent a new, not remann'ed power head. The old one went in the same crate back to Merc for autopsy. Never heard what component(s) caused the issue. Had to do the break-in and its run great ever since. My cost : $0.00
Oh, this was PRE-covid.

[EuropeanAM]

Perhaps this will help: For EVERY SINGLE new Mercury or Mercruiser engine I've purchased, I also purchased the maximum-allowed term of PLATINUM Product Protection.

Those of you that know me personally know that I wear black shirts, and have even been thought to "bleed black" if I nick my arm. However: Stuff happens, and that's why I personally opt for the coverage. Not only are the parts provided... my time is covered too (this coming from someone that "could" to the labor himself without having to pay).

MPP is a non-declining coverage, and does not have any limitation on hours AFTER it's written. The key FACTOR in coverage is that it covers DEFECTS (not I broke it, it froze, I hit a rock, it wore out, etc). Certain items are considered wear items, and in general, those include maintenance items listed in the maintenance schedule, as well as items made of plastic, rubber, foam, and gaskets.

There are a few general areas of failures, and clarifying those will help you to understand.

1. Wear and Tear: Let's say you have an engine that you've put 10,000 hours on. It's indeed still covered if within the time period. However: High leakdown due to worn piston rings would be considered wear-and-tear. A broken wristpin or rod (with no evidence of water intrusion or abuse) is NOT normal wear and tear, and in that case, it's likely the powerhead would be replaced (entirely). In your case of the Alternator question- a failure of the voltage regulator, windings, case, armature/stator, etc. would be in most cases considered a DEFECT, and thus covered.

2. Abuse, Neglect or Impact: These causes are relatively straightforward. Run into a rock, break off 1/2 the gearcase, that's NOT a warranty claim (it's insurance). Neglect to change your water pump when water pressure drops (even in the first year): That's both neglect AND abuse. Not covered. PCM Fault History Reports are used to help with determinations in this area... when there's a failure and we see 1-3 counts of the fault, and appropriate runtime to safely get to port, it's almost never a problem. I did once see a 150 Optimax that had been run for over 740 minutes while overheating. I personally counted 27 cracks in the engine block and cylinder heads. *** That is NEGLECT, about as clearly as it can be described. Failure to perform all of the recommended maintenance, when specified (by dates or engine hours, whichever occurs first) can potentially factor into a situation as well.

3. Wear and Tear: Worn out piston rings, loss of performance due to wear, etc. are not actually DEFECTS. They are naturally occurring wear and tear.

4. (Did you know that the above items also aren't covered under the FACTORY warranty?)


All of this being said- I deal with engines under Factory Warranty (and Platinum Product Protection) almost every day. I have seen Mercury stand behind their product in cases that I personally did NOT think they had to. I can't think of even one instance where there was a question in my mind that a claim was "wrongfully" denied, provided the appropriate documentation was provided and the DEFECT, as well as the accurate CAUSE of failure were notated.

I have seen a number of cases where the consumer received their product back in better condition (new powerhead, gearcase, etc)- and in at least one clearly abusive case ***, they even offered to cover half the cost of the parts to replace the powerhead. THAT right there is what I call going above and beyond.

They key is having a servicing dealer that will go out of their way to find the problem, document the defect, locate and NAME the cause, Clarify the Corrective Action needed, and then detail what was done to fully correct the DEFECT in material or workmanship.

Whew... that's a lot of material, but hopefully it helped.

[Dodger123]

This helped immensely ^^^ I would save it as a sticky. Thanks for taking the time to explain it.

Dodger123

[venomvee]

Thanks Don. That put me at ease about my future with the Platinum Service agreement. And your point about the value of a good service dealer is important. I wish I could have you as my service dealer.

[JS!]

Excellent information from a well-established expert in the field. (Post #5, obviously) Purchasing a service contract such as Mercury's Platinum Protection (as well as the lower levels) is a gamble on your part: By purchasing, you are betting that your motor (or parts) will fail within the guidelines of the contract - And Mercury is betting that it won't. That's the insurance business in a nutshell. Every insurance policy is weighted to the issuer - if they did not make money, they would not offer it. That is not to say in any way to sway anyone from purchasing a service contract. Just pointing out that they would not sell such contracts if they did not make profit. That said, more power to you if owning a service contract works for you.

AND 100% agree it depends on your dealer.

[Gamblerman65]

Definitely depends on the dealer.

[mikesxpress]

PLATINUM Product Protection for these engines is mandatory in my opinion. It's not much $ for engine insurance. You pay allot more for vehicle coverage. Keep in mind no seals are covered. And yes that includes your lower unit seals.

[gehol]

Check the price of platinum coverage when there is an "R" on the end. Need to be setting down.

[Pulsare2020]

Check the price of platinum coverage when there is an "R" on the end. Need to be setting down.

I have a 300R and I agree with your statement. I doubt that last 200 rpm of operating range (over a Pro XS) could cause so many more warranty issues, but perhaps I am wrong on that? I am the exception and I baby mine but Merc would never know that. I get the impression Mercury believes most people that purchased a "R" motor are more likely to abuse it, or they just have less confidence in the "R" motors which I find hard to believe.

[WranglerSS]

I have a 300R and I agree with your statement. I doubt that last 200 rpm of operating range (over a Pro XS) could cause so many more warranty issues, but perhaps I am wrong on that? I am the exception and I baby mine but Merc would never know that. I get the impression Mercury believes most people that purchased a "R" motor are more likely to abuse it, or they just have less confidence in the "R" motors which I find hard to believe.

I don't think the extended coverage is the same for the R motors either.

[gehol]

When Don priced out a plan for me almost 2 years ago he too was taken back. I personally think the 300 Pro XS with the torque master lower would perform as good or better that he R motor on the XRS. For sure it would be easier to set up.

[fly by night]

Thanks Don for taking the time to clarify the coverage. It definitely gives me peace of mind having it.

[EuropeanAM]

Have to think of the intended application. "R = Racing Application Target Market". "ProXS = Fishing Boat Target Market".

And yes- the Racing version is CONSIDERABLY more expensive when it comes to MPP.

[Pulsare2020]

Don, what constitutes a "Racing Application" in your opinion? It can't be a true class race boat, since I would think most "R" motors are sold to bass boats and go fast family boats or offshore performance boats. I would think most 250 R's are sold to the bass boat crowd. I might be wrong but I would think most bass boat engines (especially those running tournaments) spend more time at high rpm than go fast pleasure boats, but you get to see the G2 printouts.

[EuropeanAM]

There are two different classes of Race engines: Consumer Race Engines (which the "R" series engine falls in), and the Sanctioned Race Team engines (only sanctioned teams can buy or order those).

Consumer race engines come with a normal factory warranty, and you can purchase MPP (though pricing is considerably higher).

Many/most of the Sanctioned-Race engines were only covered until you opened the box/crate.

[Pulsare2020]

Thanks

[WranglerSS]

When Don priced out a plan for me almost 2 years ago he too was taken back. I personally think the 300 Pro XS with the torque master lower would perform as good or better that he R motor on the XRS. For sure it would be easier to set up.

Why do you think it would be easier to setup?