[AdamT]

I'm with Randy and Lotusmotion on this one... but only because we are talking about Lotuses and not some other sort of exotic car or expensive GT. I just can't see the need for it with the Lotus given: (a) the reliable Toyota powertrain, (b) the general lack of overly-complicated electronics and other mechanical parts in the car, and (c) the ease of repairing some things in our cars compared to other sports cars.

Now, I'm in a very different boat with the 2004 Mercedes E55 AMG that I just picked up! (1) It's not nearly reliable as the Lotus (and isn't that sad for MB?!), (2) it has a sh*tload of outrageously complicated and expensive mechanical and electrical things in it, and (3) I don't have the first clue how to do anything about any of them if they fail. In this case, therefore, I am considering an extended warranty.

And my God, I am here to tell you that they are outrageous... assuming you can even find people to cover you! How bad is it? Well, I walked into one of the local MB dealers last night to ask about extended Mercedes Benz Factory warranties and the first thing out of their mouth was, "Oh, well it's not for an AMG, is it?" That's right... MB won't even cover their own recent AMG models with their factory warranty! Insane. (Amazingly, Chrysler will however. Weird.)

Regardless, I am considering an extended plan for my AMG after going through an absolutely horrific set of mechanical and electrical failures with a past luxury GT (a BMW 850i). And if I had a different luxury GT (like a Maserati Coupe, which I almost bought recently), then I would probably consider one. But for a Lotus, nope. Just can't see the gamble being worth it because, luckily for us, they are simple and (generally) reliable little machines. For a fancy sports car, that is!