Upgrading to 12 month RAC warranty?

alstemp

HI everyone

This Saturday I am due to pick up a new car (used one) from the garage. It’s an RAC approved garage and as part of that, any car you buy comes with 3 month RAC warranty. I have been looking for a new car for a month or so and previously saw another car I really liked so got an AA inspection on it to really check it over. They did find something quite major cost wise which the garage wasn’t prepared to fix before I purchased it so I walked away.

However this time around I thought as this garage is approved by RAC and has to go through a multipoint RAC check anyway that there wasn’t a requirement for AA inspection on top of this. So instead I plan to use the money I would have spent on an AA inspection (plus a little extra) to upgrade the RAC warranty from 3 months to 12 months, costing £200. This makes good sense to me, peace of mind etc.

However I thought I would “throw it out there” amongst my trusty MSE converts to see what they think. For example, the car is a convertible – I am presuming that the RAC Warranty would cover any hood repairs etc? Is there any way of checking what the RAC warranty covers? The value of the car is £11,000.

Thanks for any feedback

AdrianC

Yes, just read through the Ts & Cs. Ask the dealer for a copy.

By "hood repairs", I'd expect it to include mechanical or electrical failure of the hood mechanism, but not repairs to the fabric caused by wear, environmental conditions or vandalism.

BeenThroughItAll

The highest level 'Platinum' warranty cover specifically states in the T&Cs


"On convertible vehicles the roof together with pumps and motor mechanisms is not included"


On the Gold and Silver levels, only specifically included items are covered. Unsurprisingly, convertible hoods are not mentioned as included.


So, in a nutshell, you're not going to get expensive roof repairs under warranty.

scotsbob

What make and model and what kind of hood is it, fabric or metal, manual or power?
The only convertible that appears to have continual problems with the hood is the Astra convertible.

facade

scotsbob wrote: »

The only convertible that appears to have continual problems with the hood is the Astra convertible.

:rotfl:

The reason no-one will cover a convertible roof/hood mechanism is because they break all the time :eek: mostly the switches that control the sequence.

Make sure that the manual key to wind it up is present.

Not like my neighbour, had an Audi A-something or other convertible. When the inevitable happened, he came round for help, because I "know about cars"

Anyway, Google is my friend, so I casually walk out, say "All we do is unclip the dash here and take out the manual key-" except it isn't there! (just a nicely moulded key shaped receptacle) presumably the previous owner didn't replace it the last time the hood stuck half way :mad:

Cost him £45 for a new key from Audi, plus whatever he paid to get the roof fixed.

scotsbob

facade wrote: »

The reason no-one will cover a convertible roof/hood mechanism is because they break all the time :eek: mostly the switches that control the sequence

I would have to disagree with you there, which is why I asked the OP what make and model.

I belong to the MX5 Owners Club and have never come across any member who had a problem with the hood mechanism "breaking all the time" or even some of the time.

Fabric can rot over time if not maintained but that is a different issue.

facade

Is the late MX5 power operated then? I thought they were all manual, manual hoods don't break, they just crack and the frame rusts with extreme age. Certainly no-one will cover a fabric roof against cracking or ripping.

Alright, to be fair, power roofs don't break "all the time" just "quite often"

(Anecdotally, I base this on the 100% failure rate of the 5 cars that I have personal experience of, one was 2 months old when it failed half way up)