Extended Warranty

[Nick_H]

My Scout 1.8tsi will be 3 years old in July so I've been considering an extended warranty. It's done 16700 miles.

In torn though ..... I've had a quote for about £600 from the main dealer for the Skoda warranty for 2 years.

My gut feeling is not to take it out but .... I've just had the aircon compressor changed under warranty. If that had happened 6 months down the line I would have had a 1k bill.

I intend to keep it for some years. Had enough of paying for new cars.

Anyone else used the proper Skoda warranty ?

[Tom Tallon]

Nick

Do you have the 7 speed DSG box to go with the 1.8 tsi. Just had my entire gearbox replaced after 7 months use under warranty. In 2 1/2 years time or so, that might be £3000 or more!!

If you have the DSG box as above and definitely want to keep the car, think carefully about peac of mind!

[Nick_H]

Hi Tom. No just a plain old manual :-)

[BILL BLAKE]

Hi Nick.I had a similar problem with my Scout 2.00 pd was 3 years old in January,after a lot of thought I took the 1year Skoda warranty, 3 weeks later the exhaust pressure sensor went, would have cost £200. toss the coin.

[BA Baracus]

Stick the £600 in a savings account and use it if something goes wrong.

On average, parts either fail at the start or end of their life - so if things were going to fail from manufacture they would have done so now. If the car has been well serviced/looked after then you *shouldn't* have any problems for the next couple of years.

£600 buys quite a lot of repairs - plus I would go to a good independent Skoda centre now rather than a main dealer, prices will be half that of dealers.

[JB-)]

I took out a Warranty Wise one. I looked at the Skoda one and on paper at least there is no comparison between the two. The Skoda one had too many exclusions. Warranty Wise don't exclude anything except for trims. All electrical and mechanical parts are covered. It includes cover in Europe, breakdown cover, MOT cover, failure due to premature wear and a few other things. They also replace parts if they are failing but haven't yet failed, e.g. the gearbox gets very noisy. Some warranties only cover parts that have actually failed.

I haven't needed to claim on mine but if it does what it says then it's a very good warranty, and I did look at reviews etc which suggested they do pay genuine claims. Mine was £960 for 3 years, payable over 4 months if you want. It covers any number of claims up to £5k per claim (you can choose your limit), labour rate up £200 per hour, and you can use any VAT registered garage. That was the bit that I liked as I have no faith in dealers whatsoever.

As for saving the money instead, well that's down to whether you want to take the risk. I may have my car for the next 3 years and never have a thing go wrong (unlikely I feel), but then again my DSG might take an early bath, or the cam chain tensioner might fail. At least I know the repair will(should)) be covered. I'm quite happy to pay for the warranty for peace of mind.

Bear in mind that the 'Skoda' warranty is not with Skoda.

My 2p.

[gregoir]

I attempted to take out an extended warranty with Skoda -several times. All I was eventually offered was a warranty covering repair to faults which actually caused the vehicle to break down completely.

Bought one through the CSMA which seems to cover the biggies (but not wear and tear).

[silver1011]

Stick the £600 in a savings account and use it if something goes wrong.

On average, parts either fail at the start or end of their life - so if things were going to fail from manufacture they would have done so now. If the car has been well serviced/looked after then you *shouldn't* have any problems for the next couple of years.

£600 buys quite a lot of repairs - plus I would go to a good independent Skoda centre now rather than a main dealer, prices will be half that of dealers.

This ^

[Zillio]

I thought the general opinion was if you were going to bother with extended warenty then the ones from the manufacture were the only ones worth considering.

[jawsnpaws]

" £600 buys quite a lot of repairs - plus I would go to a good independent Skoda centre now rather than a main dealer, prices will be half that of dealers. "

I have just renewed my 2 year Warrantywise insurance . After 3 months the driveshaft failed - car was less than 4 years old at the time and no reconditioned shafts were available . W..wise baulked at the new cost from Skoda and did a deal where they shared the cost since it was just out of warranty . This was a cost of about £ 1400 which I avoided . I also liked the fact that that W...wise are trying to keep costs down and hence premiums and will question , on my behalf , the manufacturers about unacceptable non servicable parts failures .

Sure you can keep the money in the bank at 3% before tax and watch parts inflation go up 5% per annum but I personally cannot afford that risk .

£ 600 buys quite a lot of small repairs but does not touch an expensive one , which is why you take out such an insurance ?

