I've got a 6 year old Polo automatic which I bought this time last year. The warranty that I was sold with it is up for renewal and I'm trying to work out whether or not it's worth forking out a few hundred quid for a new one. My main worry is that the autobox will fail and I'll be left with a massive bill (that happened to me on my previous car and I was forced to sell it).
Anyone got any thoughts?
for background info the car has 45k on the clock and I do between 12 and 15k a year in it.
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Click on "View Archived News" at the bottom of the right hand column and you will find something of interest from last Sunday re warranties.
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I have no opinion on this car or any specific warranty, but...
First, expected cost: this is what you expect the risk to cost you. So if I have a vase worth £100 and there's a 1 in 50 chance I'll break it, expected cost is £100/50 = £2.
An extended warranty is just insurance against a risk - paying someone else to take the risk. The company underwriting the risk does not expect to lose money - so they expect your car will cost less to repair than you are paying them for the policy. It might not - you might have a catastrophic failure - but over all policies they issue, they expect to make money overall.
So unless you have some reason to think that they are wrong (and they're probably not), you will expect to lose money by having a warranty (or insurance of any kind).
BUT you might decide that it's worth paying some money not to have the risk. For example I expect my house insurance to cost me money, and so does the insurer. BUT my house burning down would ruin me, so I pay them to take the risk. I can't afford to take the risk.
So in summary, if you cannot afford a new autobox and having to buy one would make things very hard for you - then consider insuring against its failure. If it would just be a bit annoying, I personally would not insure against it.
Hope that helps.
-Mark
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I raised this issue a while back and someone made the very sensible suggestion that it would be better to accumulate your own risk fund, specifically dedicated to use with the car, than fork out to insurance companies. If you look after the car properly and drive it sensibly, and if HJ's Car-by-Car Breakdown doesn't indicate that failure of major components is likely, open up a building society "Only for the Car" account and pay into it regularly. If you need the money, it will be there (plus interest); if you don't, you can eventually enjoy using it on something else.
And if you haven't already done so, steer the Polo away from main dealers and find a good independent VW specialist who will give you higher-quality servicing/repair work and charge you much less for it. If you are anywhere near me (Herts), I can recommend two.
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Thanks for these replies - I think I'll take the advice and set up my own 'risk fund' and keep my fingers crossed that nothing goes terribly amiss!
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on one of my cars i got a manufacturer sponsored offer of warranty including breakdown cover that was only marginally more than breakdown cover, if its cheap enough its worth it
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The answer to your original question depends on what kind of gambler you are. If your gut-feeling is that the car might well let you down expensively, buy another warranty. Otherwise look after the car to reduce the risk, and assume that nothing serious will happen. Buying a warranty is simply paying for a moderate level of repair which will definitely happen!
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The answer is the same as for the extended warranties offered with electronics - a waste of money in 95 per cent plus of cases. In fact some cost more than the actual product....
The chances are that you are very unlikely to need it and, secondly, even if you did the terms and conditions would probably exclude it.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Of if your gut feeling is that the car will let you down expensively, buy a different car!
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Is one of these Mark Tempest in WGC? I've used them once and they were very good, but labour at £45 per hour wasn't the most competitive.
If not, could you let me know who they are?
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My VW Passat is reaching the end of its 3 year warranty at 58K.
VW kindly offered to renew it for another year at ~£450 or two years ~£750. Seemed very expensive.In the bin.
Last service in a few days, when still under warranty will be £185 plus cam belt change at £300 (splutter) plus MOT at £40.
Thought cam belt change better be done officially in case it breaks.
I hope to find a local VW specialist in North Derbyshire who is reliable and can cut those costs. Any ideas - Honest John's guide does not help.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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By all means have the cambelt done by VAG for peace of mind, but please save yourself some cash by supplying the belt and tensioner yourself (best price at www.gsfcarparts.com).
I agree it isn't everyone's cup of tea, but servicing a car really isn't difficult - the Haynes manual pratically walks you through it. I've not attempted the cam belt though, mainly because renewal time came up in the winter.
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Graham,
I've done my own servicing in the past but my impression is that everything is well hidden on new cars.I reckon I'd need a pit to start get the undershield off. I can not even see where the oil filter is on my 2001 Passat 100bhp TDI.
GSF do not seem to mention my car in the cam belt/tensioner spares list, but thanks for the web site information which will be useful in future.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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Agree its not a nice car to work on - its very low-slung and the engine bay is very cramped. I have to drive it onto ramps (£30 a pair at Halfords) or use axle stands for an oil change. I feel more confident being under the car with ramps, but stands are much quicker and easier.
The undershield is easily removed when you can get underneath it though. I long for my old Mk 2 Cavalier where I could change the oil without raising it! The oil filter is best accessed (I belive) from beneath the car while it is raised. Or it could be that yours has the fixed filter with renewable element mounted on the side of the block. I'd check the engine code against what the Haynes manual says.
There is a school of thought that says manufacturers design cars like this to prevent us doing our own servicing, but an equally convincing one that says the design trends are all about saving space.
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Oh and one other thing - the GSF website part listings aren't very clear. Best bet is to go into the nearest branch, quote the registration, and they'll give you exactly the parts you need.
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> but please save yourself some cash by supplying the belt and tensioner yourself (best price at www.gsfcarparts.com).
He's getting it done by a garage so that he has a warranty. If you supply the parts yourself, you _effectively_ don't get a warranty.
If the belt snaps, the garage will say it's due to a defective belt, and the manufacturer will say it's due to bad fitting. Neither will want to yield (why would they? they only stand to lose money) and you're left as piggy in the middle, mediating between two uncooperative parties, needing expensive "expert" opinions, days off work to go to court and so on. If you're paying for the labour anyway, pay the extra £20 for the belt, that's my advice :-)
-Mark
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