I hope I have posted this in the right forum…I have just bought a 2000 Icon. It comes with 3 months Warranty. The dealer/trader (supercarclassics near Chester) have offered a 3 year extended warranty for £299. I’m not mnormally a fan of insurance policies, but as this vehicle is now 12 years old and I know nothing about cars I am tempted, as it seems pretty good value to me.
The warranty is with a company called “Customer Protect” and it’s their ‘Gold Warranty’. What do you guys think? Are extended warranties on used cars worth having? Is £299 good value?
Highlights: Includes parts and labour, unlimited claims, unlimited mileage, transferable.
It’s always a great idea in principle but it’s often difficut to make claims as ‘wear and tear’ is excluded and on an old car, almost anything can be put down to that. Even then, I remember my Dad had an extended warranty on his Omega and tried to claim when the electronic box that controlled the climate control failed. They wouldn’t pay, because although the document said “air conditioning” was included it didn’t specifically mention climate control.
A good relationship with a reliable independent is worth far more than any warranty IMO.
Has the car been well service and documented? If so I really wouldn’t bother.
Any vehicle of whatever age can go wrong but if it has a good history and comes from a decent dealer I’d go with that.
I have a similar car 2000 California which was in excellent nick and had been properly serviced and it has not gone wrong (touches wood) in the last 5,000 miles.
Have a look at items which may be on their way out in the car - the hood latches were replaced under the dealers warranty on mine (they should snap shut and need the button pushed to opent the latch).
That’s it, nothing else has gone wrong and I take the car back to the dealer, an MX5 specialist for servicing and MOTs.
The MX5 suspension can be adjusted in many different ways. A simple tracking of the front wheels is a total waste of money. You need to find a company who can do a 4 wheel alignment using a decent computer controlled measuring system. Hunter systems seem to be the best in the UK. Have a look in the garage FAQ for wheel alignment scentres
Ignoring the extended warranty issue (I’ve never had one and can’t imagine I ever will) I do have some useful advice:
Take you car to somewhere familiar with MX5s, give them a copy of the three month warranty documents, and tell them to find warranty jobs to do.
I bought an MR2 years ago and I got new dampers and loads of other little jobs done for free during the first 3 months - well before I’d ever have noticed that anything needed doing. You may as well use the cover you’ve got - the three month warranty cost is built in to the purchase price.
On my 2001 Impreza Turbo I took out the Subaru extended warranty for years 4 and 5.
Cost £500 and I got £1,500 of work done on it at Subaru Dealer prices.
On my 2005 Impreza Sport non Turbo, I did the same.
Cost £650 but only the cam belt tensioner replaced at £100. Three months after it’s fifth birthday it needed a headlight level sensor replaced at £350 including labour but out of the extended warranty.