Warrantee Direct - An alternative to OPC?

[paulmoonraker]

All,

I have been looking warranties for my porker and a good indie near me has offered a warrantee underwritten by Warantee Direct. Now I know a lot of these products would look to wriggle out of a claim related to something that could be linked to wear and tear, for example, scored bores. However, they do seem to cover premature wear and tear etc...

http://www.warrantydirect.co.uk/wear.html

My local indie is also supporting this saying its definitely covered.

I know an OPC warantee is the gold standard, but it limits what you can do with the car.

What do we think?

[shipley]

paulmoonraker said:

wriggle out of a claim

Funnily enough that's my personal experience of Warranty Direct. Now I put money in a bank account and spend it when the car needs something.

[Far Cough]

As a comparison a mate of mine has a 997.1 RS and got an oil leak at the rear. He had the "Gold Standard" of Indie warranties through PARR - They baulked at covering it as it turned out to be Rear Main Seal and the seal part being a wear and tear item. Even though this is a very well known problem with these cars they refused to stump up and the best he got was half and half.

Mine on the otherhand suffered similar. Booked into OPC , drove out in nice new Boxster which I had for a week. Went and picked cleaned and fixed car up.

[paulmoonraker]

shipley said:

paulmoonraker said:

wriggle out of a claim

Funnily enough that's my personal experience of Warranty Direct. Now I put money in a bank account and spend it when the car needs something.

What was the failure on the car?

[paulmoonraker]

Far Cough said:

As a comparison a mate of mine has a 997.1 RS and got an oil leak at the rear. He had the "Gold Standard" of Indie warranties through PARR - They baulked at covering it as it turned out to be Rear Main Seal and the seal part being a wear and tear item. Even though this is a very well known problem with these cars they refused to stump up and the best he got was half and half.

These guys are being quite specific about wear and tear though...

[Porkupine]

Far Cough said:

As a comparison a mate of mine has a 997.1 RS and got an oil leak at the rear. He had the "Gold Standard" of Indie warranties through PARR - They baulked at covering it as it turned out to be Rear Main Seal and the seal part being a wear and tear item. Even though this is a very well known problem with these cars they refused to stump up and the best he got was half and half.

Mine on the otherhand suffered similar. Booked into OPC , drove out in nice new Boxster which I had for a week. Went and picked cleaned and fixed car up.

Just looking at the Parr website, it seems they use an AA warranty:

http://www.parr-uk.co.uk/media/wysiwyg/Parr-Warran...

So that would be similar to Warranty Direct IMO. (i.e. pretty much worthless)

[paulmoonraker]

Porkupine said:

So that would be similar to Warranty Direct IMO. (i.e. pretty much worthless)

How are they wriggling out of claims related to say IMS and bore scoring etc? Are people not challenging them and approaching the FSA?

[Porkupine]

This may interest you:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=3&a...

[paulmoonraker]

Porkupine said:

This may interest you:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=3&a...

So in fairness, mixed reviews it would seem.

[Far Cough]

paulmoonraker said:

How are they wriggling out of claims related to say IMS and bore scoring etc? Are people not challenging them and approaching the FSA?

IMS - Because it is a seal and as a seal it falls under the "consumable" label.

If your car has something wrong you just want it fixed no hassle. Sod all that arguing and trading standards blah trying to decide who should pay.

Another thing to watch is if the warranty company limit the amount they pay for labour. Recently I read an article where an insurance company would not cover the costs of an OPC labour rate as it was beyond the threshold of what was covered.

Pound for pound you might save a couple of hundred quid on going the Independent route so you pays your money and takes your chances but make sure you go in with your eyes open.

[paulmoonraker]

Yes, they do cap labour rates.

It's not about money at all. In fact, Porsche are only marginally more expensive.

[Fatboy]

Not the same company, but I've got stung in the past with one of these insurance backed warrantees failing to pay out for something they said was covered in the blurb - definitely wouldn't recommend that route - OPC or just put the money in the bank.

Alternatively if you're anywhere near Hartech they have an excellent reputation...

