Extended Warranty... again

[NickAMV8]

I've a 2009 V8 Vantage and since owning I have paid for AM's extended warranty. There have been occasions when the premium has been worth it, e.g. when the driver’s seat heating failed, but generally, I find the premiums a bit eye wateringly expensive. (<£2,500 p.a.) I frequently ask myself if it’s worth it. Are there good independent alternatives? Should I bother at all? I appreciate that this is a bit of a recurring theme…

[Vet Guru]

I think the same but this year I have had a new heated rear window as it was not demisting
New calliper
New airbag module
Not sure if it’s brake even but I think most fairly big repairs are going to cost more.
Or do you just put £2500 in the bank and hope that will cover anything that happens…..
Never bother with aftermarket warranty’s as the claims is normally more hassle and dealers are not bothered in helping if it’s not their own

[Caslad]

I’ve always taken the view that as a generalisation the odds are stacked in favour of whoever is offering the warranty/insurance and the likelihood is that over an extended period you are likely to pay them more than you will receive from claims otherwise their business model wouldn’t make any sense.

If you were in the fortunate position of being able to afford to pay for a large and unexpected repair then I don’t think warranties are worth it. If you need some protection from said large bill then they make more sense.

[akirk]

Caslad said:

I’ve always taken the view that as a generalisation the odds are stacked in favour of whoever is offering the warranty/insurance and the likelihood is that over an extended period you are likely to pay them more than you will receive from claims otherwise their business model wouldn’t make any sense.

If you were in the fortunate position of being able to afford to pay for a large and unexpected repair then I don’t think warranties are worth it. If you need some protection from said large bill then they make more sense.

This...

plus, I see an advantage in having a warranty initially on a car when you don't really know whether it is a good one or otherwise - and then decreasing value the longer you hold the car as you get to know it. Ideally a warranty for one year, fix anything and everything you can and then fund your own repairs after that...

[BiggaJ]

NickAMV8 said:

I've a 2009 V8 Vantage and since owning I have paid for AM's extended warranty. There have been occasions when the premium has been worth it, e.g. when the driver’s seat heating failed, but generally, I find the premiums a bit eye wateringly expensive. (<£2,500 p.a.) I frequently ask myself if it’s worth it. Are there good independent alternatives? Should I bother at all? I appreciate that this is a bit of a recurring theme…

If you look at what you have paid in warranty upkeep compared to cost of repairs over the same period are you winning compared to if you had saved the £2500 annual premium for big bill items?

[SL500UK]

I've had my 4.3 for 13 years. 12 years of that was outside AM warranty. Repair costs that would have been covered by the AM warranty was very minimal but the car is only used c 3000 miles pa.

[bogie]

Its just luck, but the odds are in favour of the warranty company.

Since 2007 Ive been driving 2 Vantages, over 160k miles to date. During that time I've had 3 years under warranty so for 13 years I've saved the warranty premium...which at the start was about £1k.

The first 2006 Vantage coupe over 9 years had a window actuator and a few sensors being replaced, everything else was a wear item. The current 2012 Vantage Roadster had a few finish issues fixed under warranty. Out of warranty the most expensive issue was 3 light units that would have been covered, but otherwise now at 71k miles it has just had wear items replaced.

If you search on single make support forums you find a lot of people with issues looking for support, just the same as with any consumer product. This gives a biased perception because all the other people with the same product are not posting their issues (or lack of) online. No-one knows the true overall "reliability" picture. A few engine failure stories on the forum is usually enough to sell dozens of £2400 a year insurance policies

So its all down to how lucky you feel. The insurance policy obviously limits your exposure. Everyone is different with their attitude to risk. I pay a fixed amount each month into a savings account for my yearly vehicle maintenance (I have a few cars n bikes to maintain) and then when the pot gets to a certain size I skim off the top and invest it at the end of the year. On the 2 main cars alone, I'm probably £20-25k up on warranty premiums over the last 15 years.

[Mr.Tremlini]

My 4.3 came with a one year timeless from the AM dealer, which was nice peace of mind for the first year. In Switzerland I think the extended warranty was around 2500 Swiss Francs when I queried it as my first year was about to run out. I felt the car was up to scratch so never bothered with it further, and in the seven plus years since nothing major has befallen the vehicle so I am the best part of 20k better off, which more than paid for my exhaust, twin-plate, flywheel and suspension!

[macdeb]

'If' you know your cars a good'n and had it for some time you should be ok without. On the other hand I had two engine replacements, a gearbox replaced, seat modules within 6k miles on a low mileage car (only 12k miles when I sold it). It is a very comprehensive warranty and not as expensive as some. 'If' I ever return to AM ownership I will definately have it for the first year.

