Audi S8 and warrantywise
Discussion
Hi all,
I am just about to buy an Audi S8 D3. It has 57k and is an 06 car.
I am probably going to get a warrantywise warranty. I know that a few people have had problems with warrantywise but every company has fans and detractors and warrantywise seems to have mostly the former.
As you probably know, I can tailor the warranty to fit my needs by changing the excess, maximum amount per claim. This can have a big effect on the warranty price. If I simply say "Zero excess, 100% of car's value per claim" then the cost of the warranty is £2400 per annum but that seems unnecessary to me. I have currently opted for:
£100 excess per claim (i.e. I pay the first £100 of each and every claim)
£4000 maximum per claim (i.e. if the engine blows, they pay the first £4000)
Unlimited total claims (i.e if the engine, suspension, gearbox etc all go one after another they will pay for all of them)
£50 p/hour labour (I'm happy to use independents and if the labour comes out at £60 rather than £50, I don't mind picking up a little bill)
Do you think I have set these about right or should I set them higher or lower? I won't be claiming for every little cigarette lighter and I don't mind picking up a bit of a bill but I'm just trying to avoid either a monster bill if the engine blows or especially if one thing goes wrong after the other (that's my real concern- a constant stream of £1000-2000 bills).
Any thoughts based on what goes wrong, what they cost to put right and what a warranty would cover based on your experience would be greatly appreciated.
Alan
I am just about to buy an Audi S8 D3. It has 57k and is an 06 car.
I am probably going to get a warrantywise warranty. I know that a few people have had problems with warrantywise but every company has fans and detractors and warrantywise seems to have mostly the former.
As you probably know, I can tailor the warranty to fit my needs by changing the excess, maximum amount per claim. This can have a big effect on the warranty price. If I simply say "Zero excess, 100% of car's value per claim" then the cost of the warranty is £2400 per annum but that seems unnecessary to me. I have currently opted for:
£100 excess per claim (i.e. I pay the first £100 of each and every claim)
£4000 maximum per claim (i.e. if the engine blows, they pay the first £4000)
Unlimited total claims (i.e if the engine, suspension, gearbox etc all go one after another they will pay for all of them)
£50 p/hour labour (I'm happy to use independents and if the labour comes out at £60 rather than £50, I don't mind picking up a little bill)
Do you think I have set these about right or should I set them higher or lower? I won't be claiming for every little cigarette lighter and I don't mind picking up a bit of a bill but I'm just trying to avoid either a monster bill if the engine blows or especially if one thing goes wrong after the other (that's my real concern- a constant stream of £1000-2000 bills).
Any thoughts based on what goes wrong, what they cost to put right and what a warranty would cover based on your experience would be greatly appreciated.
Alan
Firstly, welcome to S8 ownership. It's a wonderful thing. Get yourself over to http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/
You really do need a warranty with one of these. I was fortunate enough to get a fairly comprehensive warranty as part of the deal when I bought mine. I looked at WW, and you need to remember that they will only cover cars up to 10 years old. I'd be tempted to nudge the excess higher than that, because any claims you have are likely to be well in excess of that. I'd also up the claim limit if you can.
I think my quote from Warrantywise was £1600 for a year, but when I didn't take it immediately, they started to contact me every couple of days to offer a discount. You can haggle with them, so don't be scared to!
There are some known common problems with the A8/S8, well documented on a8parts.co.uk. That site has been invaluable during my first month or two of ownership.
You really do need a warranty with one of these. I was fortunate enough to get a fairly comprehensive warranty as part of the deal when I bought mine. I looked at WW, and you need to remember that they will only cover cars up to 10 years old. I'd be tempted to nudge the excess higher than that, because any claims you have are likely to be well in excess of that. I'd also up the claim limit if you can.
I think my quote from Warrantywise was £1600 for a year, but when I didn't take it immediately, they started to contact me every couple of days to offer a discount. You can haggle with them, so don't be scared to!
There are some known common problems with the A8/S8, well documented on a8parts.co.uk. That site has been invaluable during my first month or two of ownership.
Hi there,
I bought a 2 year warrantywise policy (£100 excess, £120/hour labour, just under £3k) on 60,000 mile car with 30,000 miles per annum usage.
My logic was they are complex beasts, especially electronics and engines, so many things can only be done by main dealer. My local indy also supported that view, but he does all the none specialist stuff, services etc.
I benefitted from the policy after a set of power steering pump problems, a suspension pump and some air con sensors.
Like the other poster, I played them off against competition and waited through several rounds of offers before saying yes.
I had one big issue which the MD sorted out after escalation. Even got an email from Quentin Willson! They were fair, open and paid up reasonably quickly.
Overall, very pleased with my investment decision and still have the car, 88,000 miles later. Still love it.
Cheers and good luck
Richard
I bought a 2 year warrantywise policy (£100 excess, £120/hour labour, just under £3k) on 60,000 mile car with 30,000 miles per annum usage.
My logic was they are complex beasts, especially electronics and engines, so many things can only be done by main dealer. My local indy also supported that view, but he does all the none specialist stuff, services etc.
I benefitted from the policy after a set of power steering pump problems, a suspension pump and some air con sensors.
Like the other poster, I played them off against competition and waited through several rounds of offers before saying yes.
I had one big issue which the MD sorted out after escalation. Even got an email from Quentin Willson! They were fair, open and paid up reasonably quickly.
Overall, very pleased with my investment decision and still have the car, 88,000 miles later. Still love it.
Cheers and good luck
Richard
Hi Alan,
You should select your options in line with your appetite for, and your perception of, the breakdown risk, the amount that you would be happy to fund out of your pocket and the premium you would be happy to pay for the warranty.
It seems to me that you are looking to avoid the crippling bill, but are willing to contribute to an amount that you see as reasonable.
If you want to reduce your premium further weigh up the reduction against an element of "self insurance" (setting aside a monthly set amount in a car maintenance account) "reinsurance" - buying and excess insurance policy to pay out the cost of the excess on a valid insurance claim, choosing the biggest excess available with decrease the warranty cost but increase the excess policy premium. Also heck the cover levels to insure you have sufficient to cover your estimated number of claims.
At the end of the day work around your budget to get the "right" amount of cover at the best price.
Cheers
Allan
You should select your options in line with your appetite for, and your perception of, the breakdown risk, the amount that you would be happy to fund out of your pocket and the premium you would be happy to pay for the warranty.
It seems to me that you are looking to avoid the crippling bill, but are willing to contribute to an amount that you see as reasonable.
If you want to reduce your premium further weigh up the reduction against an element of "self insurance" (setting aside a monthly set amount in a car maintenance account) "reinsurance" - buying and excess insurance policy to pay out the cost of the excess on a valid insurance claim, choosing the biggest excess available with decrease the warranty cost but increase the excess policy premium. Also heck the cover levels to insure you have sufficient to cover your estimated number of claims.
At the end of the day work around your budget to get the "right" amount of cover at the best price.
Cheers
Allan
Gassing Station | Audi, Seat, Skoda & VW | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff