As soon as the 3-year guarantee ran out for my Karoq, I took on a 'All-in' plan which I thought a reasonable buy covering extended warranty, MoT, servicing and roadside assistance; blissful peace of mind! But all that comes to an end in 3 weeks time so I have to do some thinking. Skoda are offering a further extended warranty deal but, bearing in mind the excess charge for any claim, it doesn't appear to be a particularly good buy - and it doesn't seem to include service/MoT/breakdown cover.

Anyone else found themselves at the end of the All-in deal? Did anyone take the further extended warranty ........... or did you simply take your car and your business to the local trusted independent? My only concern with an independent would be whether or not they had access to software updates etc.

And I would get breakdown cover via my insurance provider - after a blowout on a wet November evening on the M6, we would never be without breakdown/recovery cover.

What premium are they quoting and what excess? Do you get some choice about the excess?

I've seen suggestions that Skoda sometimes have Black Friday deals, so maybe hold on before committing elsewhere. But obviously worth looking at alternatives in the meantime.

Mumpsim - current car mileage, 39338; annual mileage <10k miles; excess (mid choice), £100.

Annual premium quoted: £217.

Rbz5416 - I will keep my eyes open for any special deals that may arise; I guess that, previously, I have been lucky in that the annual special deal came along just when my previous one was expiring.

Suddenly, seven years have flown by, and the car becomes, mechanically, an insurance liability. As I enter the period of bangernomics, good breakdown insurance will help my blood pressure!

I suppose I'm slightly edgy about all this as my car, initially, was one of those kangarooing/dying at junctions 1.5 manuals.

@this next service are the Spark Plugs going to be replaced & did the All In Plan get the Brake Fluid changed and the Pollen Filter?

Has the Air Filter even been looked at?

I'd argue that excess is very low, with a low premium

The premium alone wouldn't cover half a day's labour.

If you consider gearboxes, drivtrain, engine, you are looking to a grand or two, probably plus, parts and labour...

If you look at car electronics, possibly a wiring harness replace, radar if fitted (over a grand) etc, it's a steal

I know the Karoqs (petrol) have a good reliability record, vit it depends upon what kind of savings reserve you have if it goes 'bang', and your level of mechanical competence to replace failed items.

I have over 40 yrs taking things apart, engine tuning/building, repairing brakes, clutch, suspension etc, and I'll be taking out the extended warranty when it's time, it's so much hassle and backache to do anything above servicing on modern cars.

38 minutes ago, Frizzbee30 said:

I'd argue that excess is very low, with a low premium

The premium alone wouldn't cover half a day's labour.

If you consider gearboxes, drivtrain, engine, you are looking to a grand or two, probably plus, parts and labour...

If you look at car electronics, possibly a wiring harness replace, radar if fitted (over a grand) etc, it's a steal

I know the Karoqs (petrol) have a good reliability record, vit it depends upon what kind of savings reserve you have if it goes 'bang', and your level of mechanical competence to replace failed items.

I have over 40 yrs taking things apart, engine tuning/building, repairing brakes, clutch, suspension etc, and I'll be taking out the extended warranty when it's time, it's so much hassle and backache to do anything above servicing on modern cars.

Words of wisdom. I agree entirely. We had the Skoda extended warranties on two Yetis and they paid us back several times over.

'Your infotainment screen is not working quite right, you say? Ah yes. You need a new unit. That will be £1,538 for the part. Plus labour, including re-coding and software updates. So probably a bit over £2,000 in total. -- Oh wait, you have the Skoda UK warranty? Fine, we'll handle that for you.'

And so on for several other expensive repairs, including some that fail for a second or third time because of shoddy VAG design, such as the 'clock spring'. Comparing what I have to pay for home insurance and travel insurance, on which I have never claimed, this Skoda UK warranty is a bargain.

15 hours ago, StEdmund said:

My only concern with an independent would be whether or not they had access to software updates etc.

I would argue that you don't need software updates on a car a few years old - the car has worked fine so far, and updating things could show up problems that weren't apparent before, just as happened with the EA189 diesel updates. I refused to let VW do an AdBlue update on our 7yr old Tiguan as it had never given a moments trouble up to then. We had cover on the Tiguan until it was 8yrs old and as soon as it finished I got rid of it and bought the Karoq. Just bought All In for the Karoq as it turned 3.

Our 7yr old 90K mile 1.0 Ateca has just finished its All-In cover. Messed up a bit, as should have cancelled and re-bought before it was 6, but didn't intend to keep it. As it happens, the turbo actuator failed a few weeks ago and it was around £350 to get it replaced, so wouldn't have been too horrendous if I'd had to pay except, and this is what worries me about going to a dealer without warranty, if I'd been a cash paying customer they probably would have insisted the whole turbo needed to be replaced.

Somewhat amazingly they also covered the cost of replacing the heater panel which looked like it had overheated where the heated switch buttons are. Dealer said "no chance" and blamed water damage! I pressed them to ask and it got approved. That cost £888!

I will say the couple of times we've needed to use the Assistance package with All In it's been brilliant, with them suppling a hire car. If I was working I'd be miffed at how time consuming it was, but I'm retired so it didn't really matter.