[kevin_cambs_uk]

Well it will come as no surprise I will be renewing the warranty, I did in April, and it's a lot of money , no doubt about it. But the way I look at it like this.

I put away £500 a month for yearly running costs, tax, insurance, warranty, service and any other extras. I then have an emergency fund. So I can cover a new clutch, tyres etc. But could I cover a new engine?, yes but at a struggle, as that could be upward of £30k.

So my take is that, if I have the warranty, and I have an engine issue, then I have a better chance I hope of using the warranty for the repair if possible. I know this kind of failure is rare, but so is my house burning down but I still shell out £500 a year on insurance, cause I just don't have the money to rebuild it.

So maybe its comes down to the fact can you afford the most expensive bill? Its not like owning just any car, these are a premium to buy and run, I know, cause my first 15 months of ownership have been eye watering expensive, and to lose all that investment for the sake of letting the warranty go at the moment is not for me.

But there will come a time when it depreciates to such an extent that if there was a very expensive repair it would be uneconomical to repair.

Kev

[LTP]

I, too, am debating whether to continue with the Timeless warranty. I've had my car for nearly five years and kept up the warranty that came with it, and I think I've had value from it as it's funded fixing the front timing cover oil leak, a complete rebuild of my handbrake system (due to MOT failure) replacing the joystick for the ICE/Nav system as it was making intermittent contact (and the cost of one of those would make you weep as it's the entire piece of trim). I'm having the 8-year-old original battery replaced at the service next month as a precaution.

On the basis of having sorted out all of the issues I inherited when I bought the car, because of the rising annual cost of the warranty I was thinking of starting to self-insure, but with one caveat - the Aston Martin rescue. I gave up my RAC membership after some 40-odd years as I had AML rescue for the Vantage and we have Volvo Rescue for my V60CC and my wife's C30 (as long as we have them serviced at a Volvo main dealer), so if I self-insure for the Vantage warranty I'm going to have to find a rescue organisation that I'd trust with the Vantage if the worst happens. Anyone have any suggestions?

[bogie]

Ive been an AA member for years, it comes with my bank account. I have been recovered once in my Vantage when the clutch release bearing failed they recovered me home and then transported my Vantage to the dealer on a flat bed recovery truck. They took great care with my car and it arrived at the dealer unmarked.

Obviously it depends on the local guy driving the recovery truck, but I'm happy with the AA. Over the last 20 years I have used them a few times for my cars and motorcycles, they have even recover a friends car back home who I was passenger with (they insure the person rather than a particular vehicle).

[996Type]

Regards the AM warranty that is a level below the timeless one for older vehicles, do you have to maintain AD service history to keep it or can you go independent?

Also, once you exit the warranty, do you have to submit the car to an AD check to get back in or once you’re out, you’re out?

[LTP]

996Type said:

Regards the AM warranty that is a level below the timeless one for older vehicles

No, I believe it's the same warranty. I believe that the cover changes once a vehicle gets beyond a certain age (somebody who knows will, I'm sure, correct me). It is, at the end of the day, just an insurance policy.

996Type said:

do you have to maintain AD service history to keep it or can you go independent?

I believe AM dealer required, but not certain. To avoid issues I've been using main dealer. I was also told that if I had a twin-plate clutch installed in my SSII car then it wouldn't invalidate the whole warranty, just the clutch.

996Type said:

Also, once you exit the warranty, do you have to submit the car to an AD check to get back in or once you’re out, you’re out?

You can get a car back under the Timeless warranty if you submit it for an inspection (at a cost)

typo fixed

Edited by LTP on Thursday 21st September 13:55

[M1AGM]

LTP said:

I, too, am debating whether to continue with the Timeless warranty. I've had my car for nearly five years and kept up the warranty that came with it, and I think I've had value from it as it's funded fixing the front timing cover oil leak, a complete rebuild of my handbrake system (due to MOT failure) replacing the joystick for the ICE/Nav system as it was making intermittent contact (and the cost of one of those would make you weep as it's the entire piece of trim). I'm having the 8-year-old original battery replaced at the service next month as a precaution.

On the basis of having sorted out all of the issues I inherited when I bought the car, because of the rising annual cost of the warranty I was thinking of starting to self-insure, but with one caveat - the Aston Martin rescue. I gave up my RAC membership after some 40-odd years as I had AML rescue for the Vantage and we have Volvo Rescue for my V60CC and my wife's C30 (as long as we have them serviced at a Volvo main dealer), so if I self-insure for the Vantage warranty I'm going to have to find a rescue organisation that I'd trust with the Vantage if the worst happens. Anyone have any suggestions?

