Auto Protect Warranty
Discussion
My Warranty with auto protect (originally purchased through kerridges) has just expired and after paying £499 for the past 2 years for there top cover as they had been highly recommended regarding payouts etc, which is why I have stuck with them although they have never contacted me when it has ran out regarding renewal baring in mind touch wood I havent had to use it, not very profesional. The only good thing is there renewal qoute this time after me having to phone them is £299 for the same cover. Now before I renew I remember I think possibly bondy saying he used someone AA maybe and said they were pretty good. Oh and one more thing my car is still on the standard box and diff so it would need to be decent cover if it went on me. Any others that might be worth a try??
I was with them (autoprotect) for about 4 years also through kerridges. Having had difficulty claiming a few times (water pump refused etc.) I decided just to risk it even though I have the open diff etc. as well.
The problem comes with the wear and tear clause, if a bearing on the gearbox wears slightly and allows the diff to chomp some teeth which camp does that fall into ? I have heard people who have been refused and have heard others have been paid out. Think you stand more chance if you have a dealer selling the warranties making the claim, less so if you are on your own. When Kerridges wouldn't renew on my behalf that's when I called it a day.
That said I was paying a lot more than you have been quoted so I suspect in the time I had it I could have paid for a diff change.
Will be interested how this pans out, its always at the back of my mind, but would be even more fed up having paid for a warranty and getting nothing out of it.
Rob.
The problem comes with the wear and tear clause, if a bearing on the gearbox wears slightly and allows the diff to chomp some teeth which camp does that fall into ? I have heard people who have been refused and have heard others have been paid out. Think you stand more chance if you have a dealer selling the warranties making the claim, less so if you are on your own. When Kerridges wouldn't renew on my behalf that's when I called it a day.
That said I was paying a lot more than you have been quoted so I suspect in the time I had it I could have paid for a diff change.
Will be interested how this pans out, its always at the back of my mind, but would be even more fed up having paid for a warranty and getting nothing out of it.
Rob.
I had a Gold Warranty with Auto Protect and it was a complete waste of money. I tried to claim three times and each time they found some obscure reason in the small print to reject the claim. Whatever your problem they WILL find a way to say it is not covered. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM THIS BUNCH OF CONMEN. Loads of other people have had similar experiences. To read their stories, go to: http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews243895.html
Edited by Ian Bottle on Thursday 6th January 15:39
The first was a heated windscreen which had stopped working. Windscreens are not covered. The second was a multiplug connector to the engine management system which they deemed to be part of the wiring, which is not covered. On the third occasion it was a air mass flow metre, which initially they conceeded was covered. However, after a lot of messing about during which they kept coming back to me demanding to see more and more old paperwork and service receipts, they finally decided I had exceeded the manufacturers service intervals and invalidated my policy completely. Each time I rang the claims 'helpline' it was clear from the rudeness of the staff and their line of questioning that they were only interested in trying to find a way of avoiding paying the claim. My advice is stay well clear.
The AA parts cover is about £70 (ontop of membership) and only cover upto £500 (minus £25 excess). You can claim upto 5 times in a year.
I have claimed 4 times since I have had the car and another time I tried but they wouldn't cover it as the garage mentioned it could be contaminated fuel that they do not cover.
My car now is looked after by the same people and they know how to deal with the AA. You have to break down and call the AA out and if they can't fix it then you can claim.
My last claim looked like turbos (they are covered). Obviously it was not that but the other reason was also covered.
They are very good and paying.
Bondy
I have claimed 4 times since I have had the car and another time I tried but they wouldn't cover it as the garage mentioned it could be contaminated fuel that they do not cover.
My car now is looked after by the same people and they know how to deal with the AA. You have to break down and call the AA out and if they can't fix it then you can claim.
My last claim looked like turbos (they are covered). Obviously it was not that but the other reason was also covered.
They are very good and paying.
