Warranty Frustration - not even bought it yet!
Discussion
In the process of buying a V8 Vantage, 56 plate, MY07. I asked about extended warranty over and above the 12 months that comes with approved Astons. When I spoke to the sales person at my first and second meetings it was explained as follows;
If the car is less than 5 yrs old then you can purchase the extended warranty and this gives you full manufacturer cover i.e. covers you for all the things that you would be covered for had you bought the car new. I asked specially if this includes things like sat nav, radio etc. His reply was that with this cover it did. If the car was more than 5 years old then I could only purchase warranty+ which has a claim limit of 10k and doesn't cover things like sat nav etc. As such and deciding that I'm in luck as my car is on the verge of becoming 5 years old, I agreed to purchase 2 additional years now, thus giving me 3 full years of cover.
Popped in today and met a completely new sales person. This sales person told me something completely different and in fact backed it up with the warranty documentation. Specifically;
1. Manufacturer's warranty always expires after 3 years of its original purchase.
2. You can extend this if the car is under 5 years old with a Premium Warranty.
3. Now here's the rub. Premium Warranty has exclusions that don't cover sat nav, radio etc. Plus other exclusions that aren't in the original manufacturer's warranty.
4. Here's the other rub. Apparently you can only take a used car to 7 years old with Premium Warranty. As such the fact that I've asked for 2 additional years means that my car would become 8 years old in the 3rd year of my warranty. According to this new sales person, Gaydon doesn't permit this (so why is the other sales person who is actually appears quite senior trying so hard to sell it to me?).
There is a 3rd kind of warranty - Classic, which can cover cars up to 40 years, but that isn't relevant to me.
I have the warranty doc in front of me and I'm struggling to see just what is actually covered. The whole thing is full of exclusions. For example, oil leaks aren't covered which is bizarre - I extended my 997 warranty and the only thing I claimed on where oil leaks.
For the additional 2 years I've been quoted £2600+, assuming I can't have it and only get an additional 1 year (due to the 7 year limit), then it's still an extra £1300. Looking at the exclusion list I'm wondering if it's worth it at all? Should I just chuck the cash at a nice vinyl wrap or just stick it in savings somewhere? The original sales person told me that if the engine blew up I'd be looking at a massive repair bill. How often does that happen? I've only ever known one engine to blow, it was on a Z3M about 8 years ago but she'd been giving it some real welly before it blew and my car is never going to get that kind of treatment.
Btw, I think I've noticed a little dishonest sales tactic here. If you ask "is the satnav covered", they reply, "the warranty covers all electrics". They're not lying but they're being highly deceptive by saying this. Don't tell me that these guys don't know EXACTLY what is and is not covered!! I don't expect this from an Aston branded dealership.
Hopefully this dealership will be able to redeem itself a little tomorrow. The conflicting information and the original sales person's apparent over willingness to sell me a warranty that doesn't exist has taken the shine off this experience.
If the car is less than 5 yrs old then you can purchase the extended warranty and this gives you full manufacturer cover i.e. covers you for all the things that you would be covered for had you bought the car new. I asked specially if this includes things like sat nav, radio etc. His reply was that with this cover it did. If the car was more than 5 years old then I could only purchase warranty+ which has a claim limit of 10k and doesn't cover things like sat nav etc. As such and deciding that I'm in luck as my car is on the verge of becoming 5 years old, I agreed to purchase 2 additional years now, thus giving me 3 full years of cover.
Popped in today and met a completely new sales person. This sales person told me something completely different and in fact backed it up with the warranty documentation. Specifically;
1. Manufacturer's warranty always expires after 3 years of its original purchase.
2. You can extend this if the car is under 5 years old with a Premium Warranty.
3. Now here's the rub. Premium Warranty has exclusions that don't cover sat nav, radio etc. Plus other exclusions that aren't in the original manufacturer's warranty.
4. Here's the other rub. Apparently you can only take a used car to 7 years old with Premium Warranty. As such the fact that I've asked for 2 additional years means that my car would become 8 years old in the 3rd year of my warranty. According to this new sales person, Gaydon doesn't permit this (so why is the other sales person who is actually appears quite senior trying so hard to sell it to me?).
There is a 3rd kind of warranty - Classic, which can cover cars up to 40 years, but that isn't relevant to me.
