4 or 5 yr warranty?

[master_hayabusa]

I see what you are saying, but I maintain that for the majority of people, most will lose out. Unless I'm mistaken, that is exactly why manufacturers offer extended warranties - overall they make money!

You say that if nothing goes wrong in the coverage period, it wasn't a waste of money?! Surely it was - you've paid hundreds of pounds for nothing.

I don't entirely disagree with extended warranties, it's just I take issue with people saying it's a 'no brainer'. Just because it's only a few hundred quid, that doesn't make it good value, it just means that for most people that's all they lose.

Of course, there are always exceptions and by the sounds of it, with your past luck with VWs, it might actually be a no brainer. At the same, I've never bought a warranty and in doing so I've saved thousands...

Yes I said 'no brainer'. Why do you have an issue with it? It simply means it's an easy decision, not taxing on the brain that's all. Saying it is an idiotic comment is implying the person who said it is an idiot, which I'm sure you'll agree is rather rude?

And if you had read the OP properly, you would see that mcmaddy was asking why it is more expensive when purchasing a five year warranty. It's simple maths why it is better value for money to choose five years today as opposed to in four years time. On this premise it is a 'no brainer'.

If you can't figure that out, you know diddly squat, Squit.

[mark@vorny.co.uk]

I would go for a warranty regardless. I did on the mk5 and saved over the cost in repairs, did it on my last 335i and had £8.5k worth of warranty in year 4. That would have been crippling if i hadnt have took it out. Just renewed it on my 911, unsure, but dealer pointed out that I had over £5k done in last year.

Piece of mind in my view.

Bizarrely i extended it on my Fiat 500 ..... And nothing went wrong. What are the chances of that ?

[Squit]

I didn't mean to be rude, honestly. If I did, for example, I might have accused you of knowing diddly squat.

Maybe idiotic was too much, but that was to emphasise how much I dislike the term.

As to the maths, I understand the relative values of the 4 and 5 year cover. My argument is simply that in most cases, such extended warranties are never needed and therefore a waste of money.

[master_hayabusa]

I didn't mean to be rude, honestly. If I did, for example, I might have accused you have knowing diddly squat.

Maybe idiotic was too much, but that was to emphasise how much I dislike the term.

As to the maths, I understand the relative value of the 4 and 5 year cover. My argument is simply that in most cases, such extended warranties are never needed and therefore a waste of money.

It's all good mate. Peace.

[Squit]

Fair enough.   

[monkeyhanger]

I see what you are saying, but I maintain that for the majority of people, most will lose out. Unless I'm mistaken, that is exactly why manufacturers offer extended warranties - overall they make money!

The manufacturers offer extended warranty to cover their losses in offering one, it is the third parties that make money from them. That's why if you go into Currys to buy a Samsung 40" telly their extended warranty is like another £120, but Samsung direct can provide a policy for £30. Same for this VW warranty, they provide complete warranty cover for less than many third parties can sell with a raft of exclusions that VW don't have. Did you know that about 8% of the cost of your new car is swallowed up by the 3 year warranty coverage? Of course a car is far more likely to be showing niggles and component failure early on in it's life to to manufacturing defects not apparent at time of fitment, but 2% cost of the car for an additional 2 years warranty is hardly profiteering, VW will just about be covering its costs at that rate.

The trouble with a £50 component failing on a car is it'll cost £150 to repair under warranty if it's a 2 hour job to replace (VW to dealership contracted labour rates are about £50/hr. You get a £2000 gearbox failure and it's a 10 hour fix, £2500 etc. It doesn't take much to go wrong for this warranty to have paid for itself.

You don't think that most people will need an extended warranty? Maybe true on a £500 TV when they want an extra £120 for warranty extension, but on a piece of kit as complex as a car that has to perform in all climates, component failure is far more likely.

If I have clairvoyancy to tell my car will be rock-solid reliable between years 4 and 5 then fair enough it is a waste of money but I for one do not have the confidence in VW engineering (or 3rd party components more likely!) to say im 95% sure my car won't need an out of warranty repair whenit is 4 or 5 years old. What does £490 buy you as an option on your new car? Not a lot, you can't even get metallic paint for that. It does buy you a hell of a lot of peace of mind for (relative to the car's cost) very little outlay.

For me at least, my GTD will be someone else's car in 3 years time, so not a purchase I will make.

[mcmaddy]

Squit - I suppose if your lucky enough to have never made a warranty claim after the initial 3 year period has expired it would appear to be a waste of money. Unfortunately I'm not in a position to be changing my car at 3 years and avoiding the out of period driving but I've also had a mk5 golf and jetta that required work in the 4th year. Both previous cars were bought second hand so maybe that has something to do with it. Car insurance in effect is a waste of money year on year unless you make a claim - slightly different to warranty I know. My initial question was why the 5 year warranty was more expensive in proportion to the 4yr one. Seat for example is 200 for year 4 buy only 375 for the 5 (not correct figures by the way just an illustration). I'd rather have the peace of mind though knowing that the warranty will cover me.

[JonnyG]

Of course, there are always exceptions and by the sounds of it, with your past luck with VWs, it might actually be a no brainer. At the same, I've never bought a warranty and in doing so I've saved thousands...

 

it must be catching !  (only joking btw)

[Squit]

I was simply making an observation based on the premise: of those that take out extended warranties, any one individual is more likely than not, not to require it.

I realise that the decision as to whether or not to buy such warranties is far more complicated.

Yes, clairvoyance would be nice - had I got this power, I never would have posted last night! Apologies to the original poster for inadvertently hijacking the thread, particularly as my posts were not entirely relevant.

[Exonian]

If I was planning on keeping the car for a good few years I'd jump at the option.
But I only wish I had that much patience with a car!!

Incidentally has anybody read the small print to see how much of the car is covered or is it just major mechanical parts?
I'm thinking of interior trim etc.