Extended warranty

[Fraser]

Was wondering which companies people have extended warranties with for there Audi's ?

Am just about to purchase one for my T Sport (1996) and am interested to hear any experiences etc good or bad.

Main ones I have seen have been via the Autotrader website - looked at RAC too but the cover i.e excesses and max claim cost seem pretty low.

Best one I have seen is from Warranty Direct - would welcome and feedback on the comprehensiveness of the parts covered /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Warranty Direct £253 - pa
Standard Cover
Comprehensive Protection

Claims limit = £5,000 per claim
Excess = £0
Parts and Labour
Recovery
Car Hire
Overnight Hotel Accommodation
24 hour freephone helpline
Central billing

With Standard Cover all of the following parts are covered and we will pay the parts and labour costs if you have to have something replaced.Parts not specifically mentioned are not covered.

Engine
Cylinder head, internal bushings, oil pump, crankshaft and bearings, tappet gear, valves and guides, pistons and rings, cylinder bores/liners, con rods, distributor drive, starter ring gear, flywheel, auto drive plate, camshaft drive belts, camshaft and cam followers, cylinder head gasket, turbo/intercooler units, rocker assembly; push rods; timing gears; timing belts and chains.
Clutch
Master and slave cylinder, clutch cable and pedal assembly.
Transmission
Manual Transmission: gears, synchromesh hubs and rings, selectors, shafts, bearings, drive chains plus gear lever and bushes. Automatic Transmission: torque converters, brake bands, valve block, governor (manual and electric) oil pump and seals, drive chains, gears, input shaft oil seal, clutches, servos and modulator valve, bearing plusgear lever and bushes. Overdrive: Gears, shafts and bearings.
Front Wheel Drive Unit
Crown wheel and pinion, bushes and bearings , plus external drive shafts, universal joints and couplings, C.V. joints and differential unit.
Rear Axle
Crown wheel and pinion, shafts, bearings, hubs and hub bearings, C.V. joints and differential unit.
Four Wheel Drive System
Shafts and bearings, plus propshaft, couplings, C.V. joints, front differential: interaxle differential and lock; rear differential and lock.
Propshaft
Propshaft, universal joints and centre bearings.
Suspension
Upper and lower wishbones, control arms, stabilising bars with associated ball joints, swivel pins and bushes, displacer units, wheel bearings, tailgate suspension struts.
Braking System
Master cylinder; brake servo unit, calipers, wheel cylinders, pressure reducing and proportioning valves, ABS pump and control unit.
Cooling System
Radiator, thermostat, water pump, heater matrix, viscous fan, thermostat housing.
Steering
Rack and pinion, steering box, idler box, column shaft, couplings, power steering unit including pump, pressure pipes and reservoir, tie rods and tie rod ends.
Fuel System
Mechanical and electrical fuel pumps, carburetors, airflow meter, fuel distributor, warm-up regulator, cold start injector, fuel gauge and tank sender unit.
Diesel Injection System
D.I.S. pump and injectors.
Electronic Ignition
All solid state control and triggering units, where fitted as standard by the manufacturer.
Air Conditioning
Air conditioning. compressor pump, condenser, fan control, sensor, magnetic clutch and valves, evaporator and reservoir.
Electrics
Internal failure of the starter motor, alternator, regulator, distributor, windscreen wiper motor, horn, electric window motors and front and rear windscreen washer motors, indicator flasher unit, heating fan motors and cooling fan motor.
Casings
Casings are covered provided they have been damaged as a result of failure of an insured part or by the consequential damage of an insured part failing.

Cheers
FE /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[DavidR]

I went with Audi UK (£750 for the S4)

Basically unbustable warranty, covers part, labour and associated damage or parts due to the initial failure.

May be expensive but includes a year of Audi Assist breakdown cover and more than likely means I get the job done quicker without arguments.

