I have a somewhat temperamental RS which is now 3 years old, just passed its first MOT and will be taxed in a couple of days time.

 

But now getting reminders about my car's warranty running out next month, so I was wondering what advice you can give me. 

 

Are they worth the money?

Have you taken one out?

Are there any "pitfalls"?

Do you regret buying one or has it saved your bacon when something went wrong with the car?

 

I've been quoted £338 for 12 months with Skoda Finance, all the way up to £701 from one company. 

 

Your help and advice would be greatly appreciated. 

It's an insurance policy that gives you peace of mind. Compare prices between Skoda and third parties (but the latter might have small print restricting the parts covered) and consider whether you can afford the cost of replacing engine parts, gearbox (DSG presumably) transmission etc. 

 

Personally I've been buying a 5 year factory warranty on my last three new cars because of concerns over rumoured DSG reliability faults, and then taking out an extension if I keep the car longer. But in practice I've never had to claim on them. 

 

But to say I've wasted my money is like saying I've also wasted the money I've spent and home and contents insurance all these years! It all depends on whether you want to stand the risk yourself or pay out relatively small sums to have not take the risk.

 

Are cars more reliable than they used to be? Yes. But they still develop faults (especially with all the new software assist systems!) and if yours has been 'temperamental' then it could be well worth the cost of an extended warranty. 

 

But again, when comparing prices also compare the small print in the policies about what is covered and what is excludes.

 

Chris

I agree with CJJE and have renewed the extended warranty each time it is due - I think the last one was about £250. I've never had to call on it but have always taken the view that I can budget for a foreseeable £200-£300 each year and although I'm lucky that I could afford a repair bill running into two or three thousands it would make a nasty and unexpected dent in the savings. It all comes down to your attitude to risk but the fact you are even asking suggests you have real concerns you could face a major bill before you sell the car......

29 minutes ago, Paul52 said:

I agree with CJJE and have renewed the extended warranty each time it is due - I think the last one was about £250. I've never had to call on it but have always taken the view that I can budget for a foreseeable £200-£300 each year and although I'm lucky that I could afford a repair bill running into two or three thousands it would make a nasty and unexpected dent in the savings. It all comes down to your attitude to risk but the fact you are even asking suggests you have real concerns you could face a major bill before you sell the car......

 

I just don't really trust it. Its been to Nottingham and back perfectly, the time before that I went to Nottingham and then across to Rocester to see a mate there, then made a wrong turn and ended up in Donnington over a bumpy level crossing and that sent it into an electronic mental breakdown with false alarms and the VC every few minutes from Donnington to Guildford. 

 

They fitted a new experimental wiring harness and it's fine again. But unfortunately it has had so many issues that I have lost confidence in it, but I don't know if with its abysmal reliability history it would qualify for an extended warranty!

I have the Ford Protect Gold on my Octavia (it came from a Ford garage). The warranty covers everything. All electronics, all mechanicals. Even the DPF is covered up to 80,000 miles which I thought was excellent. I've claimed twice, one of which was for the gear selector fault which whilst we all now know is a microswitch, at the time it was a whole expensive gear selector mechanism. I'm about to claim a third time for a failed parking sensor - which even though it should only be about £30 (plus labour) and I could do it myself, the skoda garage will collect my car, fix it, return it and problem solved.

 

The only issue is around servicing. I've always had it serviced by Skoda since I got the car since it was so new, but this year I did it myself. Legally, manufacturers can't void your warranty if a service is carried out to the same standards and using the same parts as the manufacturer would - but I don't know if this applies to warranty companies - my warranty states that it must be serviced by the garage that sold the vehicle or other "approved" outlet and it's the "approved" bit that worries me as I won't be "approved". So they might turn down a future claim and therefore I might ditch the warranty at renewal.

It's around £330 a year, but I pay it monthly. Over the 3 years I've had it, I'd say that I have profited. I've claimed about £1100 worth - but it made it easier to stomach by having the warranty and gave me piece of mind - especially covering the DPF on a s/h car! I'm in my 4th year and they should break even now!

