Ricart Free Warranty scam? Is it really free?

1) Ricart is trying to inflate sagging sales by use of a "Free warranty." Despite the newness of this marketing plan consumers need to be warned! Complaints from previous customers and reading AG complaints have given Columbusconsumer some history on Ricart warranty scams.

1) No such thing as free. The price is built into the vehicle. It is not free to Ricart it certainly isn't free to you. It is about bringing in more bodies onto the Megamall compound.

2) Most of the warranties they carry are Ricart's Fidelity line of warranties owned by a company in Florida and there are several varieties.

A) The oil change warranty-marketed as an advanced coverage includes numerous visual inspections. Convincing legalese document of several pages-Reality: Coverage three oil changes at Ricart. In the past sold for thousands but worth $35.00. Looks convincing as a warranty document. 

B) The 50/50 split warranty- Covers repairs up to 12 months/12,000 miles or other period/miles. Customer is required to pay 50% of the repair bill. Reality: Vehicles must be repaired by Ricart mechanic only. Breakdown out of town, you pay the tow to Ricart to use the warranty. Past complaints include that Ricart would over-inflate repair estimates. For example: a $300 repair, billed as $600. You pay $300, the car gets repaired, Ricart makes money from keeping mechanics busy and nothing comes out of their pockets. Such warranties "Bind" the customer to the dealer.

C) The loophole warranty- Uses the term "excludes wear and tear." Reality: Pretty much everything is wear and tear isn't it? Repairs items that are only found to be defective and if defective, it is the manufacturers fault and not Ricart's. Ricart refuses to repair and points out small print along with mechanics supportive opinion. You are stuck at Ricarts with a broken vehicle. This is also a good ploy for feeding the sales staff.

3) Binding arbitration agreement- Have a beef over the crappy warranty you got from Ricart? Too bad! You can't sue.You signed an agreement binding on you, but not them. You can take it to the arbitration panel but that is run by the Ohio Automobile Dealers Association which just so happens to be made up of car dealers and Mr. Ricart sits on the board.

Places you can buy warranties:   http://www.autosave.info/    http://www.theautoclub.com/  http://www.warrantydirect.com/

I make nothing for the above links. Read the fine print, compare details and prices. WARNING: Shop elsewhere!