Third party car warranties - worth it?
Discussion
Now, I know this things are just an insurance policy against mechanical issues, but I've got a mechanically complex oil burner (with the dreaded DPF) out of warranty which I know could cost big money if something goes wrong. And being an Audi, and expecting to keep it for the next 3 years (taking it to 6 yo), it could just do that.
Does anyone have any experiences of a third party warranty they can share? I'm considering using one advertised by an ex-Top Gear presenter, this outfit make a big deal about their warranty having greater coverage than everyone else's.
Does anyone have any experiences of a third party warranty they can share? I'm considering using one advertised by an ex-Top Gear presenter, this outfit make a big deal about their warranty having greater coverage than everyone else's.
Personally, I don't see the point.
They are quite expensive for what they cover, and they don't cover a lot.
Most things that will go wrong with a 3 year old car will be wear and tear or poor maintenance.
If something SERIOUS goes wrong you'll have a good case to ask the dealer to look for a manufacturer goodwill gesture.
If you buy from a main dealer you'll get 12 months warranty anyway (I think).
If the car does totally die due to catastrophic unfixable engine failure and you can't afford the repair – then you can still flog the car for a fair lump of cash to a mechanic or wreckers.
You can take that cash, plus the money you would have spent on the warranty – and buy a new car.
You might have to downgrade, but it's not the end of the world.
They are quite expensive for what they cover, and they don't cover a lot.
Most things that will go wrong with a 3 year old car will be wear and tear or poor maintenance.
If something SERIOUS goes wrong you'll have a good case to ask the dealer to look for a manufacturer goodwill gesture.
If you buy from a main dealer you'll get 12 months warranty anyway (I think).
If the car does totally die due to catastrophic unfixable engine failure and you can't afford the repair – then you can still flog the car for a fair lump of cash to a mechanic or wreckers.
You can take that cash, plus the money you would have spent on the warranty – and buy a new car.
You might have to downgrade, but it's not the end of the world.
I had an aftermarket warranty supplied by a garage on a used Mercedes CLK320 (2nd gen CLK). It was the top notch platinum, five star, triple salco warranty option from the company - the best you could get.
The car developed a problem which would cause it to drop a cylinder under harsh acceleration. Went into MB in Guildford who diagnosed a faulty ECU, and provided me with an estimate for circa £1500 IIRC (£1200 for the part, £300 labour). I sent this off to the warranty company.
They informed me they would only offer up to £500 for the part, and up to fifty something pounds per hour labour. Also, they wouldn't pay out on a new part, it would have to be recon, or mine would have to be removed and sent away for reconditioning - so I couldn't even take the £500 payout and have it done by MB using new parts.
So I pulled the car out of the garage, cycled the engine until the fault codes cleared, and traded it in.
I'd never have another aftermarket warranty.
The car developed a problem which would cause it to drop a cylinder under harsh acceleration. Went into MB in Guildford who diagnosed a faulty ECU, and provided me with an estimate for circa £1500 IIRC (£1200 for the part, £300 labour). I sent this off to the warranty company.
They informed me they would only offer up to £500 for the part, and up to fifty something pounds per hour labour. Also, they wouldn't pay out on a new part, it would have to be recon, or mine would have to be removed and sent away for reconditioning - so I couldn't even take the £500 payout and have it done by MB using new parts.
So I pulled the car out of the garage, cycled the engine until the fault codes cleared, and traded it in.
I'd never have another aftermarket warranty.
Dr Interceptor said:
I had an aftermarket warranty supplied by a garage on a used Mercedes CLK320 (2nd gen CLK). It was the top notch platinum, five star, triple salco warranty option from the company - the best you could get.
The car developed a problem which would cause it to drop a cylinder under harsh acceleration. Went into MB in Guildford who diagnosed a faulty ECU, and provided me with an estimate for circa £1500 IIRC (£1200 for the part, £300 labour). I sent this off to the warranty company.
They informed me they would only offer up to £500 for the part, and up to fifty something pounds per hour labour. Also, they wouldn't pay out on a new part, it would have to be recon, or mine would have to be removed and sent away for reconditioning - so I couldn't even take the £500 payout and have it done by MB using new parts.
