olive

Olive emailed me something about the coverage, but I like to have something I can hold in my hand and read. I asked for written stuff, and I got the package, but I haven't read it yet. I also talked to them yesterday and I was glad I did because I was calling to do my payment. They told me it was automatically set up and to use the card that I had. I didn't know that, so I gave them my bank information because I would rather for it come out of there than to be charged through a credit card every month.

I spoke to a representative initially when I got all of this set up, and he explained things to me. I asked him a ton of questions about how it worked, if I got in an accident or if some particular engine part failed. It was a number of car maintenance and troubleshooting or scenarios that I asked him about. We got it set up, but then my bank card got lost. I got my it renewed, but I forgot to go back online to update the information on Olive.

I was covered for most of that year. By the time I got a notification through email from Olive, it already lapsed. When I reapplied, I did everything online. It was option number two that I selected, and submitting the information via the website went smooth. Olive then found the original application that I had on file with them. I reactivated it, but it cost me more, because I had less miles on that car at the time. I hope nothing happens to my car, but if something did, I would like to be assured that it will be covered, especially if it’s nothing of my fault. With every service maintenance agreement, you have to keep records of your maintenance and you got to do it on the intervals the manufacturer required.

What I really like about it is it wasn't one of those warranties that's like, "You got to go six years, 185,000 miles. It's going to cost you $4,800." With this particular one, they will warranty my truck up to 185,000 miles, but it'll only be three years, and I have the chance to extend it. For example, on the 2019 one-ton Ram, I paid $1,400 for a three-year extended warranty, up to 185,000 miles. Three years from now is going to be a little costlier because there's going to be more wear and tear on the engine, but just to have that peace of mind, 1,400 bucks, why not? That's a no brainer to me because a fuel filter in an oil change is roughly around $400 to $500.

During the purchase, the gentleman let me talk and ask every single question in the book that one can possibly think of, and even let me sit there and be very skeptical of it. He had no problem with answering and providing any and all information even if it was the stupidest information that I was asking. He was very patient with me and very helpful. 100%, we recommend Olive to everybody. When they talk about extended warranties, Olive is the first name that comes out of our mouths.

A month after we got the coverage, my mom's front axle went bad. There was no hesitation. There was a question about certain parts that weren't covered. It was frustrating, but it wasn't Olive’s fault. Due to an oil leakage in the front of the engine that we weren't aware of, we weren't told. Because we had the oil changed at Christian Brothers, and they tried to get a lot of work and money out of us.

It was about a month and a half before we got the extended warranty when we had the oil change. So, when they were telling us that there was a certain part in the engine that was totally gone, and it was leaking oil for a while underneath the car, we were pretty upset. We were like, “No, that's a new oil leak. We just got it changed.” We were kind of a little frustrated but Olive didn't lose their cool. They explained and made me understand how they were able to know and how it was proof that it was indeed an oil that's been there for a while. The auto shop that we went to wasn't very good at what they were paid to do.

The dealership talked to these people three times, and I talked to them twice. At the end of everything, it’s covered under their warranty, what is supposed to be fixed, but they said they never gave permission for the repair, which I didn’t understand. Because we had that dispute, between me and him with me agreeing to the hours, and he talked to the dealer again. And at the end, they said, “We’re not paying that. You didn’t get permission.” I said, “You know how many hours we spent on the phone with you people? What do you mean no permission?” I had to drive up to the dealership twice and was on the phone with these people with the mechanic. How was that not permission?

It doesn’t makes sense. Because the man told me on the phone, “I’ll tell them to go ahead and make the repairs since you agreed to the hours,” which I didn’t have a choice. I had to agree. That was all they would pay. I submitted the claim, and they said, "We're not paying this. You didn't get the permission." Plus, there was eight to nine people involved within that company, and that bugged me. Because I had warranties before, and I never had to get involved on any claims.

I did a little research, and there's a lot of folks who don't think too much of Olive. I don't know what they're using for hours guidelines, and I don't know how they can dictate to a mechanic how long something takes anyway. But I looked at their shop manual and it says 6.2 hours for a qualified mechanic. I got a Chilton’s manual on my car, and sure enough, it says six hours if you know what you’re doing. Because this thing is in the middle of the engine. They have to tear all these stuff out of the way. It’s not like a normal thermostat. It's actually a computer thing. And I didn’t argue the hours with them because I realized there was no sense in that. They got their own guide sheet, even though it appears to be out of date and completely wrong.

This just ended two weeks ago. I sent the claim in again with a cover letter and faxed it to Olive, asking if they would reconsider paying it. Because out of the 2,400 bucks, they only offered to pay 400 of it anyway, which I thought was bad. They talked a good game, but they didn’t play one. I'm not happy with them. I'm canceling them.