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Any views on the various warranty companies and their products? I've been using the RAC Signature scheme for the past several years with my MB, but haven't yet needed to call on it. It's a fair bit more costly than Warranty Direct, but I've stuck with it as my local dealers have said on more than one occasion that it is "a particularly good one" (not that they have anything to gain from my sticking to it). Views on comparative strengths and weaknesses, and reports of any horror stories, would be appreciated.
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I have explored many of the extended warranties, but, found that doing a high mileage 50k a year most of the companies would get out of repairs by pulling out the worn out part trick.
I have spoken to my main dealer who says alot of companies now ask, is the defective part worn, if the answer is yes they won't pay out. Also if a small component fails causing a much bigger problem I understand they only cover the smallest part, ie a water pump failure, that causes the head gasket to blow.
I would like to find a policy as it would give me peace of mind, but please read the small print very carefully.
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Warranty Direct do claim "Your warranty will cover you against failure and wear and tear on mechanical and electrical parts." And "Wear and tear or damage to a part that is about to break or that could cause more serious damage to the vehicle is also covered." I will ask my dealers to throw some more light on their opinion.
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Roger,
You say...
I've been using the RAC Signature scheme for the past several years with my MB, but haven't yet needed to call on it. It's a fair bit more costly than Warranty Direct..
Quite...why not put the money in your own "warranty fund" Building Society account. Then when it is completely/virtually untouched after 5yrs pay yourself a bonus amounting to 80% of the fund and start again with 20% left in.
I mean the warranty company manages to pay for the vehicle repairs, pay their company costs and make a profit from your premium. So why not cut out the middleman?
M.M
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I specifically spoke to the guys at warranty direct, and they will not cover a breakdown if caused by a component that has failed due to wear.
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So if a cam-belt goes (it has to be wear and tear) they won't cover the replacement engine?
I've gone pale all of a sudden. I should set up a warranty company! Think of the money!
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Shurely shome mishtake, Flatfour, it says "Cover against damage caused by wear and tear" on the WD quote page in the blue box headed the WD difference.
And clicking on the What do I get link? comes up with:
Wear and Tear covered
Unique to Warranty Direct, none of our warranties operate with a wear and tear exclusion. This means that if a covered item fails and is worn you will still be covered. No other company offers you the same level of protection.
This 100% contradicts what you assert.
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Warranty Direct do cover the cost of repairs in the event a covered item fails and the failure is caused by wear. We also cover failure in the event that the failure is caused by a non insured part (like an alternator belt). Imagine the alternator belt comes off, gets caught in the timing belt and then bang - pistons, valves etc..
We are the only warranty company who sells the cover and handles the claim, whoever else you purchase a warranty from will not handle the claim, be that a dealer or warranty wise. That makes a big difference, it is all to easy to say NO if you did not sell the policy.
Warranties are worthwhile if you don't expect them to cover 100% of the car. I would rather pay £200 per annum on a warranty rather than end up with a bill for £800 or more for an airconditioning claim.
You just have to look at the figures on the reliability index web site www.reliabilityindex.co.uk to see what the average claim is by make and model.
Duncan McClure Fisher
MD - Warranty Direct
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Duncan,
>>We also cover failure in the event that the failure is caused by a non insured part (like an alternator belt). Imagine the alternator belt comes off, gets caught in the timing belt and then bang - pistons, valves etc..
In order to give folks clicking through from here confidence perhaps you need to update your online policy document then. It states, under "What is not Insured"...
12. Damage to Insured Components caused by the failure of non-insured components.
M.M
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Thankyou for that - I will kick someone tomorrow.
Duncan
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MM
That's an option I have been considering, since I'm otherwise not quick to take out insurance. Looking back over nearly 20 years of motoring involving five cars (three of which I still own), there has been one instance of expensive repair (covered by the Signature warranty on the first MB, which leaked oil seriously on its first day with me because it had been sitting in the showroom for too long, so the dealers said), and two of the cars nudged 60,000 miles. I renewed the Signature cover after further discussions with the local MB dealer, who spoke of the ease of running up four-figure bills if anything serious goes wrong. But, all things considered, perhaps I should take on the risk again.
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From Warranty Direct link on the left: "
? Cover against damage caused by wear and tear
...
? Damage caused by non-insured parts included ...." >>
By the way, the "self-inusre" suggestion made by M.M is worth taking - and for any other items you might usually buy optional (i.e. not requird by law) insurance/warranties.
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Roger,
I mentioned "self-insuring" because I do have evidence it is cheaper in the long term.
You might not know I do look after a "few" cars and keep excellent records. I know from experience that the major costs of looking after cars are regular scheduled maintenance and not breakdowns. My sample sizes are tiny by make but with all makes added together, and taken over a period of years, then a reasonably true pattern emerges.
As a matter of interest I've gone back over the past £10,000 worth of bills to see what trend comes from them. These are for cars of most makes, nothing newer than 18mths, mostly nothing over 10yrs old, nothing too posh.
Of the past £10,355 only £330 has been costs that you would expect to be covered under warranty. And of this £330 total £150 was for two broken springs found at MOT time. If you take the Warranty Direct policy wording as an example...
WHAT IS NOT INSURED
.......
7. Repair or replacement of components which have not suffered a breakdown or the replacement of any components to enable your vehicle to pass the Government Vehicle Testing Requirements (MOT).
.....you might wonder if these broken springs wouldn't have got past a claim.
