According to what I've read, use car warranties are very poor value for money. They only average about 10% payout on premiums. Not good enough odds for me.
According to what I've read, use car warranties are very poor value for money. They only average about 10% payout on premiums. Not good enough odds for me.
One of the biggest companies insist you use Halfords auto centres for repairs; that would be enough to put me off!
Add in to that the fact that like most insurers, they will do anything to get you to give up claiming, and they are not a good choice.
Chris
I looked at one yesterday, and the car had to be 10 years old or younger. Makes the Daimler SP250 image in the background of the TV advert. look a little unlikely!
I suspect if you're smart(ish) you could get it to work for you. I know somebody who buys 6/7 year old Porsche 911s, and replaces them at the 10 year point. Not sure of his claim rate, but could make owning a car like that worthwhile.
:-) IME you get main dealer (at a premium) or independent of their choosing.
I had one once on a Mini. It was OK - got my money back, as it were. But plenty of exclusions.
My only experience of one was with the SD1 just after I bought it many years ago. The steering rack started leaking. The warranty insisted I used a company in Greenwich. Had to pay to get the car transported there. They charged me for new hoses and fluid (neither covered by the claim - and at silly prices) and managed to damage the bonnet. I would have been cheaper buying a new rack and fitting it myself.
I family friend with a Peugeot diesel something-or-other claimed for a non- functioning heater. It only blew the tiniest bit of warmth, even on a long run.
The warranty company directed them to Halfords. The fault was described, along with the information that the heater had been fine for the previous three winters. They had the car all day, then rang to say 'Good news, your car is ready'. When asked what the problem was they were told that there was no fault, it's a diesel, and won't get very hot. The absolutely refused to change their stance, and were adamant that the car had no fault!
The friend then had a long battle with the warranty company to allow them to take it to a main dealer. Eventually the company agreed, but specified one that was twenty miles away, even though there were two much closer.
The main dealer diagnosed the obvious fact that the matrix was blocked, replaced it, and warmth was restored.
Another long battle with the warranty company then ensued, as they said it wasn't covered. Eventually, they paid most, but not all, of the cost.
They are bigger scammers than car insurers.
Chris
By the odds, only on the 10th car. ;-)
Ha! I nearly put it down as "a transverse/longditudinal thing" but couldn't swear I'd remembered it right and deleted it again. It's a vague memory from one of the regulars in here covering the differences but it's a long, long time ago now.
Friend payed £150-ish for one when he bought a 10 YO 3-series from the smoke last year. Not being in a position to pop back for repairs it seemed (to him) like a sensible thing to cover himself for pre-existing faults.
Almost instantly we turned up a leaking shock but they refused it as wear-and-tear. When pushed then started arranging hoops to have to jump through to get a claim. Since that boiled down to finding a garage that would play along (most refused point blank to deal with these warrantee companies) while first coughing up for the work, we just DIY'd.
Not for high miles it won't. They are called "donors".
It's already "VERY VERY RARE".
HowManyLeft says there are 35 yes THIRTY FIVE Audi A6 V8 of all types and that's about how many they sold. Too rare to expect to find parts from a breaker and doesn't appear to have any attrition so no wrecks to strip.
Carlton Lotus 201 back in 1994 (275 made), now 76 on road, 102 SORN. So somewhere kicking around in the UK there are close to 100 sets of spare parts. But because they were so very desirable many are "stolen recovered". You will need £65K for a 34K mile 24 year old example. Lots of potential owners with a "really gotta" itch are under 40 years old and now have the money to scratch it.
Those companies rely on a high percentage of people abandoning the claim; they would go broke otherwise.
Chris
More insidious than that. Only allow you to use one of their preferred repairers. And that repairer can load on extras not covered by the warranty. And often not needed. To make a profit on the miserly sum the insurance company pays for the work.
Of course things may be better these days.
But if you can't afford to run a particular car, don't buy it. Relying on insurance to make it possible is just plain nonsense.
Dave Plowman (News) wrote: [snip]
In other industries (e.g. computer) you can buy a manufacturer's warranty, which can include on-site support. And you can renew this warranty each year.
In other respects computers need the sort of nursemaiding that a car of
100 years ago would have needed (in-house chauffeur and mechanic) but in support terms computers now seem to be better.Are there any car manufacturers that offer this sort of warranty?
You can buy a warranty for pretty well all domestic stuff which includes on-site support. The most common one being boiler insurance.
Computers are fairly reliable as regards hardware. Software likely to be the problem - especially in a commercial environment.
You'd normally take a car to a garage to have it serviced or fixed.
So does any garage offer a fixed price warranty? Either from new, or subject to an initial chargeable assessment?
Some makers offer an extended warranty and inclusive servicing costs from new. Doubt they cover every single cost other than fuel, though.
Someone I know bought a new Ford, and paid for three years servicing. Each time he booked it in, he deliberately failed to mention that he wouldn't be paying, and each time when he collected it they told him he was supposed to advise them it was a pre-paid service! He never paid anything extra.
Chris
Seeing that the RAC can't urn their recovery service all that well is their vehicle inspection service all that good?..
Well depends i suppose, my current banger an A6 TDi with 200 K on the clock has had an impressive MOT pass history but its making up time a bit now;!
It's irrelevant, as they won't check a car of this age, it turns out. Just like the Extended Warranties, 10 years old seems to be the limit.
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