Warranty Wise?

dawdler_2

I have just bought a 5 year old C Class mercedes to use for work. It currently has 35,000 miles and I expect to do 25k a year for two or three years. It has been serviced by the main dealer and to retain the value I'm happy to continue.

I chose to buy and run my own car rather than go for a company car, and need to get breakdown cover as an absolute minimum - I cannot afford to be off the road, so car hire cover as well.

I have been looking at warranty products like warrantywise - where you exchange the risk of expensive repair costs for the certainty of a set premium. Whilst I usually don't think standard warranties are worth much, there are a number of options whereby you can include almost everything.

Has anyone been down this road before me? Tesco do a product, as do the AA and RAC. I also note that mercedes do a managed service product, although it's unclear and nobody from there has rung me back yet.

It has been suggested that saving £40 a month would probably work out better in the long run, but I need the certainty of knowing that I won't get an unexpected repair bill.

Any help, guidance or wisdom would be greatly appreciated

Ian

AdrianHi

Wear and tear.

Check very carefully the policy, aftermarket warranty companies are notorious for refusing claims on grounds of wear and tear. Nonesense really because any car that's not brand new could be said to have been subject to wear.
Warranty Wise is one of the ones I've heard bad reports about. Warranty Direct get some complaints but also praise from keen motorists who follow their claims procedure closely. They also have a stated policy on wear and tear which amounts to reduced % of repair costs paid out at certain mileages. 100% up to 70K miles and it drops 10% every 10K miles, full details on their web site.
I would try and find a policy that states exclusions rather than inclusions on what is covered otherwise you won't know what your buying unless your already a car mechanic! My view is get the most comprehensive cover you can at extra cost or don't bother at all. Warranty Direct should come out around £400 a year or less for your car.

I went with the BMW extended warranty in the end though I would have done Warranty Direct if the BMW product was no good.

JohnCoffey

I don't know about Warrantywise in the past, but their reviews recently have been very positive. I have a policy with them and have never had a problem with any part of their policy, its even been written by Quentin Willson!

There is a very interesting discussion about them on boxa.net entitled "Now that the Tesco Finest warranty is no more..., What is everyone going to do?" where the director has been talking on the actual forum if you're interested:

As far as I go though, they have always been superb!