So I pulled the car out of the garage, cycled the engine until the fault codes cleared, and traded it in.
I'd never have another aftermarket warranty.
That garage offer sThe car developed a problem which would cause it to drop a cylinder under harsh acceleration. Went into MB in Guildford who diagnosed a faulty ECU, and provided me with an estimate for circa £1500 IIRC (£1200 for the part, £300 labour). I sent this off to the warranty company.
They informed me they would only offer up to £500 for the part, and up to fifty something pounds per hour labour. Also, they wouldn't pay out on a new part, it would have to be recon, or mine would have to be removed and sent away for reconditioning - so I couldn't even take the £500 payout and have it done by MB using new parts.
So I pulled the car out of the garage, cycled the engine until the fault codes cleared, and traded it in.
I'd never have another aftermarket warranty.
te warranties then, the sign of this is the £50 per hour labour rate. They may have told you it was the best available but that wasn't the case, CCP pay proper labour rates not back street prices.Definitely not!
Got what was supposed to be an iron clad warranty from warranty direct which covered me in Northern Ireland (specifically asked when signing up and stated in policy) and when my gearbox went it was hell to try to claim, they wanted me to ship it to Bangor in Wales for an assessment (that I was supposed to pay for!) as that was their nearest approved centre, they kept stating that it was not a 'sudden mechanical failure' (which it clearly was, 3.5 year old box smooth and no noises previous to complete failure) and that it was wear and tear! Also no tax registered mechanic I spoke to would touch it unless I signed that I was solely responsible for the bill regardless of how the claim progressed (they had experience of dealing with them in the past and noone in their experience got their claim validated)
After chasing it for a year I gave up, it cost me £3k for work to be carried out in line with their conditions rather than £750 for recon box and fitting, and in the end I got nothing but an absolute blood boiling rage.
DO NOT GET ONE ITS NOT WORTH THE PAPER ITS WRITTEN ON!
Got what was supposed to be an iron clad warranty from warranty direct which covered me in Northern Ireland (specifically asked when signing up and stated in policy) and when my gearbox went it was hell to try to claim, they wanted me to ship it to Bangor in Wales for an assessment (that I was supposed to pay for!) as that was their nearest approved centre, they kept stating that it was not a 'sudden mechanical failure' (which it clearly was, 3.5 year old box smooth and no noises previous to complete failure) and that it was wear and tear! Also no tax registered mechanic I spoke to would touch it unless I signed that I was solely responsible for the bill regardless of how the claim progressed (they had experience of dealing with them in the past and noone in their experience got their claim validated)
After chasing it for a year I gave up, it cost me £3k for work to be carried out in line with their conditions rather than £750 for recon box and fitting, and in the end I got nothing but an absolute blood boiling rage.
DO NOT GET ONE ITS NOT WORTH THE PAPER ITS WRITTEN ON!
I used to work for renault customer services and we used to get calls from people with extended warranties not worth the paper they are written on (RAC, AA, Green Flag, Warranty Direct etc) people often think that they wont buy the expensive warranty and opt for the cheaper one, it is cheaper for a reason!!!!
I don't recall ever getting complaints about genuine warrantable issues relating to car Care Plan.
Most of the ones sold by dealers aren't comprehensive as you would be put off if they offer you a warranty for £800 whereas Fred in his backstreet dealership offers you an RAC 10 million star platinum thing for £300
I don't and never have worked for CCP but feel it is worth pointing out there ARE warranties that are as comprehensive as manufacturer warranties but you have to pay for the privilege
I don't recall ever getting complaints about genuine warrantable issues relating to car Care Plan.
Most of the ones sold by dealers aren't comprehensive as you would be put off if they offer you a warranty for £800 whereas Fred in his backstreet dealership offers you an RAC 10 million star platinum thing for £300
I don't and never have worked for CCP but feel it is worth pointing out there ARE warranties that are as comprehensive as manufacturer warranties but you have to pay for the privilege
Edited by eybic on Wednesday 30th November 11:50
Edited by eybic on Wednesday 30th November 12:00
Dr Interceptor said:
I had an aftermarket warranty supplied by a garage on a used Mercedes CLK320 (2nd gen CLK). It was the top notch platinum, five star, triple salco warranty option from the company - the best you could get.
