Extended warranty - buying a car

[Ricko]

Hi, I took my ex-step father in law (complicated, I know) to look at cars this afternoon. He asked me whether it was worth purchasing the extended warranty that most car supermarkets offer. I usually decline them personally.

He's looking at buying a 2yr old Seat Leon with average mileage.

Does anyone have experience of these warranties, should he buy the warranty??

 

[JTaylor91]

If it’s 2 years old it will still have a year manufacturer warranty, I wouldn’t bother.

[Vince Green]

The extended warranties these places sell are usually not worth the paper they are written on. So many get out clauses.

Have you considered buying through a main agent? its often no dearer. We (my partner and I) both drive Hondas now, her a jazz and me a CRV. The level of service we get from Honda is remarkable, and so cheap

Having driven Mercedes for years they can go and fly a kite as far as I am concerned now 

[Ricko]

36 minutes ago, JTaylor91 said:

If it’s 2 years old it will still have a year manufacturer warranty, I wouldn’t bother.

Good point, I checked and it's got 8 months left, so it must be 2yr 4m old

[robbiep]

It will only have the manufacturer's warranty remaining if it has been serviced to manufacturer's requirements from new. 

I would ask for confirmation in writing from them that the manufacturer's warranty is still valid before purchasing

[Ricko]

1 hour ago, robbiep said:

It will only have the manufacturer's warranty remaining if it has been serviced to manufacturer's requirements from new. 

I would ask for confirmation in writing from them that the manufacturer's warranty is still valid before purchasing

Hadn't thought of that, thank you

[Trevorevans]

Don’t bother with 3rd party warranty’s, just been done for £800 myself. It was supposed to be the mutts nuts however I’ve attempted to make 2 claims so far and both times I’ve been rebuffed. In the small print they only pay a max of £1000 and no more than around £47 ph labour chargen

[Hector Vector]

I took out an RAC Platinum warranty when I bought my last used car and so pleased I did, although I thought it expensive at the time. Car was 5 years old, had a full service history although not main dealer and lower than average mileage. Had a total engine faliure about 18 months after purchase which resulted in a bill just short of £15K. The manufacturer and the warranty company shared the cost (manufacturer paid the larger proportion). The work was carried out by a manufacturer approved service agent (labour rates very close to those of a main dealer). No arguments or quibbling of any sort from either party. The claims limit on the policy was the vehicle purchase price.

Obviously, therefore, not all 3rd party warranties are "not worth the paper they're written on" and I speak from personal experience. Read the small print and buy carefully!

[Ricko]

13 hours ago, Trevorevans said:

Don’t bother with 3rd party warranty’s, just been done for £800 myself. It was supposed to be the mutts nuts however I’ve attempted to make 2 claims so far and both times I’ve been rebuffed. In the small print they only pay a max of £1000 and no more than around £47 ph labour chargen

Yes, my mate who has a garage mentioned the labour rates.

He explained to them that any garage charging £47 per hour won't be that good.

[Westward]

On 17/08/2021 at 20:04, Vince Green said:

The extended warranties these places sell are usually not worth the paper they are written on. So many get out clauses.

Have you considered buying through a main agent? its often no dearer. We (my partner and I) both drive Hondas now, her a jazz and me a CRV. The level of service we get from Honda is remarkable, and so cheap

Having driven Mercedes for years they can go and fly a kite as far as I am concerned now 

I agree. Manufacturer approved used cars sell for the same money and you get goodies like map updates and extended warranty.

[Cranfield]

I would also support the Main Agent used car route.
You can get  quite late models with low mileage and usually a few years left on the Manufacturers Warranty.
You also have the comfort of knowing they will be there if you have a problem, unlike some used car lots.

[JohnfromUK]

I had a main agent/manufacturer warranty on a used BMW - and was extendable annually (I think the limit may have been 12 years or 100,000 miles).  As the car gets older, the annual renewal price goes up and each year you can choose to renew or not.  In my case I renewed until the car was 10 years old - and had a couple of quite large claims (ABS brakes unit and DPF) both high parts prices.  Downside is that you have to use BMW approved garage/workshop (which can be expensive) for all servicing and the excess was significant (can't exactly remember, but £250?).

For me - it was well worth it as some repairs to modern cars can be eye watering in parts costs.