Used car warrantys... Worth it?
Discussion
I have just purchased a 55 plate E46 330 Coupe with 79k on the clock.
My intention at present is to run it for 2 years (20,000 miles) and then trade in or sell. In my experience I tend to tire of cars after 2 years so will be looking to change by then.
I can get a warranty for 1 year £500 quid, 2 years £950 quid. Half tempted to purchase it and pay in several installments if anything just for peice of mind. Wary for example that to fix some electrics cost £700 last week (paid for by previous owner). I have some question marks over the
I should also add that I drive the car for work (although I can use OH's car if its in the garage) and mainly cover motorway miles.
I have never bought a warranty before so I'm intrigued to encourage debate over their various merits and potential pitfalls (for example, you dont get what it says on the tin!)
My intention at present is to run it for 2 years (20,000 miles) and then trade in or sell. In my experience I tend to tire of cars after 2 years so will be looking to change by then.
I can get a warranty for 1 year £500 quid, 2 years £950 quid. Half tempted to purchase it and pay in several installments if anything just for peice of mind. Wary for example that to fix some electrics cost £700 last week (paid for by previous owner). I have some question marks over the
I should also add that I drive the car for work (although I can use OH's car if its in the garage) and mainly cover motorway miles.
I have never bought a warranty before so I'm intrigued to encourage debate over their various merits and potential pitfalls (for example, you dont get what it says on the tin!)
Who you thinking of going with? My Recent purchase will come with a 6 month but seriously considering extending either with BMW or click4warranty who's cover seems to be to be true but seem to have decent rep?
Personally I think for peace of mind it's worth the money as long as we're not talking silly money.
Personally I think for peace of mind it's worth the money as long as we're not talking silly money.
I bought a 320d for my wife about 2 years ago. Paid about £300 for a 2 year warranty. Claimed £1500 in the first month when the ABS sensor and steering column sensor both failed. Warranty checked the service records, but when it was ok, they paid out. Only issue was they wouldn;t pay the full BMW dealer rates but only £65 ph, so I had to cover about £300 of it. Guess I should have found an independent who could have done it.
Warranties are good once you know what the problem is but most won't pay for diagnostic time so if you don't know the cause of the problem you pay for the time it takes to find it.
BMW used to provide an excellent warranty where you'd simply take the car to the dealer, pick up your courtesy car and return once yours was fixed but I think they've changed thier warranty in the last year or two & I don't know if they provide the same service now?
BMW used to provide an excellent warranty where you'd simply take the car to the dealer, pick up your courtesy car and return once yours was fixed but I think they've changed thier warranty in the last year or two & I don't know if they provide the same service now?
pointedstarman said:
Warranties are good once you know what the problem is but most won't pay for diagnostic time so if you don't know the cause of the problem you pay for the time it takes to find it.
BMW used to provide an excellent warranty where you'd simply take the car to the dealer, pick up your courtesy car and return once yours was fixed but I think they've changed thier warranty in the last year or two & I don't know if they provide the same service now?
I'm still under the BMW extended warranty. I've simply dropped the car off at the dealers and they've fixed the problem(s), eventually. No hassle over getting the work done.BMW used to provide an excellent warranty where you'd simply take the car to the dealer, pick up your courtesy car and return once yours was fixed but I think they've changed thier warranty in the last year or two & I don't know if they provide the same service now?
Two things to note though:
1. Courtesy car - never had one, never been able to get one! All the dealers in my region NW England seem to allow customers to book a courtesy car when they are dropping their car off for a regular service etc. So the end result is when your car breaks down unexpectedly, all the courtesy cars are already taken. This has left my catching trains etc.
2. If you are under the extended BMW warranty then I believe this ties you into main dealer network for servicing etc. and as you would expect, they are not shy when it comes to charging you a bill.
A lot of our customers have been shafted by thier used warranty. Main issue is that they will only pay for the failed part, not any other part that needs to be changed.
Examples including a recon caliper but not the discs and pads that needed to be changed as a result of the caliper and a clutch kit but not the concentric slave or dual mass flywheel. Sometimes not even all the labour charge.
Examples including a recon caliper but not the discs and pads that needed to be changed as a result of the caliper and a clutch kit but not the concentric slave or dual mass flywheel. Sometimes not even all the labour charge.
I was with warranty dierct and they were perfect for nearly two years until I put a claim in. They refused to cover a manifold leak out of one of the swirlflaps because the garage said they also change the crankcase breather at the same time. The fact the breather was mentioned was enough to void the claim on the manifold (the breather has nothing to do with the manifiold and even if blocked wouldnt cause damage to it, it would blow the turbo seals). They state they are as comprehensive as the manufacturers warranty but hey arent and as soon as I tried to argue my case the pointed me to the small print saying along the lines they dont cover anything caused by soot, carbon build up, clogging/sludging, contamination etc. I argued for two weeks with no car until in the end I had to pay up to get the car back. They did cover the intercooler and payed £235 towards the £1300 bill. The car is now back under BMW warranty as they would have covered it all from day one, with a courtesy car and it would have only taken a couple of days. Lesson learnt by me.
dandle said:
I was with warranty dierct and they were perfect for nearly two years until I put a claim in.
Perfect because you never had to use them in that two years?dandle said:
The car is now back under BMW warranty as they would have covered it all from day one, with a courtesy car and it would have only taken a couple of days. Lesson learnt by me.
This sums it up, if you can get a manufacturers warranty, then this appears to be the hassle free route to go down.Dear All,
Independent warranties are generally not worth the paper they are written on. Dont be fooled by the cheap rates. As said they are 'perfect' until you claim, and even then there's often all sorts of reasons why your claim isn't elegible. With an indenpendent warranty you will always far overpay for the protection against the risk. You will usually find that the premuims you have payed would have covered the cost of the repairs anyway.
The only exception to this is the warranty that BMW Franchises offer, or their extended warranty. In my experience BMW have always been very fair with after sales issues. I just had six injectors replaced today for nothing, and they told me about the problem, the car was running perfectly - I wouldn't have known.
All the best,
Lloyd.
Independent warranties are generally not worth the paper they are written on. Dont be fooled by the cheap rates. As said they are 'perfect' until you claim, and even then there's often all sorts of reasons why your claim isn't elegible. With an indenpendent warranty you will always far overpay for the protection against the risk. You will usually find that the premuims you have payed would have covered the cost of the repairs anyway.
The only exception to this is the warranty that BMW Franchises offer, or their extended warranty. In my experience BMW have always been very fair with after sales issues. I just had six injectors replaced today for nothing, and they told me about the problem, the car was running perfectly - I wouldn't have known.
All the best,
Lloyd.
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