The car developed a problem which would cause it to drop a cylinder under harsh acceleration. Went into MB in Guildford who diagnosed a faulty ECU, and provided me with an estimate for circa £1500 IIRC (£1200 for the part, £300 labour). I sent this off to the warranty company.
They informed me they would only offer up to £500 for the part, and up to fifty something pounds per hour labour. Also, they wouldn't pay out on a new part, it would have to be recon, or mine would have to be removed and sent away for reconditioning - so I couldn't even take the £500 payout and have it done by MB using new parts.
So I pulled the car out of the garage, cycled the engine until the fault codes cleared, and traded it in.
I'd never have another aftermarket warranty.
Had the same experience.The car developed a problem which would cause it to drop a cylinder under harsh acceleration. Went into MB in Guildford who diagnosed a faulty ECU, and provided me with an estimate for circa £1500 IIRC (£1200 for the part, £300 labour). I sent this off to the warranty company.
They informed me they would only offer up to £500 for the part, and up to fifty something pounds per hour labour. Also, they wouldn't pay out on a new part, it would have to be recon, or mine would have to be removed and sent away for reconditioning - so I couldn't even take the £500 payout and have it done by MB using new parts.
So I pulled the car out of the garage, cycled the engine until the fault codes cleared, and traded it in.
I'd never have another aftermarket warranty.
Don't forget though, the main dealer warranty has a certain amount of backing from the manufacturer.
The manufacturer wants to maintain customer loyalty.
The dealer has a certain amount of slush found or discretional payments they can use to support the third party warranty.
They can also request the manufacturer throws some more money at it.
Even on an older car it's in the dealers interest to try and maintain the impression that the cars are reliable and if they do go wrong the warranty sorts it out.
Even more so if the car is getting main dealer serviced.
If the story gets around that main dealer servicing carries with it some sort of extra warranty help then it's good for the dealers.
Customer retention for new card and extended servicing is a big thing for main dealers.
You pay a premium for a main dealer car – but it's worth it in these situations.
The manufacturer wants to maintain customer loyalty.
The dealer has a certain amount of slush found or discretional payments they can use to support the third party warranty.
They can also request the manufacturer throws some more money at it.
Even on an older car it's in the dealers interest to try and maintain the impression that the cars are reliable and if they do go wrong the warranty sorts it out.
Even more so if the car is getting main dealer serviced.
If the story gets around that main dealer servicing carries with it some sort of extra warranty help then it's good for the dealers.
Customer retention for new card and extended servicing is a big thing for main dealers.
You pay a premium for a main dealer car – but it's worth it in these situations.
Snowboy said:
Don't forget though, the main dealer warranty has a certain amount of backing from the manufacturer.
Not strictly true, if the car is out of warranty and the dealer is a franchise (like most are), the manufacturer will often tell the customer to speak to the dealer in the first instance as the manufacturers warranty has expired. eltax91 said:
The DPF wont be covered, I wouldn't have thought. 
I have a WD policy and the DPF isn't mentioned anywhere that I can see. It's not an issue for me as my car doesn't have one, but I do have the "optional" (I didn't pay extra for it) emissions cover so would argue it should be covered under that.I'm running a 6yr old Merc and I agonised about whether to buy an extended warranty and who to go with. Several posters on the MB forum had positive experiences with WD so I went with them. I paid for the dealer rate cover.
With a Merc (and probably most cars these days) is the slightest thing could cost a fortune - the water cooled alternator is over a grand, the COMAND system (also an option, but added at no extra cost) can just die with no warning and a new one from a dealer is £3K. OK, there are cheaper ways of fixing these things but I don't have the desire (or time, sometimes) to be messing about.
I'm under no illusion that it's an insurance policy and that there has to be some specific faliure for them to pay out. If I ever have what I consider to be a valid claim and they mess me about then I'll certainly be sending them a strongly worded email.
The thing with WD is they do have a pretty public face now and there are various avenues you can use such as WhatCar or HonestJohn to bring pressure on them.
Thanks for all the replies (keep 'em coming).
