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Having just purchased a used Mondeo, the dealer will fully warranty it for three months. After that he wants about three hundred pounds for a years warranty, which is actually of course an insurance policy. I haven't taken that up - are there any recommendations of third party 'warranty' products like this to give me reasonable cover for less than this, or am I being a cheapskate? Does anyone have good or bad experiences of such products? I've heard horror stories of policies not paying out on repairs if the car misses the service interval by tiny amounts, for example.
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I bought a warranty for my Fiat Bravo HLX (R 1998) which had, in September,
69000 miles on the clock. There are a couple of other warranty companies out
there: Parkers, Autotrader and 4CAR websites have links to some. We opted
for Warranty Wise which offered wear and tear cover for most major items.
Whilst the purchase of the warranty was being processed, and on the day we
were due to fly off on holiday, the timing belt snapped 2000 miles before it was
due to be replaced - other Bravo HLX owners take note. Warranty Wise covered
the cost of the parts but the labour was only at the national average - which they
claim to be £25 per hour. Although we had to pay the difference in labour - £300 -
if we hadn't needed to be so urgent, and the warranty had been processed
in time we could have phoned up the warranty company's helpline, a recovery
vehicle would have taken us to an authorised garage, and we may not have needed
to meet the excessive labour charges of our franchised Fiat dealership.
Yes, it is a form of insurance, but, including the purchase of the warranty we paid
£480 for a job which cost closer to £1000. Also, when we come to sell, the
warranty is transferable.
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Wow, that's a bit of a a sting - the 'national rates' thing. I suppose it's fair enough, but it's a point I hadn't thought of.I wonder if its industry standard? These things usually are. Thanks Neil.
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Dear readers,
Motor Warranty Direct seems to offer the best privately bought warranties. But any such warranty is never more than a mechanical breakdown insurance by which an underwriter underwrites the risk of something going wrong and risks some much money for repairs. These insurances are then sold on a commission basis. So, except with a dired policy like Motor Warranty Dorect, you don't necessarily get what you pay for. What I mean is, if you pay three hundred quid for a warranty, the warranty content of it couod be anything from two hundred and seventy quid to just fifty quid. So check terms and conditions very carefully before you buy.
HJ
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This is something very close to my heart right now since I've just been clobbered for a £900 bill that my warranty refuses to cover. The tensioning pulley on the alternator belt of my 1996 Laguna snapped off and replacement required a main dealer to virtually remove the engine to replace the pulley plus a large cast metal bracket. Knowing about the 'national rate' clause I normally use a local garage but in this case that wasn't possible. I accepted that I'd have to pay the excess labour charge but still expected the warranty (from Warranty Holdings) to cover at least some of the bill. However, their get-out clause is that the part that caused all of the trouble (the tensioner pulley bolt) is not specifically named in the warranty and therefore all claims relating to collateral damage caused by its failure, even to parts that ARE covered in the warranty, would not be entertained. This is not at all clear from the handbook - even when the guy on the 'phone pointed me to the clause in the book that he claimed covered this, it wasn't to my mind at all obvious.
Up 'til now I've been happy with WH, this being my second warranty, this is the first time that they have refused to pay out at all on a claim. Over the life of the warranty (4 years, this being the first), I still expect to be in profit on the £1100 cost of the warranty - they've already paid up £400 for a new radiator so far - given my high mileage (in excess of 30000 miles per year).
If you drive lots of miles as I do then I'd still say, despite my unwanted new year bill, that the WH warranties are worthwhile given that they cover unlimited mileage - I don't begrudge under £300 per year because, as I said, I expect to be in profit by the end of it. My warranty covers all sorts of extras like the air-con, ABS, power steering, electric windows etc, up to a maximum of £1000 per claim (assuming the failed part is explicitly mentioned - sniff).
Stick rigidly to the rules about servicing - if nothing else, it will ensure you car stays in good nick ! If you miss a service by a few miles then you'll probably find that a quick word in the service manager's ear explaining the situation will result in him 'misreading' your odometer to correct the discrepancy.
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Ouch! Perhaps you need someone with some clout to talk to them, see how ambiguous the policy wording actually is. Someone like, oh I don't the know, the Telegraph?
HJ pointed out that the direct policy was a better bet, because of the commission factor, and in fact I'd found them independently. In case anyone is reading, they live at
www.warrantydirect.co.uk
Looks from the small print there that in fact they wouldn't have covered you either!
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I've fallen foul of the 'consequential' loss clause before, when a CV joint failed. They would only pay out for a CV boot, not the joint that subsequently failed due to water and muck getting through the split in the boot, even though the split hadn't been noticed (or wasn't there) at a previous service.
I reckon all these warranties suck, because if you think about it, all sorts of damage is caused by consequential loss, but you never know about the cause until the consequential damage has occured. I wonder what they do when HJ's favourite, the cam belt fails and wrecks the engine? In my experience, they will pay for a new cambelt!
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As I said in my previous post, I've been happy with the warranties up until now - they once paid out for replacement brake pads because the wheel cylinder failed causing brake fluid to get on the pads. The cylinder was covered so the damage caused was as well, although they wouldn't pay for the brake fluid ! I've had now trouble with any other claims.
Having now got the car back and been through the invoice, it turns out that most of the parts are not explicitly named on the warranty and therefore aren't covered (and since it was a main dealer job a huge chunk of the bill is labour).
The warranties seem to cover fairly common items which are explictly named. If you suffer as I have from the failure of a small but vital widget which would normally be expected to last the lifetime of the car (the dealer said they'd never seen one break before) its very unlikely to be a named item so it appears you're stuck with the consequences.
My biggest gripe is that I bought the warranty to cover unexpected disasters like this and buffer me from the costs. I don't mind paying for the servicing needed to keep the warranty going (since it ensures that the car stays in decent shape anyway) and I also expect to pay for normal wear and tear items like brakes, exhausts, tyres etc. What I want is a policy that covers me from something unexpectedly giving way and the subsequent huge bills.
Still, I shall have my revenge - during the repairs the dealer reported that the aircon might be playing up a bit and this definitely IS covered by the warranty.
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I had a similar situation with a warrany claim on an Astra. The head gasket had gone but all they would pay for was the gasket itself. They insisted on a new cambelt which they would not pay. They also would not pay for the oil, filter and new coolant. The final sting was that they would only pay labour at a maximum of £25.00 per hour.
Some of these warranties do, suck.
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