So - you buy a car, new or nearly new, and it's covered by the maunufacturer's warranty. In my case that was 25 months' cover, which finishes in March. Never in my life have I paid for an extended warranty and as a result I'm quids in so far.

But - after reading recent posts, especially Kick Inside - I'm thinking my luck is due to run out and I should consider getting one when the 3 years are up (and I bet I'm not the only one thinking that). There are various warranties on the market, in addition to the one the Skoda stealer will flog you. So has anyone any knowledge or experience to answer these points:

1- Does the Skoda extended warranty cover more than usually available on warranties elsewhere?

2- Is the Skoda-branded warranty available unbranded at a cheaper price?

3- Is the stealer's price negotiable, and what is the margin/commission (pigs do fly sometimes, and a little of something is better than all of nothing)?

4- Any particular warranties provide good cover/cost compromise?

5- Any particular warranties with just way too many exclusions and small print?

6- Any other points of consideration I've not thought of?

cheers

:mw:

Can't speak for the Skoda warranty, but Warranty Direct provide very comprehensive cover and the price isn't too bad either (there seems to be a lot of flexibility their end to extend cover and reduce price so push hard ). Only caveat is that above 60k miles, you have to contribute towards the cost of parts. I forget the scale, but I think it's 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, etc for every additional 10k miles.

Chris

Avoid Warranty Holdings like the plague.

A few years ago they ****** me off for a new flywheel simply because 2 of my 11 services had gone 100 - 200 miles over the recommended service interval.

In the case of the Superb, what engine/transmission/trim combination do you have? Judging by Passat and A4 experiences, some combinations are safer than others.

What's the vehicle history - how long have you had it and what has gone wrong with it? Who serviced it, and what's your view of their competence?

Finally, how are you going to use the vehicle in the future - considerately driven and expertly serviced or thrashed to within an inch of its life?

I'm not a fan of extended warranties and go to some lengths to avoid trouble - usually very sucessfully. I had one of my last cars 21 years...

If you get all of the above right and sort out the ****-ups (eg. water ingress) the Superb B5.5 is a good long term bangernomic.

rotodiesel.

I am having the same thoughts as my car is the same 2.5V6 Elegance Auto. Been Main Dealer service on Fixed service 10,000 miles or 12 months. Mind you Kick Inside was also Main Dealer serviced and a lot of good it has done him up to now - but hopefully this saga is not ver for him and I hope Skoda make a gesture of good will ( they really ought to). Hve asked for a quote for recon engine 2.5 V6 from off the web - will see how much they come back with as £7k seems a hell of a lot of money to me.

Any way - back to the original thread - I would also like the answers to the questions raised. Thanx as always in advance for your thoughts knowledge and suggestions. For example if the car had been regularly serviced and had the dreaded water ingress - would an ext warranty cover this (Mats ECM wiring etc?)

Regards

John

The V6 diesel auto with toys is a good candidate for an extended warranty. What you must do is identify as many weaknesses as possible (front suspension, engine timing drive, fuel pump, water pump, transmission etc. etc.) and go through your chosen warranty with a fine toothed comb.

If the warranty does not cover all of these, or if other conditions don't suit you (eg. main dealer service) then sell it.

rotodiesel.

In the case of the Superb, what engine/transmission/trim combination do you have? Judging by Passat and A4 experiences, some combinations are safer than others.

What's the vehicle history - how long have you had it and what has gone wrong with it? Who serviced it, and what's your view of their competence?

Finally, how are you going to use the vehicle in the future - considerately driven and expertly serviced or thrashed to within an inch of its life?

I'm not a fan of extended warranties and go to some lengths to avoid trouble - usually very sucessfully. I had one of my last cars 21 years...

If you get all of the above right and sort out the ****-ups (eg. water ingress) the Superb B5.5 is a good long term bangernomic.

rotodiesel.

1.9 TDi Elegance, manual, mileage 29k next month, main stealer history (not too impressive), driven quickish but sensibly (mostly! ), owned it 2 years (ex-Skoda UK car), and don't have a lot of time to get my hands dirty. Problems to date: CD changer replaced but still usual CD changer/SatNav/multidot tricks; alternator failure (replaced 3k miles ago).

If I keep it, it'll be long term (if it keeps going) - but then there's always a nearly new 2.0 going cheap once the new model (which I can't afford) comes out . But then there's the DPF too! :(

If you have a 1.9 manual and it does your job, keep it. The toys will play up/stop working, but this is unlikely to stop you moving. If you must have reliable toys, buy a Japanese car - the Germans just can't do electronics.

Take good care if it, find a good independent if you need to, and put the extended warranty premiums in the bank. You will probably make a profit.

In my view, the 2.0 is not as good as the 1.9; it has more turbocharger lag (a real pig for towing), uses more fuel and of course, has the dreaded DPF. I wouldn't swap.

rotodiesel.

just to update on costs of ext warranty:

Have now spoken to main Skoda dealer and Skoda can do a full ext warranty for £411 inc VAT. This also includes the full RAC cover as per the normal warranty. When you compare this with warranty Direct at £300 but no RAC then I think the Dealer warranty is worth it. Any views?

just to update on costs of ext warranty:

Have now spoken to main Skoda dealer and Skoda can do a full ext warranty for £411 inc VAT. This also includes the full RAC cover as per the normal warranty. When you compare this with warranty Direct at £300 but no RAC then I think the Dealer warranty is worth it. Any views?

Go with this one, manufacturer one will always be less hassle, plus the RAC is worth 50 quid anyway.

I think with WD it depends on your mileage. Up to 60k miles, they also cover wear and tear items, but after that you're on a sliding scale of contributions for parts (starting at 10% at 70k, 20% at 80k, etc).

If the Skoda warranty covers everything you want covered, then it sounds like a good buy

Chris

The Skoda warranty is for cars up to 60,000 miles also and it appears to cover everything I need - so I think I will be going with this in November.

Thanks for your views.

My eventual choice - partly because I couldn't get a copy of the Skoda (Car Care) policy to check the cover - is Warranty Direct. £270 over 10 months interest-free for 13 months' cover.

Warranty Direct - Vectra C / Signum Owners' Club Forums

I have decided to go with Skoda in November at £411pa inc full RAC cover.