[shipley]

Can you see the trend starting OP ?

Mine was a genuine fault. Still, it's your money so you can choose to save it, or throw it down the toilet. I have yet to see a warranty company listed as a registered charity.

[Durzel]

Just get the OPC warranty and enjoy a good nights sleep.

[paulmoonraker]

Durzel said:

Just get the OPC warranty and enjoy a good nights sleep.

That's probably what I will do on reflection. If I am honest, the only thing I really want to mitigate againt is engine failure. Also, the price difference is tiny between WD and OPC. It's just a shame I will have to fork out for a PSE if I do decide to fiddle with the exhaust.

It does surprise me however that people seem to just take it from warrantee companies. I am sure you could easily fight it via the FSA.

[rog007]

There's a distinction between manufacturer provided after-care programmes (sometimes called 'warranties' (which are always in addition to your statutory rights (SoGA))) and 3rd party insurance policies. The former is linked to reputation management, with some profit incentive; the latter, profits for its shareholders. I tend to rely on the Sale of Goods Act and fork out when I need to if not covered. Over the years this has been minimal compared to what I hear people plow in to 'warranties' and insurance backed policies.

[thegoose]

paulmoonraker said:

That's probably what I will do on reflection. If I am honest, the only thing I really want to mitigate againt is engine failure. Also, the price difference is tiny between WD and OPC. It's just a shame I will have to fork out for a PSE if I do decide to fiddle with the exhaust.

It does surprise me however that people seem to just take it from warrantee companies. I am sure you could easily fight it via the FSA.

Plenty have tried to fight, very very few have been successful - do you really need that kind of hassle?

The 111point check plus warranty plus PSE will cost you what, £3000? More?

I'd suggest spending £300 (or similar) on the exhaust mod and keep the rest in your pocket. Failing that, put it on a Hartech or Sports & Classic maintenance plan - costs about £1000 per year, includes all services & MOTs and labour on any repairs (I'm sure I've read on here from Baz that typically parts costs on engine failures is usually no more than a couple of grand).

[paulmoonraker]

thegoose said:

Plenty have tried to fight, very very few have been successful - do you really need that kind of hassle?

The 111point check plus warranty plus PSE will cost you what, £3000? More?

I'd suggest spending £300 (or similar) on the exhaust mod and keep the rest in your pocket. Failing that, put it on a Hartech or Sports & Classic maintenance plan - costs about £1000 per year, includes all services & MOTs and labour on any repairs (I'm sure I've read on here from Baz that typically parts costs on engine failures is usually no more than a couple of grand).

A PSE is about 2.5K and a two year OPC warrantee is 1.5K including 111 point check (but without Porsche assist).

I would do Hartech, but it's miles away! Really it would be great if they franchised the MOT, servicing, simple faults etc to some trusted local indies.

[thegoose]

paulmoonraker said:

A PSE is about 2.5K and a two year OPC warrantee is 1.5K including 111 point check (but without Porsche assist).

So you'd spend £4k rather than £300 and keeping the rest as a reserve fund?

I'd say you're on very good odds to just mod the exhaust and take your chances.

Typical Hartech rebuilds for engine failures (without being on their plan) are probably around £4k - £7k (and maybe £300 to ship a non-running car to them).

paulmoonraker said:

I would do Hartech, but it's miles away! Really it would be great if they franchised the MOT, servicing, simple faults etc to some trusted local indies.

I don't think that'll ever happen - they're busy enough as it is, yet still able to control everything themselves, and do an awful lot of work in-house - not a formula they'd want to dilute by sub-contracting stuff out. It would be more appropriate to suggest to your trusted local indy that they start running the same sort of scheme.

[Stitch]

paulmoonraker said:

Yes, they do cap labour rates.

It's not about money at all. In fact, Porsche are only marginally more expensive.

Not only labour rates but also the hours set down to do specific jobs. So, replacing a radiator might have a time of two hours set down in the workshop manual but two hours is completley unrealistic. Workshop make the repair in four hours, warranty pays for two only and you have to stump up the difference.