W210 AA Mechanical Warranty - good value?

[ahoythere]

I have recently bought a 1998 E-class estate E300TD (W210) with 98K miles on the clock. The vehicle has a FSH and is generally in very good condition.

Last week I received a call from AA Mechanical Insurance Services offering me a two year mechanical breakdown isurance policy for £420 (i.e.£210 per year, min 2 years cover). I am trying to figure out if this is good value or not! The cover looks reasonably comprehensive although I would be required to pay the first £300 of any claim.

To all fellow W210 E300 TD owners out there (and those familiar with maintaining this model), does this represent a good deal and are there any common mechanical problems associated with a car of this age/mileage that I ought to be aware of?

Thanks for the advice.

 

[jp williams]

My warranty is with Warranty Direct at £330 for one year (up to 20,000 miles).Its a 2002 w210 E class auto estate (80,000 miles)and the warranty covers almost everytihng.Your price is better than mine but what does it NOT include?
Regards
John

 

[ahoythere]

Thanks John - the policy does not cover general maintenance (i.e. servicing) or components 'failing due to wear and tear'. Hmmm...on a vehicle which is 9 years old, the insurer could argue that virtually any mechanical failure is due to wear and tear. This is something I will need to check out...

 

[jberks]

These warranties generally aren't worth the paper they're written on. They list an impressive range of things that they cover - ok - but compared to the huge range of things that can go wrong, it suddenly doesn't look so good.

For example, during my Warranty direct cover, my dash cluster failed (£650) and the plug leads gave out (£250). Neither covered. My MAS went, but after the excess, it was hardly worth claiming. Ok, if something major goes then you may be ok, but even then, they often find a way out and you have to pay for the initial diagnosis work before they'll consider a claim. So, they may cover certain components in the gearbox, but you'll have to pay someone to strip it first to see if they are the ones that have gone. You'll be faced with the decision to do this, with the risk that whatever has gone isn't covered (or the failure was caused by something else that isn't covered), or just get a replacement from a breaker. Add in your excess and the initial premium, and you're often no better off. They cover ECUs but you can generally get them fixed for less than the excess. There are often cheaper ways to fix things if you know where to look. Most Merc issues come down to finding obscure faults on sensors or actuators. They may pay for the sensor but the diagnostic cost is often the larger part of the bill.

Common things that need attention like brakes, exhaust etc and you're on your own. If something heavy does occur, there is often an upper limit on what they'll pay so whilst they'll chip in, you'll still be looking at a big bill. Even their labour figures are wildly optomistic. Mine wouldn't even have covered the indie's charge - I'd have had to chip in £5 per hour.

I paid £700 over 2 years for cover on the Jeep and never had reason to claim. So thats £700 I could have spent on repairs. (like the clutch I need - which wasn't covered anyway).

IMO the only warranties worth having are the ones that state what isn't covered. Anything not listed is - finished. But these are expensive and you can't get them for cars of that age for obvious reasons.

My advice is to put the premium in the bank and 'self insure'. You may lose out one year but chances are you'll win overall - after all, that's what they are banking on!.

 

[Blobcat]

I agree 100% with jberks above ^^

 

[Eric Tilley]

I have to concur . Why should the AA or any other business wish to offer to bear part of your motoring costs ? They have it carefully worked out that that what they charge will cover the cost plus a big fat profit for them and their administration costs. It is like the extended warranties on televisions and electrical goods, the shops make little on the sale so they push you like mad to buy the EW which is where their profit is.

 

[MIW615]

My Advice is to put the premium in the bank and 'self insure'. You may lose out one year but chances are you'll win overall - after all, that's what they are banking on!.

Agree entirely, we have two cars and I put £50 a month (£600 a year) into a savings account for any emergincies / repairs (not servicing) and so far I am ahead against taking out an insurance plan. :wink::wink:

 

[carabind]

It;s not till you have parted with your hard earned cash that you see the exclusions. Ask for the full T & Cs and details before you pay!

 

[Devonian]

Thank you Jberks for taking the time to write such a comprehensive opinion (with which I agree) I have been considering buying a warranty and had come to much the same conclusion.

If anyone is thinking of buying one I would say read the small print and exclusions very carefully

Andy

 

[ahoythere]

Thanks very much for the helpful advice everyone. I think I'll take my chances and give the extended warranty a miss!

 

[Jonlea]

Warranty price difference

I have just joined this forum and found this thread which is exactly the information I was seeking. My CDI270 is coming up to the end of the three years manufacturer warranty in 4 weeks time. I asked my Mercedes Benz dealer for a used warranty yesterday and they quoted me £848 pa.

I went on the interent and found "warranty direct" and "warrantywise", who both quoted £375 pa and the cover looks just the same as the Official MB one, with the same exclusions.

Does anyone know why such a diffference in price?

 

[jberks]

Yes.
Because they're crap. See my previous comment.

£848 sounds very high. i bought an extended warranty when I bought the car (same car and similar age). This will kick in when the manufacturer's warranty expires in November and the cost was around £600. IT's not an MB branded warranty but as per my other note - it simply lists what is NOT covered.

Check out service plus as this is pretty good too, but whatever you do, arrange it before your warranty actually expires as all the good cover requires you to pay for an inspection first if there is no existing cover.

 

[Jonlea]

Thanks for your reply. May I ask which [insurance?]company supplied the £600 warranty? I googled "Service Plus" but found nothing. Is that an MB product?

 

[jberks]

Service plus is comprehensive MB product. Covers everything inc servicing and MOTs too. Depending on your mileage that may have been what they're offering. It's really rather good and if you insist on dealer servicing it can work out good value. They even cover your brake pads! The basic idea is that you pay serviceplus and aside from tyres the dealer will sort your car whatever the issue.

The warranty I have was supplied by the main dealer but orgainised I think through Abraxas (a broker). I just said I wanted and extra years cover and this is what they provided. I had expected an MB branded one but on checking, this is thorough enough and I figured that as the dealer sold it to me, and they'd be doing the repair, it would be their problem if it didn't pay out.

 

[Jonlea]

Thank you - that's very helpful