(Already made half of it back with a broken Air Mass Sensor at £280+vat)

 

[biturbo]

Crikey!
I got a MAf for £196 inc VAT /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif 15%off though

 

[Fraser]

hmmmmm some differences between prices...no surpises.


anyone else ?

am under the 3 month warranty atm...

looking to get a 'comprehensive' deal /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Patrick]

Nice bit of info Fraser cheers for posting it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif

 

[teknobod]

After trawling through numerous posts about extended warranties both here and on other forums, one thing still bothers me :-

"wear and tear"

This seems to be a "get out" clause in all policies.

How do you prove whether a part has failed due to a defect or wear and tear?
ie Turbos
If the oil seals or bearings go (which I presume are the commonest failing components) surely the warranty company is going to try and say the failure is due to wear and tear, therefore getting out of making a payment.

I'm sure if you went to Audi they would not say that the Turbo should last x years, as they would then open themselves to claims from owners who have suffered "premature" failure, when all servicing has been carried out by main dealers.

Hence this allows extended warranty companies (both Audi and 3rd party) to avoid paying out on large claims, and all policies also dictate that the owner is responsible for covering any costs for work carried out not covered under the warranty eg diagnostic work or identifying faulty parts.

I may be in a minority here but I cannot afford to be throwing good money into a warranty that is not worth the paper it is written on.

I too have been offered a warranty from Warranty Holdings for £250/£350 (silver or gold cover) which on paper looks fantastic (maximum claim limit is purchase price of car!) but you will always hear from people who have had problems claiming and not from successful claimants.

Any help here would be most appreciated.
It is always best to have the peace of mind that any expensive failures can be covered by warranty.

Cheers

Andy

 

[AndyMac]

Personally think they're a waste of money, unless they are linked with the dealership (i.e. 3 year standard FOC Audi warranty). Would not extend the Audi warranty, as the vehicle gets older everything is gonna be down to wear & tear, any faulty components would have already failed in the first 3 years, so you are gonna give yourself a lot of hassle & frustration trying to claim and getting nowhere. The Audi waranty is flawed because you have to continue to pay Audi servicing rates £70+ per hour + parts that are 2-3 times more expensive than the same part elsewhere. But at least the waranty is a good one with a single point of contact. The after market warranties are just insurance policies with all the shag & hassle associated with an insurance claim (quotes, assessors, delays etc). You bought an Audi for a reason, they're fairly reliable. Find a good Audi specialist, forget the warranty, and put £50 a month into a savings account just in case. I'v had my 97 A4 for 4 years now and all the things that have needed repair would not have been covered by any warranty (steering rack seals, track rod ends, aircon compressor & dryer, alternator). In fact the alternator bearings failed 2 weeks after a major Audi service, while still under warranty @ 50k miles and they wouldn't cover it, even though it was their incompetance that caused the fault. Save yourself a lot of hassle and take a risk.

 

[sash]

I agree with AndyMac, its probably better just to put a bit of money away each month rather than hope the warranty people will pay out. This is a good idea if you have a chipped car, insurance and warranty companies will probably not pay out a penny once they find out that your cars chipped.

 

[Fraser]

Well I am considering still, got my RAC still...

Andy Mac - appriciate the comments, just found a decent specialist that was recommended... Classic Cats in Warrington.

They do Jags primarily but have all the VAG.com stuff too. I am getting the suspension arms done, quoted £80 labour for the whole lot, service £70. Have them for a full inspection and imtermediate service too so relatively comfortable at present with the vehicle.

I suppose the horror stories do scare and if a warranty can help insure and cover any costs then they are worth it. But as you point out what is covered after wear and tear assessments is questionable.

Insurance companies are in the business of taking premuims, assessing risk and indemnifying risk up to a certain limit. If you fall outrside their desired profile in terms of claims or potential claims they will fight you tooth and nail all the way...

However I don't like surprises if I can protect against them then it is peace of mind, whether that be via insurance or savings...

Mods - no point trying to get warranties the costs and potential risks are just not conducive to the warranties I have seen out there.

F