Warranty advice please

Warranty advice please

Author
Discussion

Nattyboy888

Original Poster:

258 posts

156 months

Wednesday 17th February 2021
quotequote all
One step closer to 570 ownership so I can join you all properly ! Car being inspected by Thorney tomorrow lunchtime - proper excited ! Apologies as this has probably been asked a hundred times but I’d like to get feedback on warranty. I have the option of taking out the Thorney warranty but just wondering if it’s worth a gamble and putting the money in a pot ? I plan to keep the car for three years so that’s nearly a £9k slush fund in an ideal world. My justification for taking a punt is:
- the supplying dealer gives a 3 month warranty - albeit a limited one.
- I’m unlikely to heavily use the car until lockdown finishes and would probably not use it November to feb.
- as far as I am aware one of the most reasonably possible ‘major’ failures is the gearbox which thorney do a refurb service for £9.5k (against £25k replacement).

That Said I don’t know what the real world average owner £ experience is like for fixing stuff and don’t have an appreciation for the cost of other things that can go wrong.

I do think that I would enjoy the car more/worry less with warranty but it’s a big wedge for minor usage - especially this year.

Thoughts appreciated !

davek_964

8,797 posts

174 months

Wednesday 17th February 2021
quotequote all
How old is the car? In other words - how much is the official extended warranty?

There are many owners who self insure, and they tend to say that are cash positive. But then the cash negative ones might keep quiet!

I have to make this decision in August, and I think mine will come down to this:

If I think I will want to sell any time soon I will warranty.
If I decide my car is a keeper, I probably won't.

The one thing that makes it a difficult decision is that although it's pretty expensive, the extended warranty is very comprehensive so you do at least get what you pay for.

dsl2

1,474 posts

200 months

Wednesday 17th February 2021
quotequote all
I've had my 570 Spider just coming up to 3 years & 9500 miles now.

The factory warranty expires at the end of next month, I've just had Thorney give her a good look over with no problems spotted. As such I'm not going to put a warranty on it as other than 1 minor trim issue early on its been no trouble, hopefully I shall be quids in over the next few years but who knows!

Sarnie

8,025 posts

208 months

Wednesday 17th February 2021
quotequote all
[quote=dsl2

The factory warranty expires at the end of next month, I've just had Thorney give her a good look over with no problems spotted. As such I'm not going to put a warranty on it as other than 1 minor trim issue early on its been no trouble, hopefully I shall be quids in over the next few years but who knows!
[/quote]

100% this.

The more people who have no issues with their car that don't take out extended warranty, the more faith in the cars the market will have rather than every potential McLaren buyer being brainwashed into thinking they need to have a warranty because people on the internet (mainly non-owners) continue to perpetuate the same nonsense.

I've had 4 McLarens over the last six years and not had to claim on the warranty for any of them. you would be extremely unlucky to spend over £9k on repairs for a 570s over 3 years.........

johnnyreggae

2,930 posts

159 months

Wednesday 17th February 2021
quotequote all
And also the factory must be much happier about their cars to be putting a five warranty on the Artura

650spider

1,476 posts

170 months

Wednesday 17th February 2021
quotequote all
johnnyreggae said:
And also the factory must be much happier about their cars to be putting a five warranty on the Artura
Is the 5yr warranty for the whole car or just the battery?

davek_964

8,797 posts

174 months

Wednesday 17th February 2021
quotequote all
650spider said:
Is the 5yr warranty for the whole car or just the battery?
The car.
Battery is 6 years.

650spider

1,476 posts

170 months

Wednesday 17th February 2021
quotequote all
davek_964 said:
650spider said:
Is the 5yr warranty for the whole car or just the battery?
The car.
Battery is 6 years.
Massive step in the right direction.

