Extended warranties - any good?

[alant01]

I have an 05-reg Jaguar S-Type diesel, bought from a Jag dealer almost a year ago, covered by the Jaguar used car warranty scheme which is soon to run out. Jag want £1300 to renew the cover for 12 months, and insurers like Warrtywise and Warranty Direct will offer similar cover for about £700.

I'm not sure what the real value is of these inurance policies - do they use weasel words to limit their coverage or to wriggle out of reasonable claims? It's also hard to understand what they mean by "wear and tear" cover.

Is it worth £700 for some peace of mind or is it worth taking a chance? I know just one claim could exceed £700 but it's a lot to pay on the off chance that a breakage would trully be covered.

Has anyone any comments on these schemes or experience of claiming?

[FlauM]

Read the small print very carefully. They love their get-out clauses.

[Fleckers]

FlauM said:

Read the small print very very very very very very carefully. They love their get-out clauses.

if me I would put the 700-1200 a year in a jar and use if required

in fact thats what i am doing with my 57 plate S type and if not used if soe more funds to the next car

[Evo10]

1300 for a 1 year extension would indicate a high failure rate for the marque or they are coining it on the extended warranty. I would guess its the latter in the case of the marque in question as its reputation has got a lot better for reliability over the last few years - its still not Honda reliable though...LOL I would be inclined to put the 1300 away as the safeguard against failure for the first year - half that the second IF no issues and do that for every ear thereafter....rather than give it away...also find a recommended independent Jag specialist in your area to take on the servicing.

[Deva Link]

I have a WD policy on my Merc but (touching a massive piece of wood) I've never claimed. I went for it as other owners on the MB forums had policies and WD had paid out thousands and there are things that could easily cost thousands to fix. I need the car for work so don't have the time to find cheap fixes.

I think the two companies you mention are both trying hard to not be con-artists. As you say, you're really buying peace-of-mind so if you get a load of grief when you claim then they're not fulfilling that objective. The biggest issue seems to be that people don't understand it's an insurance policy so there has to be a specific problem - funny noises or intermittant problems are likely to result in failed claims.

I found Warrantywise twice the price of WD for what seems to be the same cover. I have a rolling monthly policy with WD and I can cancel with 30 days notice and no other penalty.

One tip: Do an online quote and WD will call you after a couple of days and move a lot to get you to sign up, and they do things like reduce the excess and waiting period etc. WarrantyWise may do the same - they followed up too, but I'd already renewed with WD. If you go for the dealer rate cover then bear in mind the car has to be dealer serviced.