I’d be interested in people’s opinions of the “extended Warranty’s” sold with used cars from franchised dealerships.
Are the good value at approx £200 per year?
Apparently they don’t cover costs associated with any diagnostics checks that may be required nor do they cover any labour associated with work needed to get at and/or change any warranty items.
Also, I understand that the dealer has to give 3 months warranty with any vehicle sold anyway by law so any extension would only be covering the remaining 9 months.
I personally have never bothered with any extended warranty unless it automatically comes with the car. I did only once around 8 years ago because it was offered at a discount (aren’t they all) and had a claim for air con that had gone. I had to prove it was faulty and not damaged, guess what it was damaged, no payout.
If it’s for the MX-5 then they are pretty robust so I wouldn’t bother personally. I’ve been lucky though, out of all the cars purchased in 40 odd years I’ve not really had a bad one, not enough to make want an extra warranty.
If you like the idea of an extended warranty, you can probably find one cheaper from warranty direct. You can avoid paying the dealer mark up. All extended warranties are insurance based, so you’ll get similar cover. Are they worth it? I’ve never bothered but it does give peace of mind. At least until you try to claim and find out it’s very limited coverage.
1984 to 1986 extended my Golf GTI from 1 to 3 years and the one claim made was similar cost to the warranty about £300
2004 2006 extended the warranty on my Impreza WRX from 3 to 5 years cost £500, claims approx £1,200, cam belt tensioner, two 4 pot calipers and two rear shocks
2009 2011 extended warranty on my non Turbo Impreza from 3 to 5 years cost £600 one claim of £100 cam belt tensioner but through my own fault I missed £850 pounds of claim on a headlight level sensor and new front calipers.
So if I had claimed everything and these were manufacturers / main dealers extended warranties.
Total warranty costs £1,400
Claims at best £2,450
Cars Since then I have hnot put a warranty on.
Two Suzuki Jeeps say warranty cost £700 in warranty claims if I had it £400
One Subaru Justy say £300, no claims
One MX5 Mk3 say £400, claims none.
So overal total including not insuring if I did.
Cost £2,800 claims £2850.
Therefore for non specialist cars the answer is no do not bother.
Now if you have a high spec VW, AUDI or BMW then I would be scared not to take an extended warranty from the stories my friends in the trade are telling me.
I would no take it on the more simple Japanese cars.
If you look at the Japanese spec of the MK4 it is stuffed with electronics and it will be more of a risk than any of the MX5’s to date.
That is not actually the case, The dealer is under no obligation to give any warranty on a used car, however the Sales of Goods act allows the consumer to expect a car to be as described and fit for purpose, so if a fault occurs and can be not attributed to “reasonable” wear and tear etc then they MAY have a claim against the supplier/dealer for repair or replacement. HOWEVER there are many considerations to be taken into account such as cost of repair, age of car, neglect by the consumer etc. Its a bit of a minefield but in reality there is usually some sort of help or redress.
As has been said above, the warranties can be hit and miss, but when the time comes for a large claim they are usually a godsend. One tip is to try and use a garage or dealer for the repair that sells the same warranties as you have as the warranty company usually has a good relationship with the dealer/garage that they do not want to loose by being difficult.
Thanks to all for the insight into the used car warranty business.
Interestingly, the franchised dealer would sell the vehicle I’m interested in without a warranty but not from their franchise. They would have their “local” independent deal with the matter. I would save £222 and a car without 12 months warranty if I chose such a route. Which the franchise dealer did not advise.
I’ve learnt a lot by going through the buying from a dealer process and I can’t say i have a “warm feeling” as result.
The Warranty Direct product is quite good value especially on older cars as it will “dovetail” with any 3 month warranty that you get with the car via the dealer - ( i.e they will offer 15 months for the price of 12) UNLESS of course you make a claim on their policy during the initial 3 month overlap period.At the end of the day it’s more about peace of mind I think.
Unfortunately I am just about to put an aftermarket warranty to the test.
We bought our 2010 1.8 SE about 3 weeks ago and, due to the cars reputation for reliablilty, did not take it for a long test drive as I only wanted to check the basics were working OK.
When driving it home I noticed that after everything was properly warmed up that it was grinding badly when engaging 3rd gear( it works perfectly when cold)
Been through the workshops and they recon that either the 3rd gear is damaged or the Synchro hub is damaged/worn (only 35000 on clock), either way it’s a new or recon gearbox.
The dealer is awaiting authorisation to see what will be allowed.