Older supercars, warranties and engine / gearbox failures

[360430Lover]

360430Lover said:

Agree. But some of us don't want to be the anomaly.

And if there's enough of those people across all cars (that apparently don't fail very often..), why isn't there a warranty package at £2-3kpa (not small money) out there?

As little as 500 supercar drivers paying £2.5k for an engine / gearbox warranty is £1.25m in revenue for a warranty company. How many of those 500 cars will fail across a single year? If it's "very few" then a company will be quids in, right? Maybe there aren't 500 prospective buyers of these warranties. I have to imagine once the 458 / Huracan gets to 15 years old, there's going to be..

Apparently there are very close to 1,500 Ferrari 458 with an MOT. Add that to how many 355, 360 and F430? That's just Ferrari.

That's a lotta unwarranted supercar owners come 3 years time..

[davek_964]

360430Lover said:

As little as 500 supercar drivers paying £2.5k for an engine / gearbox warranty

It would be a fairly pointless warranty.

These are expensive cars - it's not just engines / gearboxes that cost money, and "other stuff" can cost thousands if it breaks. The vast majority of people who want a warranty are going to want it to cover more than just engine / gearbox - and it won't take very long to eat up £2.5k.

At the risk of being blunt - I think that (for a profitable business) your figures are very very far away from making financial sense.

[ex-devonpaul]

Hmm, I wonder if it is worth chucking £250k into Escrow and allowing people unlimited access for £3k/year?

Oh, hang on.........

[360430Lover]

davek_964 said:

It would be a fairly pointless warranty.

These are expensive cars - it's not just engines / gearboxes that cost money, and "other stuff" can cost thousands if it breaks. The vast majority of people who want a warranty are going to want it to cover more than just engine / gearbox - and it won't take very long to eat up £2.5k.

At the risk of being blunt - I think that (for a profitable business) your figures are very very far away from making financial sense.

£2.5k is the amount it costs for the buyer..

Engine / gearbox limitation is to make it more viable for the provider..

I've owned 4 examples. I know how much they cost to run. Most owners are fully aware of that. But if I were to change a clutch at £5,000 and then my engine goes pop a week later... That's going to pinch quite a lot..

[davek_964]

360430Lover said:

davek_964 said:

It would be a fairly pointless warranty.

These are expensive cars - it's not just engines / gearboxes that cost money, and "other stuff" can cost thousands if it breaks. The vast majority of people who want a warranty are going to want it to cover more than just engine / gearbox - and it won't take very long to eat up £2.5k.

At the risk of being blunt - I think that (for a profitable business) your figures are very very far away from making financial sense.

£2.5k is the amount it costs for the buyer..

Engine / gearbox limitation is to make it more viable for the provider..

I've owned 4 examples. I know how much they cost to run. Most owners are fully aware of that. But if I were to change a clutch at £5,000 and then my engine goes pop a week later... That's going to pinch quite a lot..

If you're that confident - there seems to be a gap in the market......... knock yourself out.

[360430Lover]

ex-devonpaul said:

Hmm, I wonder if it is worth chucking £250k into Escrow and allowing people unlimited access for £3k/year?

Oh, hang on.........

Hang on.. warranty companies exist, right..?

[360430Lover]

davek_964 said:

If you're that confident - there seems to be a gap in the market......... knock yourself out.

I was literally just waiting for that pearl of wisdom to enter my life..

[360430Lover]

The point that few are grasping is that warranties might be GOOD for this market? These cars struggle to sell. Why? Buyer hesitation, perhaps...?

[murphyaj]

360430Lover said:

And if there's enough of those people across all cars (that apparently don't fail very often..), why isn't there a warranty package at £2-3kpa (not small money) out there?

There is:
https://www.thorneymotorsport.co.uk/product/mclare...

"12c/650s/Sports series – £2850"

[ANOpax]

360430Lover said:

Agree. But some of us don't want to be the anomaly.

And if there's enough of those people across all cars (that apparently don't fail very often..), why isn't there a warranty package at £2-3kpa (not small money) out there?

As little as 500 supercar drivers paying £2.5k for an engine / gearbox warranty is £1.25m in revenue for a warranty company. How many of those 500 cars will fail across a single year? If it's "very few" then a company will be quids in, right? Maybe there aren't 500 prospective buyers of these warranties. I have to imagine once the 458 / Huracan gets to 15 years old, there's going to be..

Apologies for being blunt but tact clearly hasn’t worked.

You are the anomaly.

This obsession with the narrow odds of catastrophic failure marks you as the odd one out.

The lack of provision of the insurance type you propose shows that there is no market for it. You keep wondering why as it would be ideal for your needs - fair enough. But the reason it doesn’t exist is that it isn’t ideal for anyone else (except paranoid catastrophists).

[davek_964]

360430Lover said:

The point that few are grasping is that warranties might be GOOD for this market? These cars struggle to sell. Why? Buyer hesitation, perhaps...?

Maybe because the number of people willing (or able) to spend £50k plus on an old car that - practically speaking - is worse in lots of ways than a Ford Fiesta - is very limited?

I really doubt that the reason these cars don't sell quickly is lack of warranty. If that was the case, one year old Ferrari / Lambo / McLaren etc. would fly out the door with their manufacture warranty. And yet.....

[MDL111]

davek_964 said:

360430Lover said:

The point that few are grasping is that warranties might be GOOD for this market? These cars struggle to sell. Why? Buyer hesitation, perhaps...?

Maybe because the number of people willing (or able) to spend £50k plus on an old car that - practically speaking - is worse in lots of ways than a Ford Fiesta - is very limited?

I really doubt that the reason these cars don't sell quickly is lack of warranty. If that was the case, one year old Ferrari / Lambo / McLaren etc. would fly out the door with their manufacture warranty. And yet.....

that is the age old thing right - just because you can afford to purchase a 50k car, you don't necessarily want (or can) afford the running costs of a 10-20 year old car that when new was 150-200k. A warranty "might" alleviate some of that, but your engine or gearbox going pop is only a small part of it. The ongoing stuff like suspension, clutch, brakes, electronic gremlins, exhaust, cats, manifolds etc etc are a very material expense and they are a given over time, while for the engine and box you can still pray and be lucky (or actually have to be very unlucky for them to let go). My 355 cost nearly as much to run over 2.5 years and 20k miles as it cost to purchase - and nothing major went pop during that time. An engine and gearbox warranty would have just added another 7.5-9k to the cost with zero benefit.