That would leave just £180 from £10,355 as the insured warranty amount. Is it really worth £200-£300 a year to cover such a small sum?
M.M
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If the car is fairly new - i.e. less than 4 yrs old and less than 48k miles. I think this company is very good.
www.warrantywise.co.uk
I understand that they are underwriten by Warranty Holdings who actually underwrite all the major manufacturers warranties.
Can anyone confirm this?
306 2.0 SE Cabriolet
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Appologies to Dunc Warranty Wise.
Following your notice I have again phoned Warranty Wise, the sales consultant, Jane, said they would cover the failure of worn out parts that are listed in the schedule but only if they actually fail. If my garage were to advise a part listed in the schedule was needing replacement at a service this would NOT be covered. Because my car is over 60,000 miles 100% labour cover 90% labour and as I do 40,000 miles per year I have to pay 2 years premium that will cover me for the next 60,000 or 18 months. cost £519. As the car gets older the contribution to parts reduces by 10% for every 10,000 miles, so if you insure a car with 80-90 000 on the clock the part contribution is 70%. Also I understand I can only get the basic driveline cover as the vehicle has done over 40 000 miles. This cover is far less than the manufactureres warranty my car came with. As the online quote does not work for anyone doing more than 30'000 a year, I will update when my telephone quote arrives by post.
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"Following your notice I have again phoned Warranty Wise, the sales consultant, Jane, said they would cover the failure of worn out parts that are listed in the schedule but only if they
actually fail. If my garage were to advise a part listed
in the schedule was needing replacement at a service this would
NOT be covered."
Can you give me an example of what this item could be.
If you are on about a garage asking to replace a serviceable item, I wouldn't expect it to be covered. Let take the clutch, I know that it is covered under the Total policy add the wear and tear option to the policy. If the clutch is worn out surely this would be classed as a failure!! Would they actually wait until you can't select the gear and have totally screwed up the flywheel before they replace the lot? Surely not.
306 2.0 SE Cabriolet
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Can't decide from the above whether Warranties Direct is as good as main dealers offering.
BMW are trying to charge £566 for 12 month extended
WD are trying to charge £260 for the same period.
Can someone confirm if the cover will be the same or not?
Ta.
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CM : can't answer your question, but you may also wish to check
www.motoreasy.com
Quote
"Running a car can be worrying and expensive, can't it?
So many unexpected bills, sudden repairs, accidents, breakdowns, MOT failure and, on top of that, not knowing who you can trust.
Well, those can all be things of the past thanks to motoreasy.
motoreasy and Castrol have brought together some of the motor industry's leading companies to bring you the first ever car healthcare scheme." Unquote
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Thanks for that BUT
(a) they didn't have my car
(b) the nearest to it was £100 more expensive than BMW
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>>... Thanks for that BUT
(a) they didn't have my car
(b) the nearest to it was £100 more expensive than BMW ..>>
(a) They have a freephone number you can call - pretty unusual nowadays. Give them a call and see what your car (which one?) will cost to cover.
(b) £100 more but remember it includes your annual service, MOT, repair or recovery! (Euroean breakdown cover too!). Just the MOT and annual service is likely to cost over £200 on a BMW!
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Why don\'t you find out who the BMW underwriter is. Its more than likely to be the same people who underwrite Warranty Holdings
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306 2.0 SE Cabriolet
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know a few people who work a BMW dealer, and also a few owners who have used the BMW warranty who swear by it. Also have used (or tried to use) the Warranty Holdings warranty.
I would go main dealer every time. Far better service, and in my experience far less quibling.
Worth paying the extra if you are going to buy an extended warranty.
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I know Warranty Holdings do have some naff policies. But the one I've seen on this www.warrantywise.co.uk site seems to better than most and it lets you take your car to a main dealer as long as you have paid the extra premium. Why would BMW underwrite their own warranty, surely they must have an underwriter in place just like every other manufacturer.
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306 2.0 SE Cabriolet
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The Warranty Wise plan seems to be an amalgam of separate policies (servicing, breakdown recovery, breakdown warranty) brought togther in one package. Insepcting their website reveals that breakdown warranty is in fact a 'Warranties Direct' breakdown insurance plan.
As far as I know all of the major manufacturers sell this type of breakdown plan (or rather their dealers do) and at the end of the day they are insurance policies with lots of exclusions and grey areas.
When my father and I were in the retail motor trade (its quite long time ago since we finished) we had dealings with a warranty company (*not* Warranties Direct). The experience was truly awful and one of our most feared sights became that of a potential customer walking towards us with his warranty booklet grasped firmly in his hand. Inevitably the source of the trouble was not covered and we then had the unenviable task of explaining this to the irate individual. In the end we refused to have anything to do with these companies.
Things may have improved in the intervening years, but I am still very wary of these warranties. For my own vehicles I put a certain amount of money each month into a building society 'car account' - this covers tax, insurance, tyres, serving and repairs.
I have always done my own servicing once a car is out of manfr. warranty. In almost 30 years of motoring I have had only one major mechanical failure and I firmly believe that was due to the one occassion when I let a main dealer change the coolant and they forgot to bleed the system afterwards!
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I have had a Warranty Holdings warranty and, well, I suspect whatever I write here would be deleted by the moderators so I won't. Supposedly it was one of their high-end warranties.
I have signed up for a Warranty Direct "Platinum" warranty to take effect when my manufacturer's warranty runs out, which looked quite good on paper. However they seem to keep losing direct debit forms I send them to pay for it...
Mike
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