Extended warranties

GaryBC

Has anyone got any experience of car extended warranties? 
My manufacturer's warranty runs out in January and, given the cost of car repairs, I'm looking into this. (Wife's car incurred a c£500 bill within weeks of her manufacturer's warranty expiring. Scared the wossname out of me!) 

uknick

I've always gone for the manufacturer's extended warranty, (VW, Porsche and BMW).  On the whole they've been pretty good at sorting out the problems with no quibble.  But they can be expensive when compared to 3rd parties.

I've always used them because;

a) my mark 4 golf always had problems (rear screen wash leaks, electric windows breaking on its birthday every year) which would have always cost more than what I paid for the warranty and;

b) worried about Porsche engine problems, which never happened but the warranty allowed me to sleep at night.  The same for my i3 which can be expensive to repair if the charging electrics go wrong. 

On the other hand my partners X1 is 10 years old.  She's never bought an extended warranty and has never had a problem with it, touch wood now I've said that!! 

But, like all insurance, it comes down to what risk you're comfortable with.

sparklymarkly

We have extended the warranty on my wife’s car every year from when the factory 3yrs ran out.
Stayed with the manufacturer’s own (VW - although it is outsourced). Decent price (about £290 for a year) and so far it has been worth having for peace of mind. Only one claim but no issues.
Just recently extended the one on my car as well - that was very expensive but I feel it’s worth it.
Again, went with manufacturers version which although dear was about half the price of some aftermarket offerings were quoting.
As you said, car repairs are stupidly expensive and one big failed component can be a massive bill.

Nobbie1967

As above, manufacturers warranties are generally fairly good at paying out as long as you meet their conditions which generally included being serviced by them which you need to factor into the cost if you were going to use an Indy once out of the manufacturer’s warranty. Most 3rd party schemes seem to blame every fault on ‘wear and tear’ and then you have a fight on your hands to get the payout. The other trap is an unusually low reimbursement rate for garage labour, so you’re out of pocket even if they accept the claim. They’re cheaper for a reason and give a false sense of security.

GaryBC

Ah, that touches on a distinction I'd not thought of: manufacturer's offering (Mazda, in my case) vs third party.
Price and performance are probably the crucial aspects? 

GaryBC

The feeling I'm getting is that Third Party policies probably aren't worth having? 

sparklymarkly

I would stick with Mazda then rather than going third party.
It probably will mean having it dealer serviced (& I know that’s expensive- I used to have a Mazda 6 company car) but that’s usually part of the Ts & Cs. 

GaryBC

sparklymarkly said:

I would stick with Mazda then rather than going third party.
It probably will mean having it dealer serviced (& I know that’s expensive- I used to have a Mazda 6 company car) but that’s usually part of the Ts & Cs. 

That's the way I'm beginning to lean! 

Bigwheels1111

Main dealer all the way.

Have a 5008, £1750 so far on extended warranty years 4,5,6,7.

Claims, Washer pipe from bottle to bonnet, £200.

Adblue tank last month 2k.

Im still in front money wise.

Going Toyota next as a service a year gives 10 years warranty.

GaryBC

Bigwheels1111 said:

Main dealer all the way.

Have a 5008, £1750 so far on extended warranty years 4,5,6,7.

Claims, Washer pipe from bottle to bonnet, £200.

Adblue tank last month 2k.

Im still in front money wise.

Going Toyota next as a service a year gives 10 years warranty.

That's where they score. One or more big bills (and who gets little bills!) and they've paid for themselves. 
I must admit the warranty period may well feature significantly in future purchase decisions! 

Jaybee_16

When I bought a Ford I extended the warranty at the time. It's one of those things I'm happy to pay for and not need but when one of the diesel injectors failed 250 miles from home, Ford never quibbled about the situation and also provided a courtesy car of the same model.