[Stuart_J]

I took the Skoda one as I rack up a massive mileage, on 82K now & not 3 years old for a couple of months. I just felt a manufactureres warranty would be better, Im not really fussed on little niggles but want the big bills covered, also its transferable which is a good selling point, not sure if all others are

[JB-)]

I took the Skoda one as I rack up a massive mileage, on 82K now & not 3 years old for a couple of months. I just felt a manufactureres warranty would be better, Im not really fussed on little niggles but want the big bills covered, also its transferable which is a good selling point, not sure if all others are

The Skoda warranty isn't a manufacturer's warranty it's provided by a third party, Skoda just put their name on the brochure. The Warranty Wise one is transferable to the next owner, or you can transfer it to your next vehicle.

[colsay]

Hi everyone, I am interested in this thread...

My Octavia will be 3 years old next month (May), i.e. out of Manufacturers Warranty. I have emailed my local Skoda Dealer for a quote for an extended warranty but it has been a slow response and I have yet to receive a proposal. I am a low mileage driver, car has 20k on it in 3 years. Can anyone tell me if the Skoda warranty (presumably through an insurance company) has a fixed price or do they look at the mileage of the car? Several of you seemed pleased with Warranty Wise so I will also get a quote from them.

I expect someone will say "do you need a warranty at 6K miles a year?" . Valid point, but my car has the optional extra ESP which is expensive to repair when it goes wrong - which seems to be often from this Forum - and it is also now an MOT failure. So, if reasonably priced and without too many exclusions then I'll probably buy a warranty.

[silver1011]

ESP is only a £300 repair now due to there being a repair kit.

[silver1011]

I think the point being is that after 12 months if you haven't needed to claim the £300 rolls over to the next year, offering £600 worth of repairs in year two, and £900 in year three. If you don't need to spend any of it its yours to put towards your next new car, or better still keep it, then you have the best part of £1,000 for the first year after the three year manufacturers warranty expires.

The warranty however resets and that £300 is gone forever.

I think you summed up the warranty quite well, its an insurance policy. Who thinks they get good value for money from their car insurance? There is a good reason that warranty companies are profitable. The revenue generated from premiums exceeds their running costs and claims. Good business if you can get it.

The MkII Octavia has been around for 9 years now, parts are plentiful making massively expensive repairs less and less likely, as long as you are prepared to avoid main dealers and do a little leg work when it comes to diagnosing symptoms and finding parts then the average cost of a 12 month insurance policy will cover more than you think.

I understand the piece of mind they provide, but I'd rather have the money in my pocket and take my chances.

[BA Baracus]

I think the point being is that after 12 months if you haven't needed to claim the £300 rolls over to the next year, offering £600 worth of repairs in year two, and £900 in year three. If you don't need to spend any of it its yours to put towards your next new car, or better still keep it, then you have the best part of £1,000 for the first year after the three year manufacturers warranty expires.

The warranty however resets and that £300 is gone forever.

I think you summed up the warranty quite well, its an insurance policy. Who thinks they get good value for money from their car insurance? There is a good reason that warranty companies are profitable. The revenue generated from premiums exceeds their running costs and claims. Good business if you can get it.

The MkII Octavia has been around for 9 years now, parts are plentiful making massively expensive repairs less and less likely, as long as you are prepared to avoid main dealers and do a little leg work when it comes to diagnosing symptoms and finding parts then the average cost of a 12 month insurance policy will cover more than you think.

I understand the piece of mind they provide, but I'd rather have the money in my pocket and take my chances.

Spot on.

There is a reason why warranty companies are in this line of business and that is to make lots of money.

It's very difficult to argue against the problems of jawsnpaws motor but the vast majority of customers will never have a catastrophic failure like he has experienced. For every one driveshaft paid out there will be hundreds of policy holders who never make a claim.

Statistics tell the warranty company what is likely to fail/average cost of parts/labour rates etc and will price accordingly.

As JB said - I'm quite happy to pay for the warranty for peace of mind. - that is all that matters.

Cheers.

[tuono01]

I've been thinking of the extended warranty idea as our last car junked it's gearbox less than 12 months out of warranty. £1200 for the pleasure.

It will always be a gamble about whether you'll use it, particularly if you bought the car second hand. Previous owner might have been less than gentle with it!

[Herschel]

I will also be extending my warranty through Skoda when it ends in July.

3 reasons really:

1. It's hassle free - bought car from dealer, get a problem, car goes back to same dealer, Skoda sort it - no messing with payment up front and claim-back, no querying of work required, etc, etc.

