Buying used car from dealership- are any of the add-ons worth it?

Newly_retired

I am buying a car just under a year old. Normally I don’t buy any of the extras. I’ve got the next two services included already. I’ve been offered something to protect the paintwork, and insurance cover for tyres and alloys. Given the state of the roads and all the potholes, I am wondering if the tyre cover might be worth having at £330 I think, for three years’ cover?

Car_54

Shop around. You can usually get these "extras" elsewhere for much less.

forgotmyname

Excess and amount of claims before it expires?   If claiming for a damaged alloy/tyre will you need to inform your main insurer
and will they increase premiums?

Protect the paintwork, what condition is it in now?  Swirls from washing previously?

WellKnownSid

Have you had many punctures?

I've had nine punctures in just over 800,000 miles / nearly four decades.

Five of the punctures were cheaply repairable (my Cortina had an inner tube fitted by the tyre guy - those were the days!)

400ixl

Paint protection, not from them. It will be a wash and then a ceramic sealant sprayed on (lasts months) which you could do for £30. If you really want it protected then take it to a local detailer who will do a full machine paint correction and a proper ceramic sealant (lasts 3-5 years).

Wheel and tyre protection may be worth it if you have large wheels with very low profile tyres of a size that are expensive. Otherwise I wouldn't. I would expect you can get it elsewhere for less though.

Exemplar

Car_54 said:

Shop around. You can usually get these "extras" elsewhere for much less.

An example of this is that they will charge you £300 to 'ceramic coat' a car. This will cost you around £30 off eBay and you can do it yourself.

baser999

Exemplar said:

Car_54 said:

Shop around. You can usually get these "extras" elsewhere for much less.

An example of this is that they will charge you £300 to 'ceramic coat' a car. This will cost you around £30 off eBay and you can do it yourself.

And you can at least see it being done. You otherwise have no idea how well it was applied 

Newly_retired

Thanks for all the input. I did not buy any extras. To be fair, there was no pushy salesman, he just ran through the options. I said I wanted to think about it, then when I collected the car nothing more was said.

chrisw

Newly_retired said:

Thanks for all the input. I did not buy any extras. To be fair, there was no pushy salesman, he just ran through the options. I said I wanted to think about it, then when I collected the car nothing more was said.

I suspect most people don't bother once they've gone away and thought about it.

baser999

I took the plunge and went for the tyre cover. I figured the £300+ cost for three years was a decent investment given that the tyres on my vehicle could be upwards of £180. Over the past two years I’ve done three tyres - all nails or similar shards of metal.