General: Extended warranty

[Willow]

My V50 will be 3 years old at the end of May so the warranty expires.
Volvo have just written to me offering another year for £438. Seems a lot. Anyone think its worth it?

[Marmoset]

I don't think extended warranties are worth the money TBH. Has the car been reliable so far (mine has, touch wood) if so, then it's likely to be okay for another few years IME, as long as it's serviced regularly. There are also too many get out clauses in warranties nowadays IMHO.

[nozmeister]

Is the extended warranty only available for one year and does it include the breakdown cover?

Thanks in advance
Noz

[GMcL]

Take a look at companies which specialise in warranties if you want peace of mind and compare their prices with Volvo to see if you're getting value for money.

Warranty Direct is one such company that springs to mind. I'm sure the RAC, AA etc... or Google will turn up a few others.
I'm pretty sure Volvo's extended warranty is bought in from a third party.

Just remember to read the small print.

[Willow]

Originally Posted by nozmeister

Is the extended warranty only available for one year and does it include the breakdown cover?

The offer is only for 1 year but I assume it will be extendible. Does not include breakdown cover. The Volvo cover is underwritten by Motors Insurance Company Limited.

The Warranty Direct cover is £322.

The one thing I am worried about most is the number of electronic control modules in our cars. I have had one fail so far and I would like some cover to give me peace of mind. I'll contact Warranty Direct to see if they would be covered.

[John_C]

The small print is *everything* in these extended warranty deals, make sure you know what you are getting.

Some expect you to pay for everything up front and then reimburse you only what they want to pay for, some let you go to an "approved" garage and authorise the repairs before they are done.

Most will exclude "consequential damage", for example I had a rear wheel bearing fail a few years back, locked the wheel solid, blew the brake cylinder seals, contaminted the brake shoes and drum. Guess what the warranty paid for, yep, supply and fit one new rear wheel bearing. Imagine if your cam belt, everything knackered by that could be "consequential damage".

I would expect a manufacturer backed scheme to be better, particularly at that price, but they are often just rip-offs trading on the name. I've no knowledge of the Volvo scheme, but READ THE SMALL PRINT!!!!!!!

(really, please please read the small print!)

Cheers,
John

[7050man]

The way I'd look at it is this. What could go wrong, (on the car) and how likely is it to fail.?

I don't know what the worst case scenario is on these cars, but as you say it is more than likely to be electrical (mechanically cars are pretty good these days). I doubt that there is anything that could cost more than £1000 (ECU perhaps) but after a couple of years you could cover the cost of this anyway.
By the way I'm assuming that the car is properly serviced and important things like timing belt are replaced regularly.

If you can garage it, then do. Cold wet winters and hot summers all will take their toll on electrical items such as switches, motors and connectors, increasing the risk of failure and intermittant faults.

So my advice (for what it's worth); look after your car, service it properly, drive it with respect and save your money.

[GMcL]

Have to agree with the above.
Warranties offer peace of minf but can also leave you high and dry...Look after your car and fix problems when they are small and relatively inexpensive.

[GSMGuy]

Having had a 12 month top level warranty on a car (3 yr old Ford Galaxy TDi Auto) I can tell you theirs is not worth the paper it is written on. There are so many exclusions and temrs, that the following were not covered due to these:

Total failure of Auto Gearbox - not covered, cost £1500+vat for rebuild (paid for by finance co)

Failure of Windscreen Wiper Motor - not covered, £440 cost, again met by finance co)

Failure of A/C compressor again, not covered, £1100 met by finance co..

These payments being made by my finance co is the reason I always take out a little of the balance on a HP agreement, as this makes the finance company liable for any major repairs... A little known point of law...

I am actually considering Volvo's extended warranty, but only if it is the same cover as the 1st 3 years, otherwise it's just not worth it...

As a further illustration of the HP liability thing, my (thank god) just part x'd Mercedes ML270 Cdi had 5 injuctors @ corca £400 each, plus all the abs sensors, and an alternator costing £1400 replaced in 18 months... All paid for by Black Horse....

I do hope the XC90 is going to be more reliable

Mike

[RoscoMac]

As far as I am aware, the volvo extended warranty is just as good as the standard 3 year deal. I just got a quote for extending my warranty for a further year on my s6o D5 and they wanted over £800!! So at £440ish, I think you are getting a bargain!!

I also priced Warranty Direct and they were about £400 for the s60.

Ross.