RSbandit

2,590 posts

131 months

Wednesday 17th February 2021
quotequote all
Bought my 2016 570s in Dec 2019 with 3 months left on the extended warranty, I renewed it in Feb last yr for £3k...it's had £9k worth of stuff done since nothing super serious but the parts and labour are expensive. I'll renew again at the end of the month as I'm nicely ahead on the first yr. Also be warned if the car falls out of warranty it needs to be inspected by Mclaren and any issues they highlight fixed before they will apply a new warranty.

iridium_moon

51 posts

57 months

Thursday 18th February 2021
quotequote all
Nattyboy888 said:
... but just wondering if it’s worth a gamble and putting the money in a pot ? I plan to keep the car for three years so that’s nearly a £9k slush fund in an ideal world. ...
Gamble is the correct word. Here's my philosophy on this, and all other insurance.

By definition, insurance is gambling. Actuaries - I believe they are called - do all kinds of complex calculations (and quite a bit of guesswork too) to define the odds of an insurer having to pay a claim for any specified risk. Premiums are then calculated, ensuring there is always a clear advantage to the insurer. It's not unfair: if there were not a big advantage in that direction the business model would not work at all.

So there it is. Do you like to gamble? I believe there is only one way to ALWAYS win at gambling, long term. You need to own the casino. That's exactly what not insuring things is: you are buying the casino.

All my own opinion of course. But I do put my money where my mouth is: I do not insure my house, much of my business, non-road use vehicles and plant, and I certainly never pay for discretionary warranties. So far (30 years) I reckon I'm at least £100K up.

And of course running uninsured I take extra care of everything. Shortening the odds in my favour even more, as I can ensure I am below an average risk.

650spider

1,476 posts

170 months

Thursday 18th February 2021
quotequote all
iridium_moon said:
Nattyboy888 said:
... but just wondering if it’s worth a gamble and putting the money in a pot ? I plan to keep the car for three years so that’s nearly a £9k slush fund in an ideal world. ...
Gamble is the correct word. Here's my philosophy on this, and all other insurance.

By definition, insurance is gambling. Actuaries - I believe they are called - do all kinds of complex calculations (and quite a bit of guesswork too) to define the odds of an insurer having to pay a claim for any specified risk. Premiums are then calculated, ensuring there is always a clear advantage to the insurer. It's not unfair: if there were not a big advantage in that direction the business model would not work at all.

So there it is. Do you like to gamble? I believe there is only one way to ALWAYS win at gambling, long term. You need to own the casino. That's exactly what not insuring things is: you are buying the casino.

All my own opinion of course. But I do put my money where my mouth is: I do not insure my house, much of my business, non-road use vehicles and plant, and I certainly never pay for discretionary warranties. So far (30 years) I reckon I'm at least £100K up.

And of course running uninsured I take extra care of everything. Shortening the odds in my favour even more, as I can ensure I am below an average risk.
Pretty balsy.

I am sure that if God forbid an electrical fault caused your house to burn down, the impending £500k loss would be of more concern than the £100k saved over 30 yrs by not insuring anything.

Everyone is different though.

Streetbeat

859 posts

75 months

Thursday 18th February 2021
quotequote all
I am also looking at 570s and asked for some warranty advise on here, Thorney and Mclarens own.

I think i have come to the conclusion if i buy a non warranted car i will probably warranty (most likely Mclaren) for a year as i get to know the car and decide from there, if the car has been trouble free i probably wont bother the following year and put the money in the pot, bearing in mind also, whether Thorney or Mclaren the car would have been inspected and given the all clear or not.

GT Two

3,070 posts

191 months

Thursday 18th February 2021
quotequote all
Definitely do your own research but I wouldn't step away from McLaren warranty to any of the current offerings. I know for a fact that anyone out there currently lean on Mclaren for a lot of support for items whether it be parts or advice.

I had a cracked head in my 12c, the car never broke down but started smoking on start up. Mclaren fixed it and it took them long enough to find the correct part. I got it sorted but I am glad that I wasn't further down the list in terms of cars they had to sort.


R8Reece

1,485 posts

88 months

Thursday 18th February 2021
quotequote all
650spider said:
Pretty balsy.

I am sure that if God forbid an electrical fault caused your house to burn down, the impending £500k loss would be of more concern than the £100k saved over 30 yrs by not insuring anything.

Everyone is different though.
House insurance is mandatory for a mortgaged house but not contents I think.

I guess if you don't have a mortgage and don't issue your house, you can afford to rebuild it?