I've already had the car for 3 years and plan to keep it for another 3 at least. I can afford to repair or replace if things go wrong if I don't have a warranty, I was just wondering if it would be better to write off say £1500 over the next 3 years to cover a potentially bigger bill if anything significant were to go wrong.
The company I've looked into made a big deal about separating themselves from others based on the comprehensiveness of their policy, but they've been mentioned in the thread and their credibility looks like it's failing the PH litmus test.
So I think I'll give it a miss and just take the gamble that the Audi holds together mechanically.
I've already had the car for 3 years and plan to keep it for another 3 at least. I can afford to repair or replace if things go wrong if I don't have a warranty, I was just wondering if it would be better to write off say £1500 over the next 3 years to cover a potentially bigger bill if anything significant were to go wrong.
The company I've looked into made a big deal about separating themselves from others based on the comprehensiveness of their policy, but they've been mentioned in the thread and their credibility looks like it's failing the PH litmus test.
So I think I'll give it a miss and just take the gamble that the Audi holds together mechanically.
eybic said:
I don't recall ever getting complaints about genuine warrantable issues relating to car Care Plan.
Interesting - thanks. Seems it's not available directly to the public but I could buy through the CSMA.The coverage offered through CSMA (might be different through other outlets) looks good up to 5yrs/60K miles but then is very much reduced once beyond those points.
Deva Link said:
I have a WD policy and the DPF isn't mentioned anywhere that I can see. It's not an issue for me as my car doesn't have one, but I do have the "optional" (I didn't pay extra for it) emissions cover so would argue it should be covered under that.
I'm running a 6yr old Merc and I agonised about whether to buy an extended warranty and who to go with. Several posters on the MB forum had positive experiences with WD so I went with them. I paid for the dealer rate cover.
With a Merc (and probably most cars these days) is the slightest thing could cost a fortune - the water cooled alternator is over a grand, the COMAND system (also an option, but added at no extra cost) can just die with no warning and a new one from a dealer is £3K. OK, there are cheaper ways of fixing these things but I don't have the desire (or time, sometimes) to be messing about.
I'm under no illusion that it's an insurance policy and that there has to be some specific faliure for them to pay out. If I ever have what I consider to be a valid claim and they mess me about then I'll certainly be sending them a strongly worded email.
The thing with WD is they do have a pretty public face now and there are various avenues you can use such as WhatCar or HonestJohn to bring pressure on them.
Fair enough. Perhaps I wasn't looking at the better cover options. I checked several out last year when I bought my Mazda 6, which I knew would probably suffer one day from DPF failure. All of them specifically mentioned the exhaust system as being a "wear & tear" item, and most had specifically nominated the DPF as part of the exhaust.I'm running a 6yr old Merc and I agonised about whether to buy an extended warranty and who to go with. Several posters on the MB forum had positive experiences with WD so I went with them. I paid for the dealer rate cover.
With a Merc (and probably most cars these days) is the slightest thing could cost a fortune - the water cooled alternator is over a grand, the COMAND system (also an option, but added at no extra cost) can just die with no warning and a new one from a dealer is £3K. OK, there are cheaper ways of fixing these things but I don't have the desire (or time, sometimes) to be messing about.
I'm under no illusion that it's an insurance policy and that there has to be some specific faliure for them to pay out. If I ever have what I consider to be a valid claim and they mess me about then I'll certainly be sending them a strongly worded email.
The thing with WD is they do have a pretty public face now and there are various avenues you can use such as WhatCar or HonestJohn to bring pressure on them.
I didn't go for it in the end, I had the car 4 months before the DFP f
ked up. Sold it for a 1500 loss. eybic said:
Snowboy said:
Don't forget though, the main dealer warranty has a certain amount of backing from the manufacturer.
Not strictly true, if the car is out of warranty and the dealer is a franchise (like most are), the manufacturer will often tell the customer to speak to the dealer in the first instance as the manufacturers warranty has expired. If my car was bought through a main dealer and it broke I'd call the main dealer first rather than the manufacturer.
But then the Main Dealer may be able to hassle the manufacturer for extra money.
As a customer I wouldn't care who paid for it or how they split the bill.
But, if it is fixed for free (for me) then I'll go away and sing the praises of the Franchise and the Brand.
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