Is a vehicle service contract necessary? What are the costs of typical repairs?

More than one-third of all vehicles experience a failure in a given year. The average service contract holder will make 4-5 claims over the life of their agreement. Should your vehicle fail after the factory warranty expires, you have nothing to protect you from repair costs that can be in the thousands of dollars. More importantly, owners will frequently put off needed repairs until they can afford the cost of the repair. This delay often results in additional damage to the vehicle, and can create unsafe driving conditions. The risk of component failure and associated repair costs increases with your vehicle's age and mileage.

Today's vehicles are extremely complex and contain many electronics, high tech sensors and computers that frequently need to be replaced due to failure. While engines and transmissions are more reliable than ever (that's not to say we don't pay for many of those repairs), it's these other parts that frequently fail. As vehicles get more and more "high tech", associated repair costs are forecast to rise dramatically.

Component	Current Cost	Cost in 5 Years
Engine	$2400	$3254
Transmission	$1700	$2738
Brakes	$1050	$1525
A/C System	$900	$1322
Power Steering System	$950	$1456
Fuel Injectors	$1025	$1471
Electrical System	$525	$794
CV Joints	$350	$515
Suspension	$450	$686
Oxygen Sensor	$536	$692
Radiator	$380	$495
Instrument Cluster	$250	$392