2. It extends the goodwill with Skoda - I know many will say "what goodwill?" and have bad experiences to share, but I have a good relationship with my dealer and I know that if I am covered by the Skoda warranty, then I will have minimal worries

3. It comes with Europe-wide breakdown cover (many people forget that when they are comparing costs).

I also treat it as an insurance policy, so for peace of mind, it's worth it IMO.

H

[silver1011]

One word of warning with warranties.

Make sure it covers consequential damage.

My old BMW 320d ingested one of the swirl flaps from the inlet manifold which took out the engine, turbo and cat.

No worries I thought, that's what warranty is for. They kindly covered the cost of the failed part, the £48 inlet manifold, leaving me with a £7,000 bill for the rest.

[colsay]

I think the point being is that after 12 months if you haven't needed to claim the £300 rolls over to the next year, offering £600 worth of repairs in year two, and £900 in year three. If you don't need to spend any of it its yours to put towards your next new car, or better still keep it, then you have the best part of £1,000 for the first year after the three year manufacturers warranty expires.

The warranty however resets and that £300 is gone forever.

I think you summed up the warranty quite well, its an insurance policy. Who thinks they get good value for money from their car insurance? There is a good reason that warranty companies are profitable. The revenue generated from premiums exceeds their running costs and claims. Good business if you can get it.

The MkII Octavia has been around for 9 years now, parts are plentiful making massively expensive repairs less and less likely, as long as you are prepared to avoid main dealers and do a little leg work when it comes to diagnosing symptoms and finding parts then the average cost of a 12 month insurance policy will cover more than you think.

I understand the piece of mind they provide, but I'd rather have the money in my pocket and take my chances.

Well, quotes from Warrantywise for my car are £350 for one year and £631 for 2 years. Skoda Dealer still hasn't come up with a quote. In view of your advice that ESP failure is now "only" a £300 problem and the fact I only do 6000 miles a year, I think I'll give the extended warranty a miss, keep the cash and hope that years 4 and 5 are as reliable as years 1 to 3 (nil warranty claims).

[silver1011]

In view of your advice that ESP failure is now "only" a £300 problem...

Yeah sorry, the 'only' reference was due to the fact that before the 'fix kit' was introduced the ESP fix required a new ABS pump which was was often well over £1,000 so in comparison £300 is quite cheap.

There are also plenty of examples of VW, SEAT, Audi and Skoda owners getting it paid for or at least a significant contribution towards the repair on cars well out of warranty - such is the scale of the problem, more so if you can demonstrate brand loyalty (previous Skoda ownership, two Skoda's in the same household, full main dealer service history etc.). Success or failure can even be affected simply by who you get on the other end of the phone!

[APJ]

My vRS will be 3 years old in July, so I enquired about an extended warranty. My dealer quoted the following prices:

1 year: £250 + optional £89 assistance

2 year: £400 + optional £145 assistance

The car has had no issues so far, so I'm in two minds about the warranty. I've covered 50k in the car so far, so will be upto 86k in 2 years time, so starting to get nervous about something expensive going wrong, so £5-odd per week for peace of mind seems ok.

Is this a standard price for the Skoda extended warranty?

[bobby_vimto]

I paid £400 for 2yrs extra warranty through Skoda one an Approved Used vehicle. Quite happy to take this hit for peace of mind as it my first experience of the Skoda brand and did not know whether it would be as reliable as all the japanese cars I've owned previously. Not sure about the warranty not being with Skoda, all the literature I received (tons of it!) mentions it's through Skoda UK - just so long as someone is paying up then who cares :-)

Perhaps just as important is building up a good relationship with a decent Skoda garage - have often found they are more likely to push for a goodwill gesture if you have always followed the service schedule on the nose and asked them to carry out servicing etc.

[Herschel]

APJ,

It seems so, as I was quoted c.£530 from my dealer for 2 year with breakdown assistance.

Given that my wife's Nissan extended warranty (on a Note) was £299 for a single year, with no breakdown (you get that free with services though), the Skoda warranty is good value IMO.

H

Edited 10 May, 2013 by Herschel

[ColdZero]

If nothing else, at least get AA cover and add `BRC`....( Breakdown repair cover ) ..it cost approx £100 / year and covers most major components up to £500 payout 5x /year inc parts & labor just a £ 35 excess. Granted its not an extended warranty but a lot better than `no warranty` ...