Bondy
node said:
Ian Bottle said:
I tried to claim three times and each time they found some obscure reason in the small print to reject the claim
Just out of interest, what mechanical problems did you try to claim for?Edited by Ian Bottle on Thursday 6th January 15:39
Rob.
Edited by mr2turbo300 on Thursday 6th January 20:33
As someone who works in the trade, most of these policies are worse than useless. As with all insurance, they are geared to make money and pay out the minimum on claims. Any excuse to refuse is the way, I've been involved with some really bad cases.
I've never had a policy and am well in front of where I would be if I had paid for cover over the last five years.
Dave
I've never had a policy and am well in front of where I would be if I had paid for cover over the last five years.
Dave
Thanks for the feedback guys all comments taken on board I have just cancelled my policy with them and as many of you have said will probably just put the money aside or will perhaps look into doing the AA waranty or if there any other options regarding warranties that seem to be of a standard let me know thanks.
daddysumo said:
I had that same warranty through Kerridges and I got my 6 speed box replaced when it blew fifth gear for a completely new one including removal, installation and stripping of both boxes to remove and refit the lsd.
Really?? Thats what I took the warranty out for to be honest, how were they to deal with regarding service history and inspections etc before they paid out? Also just to add does anyone have any idea roughly how much it costs to have the gearbox replaced and the lsd fitted if worse come to worse?Edited by lotus160sport on Friday 7th January 12:35
lotus160sport said:
daddysumo said:
I had that same warranty through Kerridges and I got my 6 speed box replaced when it blew fifth gear for a completely new one including removal, installation and stripping of both boxes to remove and refit the lsd.
Really?? Thats what I took the warranty out for to be honest, how were they to deal with regarding service history and inspections etc before they paid out? Also just to add does anyone have any idea roughly how much it costs to have the gearbox replaced and the lsd fitted if worse come to worse?
Edited by lotus160sport on Friday 7th January 12:35
I purchased the car from there some months earlier with a full history so was never asked for it,they were good to deal with, it took quite a few weeks but was painless..
I got a warranty with Customer Protect when i originally bought the car from the TVR centre ,Had one problem with speedo but fixed by TVR centre -no problem .When it came up for renewal they wanted just under £1000 for the cover so I declined!!.
I also have a cover on a van I purchased with Coverdrive who again are a waste of space . The steering rack was broken and they wanted me to take it to their authorised repairer some 60 miles away. When I refused they wanted to agree the figure with a local garage before doing any work. On completion of the work they wanted the invoice made out to the dealer I bought the van from and sent immediately.Needless to say after much hassle I got a cheque less of course the Vat which obviously the dealer claimed back .For the hassle it caused I wouldnt bother again.
I also have a cover on a van I purchased with Coverdrive who again are a waste of space . The steering rack was broken and they wanted me to take it to their authorised repairer some 60 miles away. When I refused they wanted to agree the figure with a local garage before doing any work. On completion of the work they wanted the invoice made out to the dealer I bought the van from and sent immediately.Needless to say after much hassle I got a cheque less of course the Vat which obviously the dealer claimed back .For the hassle it caused I wouldnt bother again.
D_G said:
As someone who works in the trade, most of these policies are worse than useless. As with all insurance, they are geared to make money and pay out the minimum on claims. Any excuse to refuse is the way, I've been involved with some really bad cases.
I've never had a policy and am well in front of where I would be if I had paid for cover over the last five years.
Dave
I'm with you on this, Ive inquired to have some lengthy gearbox work done and hit a brick wall, ill have to spend a fortune to diagnose the problem and only then will they decide whether or not to cover me, very difficult to lock them down to a straight answer, I've never had a policy and am well in front of where I would be if I had paid for cover over the last five years.
Dave
Its all a f*&^%ng rip off designed to put you at ease until you actually need them, and then you just get excuses.
you end up paying up front and then fighting for the money back.
Hello,
I would like to start by informing as many people as possible to avoid Auto protect as they are a complete and utter scam as I will explain below.
