Warranty

[wayneC320]

Can anyone let me know if they have purchased an indpendent warranty online. I am thinking about purchasing one to cover a C320 for £500.00 on a 5 star plan for 12 months including wear and tear.

Having spoken to my garage they have told me to stay away as these companies never want to pay up.

Has anyone one else had any experince with these companies or indeed purchased something simailar. I think it would be a good buy for £500.

 

[Captain_Pug]

Never bought one myself however I know a couple of people who have and have a nightmare trying to claim, your local garage is right they never want to pay up.

 

[MarkCL]

The key thing with any warranty is their wear & tear clause. On first read you may think everything you could possibly want is covered but this is not necessarily so! In the "small print" you will most likely find two big caveats to the cover being valid:

1) That the car has been properly serviced and looked after BEFORE the warranty was bought as well as afterwards

2) That problems due to items suffering from normal wear & tear are NOT covered!

It's mainly that second one that catches you out. Essentially most warranty companies always want to be contacted before you get any work done in the first place and also ask to check over the faulty part(s) BEFORE they will authorise payment. This is a right pain when it comes down to getting work done as the car is off the road for ages if you want to stick to the warranty company's rules. First to get the part(s) removed, secondly while they check to see if they will cover the replacement cost and then thirdly while the repair work itself is carried out.

In my own humble opinion having never managed to successfully get anything out of these warranty companies I tend to come down on the "money for old rope" side of the fence and don't bother with them. £500 put away in a savings account for 12 months will (a) earn some interest and (b) be a good way towards paying for any necessary work that may need to be done anyway IMHO :wink: If you make sure the car you buy is as good as you can find then you shouldn't have any issues to be honest, and if you do need to get work done at least you will have the choice of who, when and where with regard to getting the work done should it be necessary.

Just me 2p.
Mark

 

[wayneC320]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

 

[jberks]

I've not claimed but have regretted buying all the same. I should get the following in a paste buffer I've typed it so often.
Here goes
There are 2 types of after market warranty. The first is peddled by the AA, Warranty Direct and a number of other insurance companies. This contains an impressive list of items covered. Gear Syncros, ECU, "spigot mounts" (made that one up ) and other impressive sounding things are proudly listed. I can't comment on whether they would pay out if such things failed, but I can comment on the fact that the chances of any listed item actually failing are minimal. Sure this list may run to a couple of hundred items, but there are thousands of components on a car so you're still playing a lottery. I was covered for the ECU, but not corroded plug leads (@£250 a set) for example. I didn't see that one coming!

Also, they normally state that you are responsible for identifying the failed component. So take a gearbox problem for example. You have a choice of just swapping out for a used one or repairing yours. Without a strip down to identify the part that has failed, the warranty won't pay out (so no contribution to popping in a used one), and if you do strip it (at your expense - say £8 hours @£50 for an indie = £400, let alone 8hrs @£100 for the dealer) and the issue isn't in the list, they still won't pay and you'll be down the labour costs and back where you started. That's if they agree withthe diagnosis and there are lots of stories where they don't. If you are lucky, and it does cover, and they agree, you're still restricted to it's maximum single claim payout.
As you may have gathered, I am not a big fan of these policies.

The second type I am a fan of - but they tend to be more pricey. I have one on my E at the moment. It says "We cover everything except ..." Normally brake pads, exhausts (but cats are covered), tyres etc. In other words normal wear and tear replaceable items. If it's not in the list, it's covered - no argument. Basically the same as a manufacturers warranty.
These tend not to be available to the general public directly. I got mine through the dealer.

So, in summary, if it attempts to list what it covers, walk away.