I’m picking my car up from a Mazda main dealer next weekend, ’07 1.8i with 5k on the clock. I’m getting a 3 month main dealer warranty with the car and they are offering a 3 year warranty for £525 which must be taken up within the first 3 month period.
The question is, do I need the extra warranty?
It’s a new Mazda which shouldn’t go wrong, but it is a 3 year old car.I kind of feel that they are trying to claim back some of the profit from the car because I got such a good deal for cash.
What are your opinions?Is an extra warranty just a rip or a worthwhile expense?
Bear in mind I have no mechanical skill in any way, but I could by plenty of bling for the car with the £525.
Complete gamble, but I’d go over the 3 year Warranty with a very glassy eye.
Sod’s Law says if you pay, you will never need it, if your don’t summat might crop up. Most Mk3 niggles are warranty anyhow. Say…if the infamous front droplinks go in a couple of years it’d be a sight less to fix yourself. I’d give the brakes special (calipers) attention since they need used…and this car has not been.
“Dragonsoups” Mk3 has just done 100,000 miles without incident or expense bar tyres & consumables. As it ought to…'tis a Mazda!
You have three months “free” to put it through it’s paces…so no rush. Meantime inspect every nut and bolt, preferably ramped…perhaps with a mechanical guru and do your best to find “something”. I doubt you will…the bally thing is’nt even “run in”!
Dealers deserve a little grief. Keep’s 'em sharp.
If I was in your happy position,with some of the money I’d be thinking Eibachs & full geo alignment to get the best out the chassis. Let’s face it, no Mx5 is ever going to trump the Grand Prix lights game but jings it’ll go round bends with even more…shall I say…“Elan”?
Seeme like a right rip off to me when I bought ny 10year old Mk.1 in 2000 it had 83000 0n the clock and they gave me afull parts and labour warranty for 1 year.I know times have change but I,ve just bought a five year old Skoda estate with 70000mls and got 6 months parts and labour warranty,try pushing them harder.
Obviously, you don’t need the warranty unless something goes wrong. Given that the engine is based on a Ford Duratec I would sleep easier with a warranty.
£525 for 3 years warranty on an 07-plate car sounds good, but check what is actually covered and who is underwriting the warranty. You can get your own quote for a warranty from Warranty Direct for comparison.
I have just taken out a 12-month extended warranty on the Wife’s 07-plate Golf. Marketed by VW UK but underwritten by Mondial Assistance. The manufacturers warranty has just expired, the new extended warranty is very comprehensive and also includes full breakdown cover, but even so it cost £350 for 12 months cover. £525 for 3 years cover on your Mazda sounds like a bargain in comparison.
Surely it depends on how many miles you think you will do. If it’s your daily drive and you do 30K a year it is essential, if it’s a week-end car that will only do 5K a year then save your money.
Fair wear & tear consumables are unlikely to be covered are they? With these models you don’t even need to change the plugs till after 60,000 miles, or the camchain till 100,000 miles. Modern petrol cars do “diesel miles” these days without complaint…usually…and that’s where the gamble kicks in.The car in question would need to do star-ship miles to become a concern withing 3 years IMO. It’s one of these “Marmite” subjects I suppose…some like the peace of mind. Daily driver doing 30K PA…thought makes me shudder! Never heard of wallet busting mechanical failures in a Mk3…a few niggles though. The OP has 3 dealer months for any issues to pop up anyhow.
The price of £525 is about right for a 3 year warranty, just extended the warranty on my wifes Honda CRV which will be 3 years old in a couple of days.
The cover included breakdown inclusive of relay,home start and up to 90 days cover in europe. Just make sure you read the small print because things like built in Satnav etc may not be covered. I was going to chance not taking out an extended warranty but thought that if something major went wrong then the cost of the warranty would probably be less than the cost of labour and parts.
One thing though I would of thought that they would have given you a 12 month free warranty after the manufactures one runs out, that is the norm with the main mazda dealer i deal with on second hand cars, so i would def push them on this.
Don’t forget that your statutory rights would extend to 6 mths anyway on a car this young and assuming you paid the going rate (and the dealer is still in business…).
Check out advice from Consumer direct. Does not help with your dilemma but you have in fact 6mths to decide and then you could take out a warranty from another source if you still wanted the peace of mind.
The warranty is £275 for the first year then £125 for each of the next two years, totalling £525.<o:p></o:p>
It’s supposed to be a ‘cover all’ warranty which includes diagnostics checks.There is no Twatnav fitted as it only has the standard stereo so no issues there. Most warranties are not worth the paper they are written on and I hate taking them out on small items but with a car I think I’ll use my first 3 months to ‘suck it and see.’<o:p></o:p>
I intend the car to be used as often as possible, just not for work runs, that’s what the bike and Volvo are for.<o:p></o:p>
I had a brand new Honda Civic in the past and that was covered by a warranty. I had one little niggle with the car, it was a knocking noise from the rear, turned out an exhaust bracket had snapped off.Honda whipped the car away and it was fixed without any issue whatsoever.I would hope Mazda would be as professional.The only issue in my mind is the fact that the mk 3 has a Ford engine and not a Mazda one.As we all know Ford stands for Fix Or Repair Daily, so a bit of extra cover wouldn’t go a miss!<o:p></o:p>
Keep’s 'em sharp.
Never heard of wallet busting mechanical failures in a Mk3…a few niggles though. The OP has 3 dealer months for any issues to pop up anyhow.