I paid £971.88 for 3 years cover of “premier plus mechanical breakdown insurance” with AutoProtect for my range rover vogue as I knew if something went wrong it would be costly as I’ve owned one previously. This was purchased via my car finance provider “carloans4u”. I was informed that if anything happens to my car it will be covered (other than wear and tear i.e. tyres etc.) and the only thing I would have to pay for is diagnostics. My car has now been in the garage since the 25/02/15 (over 4 months) where it remains to this day.
On the 22/02/15 my car went into limp mode with a complete loss of power. I contacted Auto protect who advised me to take it to Halfords auto centre as they have an account with them and the job would be done quickly. I took it to Halfords auto centre and had it diagnosed (at a cost to me) as a turbo failure. Halfords then informed me that they couldn’t do the job as it was too big for them. I then contacted Auto protect to inform them and they said to take it anywhere as long as the garage is VAT registered. I then spoke to land rover to book it in with them yet there was a 2 week waiting list to have the car looked at and in addition to this you have to book a courtesy car 3 weeks in advance? Try and figure that one out! Therefore I booked the car in at a local land rover specialist to be diagnosed (paid for again by me). The reported again stated that the near side turbo had failed.
Auto protect then requested that the turbos were to be sent to their approved tester for them to be checked at my expense? I refused and told them that it had already been diagnosed at 2 independent garages to which they then agreed to cover the cost of the shipping and testing etc. A week later they informed me that the near side turbo was faulty and the off side turbo was fine. Therefore they were sending the working one back to us and replacing the near side turbo, which I thought great. Almost 2 weeks later the new turbo arrived and the garage began putting the car back together. Now at this point Auto protect informed the land rover specialist that they would only be paying/authorizing 7.7 hours labour as this is what it states in the glass guide. The land rover specialist informed Auto protect that it was impossible to carry out such works in such a time frame. Auto protect informed me that if I got written proof from land rover stating the job took longer then they would pay out for whatever land rover stipulate. I obtained written proof from land rover that the job takes a total 11.8 hours labour (£130 an hour plus vat, total £1840.80), now this took about a month as at first land rover didn’t want to give up this information as the car wasn’t in a land rover garage. This information was then sent to Auto protect and after reviewing it they still refused to pay out for the full job i.e. hours. They said some of the items on the job sheet that land rover where stating were required to be done/changed for a turbo refit were not required?!? Can you believe this, some kid in a call centre is claiming land rover are making jobs up! They continued to state they will only pay for 7.7 hours labour at £70 an hour plus the VAT, total £646.80 and not a penny more.
The land rover specialist then presented me with a bill for £1956.58 which included items such as oil etc. which the land rover quote did not include (hence the higher price). I then contacted Auto protect and I pointed out to them that items such as oil are also covered under the warranty, they then reluctantly agreed to pay for this. Land rover charge £108 to refill the oil, once this bill was given to Auto protect they then said and I quote “I can find oil cheaper than that” and began to google it! Yes I said googled it! He then informed me that he had found oil on the internet for £15. After nearly falling out of my chair laughing I informed him that I’m not putting cheap £15 oil into land rover. After going around in circles with him for an hour he said the most they can pay towards the oil was £50?
Therefore in total the job cost £1956.58
Auto protect paid me £720.34
Leaving me to pay £1236.24
Plus the cost of the original warranty of £971.88
Total cost to me £2208.12, this comes to more than what the job would have cost if I didn’t purchase the warranty in the first place.
But wait the story doesn’t end there, it’s just getting started!
Once the car was put back together the land rover specialist called to inform me that the car was still in limp mode. They had no idea as to why this was and spent days on it double and triple checking they hadn’t done anything wrong. They then had auto tec come in and check the cables/signals in case that was at fault. They then discovered that the new turbo sent from Auto protect isn’t working as no electrical signal is being sent from the turbo back to the ECU. The land rover specialist contacted Auto protect to inform them and Auto protect simply said “strip it all down and start again”. The land rover specialist asked as to what they will pay for labour etc. as what they had paid for the first job didn’t cover the costs and the fact that this was now there fault they should be responsible to put it right. Auto protect said they will only pay what they had originally paid as this is all they are liable to pay. Therefore as to date my car is still in the garage being stripped down for the second time for the same job to be carried out twice on it.