 

That help?

 

Nick

Edited 27 December, 20214 yr by NikTheGeek

"I just don't really trust it" and "They fitted a new experimental wiring harness and it's fine again. But unfortunately it has had so many issues that I have lost confidence in it, but I don't know if with its abysmal reliability history it would qualify for an extended warranty!"

 

In your situation I would certainly be going down the route of an extended warranty (and a better chance of sleeping nights) and although you might get a better price elsewhere I would get the Skoda one. If they baulk at selling you one then I imagine there are a good few motoring journalists who's love a story about the motor manufacturer who wouldn't sell the motorist an extended warranty because they knew his car was a bad 'un and was likely to cost them money.  If they do sell you one again you have the high ground if you have to claim and they question whether the defect is covered - "What guv, you sell me an iffy car then you sell me a warranty for it and when it goes wrong you say it's just one of those things? I'm off to the press" (or these days I guess the Twitter-sphere. If the warranty is outside the Skoda family there's more chance of everyone trying to slope shoulders and give you the run around.

 

I had a car like yours, although in my case a V50 Volvo, and when it ran well it was a dream but every so often something would go wrong - limp mode would kick in and I'd have to crawl to the garage which fortunately was close to home, it also developed a vibration through the steering numerous checks and adjustments to wheel alignment and balance failed to fix and was eventually diagnosed by a master technician from Volvo HQ as a fault with the dual mass flywheel. This was replaced (apparently at considerable expense), I picked the car up and drove down the road to feel the same vibrations......  There were other problems and the car was in the garage, a main agent, so often most of the mechanics knew my name! Without the extended warranty I dread to think what the bills would have been.

 

Just my thoughts but then I'm a renown pessimist and cynic so you've now been warned ☺️

Doesn’t trust it In this thread, but isn’t worried about it in the other one he posted in?  

 

 

 

@TheWanderer. Given you cars history and the amount of time you've been without it, get the Skoda Warranty without a doubt as suggested by others. 

 

Just looking at a few dealers websites , just 1hr of diagnostics is ~£130 (some list £60 for first thirty minutes)  then labour on top for any repairs. You'll have that value back even at @ £338 per annum with one fault in that time. 

Re Paul52’s reply, I was extremely glad I’d bought an aftermarket extended warranty for my previous car, and, like Paul’s, IT WAS A VOLVO!! (A D3 diesel C70, if anyone’s interested.)

 

Regular dropping to limp mode, and without going into details, the first bill was £1300, then a £400+ bill, the final straw - including turbo rebuild - being £2200.  Not completely covered by the warranty, as there was a limited amount per claim, but the claim amount softened the blows considerably.  At £229 pa premium, I was well in pocket...

I've just found the details of my renewal at the beginning of October. For my 2013 registered Yet Elegance Skoda Financial Services charged me £188.18 with £100 excess and 10,000 miles/year - as my car is now more than 8 years old with 66,000 miles on the clock 10,000 miles per year is more than adequate for my needs. It works out at 50p a day, equivalent to about one third of a litre of petrol or 3-4 miles. For me that's pretty reasonable for the reassurance if any major bills come along they should be covered.

 

(Actually thanks for raising the thread because I realised I couldn't remember paying for a renewal so it sent me scuttling off looking through old statements and e-mails and I was able to track it down. Well, what else is there to do between Xmas and the New Year?)

Pay Car Tax and Insurance... 😥

If you'll be keeping the car for a couple of years, the 'All In' warranty and service pack might be worth a look instead of the warranty only product. 

1 hour ago, Kenai said:

If you'll be keeping the car for a couple of years, the 'All In' warranty and service pack might be worth a look instead of the warranty only product. 

 

Good call. Although I'm not sure how long I'm keeping it as yet.

 

I don't know if I'm staying with Skoda yet either.

 

My heart ❤ says stay with it, my head says sod it, this car's been a RPITA and the Mk4 is a crock of 💩 at the moment with serious software issues and it's just not worth the hassle again. I'm thinking about a BMW 128Ti or 2 or 3 Series. 

