Aston Martin extended warranty
Discussion
I have a 2008 V8 Vantage and have so far paid the annual subscription to maintain the manufacturer's warranty. The renewal date is coming up soon, and I note a big increase in premiums. I've been quoted £2,529 to extend by another year and £4,735 to extend by two years. I get the fact that as the car ages, the maintenance costs may go up, but these prices seem a little eye watering. (Incidentally, I'm told that AM will now offer warranty extensions for cars up to 20 years old. Who know what premiums will be charged then...) Are such warranties worthwhile for a car like this? I've actually had one dealer tell me that having such a warranty makes no difference to the resale value of the car, something I find a bit surprising. Would a third party insured warranty be better value or should I just save the money and take the hit on any bills? Any views?
How often have you had to use the warranty in the past? If it's a couple of grand per year every year then you're quids in. If less, then maybe it's not a financially sound investment.
FWiW, my V8V now has over 55k miles on it. I've done 40k+ of those. The only time a warranty might have proved advantageous was when it needed the usual front cover oil leak to be fixed. Even then, the overall cost would have meant just about breaking even.
FWiW, my V8V now has over 55k miles on it. I've done 40k+ of those. The only time a warranty might have proved advantageous was when it needed the usual front cover oil leak to be fixed. Even then, the overall cost would have meant just about breaking even.
I kept mine under extended warranty, like most insurance it generally costs more than you get back. For my Aston the big claim was the £1500+ for a new sidelight strip plus a £600 roof module in about 5 years so I probably paid out over £5k in insurance. On the other hand my old 997 C4S had a new engine in the 1st year of extended warranty.
As for resale, when I sold my Vantage a couple of years back the buyer was only looking for cars that had a Aston Martin warranty for his piece of mind. It pretty much sold it straight away.
As for resale, when I sold my Vantage a couple of years back the buyer was only looking for cars that had a Aston Martin warranty for his piece of mind. It pretty much sold it straight away.
Its just luck and the premiums favour the insurer. Never bothered since warranty ran out in 2008, did 83k in first Vantage, 65k miles in current car (was under warranty for 12 months when I bought it at 3.5 years old)
First car had a few sensors and door motor go over the 9 years, nothing major. All the big expenses were consumables like clutch and 3 wheel bearings.
Current car not so good in 6 years its had some mirror corrosion (not covered by timeless warranty so check aftermarket) and 2 rear lights, 1 front light. I might have broke even on a warranty with the lights going. Fingers crossed for the future.
I would keep the money in the bank and self insure.
First car had a few sensors and door motor go over the 9 years, nothing major. All the big expenses were consumables like clutch and 3 wheel bearings.
Current car not so good in 6 years its had some mirror corrosion (not covered by timeless warranty so check aftermarket) and 2 rear lights, 1 front light. I might have broke even on a warranty with the lights going. Fingers crossed for the future.
I would keep the money in the bank and self insure.
NickAMV8 said:
I have a 2008 V8 Vantage and have so far paid the annual subscription to maintain the manufacturer's warranty. ...
Have you started to get Christmas cards from your warranty insurer Nick ?
If the average extended warranty cost has been about £2,000, I must now be around £20,000 up on the deal.
I would only have been able to claim for 1 door damper and 1 air conditioning radiator in 10 years.
A few might be unlucky, but I think the majority of owners tend to be better off without buying a warranty.
I’ve been critical in the past of AM’s generally poor engagement with owners, but I wasn’t expecting this latest one.
Today i received a letter from AM’s warranty provider:
Advising me when my extended warranty is due to expire
Promoting the benefits of a further extended warranty
Stressing that it’s important that I renew before the current one expires
Inviting me to contact my local dealer (details not provided) to discuss renewal
Only one slight problem… they’re a month late sending the letter and the policy has already expired.
I find it utterly bewildering how a “ultra luxury” brand can get such basic stuff wrong. Personally I think it’s worse than if they’d sent no reminder at all and simply left the onus on the owner to remember when the policy was due to expire.
I probably wouldn’t have taken another extended warranty, but make sure you diarise renewal dates yourself if you might!
Today i received a letter from AM’s warranty provider:
Advising me when my extended warranty is due to expire
Promoting the benefits of a further extended warranty
Stressing that it’s important that I renew before the current one expires
Inviting me to contact my local dealer (details not provided) to discuss renewal
Only one slight problem… they’re a month late sending the letter and the policy has already expired.
I find it utterly bewildering how a “ultra luxury” brand can get such basic stuff wrong. Personally I think it’s worse than if they’d sent no reminder at all and simply left the onus on the owner to remember when the policy was due to expire.
I probably wouldn’t have taken another extended warranty, but make sure you diarise renewal dates yourself if you might!
LooneyTunes said:
I’ve been critical in the past of AM’s generally poor engagement with owners, but I wasn’t expecting this latest one.
Today i received a letter from AM’s warranty provider:
Advising me when my extended warranty is due to expire
Promoting the benefits of a further extended warranty
Stressing that it’s important that I renew before the current one expires
Inviting me to contact my local dealer (details not provided) to discuss renewal
Only one slight problem… they’re a month late sending the letter and the policy has already expired.
I find it utterly bewildering how a “ultra luxury” brand can get such basic stuff wrong. Personally I think it’s worse than if they’d sent no reminder at all and simply left the onus on the owner to remember when the policy was due to expire.
I probably wouldn’t have taken another extended warranty, but make sure you diarise renewal dates yourself if you might!
Mine was two months late...Today i received a letter from AM’s warranty provider:
Advising me when my extended warranty is due to expire
Promoting the benefits of a further extended warranty
Stressing that it’s important that I renew before the current one expires
Inviting me to contact my local dealer (details not provided) to discuss renewal
Only one slight problem… they’re a month late sending the letter and the policy has already expired.
I find it utterly bewildering how a “ultra luxury” brand can get such basic stuff wrong. Personally I think it’s worse than if they’d sent no reminder at all and simply left the onus on the owner to remember when the policy was due to expire.
I probably wouldn’t have taken another extended warranty, but make sure you diarise renewal dates yourself if you might!
Like any other insurance policy, be it house, pet or jewellery, warranties are designed to make money for the issuer. If they didn't, they wouldn't offer them. So, given average luck, you will lose.
The debate comes down to whether you have enough spare £ to pay for unexpected work if it's needed. In short, if I may quote Mr Eastwood, 'How lucky do you feel, punk?' And, unless Aston Martin is an exception, you also have to consider that companies that issue warranties are very good at finding reasons not to pay out.
The debate comes down to whether you have enough spare £ to pay for unexpected work if it's needed. In short, if I may quote Mr Eastwood, 'How lucky do you feel, punk?' And, unless Aston Martin is an exception, you also have to consider that companies that issue warranties are very good at finding reasons not to pay out.
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