Therefore in total the job cost £3913.16
Auto protect will have paid me £1440.68
Leaving me to pay £2472.48
Plus the cost of the original warranty of £971.88
Total cost to me £3444.36
At this point (11/07/15) the car has been stripped down for a second time and is in the process of having the turbo sent off to be tested again (the new turbo this is). Once tested and sent back the car can be put back together and hopefully I might get my car back after 5 months.
Of course I have taken legal advice and also have the financial ombudsman looking into this for me.
I have also spoken to Carloans4u as it was them who I bought the warranty from and they must know that Auto protect behave in this way as the first words out of his mouth was “contact the financial ombudsman”.
Please anyone who is thinking of taking this warranty on, don’t as it’s a con. They will also try and wiggle out of paying as they ask for all your previous service history including invoices and precious MOTs before authorising a job. If you don’t have this in place they won’t pay out, well a third pay out I should say. In addition to this they state in the warranty that they suggest your car is serviced every 6 months? These people are a joke and should be avoided at all costs.
I am now posting my experience on every review web site on google and also there twitter feeds etc.
I would like to start by informing as many people as possible to avoid Auto protect as they are a complete and utter scam as I will explain below.
I paid £971.88 for 3 years cover of “premier plus mechanical breakdown insurance” with AutoProtect for my range rover vogue as I knew if something went wrong it would be costly as I’ve owned one previously. This was purchased via my car finance provider “carloans4u”. I was informed that if anything happens to my car it will be covered (other than wear and tear i.e. tyres etc.) and the only thing I would have to pay for is diagnostics. My car has now been in the garage since the 25/02/15 (over 4 months) where it remains to this day.
On the 22/02/15 my car went into limp mode with a complete loss of power. I contacted Auto protect who advised me to take it to Halfords auto centre as they have an account with them and the job would be done quickly. I took it to Halfords auto centre and had it diagnosed (at a cost to me) as a turbo failure. Halfords then informed me that they couldn’t do the job as it was too big for them. I then contacted Auto protect to inform them and they said to take it anywhere as long as the garage is VAT registered. I then spoke to land rover to book it in with them yet there was a 2 week waiting list to have the car looked at and in addition to this you have to book a courtesy car 3 weeks in advance? Try and figure that one out! Therefore I booked the car in at a local land rover specialist to be diagnosed (paid for again by me). The reported again stated that the near side turbo had failed.
Auto protect then requested that the turbos were to be sent to their approved tester for them to be checked at my expense? I refused and told them that it had already been diagnosed at 2 independent garages to which they then agreed to cover the cost of the shipping and testing etc. A week later they informed me that the near side turbo was faulty and the off side turbo was fine. Therefore they were sending the working one back to us and replacing the near side turbo, which I thought great. Almost 2 weeks later the new turbo arrived and the garage began putting the car back together. Now at this point Auto protect informed the land rover specialist that they would only be paying/authorizing 7.7 hours labour as this is what it states in the glass guide. The land rover specialist informed Auto protect that it was impossible to carry out such works in such a time frame. Auto protect informed me that if I got written proof from land rover stating the job took longer then they would pay out for whatever land rover stipulate. I obtained written proof from land rover that the job takes a total 11.8 hours labour (£130 an hour plus vat, total £1840.80), now this took about a month as at first land rover didn’t want to give up this information as the car wasn’t in a land rover garage. This information was then sent to Auto protect and after reviewing it they still refused to pay out for the full job i.e. hours. They said some of the items on the job sheet that land rover where stating were required to be done/changed for a turbo refit were not required?!? Can you believe this, some kid in a call centre is claiming land rover are making jobs up! They continued to state they will only pay for 7.7 hours labour at £70 an hour plus the VAT, total £646.80 and not a penny more.