I was in a similar situation to you in November so ended up taking out the all-in package for my Vrs. Seems like decent value and will help keep the workshops busy during their drought from lack of new sales! Only thing is they can refuse application based on their pre-inspection.

I decided to extend warranty on my car.

Once it reached 3yrs old, I extended the warranty by a year - directly via Skoda, not the cheapest option, but just gave me peace of mind. Nothing happened, as some people would say "you'd have been better of putting it into a bank account - you'd be quids in now".

At 4yrs old I decided yes, I was probably going to keep it for another two years. There was a 20% off on the Skoda all-in package, so seemed like a no-brainer to me. I'm paying monthly and I've got full AA coverage and warranty almost as good as the original 3yrs.

Then the bonus being services and MOT's covered for the 2 years as well.

Edited 7 January, 20224 yr by Stoofa

Where did you see the 20% off deal please?

18 minutes ago, Ciderspace said:

Where did you see the 20% off deal please?

All in service plan was 20% off during November as Black Friday special, now back at normal price around £32 per month. Includes 2 services and MOTs, 2 yr warranty and breakdown cover

Edited 7 January, 20224 yr by xman

I saw that email come through. Umm’d and ahh’d and in the end, didn’t bother. Still not sure if tha lot was the right decision. Current plan is to keep the car until it’s at least 6 years old, currently 4.5. 

15 minutes ago, SC03OTT said:

Still not sure if tha lot was the right decision.

 

You may have missed a trick there. This scheme allows your service regime to be on variable (on request) so the 2 services included could have covered you for up to 4 years. That is, if you are comfortable with the variable service regime.

12 minutes ago, xman said:

 

You may have missed a trick there. This scheme allows your service regime to be on variable (on request) so the 2 services included could have covered you for up to 4 years. That is, if you are comfortable with the variable service regime.

Variable isn’t something that’s ever interested me. But even with that in mind, part of me still wishes I’d done it. 

On 26/12/2021 at 22:52, TheWanderer said:

I have a somewhat temperamental RS which is now 3 years old, just passed its first MOT and will be taxed in a couple of days time.

 

But now getting reminders about my car's warranty running out next month, so I was wondering what advice you can give me. 

 

Are they worth the money?

Have you taken one out?

Are there any "pitfalls"?

Do you regret buying one or has it saved your bacon when something went wrong with the car?

 

I've been quoted £338 for 12 months with Skoda Finance, all the way up to £701 from one company. 

 

Your help and advice would be greatly appreciated. 

I have just taken extended warranty on my 2022 skoda vrs 4x4 octavia today.my warranty runs out on the 26 July. Only for peace of because you never know what van happen

I paid £294 omo ot is worth as I said before peace of mind.

On 28/12/2021 at 21:25, TheWanderer said:

 

Good call. Although I'm not sure how long I'm keeping it as yet.

 

I don't know if I'm staying with Skoda yet either.

 

My heart ❤ says stay with it, my head says sod it, this car's been a RPITA and the Mk4 is a crock of 💩 at the moment with serious software issues and it's just not worth the hassle again. I'm thinking about a BMW 128Ti or 2 or 3 Series. 

I have a mk 4 skoda octavia brs 4x4 and it is 3 years old on daturday

Never had no bother at all with it

I took out a Skoda service plan last year. You get two services, two MoT and breakdown cover. It also gives a warranty for parts but not wear and tear. It's already paid for itself when my Octavia required a new sensor. They even paid for a hire car. This scheme seems really worth while in my view. Would recommend it.

I personally didn't bother, but that's because my experience with main dealer servicing/service plans has been **** poor. I'm also quite big on preventative maintenance, which of course isn't covered by a service plan/warranty (E.G. early DSG servicing, etc).

It is quite useful though, and I'm glad I had it for the first year as it saved me replacing a caliper at my own cost, along with a SEAT oil temp sender and another issue.

The warrant itself is probably worth it, but it just depends on what issues you have and how friendly your dealer is.

I can only comment on my experience , which has so far been positive. Will see how things go over the next 15 months.