Anyway, decided to hang on to the Ateca - bought Britannia Rescue for breakdown cover through a comparison site for an amazing £24. Will just have to take a chance on repairs. In practice we hardly use the car, but live in a rural area and don't want to be down to one car.

Edited 3 November, 20253 Nov by Rory

On 03/11/2025 at 10:23, StEdmund said:

current car mileage, 39338; annual mileage <10k miles; excess (mid choice), £100.

Annual premium quoted: £217

Hi there, We will be in the same boat on our 2x 2019 Skoda's (Karoq + Fabia). I took out the original "all-in" at the end of the initial 3 year warranty and also a new all-in after that first one expired.

I had my first service and second service already as I managed to wangle the first service due in August 2024 on the new policy (but not the MOT).

I have left 1x MOT and the warrty/breakdown until 5th August 2026. The 2nd 2 year all-in or the Karoq cost was £900 for the 2 years (so £450pa).

If the £217 you got quoted includes a warranty that is to the same level and standard as the All-in warranty then I think it is still "good value" for money. Considering you can get breakdown for £30 from Autoaid (or whatever they are called now) and an mot for £40 at an indy. I bet you the warranty is stingy compered to the All-in.

As others have said - a simple thing like a failed window winder motor will easily soak £217 up. And.... they fail quite frequently. My Fabia has had 2 in its life since 2019. Both were at year 5..

Cheers,

Paul

Edited 4 November, 20254 Nov by smipx

My all in plan was due to run out next April and I was paying for it by monthly direct debit. I decided to get an 11 month old Karoq and rang Skoda to ask if I could terminate my all in plan and cancel my direct debit.

They said 'yes that's fine....and we will refund this years payments as you will not be having a service and mot on the all in plan.

£270 put in my account....which was nice!

I will definitely go for the all in plan when my Karoqs 3 yr warranty runs out.

On 04/11/2025 at 14:55, smipx said:

Hi there, We will be in the same boat on our 2x 2019 Skoda's (Karoq + Fabia). I took out the original "all-in" at the end of the initial 3 year warranty and also a new all-in after that first one expired.

I had my first service and second service already as I managed to wangle the first service due in August 2024 on the new policy (but not the MOT).

I have left 1x MOT and the warrty/breakdown until 5th August 2026. The 2nd 2 year all-in or the Karoq cost was £900 for the 2 years (so £450pa).

Did you manage to get the service and MOT at 3yrs old covered by All In?

Got this coming up on one of our cars and it doesn't seem to be possible now it's all done on line as the system shows the original warranty in place so won't allow All In to be bought.

We had a mk1 Tiguan when All In started and that was covered by extended warranty until it was 6. The dealer said the warranty couldn't be cancelled so I couldn't take the plan online but they somehow managed to wangle it to get All in to cover the 6yr service and MOT. That gave us warranty and assistance until the car was 8yrs old.

9 minutes ago, Rory said:

Did you manage to get the service and MOT at 3yrs old covered by All In?

Got this coming up on one of our cars and it doesn't seem to be possible now it's all done on line as the system shows the original warranty in place so won't allow All In to be bought.

We had a mk1 Tiguan when All In started and that was covered by extended warranty until it was 6. The dealer said the warranty couldn't be cancelled so I couldn't take the plan online but they somehow managed to wangle it to get All in to cover the 6yr service and MOT. That gave us warranty and assistance until the car was 8yrs old.

I did but I had to do some very careful timing of the date of renewing it. It had to be on a specific day and I got the MOT done a week or so early (under the original all-in) just in case there were any warranty coverable failures. I don't recall exactly the timings but I assume is was part luck and part the dealer "helping me out". I think I may have got the Service done 2 weeks late and so (as there was no service left on the first all-in) I got the service done out of the 2nd all-in allowance.

Cheers,

Paul

I haven't yet decided what's best to do next. Whilst Googling, I came across this which appears to be a menu outlining the options available. The helpful Service Manager at my local dealer made a note in his diary to discuss 'what next' - maybe this is what he has in mind ......

https://customer.vwfs.co.uk/service-plans/skoda.html?traci_c=UK%7CSI%7CGA%7CS%7CSKODA:DM-P:&traci_s=SI:SKODA:SEA:Google:SearchAd:2023-01:&traci_ee=19604534807:145589334923:647819819930::::&traci_t=skoda%20all%20in%20plan:e::&s_kwcid=AL!10901!3!647819819930!e!!g!!skoda%20all%20in%20plan&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19604534807&gbraid=0AAAAAoaLYNOsOc_ZewAIQtMKVMzRoobky&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6_aA3YHekAMVRZVQBh1S-Ct4EAAYASAAEgK2O_D_BwE

For me personally, the services and MOT are not a real benefit to any "plan" as the same (if not better) service can be had at a local independant and for less money. The only benefit that I feel would be worth its money is the extended warranty. That is only available on the All in and not in the "lesser" plans sadly - funny that !!!