The land rover specialist then presented me with a bill for £1956.58 which included items such as oil etc. which the land rover quote did not include (hence the higher price). I then contacted Auto protect and I pointed out to them that items such as oil are also covered under the warranty, they then reluctantly agreed to pay for this. Land rover charge £108 to refill the oil, once this bill was given to Auto protect they then said and I quote “I can find oil cheaper than that” and began to google it! Yes I said googled it! He then informed me that he had found oil on the internet for £15. After nearly falling out of my chair laughing I informed him that I’m not putting cheap £15 oil into land rover. After going around in circles with him for an hour he said the most they can pay towards the oil was £50?
Therefore in total the job cost £1956.58
Auto protect paid me £720.34
Leaving me to pay £1236.24
Plus the cost of the original warranty of £971.88
Total cost to me £2208.12, this comes to more than what the job would have cost if I didn’t purchase the warranty in the first place.
But wait the story doesn’t end there, it’s just getting started!
Once the car was put back together the land rover specialist called to inform me that the car was still in limp mode. They had no idea as to why this was and spent days on it double and triple checking they hadn’t done anything wrong. They then had auto tec come in and check the cables/signals in case that was at fault. They then discovered that the new turbo sent from Auto protect isn’t working as no electrical signal is being sent from the turbo back to the ECU. The land rover specialist contacted Auto protect to inform them and Auto protect simply said “strip it all down and start again”. The land rover specialist asked as to what they will pay for labour etc. as what they had paid for the first job didn’t cover the costs and the fact that this was now there fault they should be responsible to put it right. Auto protect said they will only pay what they had originally paid as this is all they are liable to pay. Therefore as to date my car is still in the garage being stripped down for the second time for the same job to be carried out twice on it.
Therefore in total the job cost £3913.16
Auto protect will have paid me £1440.68
Leaving me to pay £2472.48
Plus the cost of the original warranty of £971.88
Total cost to me £3444.36
At this point (11/07/15) the car has been stripped down for a second time and is in the process of having the turbo sent off to be tested again (the new turbo this is). Once tested and sent back the car can be put back together and hopefully I might get my car back after 5 months.
Of course I have taken legal advice and also have the financial ombudsman looking into this for me.
I have also spoken to Carloans4u as it was them who I bought the warranty from and they must know that Auto protect behave in this way as the first words out of his mouth was “contact the financial ombudsman”.
Please anyone who is thinking of taking this warranty on, don’t as it’s a con. They will also try and wiggle out of paying as they ask for all your previous service history including invoices and precious MOTs before authorising a job. If you don’t have this in place they won’t pay out, well a third pay out I should say. In addition to this they state in the warranty that they suggest your car is serviced every 6 months? These people are a joke and should be avoided at all costs.
I am now posting my experience on every review web site on google and also there twitter feeds etc.
Before the post gets deleted, why didn't you contact a lawyer?
I recently had an issue with a warranty company, my sons alternator was making a horrendous noise, the front bearing had obviously broken up, he was told to take it to a Halfords Autocentre, who reported their findings, the warranty company refused to replace the alternator as it had not failed completely yet, they also said he was liable for the bill,
A very quick letter from my solicitor advising the company that if he now drove the vehicle and it failed they would be liable for any additional costs including the letter.
The next day they collected the car, replaced the alternator, they then valeted and returned it.
Talk to your lawyer.
I recently had an issue with a warranty company, my sons alternator was making a horrendous noise, the front bearing had obviously broken up, he was told to take it to a Halfords Autocentre, who reported their findings, the warranty company refused to replace the alternator as it had not failed completely yet, they also said he was liable for the bill,
A very quick letter from my solicitor advising the company that if he now drove the vehicle and it failed they would be liable for any additional costs including the letter.
The next day they collected the car, replaced the alternator, they then valeted and returned it.
Talk to your lawyer.
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