Viewing 17 posts - 1 through 17 (of 17 total)
  • Warranty Direct – Worth it?
  • franksinatra
    Full Member

    Picking up a new (to me) s-max tomorrow. Manufacturers warranty expires at the end of this month as car is three years old but only done 20k miles.

    Warranty direct are offering me £445 for 25 months warranty. Seems steep but not as much as most repairs.

    Worth it?

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    Not worth the paper its written on.

    tonyg2003
    Full Member

    I had a warranty direct policy on my previous car and they paid up promptly on two claims with no fuss. Although you have to read the policy very, very carefully to see what’s covered and what’s not.

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    peterfile
    Free Member

    Not worth the paper its written on.

    What makes you say that? I’ve heard only good reports from friends.

    chrismac
    Full Member

    Statiscally all insurance isnt worth it as the premium covers all the costs of running the company and its profit over and above the cost of meeting claims.

    The real question is do you think the premium is worth the peace of mind to avoid taking the risk that you happen to be one of those who has to claim and thus avoids an expensive bill.

    franksinatra
    Full Member

    We had the ECU go on a Passat once, about a month before warranty expired. Had it not been under warranty we would have been stuffed.

    I am happy enough spending on an extended warranty, and Warranty Direct seem to be one of the more credible providers, useful to know about other peoples experiences though.

    johndoh
    Free Member

    So are you buying the car privately?

    midlifecrashes
    Full Member

    We bought an diesel S-Max with 1836 miles on it, just under a year old. We had issues with the DPF, forcing it into get you home mode. Dealer (local, not the one we bought it from 30 miles away)dealt with it under warranty, faffing about doing software stuff and cheaper bits first before replacing the obviously borked DPF. Hasn’t recurred as it gets a motorway run often enough with us, but that would have been expensive. Check that’s covered on a low mileage diesel if you take the warranty. Oh, and shop around, WD aren’t the cheapest.

    franksinatra
    Full Member

    Buying from a dealer (not ford)

    Good advice on the DPF, thanks

    Woody
    Free Member

    Might not be available to OP but my FiL looked at this for his 3 year old Freelander and found that Land Rover were cheaper and offered better cover than the warranty companies he had quotes from.

    No idea if Ford do the same but worth checking out.

    johndoh
    Free Member

    If you are buying from a dealer, should they not be offering a warranty with the car in the first place?

    brassneck
    Full Member

    Usually 3 months only (second hand), unless you buy an extension – the one I was offered, also on an S Max was considerably more than that. I refused it on the basis I might find one cheaper online if I wanted it.
    So in short if you want it, it doesn’t sound too bad, but check carefully what you are covered for.

    Now – seriously – what tyres for an S Max 🙂

    Apologies for the hijack, need two new fronts and want to get online and local fit so all suggestions welcomed 🙂

    tron
    Free Member

    If you are buying from a dealer, should they not be offering a warranty with the car in the first place?

    This. Sale of Goods Act basically forces dealers to to take some level of responsibility, so almost all provide a warranty on pricey second hand motors. Even at the the £2k end of the spectrum, you tend to see “if the gearbox or engine goes within x months, we’ll fix it”.

    I looked at some of the warranty companies last time I bought a second hand car privately, and the exclusions list was daft – if I recall correctly, clutches (fair enough, given you can abuse them to death), flywheels, turbos and engine valves were all excluded, and they’re all the bits I was worried about on a petrol turbo, I didn’t bother.

    monkeysfeet
    Free Member

    If you are with the AA, they do a very good warranty. I think you can make 3 seperate £500 claims per year. Not sure of cost, but a friend has it on his SEAT ibiza and has used it twice. He was recovered to a garage of his choice, the fault was repaired and the cost covered by the AA. Zero fuss and bother. When my warranty runs out that is the option I will be using

    hora
    Free Member

    Have a read through their policy. Its very clear what they will and wont cover. I ran one for my current French car- it was in plain English, nothing hidden and the summary was clear. I decided not to go ahead as claims were on a sliding scale to age of the car. i.e on mine They pay 60% at age 7, 50% of total claim at age 8. This worried me as if the car was in at a certain garage that wasn’t cost effective enough I’d personally still have a biggish bill and the excess to pay.

    I imagine its different for younger cars like yours. I don’t see them as bad tbh.

    peterfile
    Free Member

    If you are with the AA, they do a very good warranty. I think you can make 3 seperate £500 claims per year. Not sure of cost, but a friend has it on his SEAT ibiza and has used it twice. He was recovered to a garage of his choice, the fault was repaired and the cost covered by the AA. Zero fuss and bother. When my warranty runs out that is the option I will be using

    I’ve had this cover for two years now. Used it once for a £600 repair. They paid £500 of it without so much as a grumble.

    It costs me about £40 a year!

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