For me I will be focussing on getting a warranty extension (in whatever form I can), for a reasonable price OR selling the car at the end of the All in plan when the warranty lapses.

Cheers,

Paul

Warranty Solutions Group do a policy (both Platinum and Gold) that covers the all important DSG gearbox but no idea of price or how good they are.

23 hours ago, smipx said:

I did but I had to do some very careful timing of the date of renewing it. It had to be on a specific day and I got the MOT done a week or so early (under the original all-in) just in case there were any warranty coverable failures. I don't recall exactly the timings but I assume is was part luck and part the dealer "helping me out". I think I may have got the Service done 2 weeks late and so (as there was no service left on the first all-in) I got the service done out of the 2nd all-in allowance.

Cheers,

Paul

Thanks, but I meant the first 3yr one, when the car turned 3yrs old.

It doesn't seem like there's any way to get that service covered unless you take All In the day the car turns 3 and then have the service late, which is always a bit iffy with VW Group cars. Plus you'd have to pay for the MOT to be done a little before the car was three.

:-) that's what I did. You explained it a bit more succinctly. The difference is that I have an MOT in hand as I think as I got my MOT done, at my own cost, at the beginning of the 1st plan. This is why at the end of the 2nd plan I have a spare MOT (but no service).

Luckily I have a good indie acrosss the road from the VW garage so if it fails I will drive it straight round there and have it fixed and serviced at the same time (and possibly take out a independent warranty like the Gold/Platinum one I mentioned above).

It does get a touch messy though.

I thought it was quite a good trick rather than being a bit iffy

Ultimately these plans are to make money for parts of Skoda, or their associated companies and/or franchises.

They might be dressed up as great deal for you, but in reality you have to remember that if there is profit in it for them, then you are paying for it.

In many cases would be just as easy to stick £30-40 each month in a drawer (or set up a standing order to a deposit account) and pay for things as and when necessary).

Generally speaking if you have had 3 years with warranty, and 2 more under an all in one, then anything not made properly will either have already been fixed, or is unlikely to fail. And if it does break after all these years, might not be covered anyway.

2 hours ago, SurreyJohn said:

Ultimately these plans are to make money for parts of Skoda, or their associated companies and/or franchises.

They might be dressed up as great deal for you, but in reality you have to remember that if there is profit in it for them, then you are paying for it.

Certainly that is true of a service plan. It is not true of a warranty, which like any insurance product lays off risk from the buyer's point of view. Skoda will no doubt make a profit from the warranties in aggregate, but that comes from pooling risk. There can be good reasons not to buy insurance - for example, if premium is high and the likelihood of having to claim is low - but the opposite is true of these warranties: the premium is low when compared to the cost of even one typical repair, and the chance of a failure is fairly high. No VAG products do well in the large-scale reliability statistics (though SEAT does better then Skoda, while VW does worse).

2 hours ago, SurreyJohn said:

Generally speaking if you have had 3 years with warranty, and 2 more under an all in one, then anything not made properly will either have already been fixed, or is unlikely to fail. And if it does break after all these years, might not be covered anyway.

In my experience over 15 years that is all untrue. The chance of expensive failures gets greater, not less, as the car ages. And the warranty, if you opt for comprehensive cover, covers everything except wear and tear items. (I speak of Skoda UK warranties, not those from 3rd parties, some of which are poor products.)

My all in one plan (servicing, breakdown, MOT and warranty for which I pay £26.25/month) is about to come to an end on my 7 year old Karoq with 68000 miles. For under 10k a year they quote £295 (24.58 month) with a £250 excess for their Plus (best) cover. Anything going wrong would have to cost £545 for it to be cost effective though I expect there's quite a lot of electrical components and some bits in the brakes that would cost way more than that. To date nothing has gone wrong. Though I expect you can get it serviced elsewhere using the dealer is more likely to avoid arguments. I was very happy that I had the spark plugs changed in my last all in one service.

On 07/11/2025 at 23:34, mumpsim said:

though SEAT does better then Skoda, while VW does worse

Does that not correlate with sales volume?

More cars on the road more problems reported or was it data arrived from percentage of individual vehicles

36 minutes ago, Stonekeeper said:

More cars on the road more problems reported or was it data arrived from percentage of individual vehicles

Percentage

24 minutes ago, mumpsim said:

Percentage

Brand reliability survey What Car 2025

Depends upon which data sets are used

Which? magazine does reliability ratings based on bigger sample sizes than What Car and also splits reliability ratings into three parts:  cars aged 0-4 years, 5-9 years, and 10-15 years.  They also analyse the nature of faults and breakdowns and weight them according to severity and time off-road for each fault or breakdown. What Car does not do that. Thus the data from Which? is the most relevant data for my rejection of SurreyJohn’s view that cars older than 5 years are less likely to fail in an expensive way.

Some Japanese brands, which start out very reliable, become even more reliable in the 10-15 year old range. That may be because cars of that era had less tech to go wrong.  Not so for SEAT, Skoda, or VW, whose reliability starts out mediocre and either remains mediocre or gets worse as the cars age.

I am not giving the Which? data in full here as that would be a breach of their copyright.