Used / existing car warranties Good or Bad

bendrick · 26th January 2020, 19:02

I appreciate that this subject is a minefield but doe anyone have any experience or recommendations of buying a fairly comprehensive car warranty for an existing car.

Its not for the Rover but a four year old Vauhall Viva with just 20,000 miles on the clock just coming out of its PCP contract in two months which we are thinking of keeping as its such a good little car.

Anybody have a positive experience of any particular warranty from a firm that they have taken out and had to make use of?

And of course any to stay away from.

markypicks · 26th January 2020, 19:20

i've always found that when you buy a car with warranty there's always something that goes wrong with the car that the warranty doesn't cover it..it just depends on the dealer and how long the warranty is for rgds mark

SCP440 · 26th January 2020, 19:33

In my experience most of these warranties are not worth the cost especially on a car as new with low mileage like this one you are talking about, you are better off putting the money away you would have spend on this warranty and use it if you need too.

Most of these warranties will often find a way of wiggling out of paying for the cost of repairs as you have not maintained the vehicle in a way they think is fit or that part is considered fare ware and tare. A lot of garages will not deal with warranty companies unless you pay and claim the money back.

bendrick · 26th January 2020, 19:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by markypicks

i've always found that when you buy a car with warranty there's always something that goes wrong with the car that the warranty doesn't cover it..it just depends on the dealer and how long the warranty is for rgds mark

The manufacturers warranty is gone.

I'm talking about whether its worth taking out one of the aftermarket warranties so to speak ( I know that a warranty / insurance is exactly that, sometimes you need to claim and are glad that you took out the thing and often you don't in which case you tend to think 'what if I had saved the premiums' )

bendrick · 26th January 2020, 19:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCP440

In my experience most of these warranties are not worth the cost especially on a car as new with low mileage like this one you are talking about, you are better off putting the money away you would have spend on this warranty and use it if you need too.

Most of these warranties will often find a way of wiggling out of paying for the cost of repairs as you have not maintained the vehicle in a way they think is fit or that part is considered fare ware and tare. A lot of garages will not deal with warranty companies unless you pay and claim the money back.

Yup and that's really my question does anybody have any experience of ones that turned out to be fully genuine and fit for purpose or conversely any that turned out to be a barely concealed con?

donc · 26th January 2020, 20:15

From my experience totally agree it's a waste of money. My mot garage has a link with the rac warranty and a mechanic said he often had to explain to people that a particular fault was not covered when on the face of it the claim seemed appropriate.

myfirstrover · 26th January 2020, 20:20

Just save the money you would have paid in warranty fees and set it aside for when things do go wrong ?

FLYING BANANA · 26th January 2020, 20:31

When I bought the Banana I joined Warranty Direct. Absolutely useless company. When Banana suffered HGF they refused to authorise fitting the uprated head gasket as it was deemed to be a “modification” so therefore would not be a standard car anymore. I fought hard but either I paid for the modification out of my own pocket or have the standard gasket fitted which they would be happy to pay for.

It gets worse, whilst my car was off of the road I would get a hire car, Ford Focus, but only for 10 days as that is how long my car would be off of the road. Remembering that I’m fighting the issue about the uprated gasket. By the time I caved in and said ok for the standard gasket to be fitted, 6 days had passed. It took the garage, based in Woodford Essex a further 5 weeks to get the HGF sorted. All sorts of excuses.

Because I refused to give the hire car back until my car was fixed resulted into the threat of a court case. I was prepared to sue them. They finally backed down. But I still had to pay towards the car hire. Just 1 weeks hire, which I agreed to as I just wanted my car back.

When the warranty came up for renewal I told them what they could do with there renewal. They never chased me or made me any “special” offers. And that’s when I discovered MJSAUTOANDMARINE.CO.UK.

SCP440 · 26th January 2020, 21:28

My experience was about 6 years ago but I don think things have changed. I had Saab, after about 4 months I was getting symptoms of Turbo failure. I was told by the warranty company I had to take it to a garage about an hour from my house. The mechanic came out and had a look and agreed the turbo was on its way out. I told him it was under warranty and very quickly he told me they would not cover it unless I had proof the oil had been replaced recently by a garage and even then they would probably make me drive it until it had failed completely.

I was told they could not fit it in for at least a month anyway as the warranty company were very bad payers. I rung the warranty company and I was told I could get it done somewhere else, pay for it and then put a claim in for the work.

I got a friends garage to do it for me so I could get an invoice. I submitted the invoice and immediately had a call from them to ask who had authorised the work. Luckily I had there name but was told that person did not have authority to authorise repairs for that amount ( about £550 ).

Anyway after several months and threatening legal action I received a cheque for about half the invoice. I had already given the warranty company by the time they paid about £200

RoverP480 · 26th January 2020, 22:40

I have had Warranty Direct cover on my Discovery 3 for a number of years now and cannot fault them apart from getting authorisation can be time consuming. . I have usually used a garage that has direct contact with them which makes it easier to get the authorisation . Over a couple of years I have had a new High pressure injection pump, front and rear diffs and rear propshaft.