I have the warranty doc in front of me and I'm struggling to see just what is actually covered. The whole thing is full of exclusions. For example, oil leaks aren't covered which is bizarre - I extended my 997 warranty and the only thing I claimed on where oil leaks.
For the additional 2 years I've been quoted £2600+, assuming I can't have it and only get an additional 1 year (due to the 7 year limit), then it's still an extra £1300. Looking at the exclusion list I'm wondering if it's worth it at all? Should I just chuck the cash at a nice vinyl wrap or just stick it in savings somewhere? The original sales person told me that if the engine blew up I'd be looking at a massive repair bill. How often does that happen? I've only ever known one engine to blow, it was on a Z3M about 8 years ago but she'd been giving it some real welly before it blew and my car is never going to get that kind of treatment.
Btw, I think I've noticed a little dishonest sales tactic here. If you ask "is the satnav covered", they reply, "the warranty covers all electrics". They're not lying but they're being highly deceptive by saying this. Don't tell me that these guys don't know EXACTLY what is and is not covered!! I don't expect this from an Aston branded dealership.
Hopefully this dealership will be able to redeem itself a little tomorrow. The conflicting information and the original sales person's apparent over willingness to sell me a warranty that doesn't exist has taken the shine off this experience.
Slarti said:
...I asked about extended warranty over and above the 12 months that comes with approved Astons...
Slarti, that is all you need to know. Everything else is just noise.Take the 12 month warranty only, stay on the Forum, and this time next year you will know for definite what to do.
Many Members run without warranty and simply pay for repairs as they go along - you would be surprised how little most of them cost.
Other Members swear by warranties, arguing that it adds value at the resale point.
You have 12 months to decide
Agree with Jockman. Tracked owners comments for about 18 months on this forum before I bought my 2008, 28 months ago. Car was way more reliable than I expected. No problems at all but I do expect to replace a thermostat sometime in the next year, and very possibly a clutch at some point (seems a relative weak point). Apart from that, its tyres and brakes.
I am in this position but a year further down the line. I bought mine privately with 12 months extended warranty and am now deciding whether to extend for a further year as I am coming up to a year of ownership. Up until a week ago I would have said I would extend more for peace of mind than anything else. The warranty has covered a few bits and pieces in the 12 months -
Stat
Washer jet
Wing mirror
Rear light
Door module
Oxygen sensor
So I probably have got my money's worth out of it but if I hadn't had a warranty some of the above bits I wouldn't have bothered with. But last time I took the car in the warranty company didn't want to cover some items that I felt should be covered. That and given the fact mine will go to the reduced cover as it will be over 5 years old at renewal I probably won't be bothering with it.
Stat
Washer jet
Wing mirror
Rear light
Door module
Oxygen sensor
So I probably have got my money's worth out of it but if I hadn't had a warranty some of the above bits I wouldn't have bothered with. But last time I took the car in the warranty company didn't want to cover some items that I felt should be covered. That and given the fact mine will go to the reduced cover as it will be over 5 years old at renewal I probably won't be bothering with it.
take the 12 month warranty, and put the money in the bank
they are reliable cars, build to Ford/Jag standards these days ...most stuff that goes is just niggles
after 12 months, no need to go near a dealer and pay £120-150 per hour labour just for them to look at it either
I have a 06 Vantage so its 5.5 years old, done 60K miles, and had a few hundred quid of sensors..oh and a wheel bearing. Other than that just consumables. I never bothered with the warranty after year 3
they are reliable cars, build to Ford/Jag standards these days ...most stuff that goes is just niggles
after 12 months, no need to go near a dealer and pay £120-150 per hour labour just for them to look at it either
I have a 06 Vantage so its 5.5 years old, done 60K miles, and had a few hundred quid of sensors..oh and a wheel bearing. Other than that just consumables. I never bothered with the warranty after year 3
Thanks for all your input so far folks. Yes, if I want the premium warranty for the next couple of years then I have to get it now. However, premium or plus, the exclusion list is comprehensive enough that it doesnt give me the peace of mind that I want out of a warranty. The sub (plus) warranty appears to be very similar to the premium warranty save for the 10k claim limit on the plus. At this pont im wondering, how would you rack up a claim that was over 10k to justify going out of my way to stay on the premium warranty?? Thinking I won't go for it - based on what I'm hearing, if i ever have a claim of any significance ill end up with a fight on my hands anyway. but will study the paperwork some more.
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