Extended Warranty beyond 6 months.. advice please.

[futureechos]

Going to pick up my shiny Cayman on Saturday '61 plate 61K miles.

 

I mentioned brakes felt a little spongy to them and that there was a bit of lip on one of the discs.... So as part of their pre-sale inspection:

 

       "all of the front brakes for you..pads..discs..sensors etc. We also changed the boot / bonnet release buttons for you, replaced a long air conditioning pipe (and re gassed the system) and also replaced the large exhaust clamp at the back which was starting to crack."

 

Pretty happy with that.

 

They are offering 6 months 'gold' warranty for free, option to extend...   I Never go for these but this is a big purchase for me, car has FPSH, seller seems legit so is this extra 2.5 years for £900 - £300p.a. so £30 a month for piece of mind.

 

But as I said I never do these - what would you do?

 

 

    "is currently the most comprehensive third party warranty available on the market today. It will cover all mechanical and all electrical components from failure. It will not cover wear and tear items. Components covered include; engine, drivetrain, gearbox, axles, all the car's ecus, window motors, starter motors, water pumps, alternators...(even wheel bearings are covered should they fail)...and the list goes on. The policy has a limit of £5,000 per claim, and there is no limit to the amount of claims you can make during the period of the warranty. There is no excess to pay on any claim. The warranty company will pay £50 per hour labour rate. The prices are as follows.."

      "To extend the 6 month policy to:
          12 month policy  £395.00
          24 month policy  £695.00
         36 month policy  £895.00"
 

Of course prices goes up if I decide to extent the warranty when 6 months is nearing the end..

 

What would you do? really in 2 minds about this! 

 

 

Thanks

Mark

[Aaron]

Aftermarket warranties are usually a waste of time.  They sell "peace of mind" but rarely deliver when the need arises.

 

You usually pay for diagnostics

Then have to pay for disassembly and for them to validate the failure

If the failure is covered, they absorb that disassembly cost

But, if they remove something that needs replacing and it isn't covered by the warranty, you will have to pay to replace it

Labour rates are usually limited and wouldn't cover most specialist rates

 

If the warranty leaves you dry, you've paid more money for the warranty and will also pay outrageous parts costs from their approved garages.

 

You can become alluded into the state of mind that "I have a warranty that covers xyz and it will get fixed for free if xyz fails" when the reality is quite different.

 

Unless it's an OPC warranty (which you can buy, BTW) then I would be knocking that off the sale price of the vehicle instead.

Edited November 18, 2021 by Aaron

[duncan]

You have the warranty for what it’s worth included for 6 months, that’s a decent enough time for you to go over what is an 11 year old car. 

Go through the forum and find out what others have replaced, not everyone, and not every item may occur but they include: Moll batteries, leaking hose joints, corroded radiators and a/c condensers, gear change cables, auxiliary belt hardware.

 

Whilst the salesman might verbally say the replacement of any of the above is covered: he is not the warrantee insurance company and is unlikely to have the authority to commit them to anything if you tried putting in writing.

 

For real peace of mind, have enough spare pounds to cover replacement costs yourself.

 

 

 

[Windymiller]

I’d also suggest your spongy brakes may simply need fresh brake fluid, and a proper PIWIS activated brake bleed. 
 

what’s the mileage and how well documented is the service history?

 

i had a dealer warranty for 12 months from Cridfords - nothing broke in that time. 
 

since then I’ve had all the usual stuff need changing on a 10+ year old 987; ie: cross over coolant pipes, coffin arms, battery, condensers, PSE actuator valves. None of it hugely expensive (if you use Indy’s) and some of it DIYable if youre capable with spanners and have time and space for the car to be off the road. 
 

it’s very unlikely you’ll have a major failure (engine / gearbox / main electronic control unit). I’d suggest budget for some replacements/repairs over the next 2-3 years and save that away as your contingency pot rather than spend out on a ‘mechanical breakdown insurance policy’ (it’s not really a warranty). 
 

If you don’t have any repair bills then you still have the pot of money at the end to put into your next car 😉👍🏻

[futureechos]

Thanks all didn't go for it in the end. Brother and Brother in law are both mechanics too, which helps.

Edited November 20, 2021 by futureechos