Car Warranties

martynelmy

I expect this thread has been exhaused, but I can't find it, so any advise welcome.

I have been offered a 3 year warranty on a used car from a big car supermarket which is 'RAC backed'.

They charge £299 for one year, £499 for two years or £699 for three years.

Are these a good buy? in the past when I've purchased similar from local garages,
a) never had a problem or
b) the problem was not covered by the warranty / insurance.

Inactive

Most of them are not worth the paper they are printed on, you really need a copy of the policy to see just what is covered and more importantly, what is not.

Check for all of the exlusions, I am sure there will be many.

I wouldn't place too much confidence in the RAC Approved tag either.

anewman

Put the £299 in a high interest savings account and it will be there making you money if you don't need it, and there if you do need it. It will also cover most of the cost of the most expensive unexpected repairs.

martynelmy

anewman wrote: »

Put the £299 in a high interest savings account and it will be there making you money if you don't need it, and there if you do need it. It will also cover most of the cost of the most expensive unexpected repairs.

My first reaction is never to buy warranties, but at the back of my mind there is something saying - 300 quid doesn't go very far at a Honda main dealership.

infernalaffairs

I would spend some of the money on an AA/RAC inspection. The problem with warranties is if they consider the breakdown etc is a result of 'wear & tear'.

anewman

martynelmy wrote: »

300 quid doesn't go very far at a Honda main dealership.

No reason to go to a Honda dealership. There will no doubt be independent Honda specialists around, and other reputable garages not attached to dealerships.

The thing about wear and tear is interesting if it is worded like that in the warranty as everything that goes wrong in a car could be described as wear and tear.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

Waste of money. Warranties are offered to make profit for the company offering them. They are not there to make things easier for you.

martynelmy

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! wrote: »

Waste of money. Warranties are offered to make profit for the company offering them. They are not there to make things easier for you.

I've been reading the RAC, AA and Tesco car warranty blurb on their website, all have 'wear and tear' in the exclusions.


Based on that the only time they pay out is if you can prove metal fatigue or a manufacturing fault. Do these people every pay out?

martynelmy

infernalaffairs wrote: »

I would spend some of the money on an AA/RAC inspection. The problem with warranties is if they consider the breakdown etc is a result of 'wear & tear'.

Is there an insurance / warranty salesperson on the forum who can defend these products, or convince me that all the people who have written are barking up the wrong tree?

anewman

martynelmy wrote: »

Based on that the only time they pay out is if you can prove metal fatigue or a manufacturing fault.

"Well it's obviously corrosion, wear and tear"

I think what we really need is a good few people to say I have a warranty with x company, I had (big list of usual type of faults you get on cars, along with a handful of expensive faults) that x paid out for without any hassle. But I suspect any such good warranties would cost more than would be worth paying.

Jvic28

There are advantages I'm sure but whether it whether you'll ever actually need to use the warranty. It's a bit of a gamble. Personally I wouldn't bother and save the money but you just never know. How old is the car you're buying?

I'm sure there would be plenty that would be covered which can be easily argued that are not wear and tear.

x