Extended warranty - recommendations, please

[LeeHarrison]

So if you buy a Skoda Approved Warranty, you only ever deal with Skoda (presumably Skoda UK) and not the underwriter?  If so, that's interesting.  How does the claim process work?

 

As per the booklet:

 

Should it be necessary to make a claim, take your vehicle and your warranty documents to any franchised Skoda retailer or authorised repairer. They will administer the claim on your behalf.

[oldstan]

Kibby, the warranty side of things is definitely not my area. It is stated that 'Diagnostic time of any type' is not covered, BUT unless something is actually hanging off surely it would need to be diagnosed?? Surely if it's a quick plug in and find out 2 minute job no one in their right mind would charge for that, would they?  :wonder:

 

Oh, the grey area of warranties 

 

Thanks, Lee.  But, blimey, that's quite a clause!  And, from the sound of it, it would be like pulling a worm out of a hole trying to get Skoda/Car Plan to comment on it and define it.  Taken to it's extreme you might fear that ANY potential claim will have a cost associated with it simply by virtue of the fact that whatever's gone wrong it will need to be ascertained (or, to use a different word, DIAGNOSED!)....even it's a test drive or a strip down of a part (unlikely, I suppose?) or plugging it in to their diagnostic machine (and, surely, the first thing any technician does, these days, is plug the blessed thing in to a diagnostic machine!)

[ejstubbs]

Last time I checked myself with Warranty Direct ... I opted to decline the chance to pay Quentin Wilson's endorsement fees

 

Point of Information, Mr Speaker: Quentin Wilson endorses Warranty Wise (now, at any rate).  Warranty Direct's coin seems to go to "Honest" John.

 

Without exception, they are all appalling to get quotes from online.  They all seem to quote you their top-of-the-line premium policy and you have to call them (at which point no doubt you have to resist a high-pressure sales pitch) to get a quote for the sensibly priced policy.  Given that it's so easy to get tailored online quotes for all sorts of other types of insurance these days, why is it so difficult to get a quote for extended warranty - which is just another kind of insurance?  It all smells a little too much like an attempt to rip the punter off, to me.  (N.B. Absolutely nothing intended towards Lee at Preston by that remark - he's been very helpful and up-front on here.)

 

As you say, there is a case to be made for self-insuring yourself against failure of an expensive item, and it's pretty much essential to check what's excluded from an extended warranty.  Would anyone cover the DMF or DPF?

Edited 8 October, 2013 by ejstubbs

[BossFox]

 Would anyone cover the DMF or DPF?

 

Good luck!

DMF is a wearing part, just like the clutch.

 

Premature failue... possibly.  But how do you define that?

[FlintstoneR1]

I stand corrected on Mr Wilson's affiliations! Thank you Mr Stubbs.

How fickle memory can be?  Proves the point about always check your facts though.  Especially what's not covered.

[Del B]

I need to take out some form of extended warranty on my Octavia II when the manufacturer's warranty expires in December. I have been quoted £499 by a Skoda dealer for 2 years cover under the Skoda Approved Extended Warranty without breakdown assistance and £599 with.

Links to the original new car and Approved Extended warranties - the latter link thanks to Great Yeti above - are below if anyone is interested in comparing the cover offered by both.

http://www.skoda.co.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/Brochures/Warranty-Booklet-single.pdf

https://skoda-approvedextendedwarranty-invited.motor-admin.com/documents/skoda/policy-document.pdf

NB: In the Approved Warranty booklet I was given by a dealer the total amount payable on each vehicle warranty claim is limited to the purchase price of the vehicle including VAT for each claim up to the aggregate purchase price of the vehicle. However in the (presumably) later version in the link above the total amount payable on each vehicle warranty claim is limited to £1,000 excluding VAT, up to the aggregate purchase price of the vehicle. I am shocked by how inadequate that later claim limit is and there is now no point my buying that warranty as insurance against timing chain failure.

 

I'm shocked (and confused) about the £1,000 limit on page 4 of the “SKODA Approved Extended Warranty and Assistance Cover” booklet in the second link above.  I took out this cover through my Skoda dealer about 6 weeks ago so I checked my booklet and Car Care Plan cover certificate and found that both stated the cover (for individual claims and in aggregate) is limited to the purchase price of the vehicle.  Is it possible there are two levels of cover for different purposes????.  Best to check this point before taking the cover, or within the 30 day cancellation period at least.. 

[DGW]

I have phoned Car Care Plan to query the difference in cover levels in the booklet I have and the online version. I spoke to a lady in the claims department who was surprised at the £1000 figure. She is referring my query up the line and will call me back in due course.