On the subject of recovery services I spent last Saturday being recovered 240 miles to home on 3 different lorries. I am with startrescue and although there were problems with them (not the recovery businesses) in doing the logistics, I did get home after 11 hours, 4 of which were wasted due to their incompetence. En route spoke to all 3 drivers and all 3 said avoid the RAC like the plague, the horrible stories they gave me about people being left for up to 28 hours were worrying to say the least. AA weren’t exactly praised. Green flag got a fair review. They did explain the reasons why the RAC operating model/cs is so bad but its not for this thread and I’d probably get censored.

[LTP]

M1AGM said:

On the subject of recovery services I spent last Saturday being recovered 240 miles to home on 3 different lorries. I am with startrescue and although there were problems with them (not the recovery businesses) in doing the logistics, I did get home after 11 hours, 4 of which were wasted due to their incompetence. En route spoke to all 3 drivers and all 3 said avoid the RAC like the plague, the horrible stories they gave me about people being left for up to 28 hours were worrying to say the least. AA weren’t exactly praised. Green flag got a fair review. They did explain the reasons why the RAC operating model/cs is so bad but its not for this thread and I’d probably get censored.

Thanks. When I joined the RAC I was given a key, emblazoned with the RAC logo, for access to the various dedicated and liveried phone boxes dotted about the country (the key also fitted AA boxes - I think I've probably still got it somewhere). This was in the days when the RAC really was a "club" with the HQ in a very nice building in London, although by then the rot was setting in and the days had already gone when you were saluted by a patrol man if they saw the badge on your grille.

Now they are owned (last time I checked) by VCs, who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing (except of extracting cash for themselves)

End of nostalgia posting for today. Think I'd better change my user name to Meldrew

[M1AGM]

LTP said:

Thanks. When I joined the RAC I was given a key, emblazoned with the RAC logo, for access to the various dedicated and liveried phone boxes dotted about the country (the key also fitted AA boxes - I think I've probably still got it somewhere). This was in the days when the RAC really was a "club" with the HQ in a very nice building in London, although by then the rot was setting in and the days had already gone when you were saluted by a patrol man if they saw the badge on your grille.

Now they are owned (last time I checked) by VCs, who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing (except of extracting cash for themselves)

End of nostalgia posting for today. Think I'd better change my user name to Meldrew

Yes, my thoughts too.

[Jon39]

LTP said:

Thanks. When I joined the RAC I was given a key, emblazoned with the RAC logo, for access to the various dedicated and liveried phone boxes dotted about the country (the key also fitted AA boxes - I think I've probably still got it somewhere). This was in the days when the RAC really was a "club" with the HQ in a very nice building in London, although by then the rot was setting in and the days had already gone when you were saluted by a patrol man if they saw the badge on your grille.

Now they are owned (last time I checked) by VCs, who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing (except of extracting cash for themselves)

End of nostalgia posting for today. Think I'd better change my user name to Meldrew

When you saw an RAC motorcycle (with side car for tools) approaching you from the opposite direction, did they see your membership badge and then salute. When there was no salute, it is said that indicated a speed trap around the corner.
That polite member recognition is another thing that has ended.

The thing now with breakdown services, is never renew. They offer new customers much better prices, so switch each year.
Tesco Clubcard vouchers can be used to pay AA, combining enhanced voucher value, but less generous than it used to be.

[NickAMV8]

996Type said:

I was also told that if I had a twin-plate clutch installed in my SSII car then it wouldn't invalidate the whole warranty, just the clutch.

This is interesting. Whilst searching the independents for their warranties, I came across Bamford Rose and their clutch replacement service offering a twin plate clutch and lightweight flywheel - all supposedly much smoother than the AM original. I'm tempted by this as at present with the original AM set up, at slow speeds and under hard acceleration in 'D', the changes can be a bit clunky. Anybody have experience of this upgrade? Mine is a SS1.

996Type said:

Also, once you exit the warranty, do you have to submit the car to an AD check to get back in or once you’re out, you’re out?
You can get a car back under the Timeless warranty if you submit it for an inspection (at a cost)

Last time I checked, the inspection prior to re-entry into the AM extended warranty was @ £450... Might have changed now.

Sorry if I've misquoted the original poster in there...

[996Type]

Thank you for the responses, very useful