PeteC

I am in the process of importing a new 4dr from Holland, and am wondering about whether or not to take out an extended warranty for the 2nd and 3rd years.

I have checked through various postings here, and opinions seem pretty mixed!!

On the one hand, I've seen several comments along the lines of "...save your money, 'cos the Scooby is so reliable", but on the other hand there are a number of postings talking about replacement half-engines and clutches, ie, big money items!!!

Although I'm looking forward to using the car's performance, I don't intend thrashing it (- well, not too severely, anyway), and probably won't take it to track days. Does that make any difference to reliability?

I have been thinking about the Platinum (highest) option from Motor Warranty Direct, but it worries me a little that there still seems to be a range of possible "get outs" as far as claims are concerned, including the clutch.

Has anyone had any experience of claiming under such a warranty (particularly with Motor Warranty Direct), and what was the outcome?

Pete

swa

Pete

I was wondering about the same thing. I got mine from Aalsmeer in Feb. I was going to wait til the end of the 1 yr warranty and decide then. I can't remember who I got the quote for yrs2& 3 but I think it was about 600 for the extra 2 yrs.

Swa

Suresh

Pete,

only the opinion of a student, but isn't a 3rd party warranty effectively only an insurance policy, rather than a guarantee of quality that a car maker (and their agents) would offer?

I have a "DRIVE ASSURED select" policy on a 2nd hand Scoob and it really wasn't worth it, in terms of what I paid for it and what it's really worth when I've needed to claim.

Is's strange that all the "get out" clauses relate to items which cannot be easily determined to be wear-and-tear or defective parts. My guess is that these companies are fairly well clued-up as to which bits are likely to go wrong (they employ actuaries to calculate the probability of this) and therefore refuse to cover you in case they do!

The only way such an insurance policy / warranty will cover all eventualities is by charging the buyer a massive premium to cover the insurance company's calculated risks and also give them a profit to boot.

If you think the get outs are of concern, don't buy the policy!

Suresh

PeteC

Suresh,

Thanks for your comments. You're right, any 3rd party warranty is an insurance policy.

By coincidence, I found out today that a guy in our office is having serious grief over a 3rd party warranty (not the company that I was thinking of, but one that has received some adverse comments on this board).

His car, an MG with only 20k on the clock, came to a grinding halt at the weekend, and had to be towed to a garage. They discovered that a bolt had come loose in the engine, and had caused a lot of oooh-nasties to the cam shaft etc. Probable cost upwards of £2000.

The guys at the garage believe it should be a straightforward warranty job, but not the warranty company. They're saying that it's "wear and tear" and hence isn't covered!!!!

What a con job!!!

Pete

Yex

PeteC,

I've been thinking - no b****y sarcy comments you lot - about your mate's MG problem.

If the MG is within the normal warranty period offered by a UK dealer (3 years / 60k miles possibly) then surely the warranty company he is having trouble with cannot back out on the "wear and tear" issue.

If any car still within it's warranty conditions has a serious mechanical failure like this then it is repaired by a supplying dealer under the warranty scheme. So surely if your mate has looked after the car as per these conditions then they cannot refuse to cover the cost. The term " wear and tear" is probably a try-on by them to get out of a large claim they obviously do not want to pay for, but as all warranty/insurance policies are a gamble on both parties interests get your mate to keep on at them.

Only a thought,

Yex - back to sleep now I'm REALLY bored at work today