 

 

I have now received that reply.  See Post #36 below.

Edited 8 October, 2013 by DGW

[oldstan]

For those wishing to call Car Plan but who have an aversion to 0844 numbers, here's a geographic number for them.  As shown on, and with thanks to - the 'Say No To 0870' site.  (the word 'Extensive' is what's shown...not my typo).

 

"Skoda Approved Extensive Warranty    0844 573 8017  01274 260117"

 

Furthermore I confirm that page 4 on my own copy of the booklet from Car Plan / Skoda has NO reference to the £1000 max. limit.

 

The booklet has a number on the back cover.....  8051 - 0512 CCP 8795.  I presume the 0512 to be the date of printing/production?

Edited 8 October, 2013 by oldstan

[Great Yeti]

Furthermore I confirm that page 4 on my own copy of the booklet from Car Plan / Skoda has NO reference to the £1000 max. limit.

 

The booklet has a number on the back cover.....  8051 - 0512 CCP 8795.

 

 + 1 - same here - No reference to the £1K limit & my book, having just received it a couple of weeks ago, has the same reference number.

 

As stated before, I spoke yesterday to customer services at "Skoda Approved Warranty Services" and in answer to previous comments / questions here, these are some of the responses I received:

• By telephoning DIRECT to customer services at "Skoda Approved Warranty Services". You can only take out the cover in one year increments. [strange but true]
• After a one year cover, You are automatically offered a further year.
• Dealers can offer cover for one or two years.
• That the price offered by each dealer can vary. As dealers have the ability to make "Special Offers" [Wish I had known that before - I would have haggled!]
• No inspection is required IF you are taking out the extended warranty BEFORE the manufacturers three year warranty expires. [i was not required to have the inspection as I took it out prior to my manufactures warranty expiring]. 
• If you take out the Warranty before the Manufacturers warranty expires. Your cover starts on the expiry date automatically.

I have an excellent relationship with my dealer and he assures me that they have had no problems whatsoever with any claims made. So I am reassured by their confidence in the "Skoda Approved Extended Warranty" and the comment from Lee [?] at Preston Motors "all claims will be dealt with by Skoda".

Edited 8 October, 2013 by Great Yeti

[Phil-E]

My experience of the skoda extended warranty is pretty positive.

 

We have had just a couple of issues with our car.

 

One being a faulty ignition switch. The dealer spent a couple of days diagnosing the fault and even had to do so online with Skoda UK to pinpoint the fault.

 

No charge at all for a replacement ignition switch and had a courtesy car.

 

Also had a funny squeek after starting the car. They pinpointed it to the starter motor. They removed and regreased it. It then came back. Warranty company then paid the dealer to replace the starter motor. All dealt with by Skoda/The delear. Car starts much better than it did before too!

 

Things they don't cover on an extended warranty are ICE, wiring faults, interior trim etc (although they did actually manage to wangle replacing the handbrake gaitor thing under warranty after it split and car only had 20k on the clock).

 

Phil

[DGW]

Good news from Car Care Plan's Customer Service who emailed me a pdf copy of their current Warranty Booklet.   The relevant para on insurer's liability reads:

 

The total amount payable on each vehicle warranty claim is limited to the purchase price of the vehicle including VAT for each claim, up to the aggregate purchase price of the vehicle.

 

The details on the booklet back are PB 08243 - 0813  CCP 9224.  I believe from the attachment details on the email that 0813 is an abbreviation for 13 August (2013).

[Great Yeti]

Thanks Phil [Phil-E] & Denis [DGW] for that confirmation.

 

So all-in-all, a pretty positive result. I just hope none of us need it!      It all looks very reassuring and fairly reasonably priced. Don't forget [readers from other forums] that it is available on ALL Skoda models. 

 

Regards to all...............Tony

[Phil-E]

Also if you take the cover with breakdown assistance it also includes european cover which makes it pretty appealing for us who visit Germany several times a year.

 

Phil

[ejstubbs]

"Skoda Vehicles under 6 years / 72000 miles" at a cost of "1 year £425 / 2 Years £625"

 

It is available to all skoda vehicles prior to the "Manufacturers Warranty expiring but is also available after this time subject to dealer approval.

 

I have just called "Skoda Approved Warranty Services" to check on the current price, and apparently, they offer this through their dealers and different dealers will quote different "Special Offer" prices.

 

Well...

