Is extended car warranty worth it?

[ClaretAndJew]

Are these policies ever worth it? I have been given a free 7 days with a company since purchasing a vehicle via Autotrader but was also quoted for the year if I keep it. They sound good in theory but I imagine there will always be ways they try and not pay for stuff.

Any thoughts or advice appreciated.

[Quickenthetempo]

Go and talk to a mechanic he will tell you the average time things start to go wrong with different types of cars.

[Rick_Muller]

When I purchased a Vauxhall Vectra from a used car place in Blackburn a few years back, it had done 62k miles and was 20 months old. I decided to get the additional warranty for 12 months at a cost of about £150 just in case. As it happens, the Turbo went and I needed about £3500 repairs that were covered, so for me it was fantastic. Just be aware of what it does and doesn't cover - clutch for example is rarely covered and can be expensive.

[dermotdermot]

I thought that my BMW was indestructible. In the three years from new, hardly anything went wrong and I let the warranty lapse. A friend with a similar car told me that he had paid for an extended warranty as, if anything were to go wrong with these cars, it can cost you a small fortune. I followed his advice and bought the extension for £50 a month. From that point onwards, just about everything went wrong, including two turbo’s, the clutch and flywheel and numerous other things. Whenever there was a problem, I would ring BMW assist and they would supply me with a replacement BMW from Enterprise delivered within the hour. I’ve estimated that my £50 a month has saved me about £35,000. At one point, they even paid for the rental for the replacement car for three months as they had to wait that long for a part from Germany. Well, we’ll worth it in my case.

[deanothedino]

I thought that my BMW was indestructible. In the three years from new, hardly anything went wrong and I let the warranty lapse. A friend with a similar car told me that he had paid for an extended warranty as, if anything were to go wrong with these cars, it can cost you a small fortune. I followed his advice and bought the extension for £50 a month. From that point onwards, just about everything went wrong, including two turbo’s, the clutch and flywheel and numerous other things. Whenever there was a problem, I would ring BMW assist and they would supply me with a replacement BMW from Enterprise delivered within the hour. I’ve estimated that my £50 a month has saved me about £35,000. At one point, they even paid for the rental for the replacement car for three months as they had to wait that long for a part from Germany. Well, we’ll worth it in my case.

I'd be buying a new car if there was that much going wrong with it constantly.

[gingerpele]

These people are excellent and local: http://www.warrantywise.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[FCBurnley]

It is simply insurance and as with all insurances read the policy VERY carefully

[LoveCurryPies]

You need to read what is and what isn’t covered before buying. Probably wise to be covered especially on more expensive vehicles.

[IanMcL]

I thought that my BMW was indestructible. In the three years from new, hardly anything went wrong and I let the warranty lapse. A friend with a similar car told me that he had paid for an extended warranty as, if anything were to go wrong with these cars, it can cost you a small fortune. I followed his advice and bought the extension for £50 a month. From that point onwards, just about everything went wrong, including two turbo’s, the clutch and flywheel and numerous other things. Whenever there was a problem, I would ring BMW assist and they would supply me with a replacement BMW from Enterprise delivered within the hour. I’ve estimated that my £50 a month has saved me about £35,000. At one point, they even paid for the rental for the replacement car for three months as they had to wait that long for a part from Germany. Well, we’ll worth it in my case.

Steer clear of BMW and pocket £50 per month, is the moral there!

[claret wizard]

Another BMW story. I paid for the warranty, I'd seen the reports on the timing belt issues on the BMW N47 diesel engines. Within 6 months I had a new engine and avoided at £12k bill when the crank snapped. Also if you intend to sell the car on having the warranty still running will increase the residual. I wouldn't go with anything except the manufacturers warranty though.

[dermotdermot]

Yes, you have to have the manufacturers warranty. It covers everything. They even sent their representative out to replace a headlight bulb once. He was here within ten minutes and fixed it in five. If you look on YouTube as to how complicated a procedure this can be, you will see how impressive this was.

[cbx750]

Yes, you have to have the manufacturers warranty. It covers everything. They even sent their representative out to replace a headlight bulb once. He was here within ten minutes and fixed it in five. If you look on YouTube as to how complicated a procedure this can be, you will see how impressive this was.

Huge bugbear of mine, headlight bulbs should be replaceable in 2 minutes by even the most ham
fisted idiot.

[Herts Clarets]

Headlight bulbs in the 3 series BMW are accessed via the wheel arch. The recommended method includes removing both front wheels in order to access the hatch to do this.

[dermotdermot]

You don’t have to do that. I looked on YouTube before I called the bloke out and thought ‘Oh, ****’. He accessed it over the top somehow and, as I said, it took him five minutes.

[houseboy]

I don't think so personally but you never know. I bought a Kia Ceed a few years ago and it came with the famed 7 year warranty but for it to be valid it had to be serviced every year at a Kia garage at about £230 a shout. Now it doesn't take Einstein to work out that totals just over £1600. I asked myself how much can go wrong with a car in 7 years that would total bills of over £1600 (given that wear and tear isn't covered). The timing chain did go at a ridiculous 56k miles and I had to pay for the repair but even with that and various other bits and pieces I didn't spend anything like £1600 in that 7 year period.
Please don't all jump on me and say I should get it serviced anyway, I very rarely do and don't seem to have suffered from it in anyway.