Warranty or not?

MuvverRussia · 7 Mar 2009 at 16:42

Hi,

Bought a 2003 Skoda Octavia vRS today from a dealer with a low 28k on it.

Question is - the dealer is offering a 3 year warranty that includes cover of most mechanical parts including the turbo for £295. Reckon this is worth it? Or should I just stick with the supplied 3 month one?

Cheers,

Mike

IAmATeaf · 7 Mar 2009 at 16:46

Depends on what the warranty covers but 295 for 3 years seems a steal doesn't it?

stoofa · 7 Mar 2009 at 16:52

Very nice mileage for a 2003.
Check and see exactly what is covered or more importantly what isn't covered.
There is nothing worse than paying for extended warranty and then the first time you go to claim you find you aren't covered.

So long as all of the main features are covered, £100 a year sounds extremely good.

Lum · 7 Mar 2009 at 16:59

Read the warranty T&Cs very carefully. You're usually not as well covered as you think.

In particular check if there is a sensible claim limit, I ended up with one with a £1000 claim limit so when the engine failed I still had to fork out £2000 of my own money. Best part was that the engine was simply being replaced but under the terms of the warranty you had to have the failed parts (in this case piston rings and bores) out for their engineer to inspect before the warranty was approved, the cost of doing this (as opposed to just scrapping the old engine unopened) was about £500, so the warranty only saved me £500.

It also didn't cover turbochargers or 4WD systems.. the car in question being a Subaru!

One of the warranties I read later covered "all lubricated moving parts" so that means a head gasket failure isn't covered, nor are pipes, seals, radiator, engine block etc. etc.

MuvverRussia · 7 Mar 2009 at 17:14

The leaflet i've got states:

Parts covered
-------------------

During the specified period all of the original manufacturer's mechanical and electrical components of the vehicle are insured against breakdown except those listed under exclusions. Full terms and conditions as set out in the policy document.

Cover includes:

Turbo/supercharger (factory fitted)
Air conditioning (factory fitted)
Timing belts - Providing there is proof that the manufacturer's replacement recommendations have been complied with and they are free from oil contamination.

Exclusions
----------------

Chassis, bodywork, interior and exterior trim, locks, glass, tyres, batteries, exhaust systems, fuel tanks, brake friction material, wiring looms, road wheels, clearing of fuel lines, injectors, oil seals, sat nav, seized brake calipers and other service items, heater elements, centralised locking pumps, car telephone, air bags, sensors, keys, AC recharging, antifreeze, lubricants, filters, transmission fluids, external oil or fluid leaks, hardware- e.g. bolts/fixings, pulleys/dampers, serviceable and ancillary items, instrument gauges (if an entire cluster).

So lookng at this- do you guys think it's worth it? I'm not 100% sure right now, then again it is only £100pa...

*Moangroan* · 7 Mar 2009 at 18:59

But thats the manufacturers warranty there. If you can confirm from the garage that everything is covered that is covered in a manufacturers warranty its a stael. A new vrs turbo + labour is on the other side of £1000.

But this warranty I have a feeling will be from that garage/dealership so it have nothing to do with skoda UK.

moon man · 7 Mar 2009 at 19:22

when my fabia warranty ran out after 3 years i went with warranty direct ,they seemed ok but then some lower wishbone bushes went they said they couldnt repair anything that would help the car pass its mot wtf?
some warranty companys dont include wear and tear only sudden failure