Car has 48K+ on it. Looked into the Volvo Extended Warranty. To cover it for another 3yrs./50K would be $2,400 and change. We do plan on keeping the car for a long time. Therefore my question is, should we purchase the extended warranty or take our chances? :unsure:

You really need to ask yourself, has the car been any trouble up to this point. Even it hasn't, it could start. I worked in the dealer for 5 years.... I saw people buy it and virtually never use it, others bough it and got more than their moneys worth out of it.
The other thing to look at is the warranty company, keep in mind these guys are happy to take your money, however very tight to hand it out. Look at the fine print very closely ie... do they have to use Volvo parts or can they supply them with after market of even used.... each time the car is looked at under a different RO it is another deductible.
These guys are out to make money and trust me they do... lots of it. Keep in mind these are basically insurance comanies. Often times they call us and tell us what price to sell the part for, if we say no they will even call another dealer who will or the local wreckers.
There are some very good ones out there, and it can be very beneficial to you. If you are mechanically inclined and feel confident working on the car yourself(keeping in mind the amount of electrical and computer in the newer cars) that may sway you not too.
Bottom line I nor will anyone here have a striaght yes or no for you. I just wanted to give you some points to ponder. Hope it helps

First of all the car hasn't been any problem other than a weird shifting thing that they looked at yesterday and re programmed the ECM & TCM. However, I've only had the car for 3 months & 2 days. The Volvo dealer who I was talking to said they have 2 extended warranties. One is actually from Volvo and the other is a secondary market provider. They said the second one excludes a number of parts that the Volvo program covers. Based on that, if I do decide to purchase one it would definitely be the Volvo one.
I am able to do minor work on a car but don't feel comfortable doing heavy repairs. Thanks for your insights. I wasn't really looking for a straight yes or no, just informed opinions on what I might do, which you have done a great job of providing. Thanks.

First of all the warranty is a must have with Volvo and from Volvo only forget the others. This concerns Volvo's only. What other company's offer l'm not interested in.

Labor alone is $99hr and the parts are very expensive.

Think of it as a life insurance policy. Take the 7yr/100,000 mile with the $100 deduct.

This should cost you with tax no more then $1600 from Volvo. Your dealer is looking to get rich off you and each dealer has a different price. There is a nationwide deal now, take advantage of it. You do not have to buy the warranty from the dealer that you use. Shop around!!

This is as close to a bumper to bumper warranty that you can get.

Important, make sure you take your volvo to the dealer's service dept before 49,000 miles for this extended warranty. They will check you car out and if they find something it will cost you zip. Also don't put this off.

Volvo is not a trouble free car period, it's a safe one.

Alan

How do I get the nationwide deal? Because $1,600 is a lot better than $2,400. At that price it's a no brainer, I would definitely purchase.

Just try another volovo dealership