Extended warranty

[wai]

so, just to get my terminology correct, warranty & insurance are the same thing ?

Yes, as far as so called "extended warranty". These are not manufacturers warranty extended by the manufacturer. They are warranty insurance. They may have an affiliation with a particular brand, however it is insurance that you are buying. This is why you have companies like Allianz involved. They are an insurance company and they sell insurance. You must read and understand the policy.

Also remember that they are not going to give you a great price on a car that is likely to have problems. For such cars, the price will be high compared to a car that is unlikely to have any problems at all.

Warranty is offered by the manufacturer as part of the original sale. Some manufacturers will allow the warranty to be transferred when the car is sold while under warranty.

Insurance is cover where the price is based on their risk assessment of the expected warranty work that might be needed. If they agree to meet a claim, then they will pay for the work to be done. It is no different to a comprehensive car insurance policy.

Above all, remember that insurance companies are run for the benefit of shareholders and NOT policy holders. They write policies, accept premiums from policy holders and then pay out as little as possible.

All of these policies have exclusions. You have no say in them, and you cannot go to your local Fair Trading office and complain about them. They do not adjudicate on the fairness of the exclusion. As long as they tell you about it first, they can enact the exclusions. This is why you need to read and understand what you are buying.

[kam]

thank you both for your explanations. look i have some reading and understanding to do

[DrWHO]

No they sell it as an Extended Warranty but it is fact insurance and is usually underwritten by Allianz or Swann.

Also as said it can only be bought from a broker which includes VW acting as the broker. I got mine from www.ineedwarrantynow.com

I've had a conversation with a broker and have been quoted several different policies (time/unlimited Km, time/km, 2, 3, and 4 years), from three different insurers. I am currently concentrating on the two insurers you mentioned.

Allianz has two policies of interest. VW New Vehicle Extended Warranty Insurance marketed via VW dealers and New Vehicle Extended Warranty Insurance marketed through brokers.

The VW dealer associated policies are for 1 or 2 years unlimited Km's and includes Roadside Assistance and are the most expensive policies, whilst the broker arranged policies are for 2 or 3 years with limited Km's and no Roadside Assistance and significantly cheaper. Every VW dealer is quoting different prices for the same policies and are open to negotiation (reduce the premium paid), whilst the broker pricing is basically fixed.

So far I have concluded for the exact same dollar value I can buy a 2 year Allianz policy via a VW dealer or a 3 year Allianz policy via the broker. I am now sorting through the two policies PDS to compare clause by clause for any other differences.

[kash_0]

So far I have concluded for the exact same dollar value I can buy a 2 year Allianz policy via a VW dealer or a 3 year Allianz policy via the broker. I am now sorting through the two policies PDS to compare clause by clause for any other differences.

Please share details once you decide...mine is up in march.

Cheers

[deano163]

Before recently buying a 2010 Mk6 GTi privately that had 6 weeks warranty left on it, I enquired about extended warranty with my local dealer. The car was sold from and had a full service history with the same dealer.

I was quoted two options - VW/Allianz for 2 years/unlimited km with roadside assist for $4,350 (gulp!), or through AVEA for 3 years/200,000km at $2,120. I declined both offers. Then last week I received a follow-up call from the same rep just before the warranty finished, saying that they would reduce the price of the 2 year VW extension to $2,500. I might have considered taking up the offer at that price if it had been offered to me on first contact, but ultimately I'm now comfortable with rolling the dice and keeping $2,500 in my account in case something goes wrong over the next 2 years. However, if anyone else is considering these warranties, looks like there is a very juicy margin in this for the dealer that you can negotiate with ($1,850 in my case, and I'm sure even then that the $2,500 isn't their cost price...)

[DrWHO]

I was quoted two options - VW/Allianz for 2 years/unlimited km with roadside assist for $4,350 (gulp!), or through AVEA for 3 years/200,000km at $2,120. I declined both offers. Then last week I received a follow-up call from the same rep just before the warranty finished, saying that they would reduce the price of the 2 year VW extension to $2,500. ...if anyone else is considering these warranties, looks like there is a very juicy margin in this for the dealer that you can negotiate with ($1,850 in my case, and I'm sure even then that the $2,500 isn't their cost price...)

I have just had a similar experience and am sure that the dealer margin is around $2000. Having compared Allianz, Swann and Avea I can tell you the Avea policies always come in the cheapest because they offer the least value. The longer the Avea policy the more likely your claim payout won't be sufficient because of the way Avea calculates repair costs v market value v claims already paid. If you have to make more than one claim on an Avea policy the balance available for the second and subsequent claims shrinks the most out of all the policies from the different insurers.

[aussiejim]

Hi Dr just be careful to check for the stuff that,s not covered , we picked up our golf from a service yesterday
and a lady was there who ran out in tears as some parts were not covered under extended warranty , i think it was wiring loom
and i,m not sure what else ,but her warranty was not allianz it was some other company

[wai]

Make absolutely sure you read AND understand what you are buying. They do NOT have your interests at heart, no matter what they say. They are in it to make money, and the way they do this is to pay out as little as possible.

All those writing policies are the same. Do not think for one minute that because a particular company has a relationship with the manufacturer that they will "look after you". They will not.

[sillywet]

My 3yr anniversary was yesterday so decided to enquire about extending the warranty. For 3 more yrs they want just over $5k. Significantly more than I was expecting. Has anyone had quotes lately, and if so is this ballpark?

Thanks

Ps in case it matters, mine's a manual.

[Dutch77]

Wow, that's a big jump over what people were being quoted a while back. Try searching that thread for more info, but I'd invest the $5k and self-insure.

Extended warranty