Car warranties - good or bad experiences?

hethmar

Having gone through hell of worry for a month when our just out of warranty 3 year old VW Golf packed up. Told originally fuel pump may have gone due to contiminated fuel and to expect £5k + bill :eek: turned out in the end to be gas exhuast recirculator cooler - and VW stumped out full cost.

Point being, I didnt bother to renew our VW warranty at the end of 3 years but am now thinking may be it would be a good idea to have a warranty. VW have quoted £380 for their policy. Much the same as Warranty Direct and Warranty Wise.

Im confused whether to go for any or none of these now. The VW doesnt include things like failure due to wear and tear. Im concerned that if a pump or something went in the 4th year or later they could wriggle out of the claim by saying that was a fair lifetime.

So, I know Im going to get replies saying not worth paper they are written on and Ive seen that true on secondhand cheap vehicles (sons engine blew up and they only paid out £200 on the garages policy) but are some of these better/more expensive warranties worthwhile please

SLITHER99

I had three car warranties.

The one on my brand new Fiesta was great. I had the MOT done a week early on year 3; came up with seat belt issues and suspension item. I had to argue to get it done under the warranty, but it got done.

I had the manufacturers balance on a VW Passat I had. Only needed two things done on it, but was never a problem. Sadly, I wrote it off a few months after buying it, but there it is.

I bought a warranty from Evans Halshaw when I bought my Mondeo. Countless problems with it, even after lots of arguing, but it wouldn't cover a damn thing. I complained several times, eventually demanding a refund. I got none of any of the above.

Given my experience, manufacturer warranties = all good. Warranties you buy = total balls!

gilbert_and_sullivan

Your VW dealer showed their true colours by trying their best to pin the blame for the vehicle failure on you.

To be fair from your previous thread, whilst not making particularly reliable or durable vehicles the maker did fix actually yours under warranty or rather goodwill as it was technically out so fair play to them, they can't be blamed for their dealers authur daley attitude, though arguably they should.

The VW warranty is still your best bet if it is indeed VW's own and not some aftermarket toilet paper thing your current dealer is pushing.

All warranties exclude fair wear and tear, any and every aftermarket warranty will do the same.

Its your choice but i agree with the poster above.

Oh and find another main dealer, one who thinks the customer with a problem is there to be served, not someone who is cluttering up his money taking sales operation.

forgotmyname

Just search all the threads where people ask for advice when they wont payout.

Enough posts on the net to keep you busy for months.

Gearboc fails on a car with 30k miles.. Wear and tear init.

hethmar

Hmm, so despite all the blurb on Warranties direct and Warranty wise which says they cover wear and tear and failure found at MOT and servicing - I guess it sounds like the VW warranty (under Mondial) may be the best bet as the VW garage will deal with them direct and are perhaps more likely to take good will into account.

Thank you.

Just reading through the list of exclusions on the VW comprehensive warranty and there is an awful lot of them. The Warranty Direct policy seems to cover a lot more and Im wondering if that would be better really as we have a fairly new and low mileage car.

BugsyBrowne

Also take in the fact that using the franchise dealer warranty with warranty direct you'll have to foot the bill ASAP if you get the go ahead unless you use one of their own garages like halfords which of course if you've got an half decent ride you won't let the halfords staff wash your wing mirrors let alone work work on your automobile.

I've always used bmw Warranty and can't fault them and I pay just under a grand a year.

hethmar

Warranty direct has just phoned me - I am too honest when I fill in on line quotations They have offered me the main dealer policy at independent dealer premiums and I am tempted. They have also thrown in reimbursement of MOTs. They also cover MOT faults and failures. So if a MOT recommendation is made they will pay for it to be done...

I think I may ring the main dealer and ask if they have experience of Warrenty Direct but at the moment, their offer is looking good compared with the VW extended warranty which seems to exclude so much that you would have to jump through burning hoops to get cover.

pd52

hethmar wrote: »

Warranty direct has just phoned me - I am too honest when I fill in on line quotations They have offered me the main dealer policy at independent dealer premiums and I am tempted. They have also thrown in reimbursement of MOTs. They also cover MOT faults and failures. So if a MOT recommendation is made they will pay for it to be done...

I think I may ring the main dealer and ask if they have experience of Warrenty Direct but at the moment, their offer is looking good compared with the VW extended warranty which seems to exclude so much that you would have to jump through burning hoops to get cover.

im with warranty direct had a failed suspension arm, and snapped suspension spring that failed the MOT, garaged call up the claims line, confirmed i had my previous MOT cert and it wasnt shown as an advisory, and my service was up to date. This was 1pm, it was approved and i drove away at 4pm after work, i put in my claim for the money and got a cheque in the post a week later, very please

steve-L

pd52 wrote: »

im with warranty direct had a failed suspension arm, and snapped suspension spring that failed the MOT, garaged call up the claims line, confirmed i had my previous MOT cert and it wasnt shown as an advisory, and my service was up to date. This was 1pm, it was approved and i drove away at 4pm after work, i put in my claim for the money and got a cheque in the post a week later, very please

I really think that it all depends what goes wrong....
All insurers want to cover themselves.... to some extent or other.

All in all I think buying a car is a risk and warranty can mitigate that risk for a cost but not eliminate it.

thenudeone

I have a Vauxhall warranty administered by Car Care Plan.

They've already paid out twice the warranty cost in repairs, and I can't remember any claim being rejected, so I'd have to give them a +1.

They also administer the CSMA warranty, IIRC.

hethmar

Have gone for the warranty direct, it seems the good reviews way outnumber the odd bad ones and tbh some of the bad ones seem a bit dubious anyway. Its working out a fiver a week and hopefully the peace of mind is worth more than that to us.

Ive questioned and questioned them and it all seems kosher and Im a bit annoyed how VW Warranty people tried to put me off them by saying they wouldnt pay VW labour charge (they do! - up to £200 an hour in fact) and they wouldnt cover electrical probs, which VW dont cover themselves (they do, gave me examples of things like the electric window motors and so on). I got the top cover and they are giving me a free MOT at my main dealer every year too.

So, the moneys paid out now and well, I dont want anything to go wrong on our car again but if it does, I shant throw up at the worry of may be £5k worth of work.