 

I've just returned from collecting my Yeti from its service.  I asked them about Extended Warranty and was quoted £499 for one year.  No two year option, renews year by year.  Includes roadside recovery, with no option to leave that out (I have AA for myself and my g/f - I need it to cover me on my motorbike).

 

So, all in all, not wholly impressed.  Significantly more expensive than Great Yeti suggested, particularly for two years.

 

If other dealers can offer different prices then it might be worth shopping around...but given that the other Skoda dealer in Edinburgh is Arnold Clarke, you might be able to understand my reluctance.  The next nearest is in Stirling, 50 miles away.

 

What a flippin' performance

 

OFF TOPIC: They also denied that there was a firmware update available for my Bolero.  According to everything I've read on Briskoda, this is not true.  If it's slow to load the media list from the SD card (without using the "nesting" trick) then there is a firmware update available.  The documentation says that it's for a different fault - but then, I didn't mention a particular fault.  Sigh.  I shall have to re-read all the threads on here about it, and maybe call SUK, to get the information together to try to persuade them to get that sorted out too.  I'm not overwhelmingly impressed with this dealer's service department, despite them getting generally rave reviews on here.

Edited 11 October, 2013 by ejstubbs

[oldstan]

Plenty debate and uncertainty (certainly on my behalf) above regarding the Car Care Plan (CCP) product which is described in their brochure, which I have in front of me, described as 'Skoda Approved Extended Warranty and Assistance'  (contact details given earlier in the thread)   which can, presumably, be purchased from CCP themselves  .....they certainly told me I could and it would include Breakdown Cover.  What is also certain is there was much mention, earlier, of the ability to buy a warranty product of one sort or another backed by CCP -  from your local dealer. 

 

I was told by the Car Care Plan people, on the phone, and also by my supplying dealer, that I could indeed buy a CCP warranty but that the product bought direct from CCP would NOT be the same as one bought from a dealer.  (Varying price and maybe the option of Breakdown Cover from the dealer's product, they said).

 

As it's getting closer to the time when I need to work out whether to consider selling the car for another - or consider whether to buy a warranty (primarily to cover the DSG) I again asked my local, servicing, dealer what was available.  The categorical answer was they don't  ...    sell/supply/act as agents for ...    CCP products (they weren't even sure of the correct name of 'Car Care Plan')....or any other warranty products.  The simply said "Skoda" would contact me a couple of weeks before the 3 year warranty runs out. Whether that would be CCP that contacts me, or Skoda themselves I don't know.  But I would like to know beforehand what my options are, hence asking them.

 

And if my dealer could/would be asked to administer a claim under a CCP warranty (given that we're told the dealer would handle all aspects of the claim) isn't it odd that they have no knowledge of it?

 

So, as far as I'm concerned, contrary to what some contributors have said,  I can not buy a warranty from MY local dealer.  But the salesman who sold me the car, in London, said he thought I could buy a CCP warranty from him.

 

You have to admit it's confusing.

 

Any one heard anything of the "updated" product mentioned above by kibby (#12) ?

 

Anyone not interested in having the topic regenerated please, obviously,  ignore it - but if anyone has any new information or first hand experience it would be helpful.

Edited 7 November, 2013 by oldstan

[ejstubbs]

The simply said "Skoda" would contact me a couple of weeks before the 3 year warranty runs out.

 

Nobody contacted me before my warranty ran out.

 

Sounds to me like what seems to be a depressingly common situation with Skoda dealers and Skoda UK: solutions for many issues do exist which work well for owners who are offered them, or who press the dealer to find them.  But the information isn't circulated as well as it should be, and some dealers don't seem to be bothered to go looking for it (some to the point of denying that it exists).

 

I'm increasingly disappointed with Skoda's "customer promise", and will shortly tell them so directly.

[oldstan]

Thanks for that EJS.  At least I now know that, if I'm going to pursue a warranty I'll definitely need to chase it myself and not wait to be contacted - in case, like yourself, I'm not.

[DGW]

I intend to purchase Skoda Approved Extended Warranty and Assistance cover for 2 years when my Octavia's manufacturer's warranty expires on 18 December. I phoned the 5 Skoda dealers within 30 miles of me and one other further afield to get quotes. The results are interesting.

Dealer 1 quoted £499 for warranty only and £599 with assistance.

Dealer 2 quoted £600 for warranty with assistance, saying that it was not available without assistance. (The same dealer sold me the warranty some years ago without assistance).

Dealer 3 (the same franchise as Dealer 1) quoted £600 for warranty only and £650 with assistance.

Dealer 4 quoted £649 for warranty only and £794 with assistance.