26th January 2020, 19:02	#1
bendrick Gets stuck in Ex CDT Auto Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Barry Posts: 655 Thanks: 76 Thanked 266 Times in 155 Posts	Used / existing car warranties Good or Bad I appreciate that this subject is a minefield but doe anyone have any experience or recommendations of buying a fairly comprehensive car warranty for an existing car. Its not for the Rover but a four year old Vauhall Viva with just 20,000 miles on the clock just coming out of its PCP contract in two months which we are thinking of keeping as its such a good little car. Anybody have a positive experience of any particular warranty from a firm that they have taken out and had to make use of? And of course any to stay away from.

26th January 2020, 20:15	#6
donc Avid contributor Rover 75 Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: Kirk Ella Posts: 141 Thanks: 9 Thanked 43 Times in 14 Posts	Extended warranty From my experience totally agree it's a waste of money. My mot garage has a link with the rac warranty and a mechanic said he often had to explain to people that a particular fault was not covered when on the face of it the claim seemed appropriate.

26th January 2020, 20:31	#8
FLYING BANANA Moderator/Club Shop MG ZT 1.8t+. No.3 of 4 in Sunspot Yellow & Ford Fiesta in Black. Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Rattler Farm Posts: 22,565 Thanks: 9,270 Thanked 15,645 Times in 6,806 Posts	When I bought the Banana I joined Warranty Direct. Absolutely useless company. When Banana suffered HGF they refused to authorise fitting the uprated head gasket as it was deemed to be a “modification” so therefore would not be a standard car anymore. I fought hard but either I paid for the modification out of my own pocket or have the standard gasket fitted which they would be happy to pay for. It gets worse, whilst my car was off of the road I would get a hire car, Ford Focus, but only for 10 days as that is how long my car would be off of the road. Remembering that I’m fighting the issue about the uprated gasket. By the time I caved in and said ok for the standard gasket to be fitted, 6 days had passed. It took the garage, based in Woodford Essex a further 5 weeks to get the HGF sorted. All sorts of excuses. Because I refused to give the hire car back until my car was fixed resulted into the threat of a court case. I was prepared to sue them. They finally backed down. But I still had to pay towards the car hire. Just 1 weeks hire, which I agreed to as I just wanted my car back. When the warranty came up for renewal I told them what they could do with there renewal. They never chased me or made me any “special” offers. And that’s when I discovered MJSAUTOANDMARINE.CO.UK. __________________ 233,431. That’s our second meet done, no.3 next weekend. onen hag oll

26th January 2020, 19:20	#2
markypicks Gets stuck in rover 75 saloon cdt club se re map 160 bhp Join Date: Dec 2018 Location: sheffield Posts: 558 Thanks: 227 Thanked 169 Times in 135 Posts	i've always found that when you buy a car with warranty there's always something that goes wrong with the car that the warranty doesn't cover it..it just depends on the dealer and how long the warranty is for rgds mark

26th January 2020, 19:33	#3
SCP440 I really should get out more....... MG ZT-T 260 Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Witney Posts: 2,504 Thanks: 6 Thanked 910 Times in 571 Posts	In my experience most of these warranties are not worth the cost especially on a car as new with low mileage like this one you are talking about, you are better off putting the money away you would have spend on this warranty and use it if you need too. Most of these warranties will often find a way of wiggling out of paying for the cost of repairs as you have not maintained the vehicle in a way they think is fit or that part is considered fare ware and tare. A lot of garages will not deal with warranty companies unless you pay and claim the money back.

26th January 2020, 20:20	#7
myfirstrover Posted a thing or two Rover 75 2.0 cdi Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Newcastle upon Tyne Posts: 1,896 Thanks: 401 Thanked 448 Times in 303 Posts	Just save the money you would have paid in warranty fees and set it aside for when things do go wrong ?

26th January 2020, 21:28	#9
SCP440 I really should get out more....... MG ZT-T 260 Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Witney Posts: 2,504 Thanks: 6 Thanked 910 Times in 571 Posts	My experience was about 6 years ago but I don think things have changed. I had Saab, after about 4 months I was getting symptoms of Turbo failure. I was told by the warranty company I had to take it to a garage about an hour from my house. The mechanic came out and had a look and agreed the turbo was on its way out. I told him it was under warranty and very quickly he told me they would not cover it unless I had proof the oil had been replaced recently by a garage and even then they would probably make me drive it until it had failed completely. I was told they could not fit it in for at least a month anyway as the warranty company were very bad payers. I rung the warranty company and I was told I could get it done somewhere else, pay for it and then put a claim in for the work. I got a friends garage to do it for me so I could get an invoice. I submitted the invoice and immediately had a call from them to ask who had authorised the work. Luckily I had there name but was told that person did not have authority to authorise repairs for that amount ( about £550 ). Anyway after several months and threatening legal action I received a cheque for about half the invoice. I had already given the warranty company by the time they paid about £200

26th January 2020, 22:40	#10
RoverP480 Gets stuck in None at the moment Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: Hereford Posts: 501 Thanks: 1 Thanked 165 Times in 146 Posts	I have had Warranty Direct cover on my Discovery 3 for a number of years now and cannot fault them apart from getting authorisation can be time consuming. . I have usually used a garage that has direct contact with them which makes it easier to get the authorisation . Over a couple of years I have had a new High pressure injection pump, front and rear diffs and rear propshaft.