Supercar warranty in general?
Discussion
I'm a lurker who just stopped lurking so hello to both non-lurkers and lurkers!
I've been out of the supercar market for several years. My last one was a Diablo which I regret selling every day, after more than a decade of ownership. I don't pretend to be a Petrol Head but enjoy supercars and I wish I had followed this site more closely.
I am thinking of dipping my toe back in the market, probably with a McLaren of some sort.
But reading many of the various supercar posts it seems that a very large percentage of owners seem to religiously buy warranties, rolling them over on expiry, greatly increasing their running costs. Maybe through naivety or confidence in my car I never bothered. Mike Pullen (a fantastic man) looked after my Lambo; and apart from a new clutch, I never had a service bill over £600. And the car never failed me.
I have always bought my cars in cash, no finance, and will stick to that rule. Is it because a great many of purchasers on the site use finance, and that it is a requirement that a warranty is bought? Or by assumption that the use of finance implies inability to genuinely afford the car hence the need for the warranty?
Logic says that the warranty issuer is making money on the insurance product and probably a lot. So if you can afford a supercar why aren't you all "self insuring yourself" and not bother with the warranty?
Are these modern day supercars potentially that more unreliable than a Diablo?
It does put me off re-entering the market if it is expected to buy a warranty because it is likely I will need it!
I've been out of the supercar market for several years. My last one was a Diablo which I regret selling every day, after more than a decade of ownership. I don't pretend to be a Petrol Head but enjoy supercars and I wish I had followed this site more closely.
I am thinking of dipping my toe back in the market, probably with a McLaren of some sort.
But reading many of the various supercar posts it seems that a very large percentage of owners seem to religiously buy warranties, rolling them over on expiry, greatly increasing their running costs. Maybe through naivety or confidence in my car I never bothered. Mike Pullen (a fantastic man) looked after my Lambo; and apart from a new clutch, I never had a service bill over £600. And the car never failed me.
I have always bought my cars in cash, no finance, and will stick to that rule. Is it because a great many of purchasers on the site use finance, and that it is a requirement that a warranty is bought? Or by assumption that the use of finance implies inability to genuinely afford the car hence the need for the warranty?
Logic says that the warranty issuer is making money on the insurance product and probably a lot. So if you can afford a supercar why aren't you all "self insuring yourself" and not bother with the warranty?
Are these modern day supercars potentially that more unreliable than a Diablo?
It does put me off re-entering the market if it is expected to buy a warranty because it is likely I will need it!
I wouldn't buy a supercar without one having had an engine blow a few years ago and picking up a 17k bill.
That said I wouldn't buy an after market one either as they usually have a single claim limit that is next to useless when for instance there's talk of DSG boxes costing 40k. I think modern cars are more reliable but if something goes wrong some manufacturers will not sell the parts for repair, so you end up buying a new engine or a new gearbox?
That said I wouldn't buy an after market one either as they usually have a single claim limit that is next to useless when for instance there's talk of DSG boxes costing 40k. I think modern cars are more reliable but if something goes wrong some manufacturers will not sell the parts for repair, so you end up buying a new engine or a new gearbox?
I don't bother with a warranty as I've found in the past that if you do need to make a claim there is a loop hole or a limit making it useless in any case. If your going to own the car a long while consider the money it would cost you every year to cover and then look at how much that is over 5-10 years. If something goes wrong in 5 years then you have the money you saved from the warranty, if nothing goes wrong then you've saved thousands.
How much does peace of mind cost to you? Mclarens have been super reliable so far. There are independents cropping up like Thorney who will repair rather than replace. Mclaren will at some point (as time allows) her friendlier towards indies. I think we're slowly entering the era where is on to have a used mac without warranty.
acr_nick said:
I don't bother with a warranty as I've found in the past that if you do need to make a claim there is a loop hole or a limit making it useless in any case. If your going to own the car a long while consider the money it would cost you every year to cover and then look at how much that is over 5-10 years. If something goes wrong in 5 years then you have the money you saved from the warranty, if nothing goes wrong then you've saved thousands.
I agree. Manufacturer warranties when buying new are well and good but I would contribute to my own maintenance fund to be used as required rather than hand your cash over to someone else. Yes, there is always the chance of catastrophic failure but limits and loopholes are written in to extended warranties to protect the manufacturer against these - they're a business after all.EDIT: This is caveated by the need to have a good independent available to work on your car - parts are always available if you look hard enough - or be able to do a lot of the work yourself.
Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 1st February 09:47
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