Being £100k up is the difference between paying for insurance policies vs covering the costs yourself of issues those policies would've covered. Doesn't mean a whopping bill won't occur though!

drcarrera

791 posts

224 months

Thursday 18th February 2021
quotequote all
My general philosophy is if I can afford the potential loss, I don't insure. So my house and contents, and cars, are insured but nothing else.
Car warranties sort of fall in a middle ground for me as even though I could technically afford any work that may need to be done there's something to be said for the peace of mind of knowing that anything that could go wrong is covered. That's particularly true of the Mac warranty that is so comprehensive, meaning that you're not only insuring against the big cost items but little niggly issues as well.
Currently, neither of my older cars have warranties - although I did get lucky when the 15K cost of an engine issue in one of them was covered by the manufacturer as a goodwill gesture!

Personally, with a Mac, I'd want a warranty for the first year of ownership, then see how I felt beyond that.

Pioneer

1,309 posts

130 months

Thursday 18th February 2021
quotequote all
I generally don't bother with warranties on most cars after the manufacturer's one has expired. Supercars are a different issue though and I prefer to run them with a warranty. Just personal choice and gives me stress-free ownership. Same with home insurance. I'm a landlord and we own our own house outright, all our others have BTL mortgages on them. I insure them all, no choice with the rentals but I don't have to insure our own legally. Even though potentially I could take the hit on our house burning down I couldn't afford to be sued for personal injury from a fall, dog attack etc. The difference between a stand-alone public liability policy and full home insurance which includes it means I just roll with the normal insurance. I like a gamble but that's too rich for me!

TP321

1,475 posts

197 months

Thursday 18th February 2021
quotequote all
iridium_moon said:
Gamble is the correct word. Here's my philosophy on this, and all other insurance.

By definition, insurance is gambling. Actuaries - I believe they are called - do all kinds of complex calculations (and quite a bit of guesswork too) to define the odds of an insurer having to pay a claim for any specified risk. Premiums are then calculated, ensuring there is always a clear advantage to the insurer. It's not unfair: if there were not a big advantage in that direction the business model would not work at all.

So there it is. Do you like to gamble? I believe there is only one way to ALWAYS win at gambling, long term. You need to own the casino. That's exactly what not insuring things is: you are buying the casino.

All my own opinion of course. But I do put my money where my mouth is: I do not insure my house, much of my business, non-road use vehicles and plant, and I certainly never pay for discretionary warranties. So far (30 years) I reckon I'm at least £100K up.

And of course running uninsured I take extra care of everything. Shortening the odds in my favour even more, as I can ensure I am below an average risk.
You must have much bigger balls than me to not insure your house in order to save £600 per annum...there are many things i wont insure, but never my house.

hyphen

26,262 posts

89 months

Thursday 18th February 2021
quotequote all
TP321 said:
You must have much bigger balls than me to not insure your house in order to save £600 per annum...there are many things i wont insure, but never my house.
I suspect you will find many don't. Hence the phrase 'As safe as houses'

TP321

1,475 posts

197 months

Thursday 18th February 2021
quotequote all
if i was going to warranty then i would only do the Mclaren warranty - its very comprehensive and to them, replacing a gearbox in your car will not be the end of the world...but would an Indy replace it or just patch it up?? Ask yourself that...

AstonExige720

661 posts

106 months

Thursday 18th February 2021
quotequote all
I think when it comes down to 3rd party warranties, you know the house always wins. And the Mclaren extended warranty is just a 3rd party warranty. So statistically you will save money by self-warrantying. You're just taking the gamble with a potential big hit, gearbox, engine that sort of thing. However, when you see the astronomical costs of replacing the gearbox and engine, more often than not that is Mclaren just replacing by default, not repairing. However, if you were self-warrantying, you'd go for the repair option and with the likes of Thorney on the scene, that option becomes even more appealing.

It is something I'll consider with my 720 when my warranty is up in a couple of years. See how it is whilst under warranty, I'll then talk to John at Thorney, ask for costs to rebuild gearbox / engine, expect the bill to be under £10k and therefore take the decision to pocket the £5k yearly warranty cost. I might not be that brave when it comes to it but that's how I'm justifying my plan to keep my long term smile