Dealer 5 quoted £720 for warranty only and £864 with assistance.

Dealer 6 told me that I could only buy the cover from Skoda UK and gave me their phone number (which isn't the one for Skoda Customer Services).

It seems clear to me that dealers can and do charge whatever they want this cover. :(

P.S. I will be buying the cover from Dealer 2 because they are the best of a mixed bunch for servicing - unless I can find another dealer who charges less for it.

[oldstan]

Skoda dealer at Exeter quoted me today....

 

12 month wty only. 299

24 month wty only  499

12 month Skoda Assist 89

24 month Skoda Assist 145

 

All presumably for Yeti..... I don't  actually remember her asking me what model I had....I'll ring tomorrow and check.

 

Car Care Plan with the usual ability to go to any Skodas dealer for claims/repairs.

 

EDIT Forgot to mention  - went in to Nissan dealer to see what 4th and 5th yr wty would cost on a Qashqai...1 yr  - £245 (special offer, apparently)      2yrs -  eight hundred and something...too numb to remember exact figure.

 

Then went to Ford dealer looked at B Max and spoke about the new Eco Sport (competitor to Yeti apparently).  Extended warranty on that (and the B Max) is 1 yr £130 and 2yrs for £240........that's more like it!!

Edited 7 November, 2013 by oldstan

[oldstan]

I intend to purchase Skoda Approved Extended Warranty and Assistance cover for 2 years when my Octavia's manufacturer's warranty expires on 18 December. I phoned the 5 Skoda dealers within 30 miles of me and one other further afield to get quotes. The results are interesting.

Dealer 1 quoted £499 for warranty only and £599 with assistance.

Dealer 2 quoted £600 for warranty with assistance, saying that it was not available without assistance. (The same dealer sold me the warranty some years ago without assistance).

Dealer 3 (the same franchise as Dealer 1) quoted £600 for warranty only and £650 with assistance.

Dealer 4 quoted £649 for warranty only and £794 with assistance.

Dealer 5 quoted £720 for warranty only and £864 with assistance.

Dealer 6 told me that I could only buy the cover from Skoda UK and gave me their phone number (which isn't the one for Skoda Customer Services).

It seems clear to me that dealers can and do charge whatever they want this cover. :(

P.S. I will be buying the cover from Dealer 2 because they are the best of a mixed bunch for servicing - unless I can find another dealer who charges less for it.

 

 

DGW, Thanks for posting that, have a look at my figures...yours look better if they're the same for Octavia and Yeti.

 

Who were the two best dealers?  I'll ring and check for mine.

 

Re. Dealer 6...Was the phone number you refer to the 'Car Care' people, perhaps?  (see #33 above)  As noted above, my local dealer also told me you could only buy direct from CCP. just as you were told by your people today.

Edited 7 November, 2013 by oldstan

[Frenchtone]

so no one contacted me about this extension, who do I contact, supplier or Skoda UK? possibly too late now,car 6 wks out of warranty!

[oldstan]

so no one contacted me about this extension, who do I contact, supplier or Skoda UK? possibly too late now,car 6 wks out of warranty!

 

 

No, not too late....she said if you approach them AFTER the 3 yr warranty has expired they just need you to take the car in to them to be checked over.  Re. who do you contact...No good contacting Skoda, they will refer you to either your dealer or Car Care Plan...details of which are all listed above.  Your choice whether you do as DGW and myself have done...ie ring a few dealers - or whether you go direct to CCP.

[Frenchtone]

Thanks for that!

[oldstan]

[ejstubbs]

No, not too late....she said if you approach them AFTER the 3 yr warranty has expired they just need you to take the car in to them to be checked over.  Re. who do you contact...No good contacting Skoda, they will refer you to either your dealer or Car Care Plan...details of which are all listed above.  Your choice whether you do as DGW and myself have done...ie ring a few dealers - or whether you go direct to CCP.

 

Who did you speak to in CCP?  I just called them on the number listed above and was advised that I have to go to a Skoda dealer to arrange their extended warranty, because the original warranty expired two weeks ago.

 

Frenchtone, have you tried this route?

 

I have had an updated quote from Warranty Direct which is a lot better than before, but they don't seem to cover non-essential stuff such as the heated seats (one of which has already failed twice on my Yeti).  I presume the Skoda Approved Extended Warranty would be just like the original vehicle warranty ie anything not classed as wear and tear would be covered, so if I could get it at a reasonable price then it would seem to be preferable.  The two year quotes that some folks have reported above seem to be very close to Warranty Direct's, but my usual dealer's quote was vastly more.