[rogerxp]

Was going to post on here for everyone's opinions before I make a decision however have just taken the plunge so thought I'd double-check I've done the right thing.

My car's warranty expires on 13th April 2009 as it's an 06 plate car bought 12 months ago from a dealer. It's done 47k (8k since I've owner her) and had a few niggles so thought I'd take out extended cover once they wrote to me which they did yesterday.

BMW offered me the following based on £100 excess (not interested in half-baked cover) -:

Comprehensive - £39 for 12m or £427 p/a

Thought I'd try Warranty Direct as many people had recommended them in previous posts so they initially offered me with a £50 excess -:

Luxury (Franchised Dealer i.e. uncapped labour) - £43 for 12m or £520 p/a

Without much negotiation (i.e. told them BMW's price) they dropped this down to -:

Luxury (Franchised Dealer i.e. uncapped labour) - £38 for 10m or £380 p/a

So, an immediate reduction of £140 and undercutting BMW by £40 with a lower excess of £50. Also, no interested if paid monthly, but over 10 months instread of 12.

I've gone for Warranty Direct. Maybe I could have got this even lower but to be honest they guy was really helpful and it seemed to be pretty damn good value.

How does this sound to you guys??? Competitive???

One thing I forgot to ask is whether breakdown cover is covered; don't suppose anyone knows???

Comments positive or negative welcomed as I've got 14 days right to change my mind.

[- Paul -]

They would have gone lower! - I'm with them - haven't used them yet though and i guess this is when they will be truely tested - I'm on the franchised dealer option aswell.

[edowen]

After direct experience I wouldnt touch warranty direct with a barge pole. Go BMW or dont bother.

[edowen]

Ask them about their "pre-exisitng fault" , and "complete failure".

They weedled out of 2 claims on an A8 because they said:

a) They felt it as a pre-existing issue. Having not inspected the car before the plicy started this was a ridiculous claim.

b) an intermittent fault with Nav (I paid extra at the time to include it) wasnt covered as it wasnt "complete failure" - how many electrical faults are???

In short they were lovely at time of sale, but complete bastards when it came to paying out.

[ShereKhan]

I wouldn't bother with either.

Check who underwrites the BMW warranty and get all the ins and outs of it.
I've been stung on warranties before so would rather take my chance and keep my money.

[kend]

I went with Warrnaty direct on a Jag, I was surprised at what was excluded.
I thought the BMW extended warranty was an extension of the 3 year new warranty and includes breakdown at home and overseas. I would have had the BMW warranty at the offered price, I suspect they may have dropped the price, if you had gone back with the Warranty direct price. there is too many horror stories on here of £1000+ repairs to not have any warranty!

[mikem]

For the sake of £40 I`d go with BMW, its just like a manufacturers warranty. If it brakes, you take it in, they fix it.

There`s a guy on EvoT at the minute with an E60 who`s just had a claim for over a grand refused by WD.

[mrgrumpy88]

Hi, From experiance I wouldn't bother with Warranty Direct.

Used them in the past and they never paid out. They also ask me to pay for an inspection before they would even think about it.

[mrgrumpy88]

Originally Posted by ShereKhan

I wouldn't bother with either.

Check who underwrites the BMW warranty and get all the ins and outs of it.
I've been stung on warranties before so would rather take my chance and keep my money.

Me too! Not going to bother with warranties any more. Just put the money away for a rainy day.

[Hotcoupe]

Originally Posted by rogerxp

I've gone for Warranty Direct. Maybe I could have got this even lower but to be honest they guy was really helpful and it seemed to be pretty damn good value.

How does this sound to you guys??? Competitive???

One thing I forgot to ask is whether breakdown cover is covered; don't suppose anyone knows???

Comments positive or negative welcomed as I've got 14 days right to change my mind.

I would'nt wait 14 days, I'd cancel tomorrow and go with BMW.

I bought their (WD) top level of cover for the wife's Cab (Mini).
I was specific when enquiring about the cover, and pressed the Guy on the phone to confirm that the cover included everything, bearing in mind it was a cabriolet, and he was adamant that their top level covered everything.

Unfortunately 8 months down the road, one of the arms that opens the roof packed up resulting in the need for a whole new roof mechanism (£3k with labour)!

Warranty Direct declined the claim based on the mechanics of the cabriolet roof not being covered!!!!

Too be fair, they coughed in the end, but only because BMW made a goodwill gesture and covered the parts, WD paid the labour, but it was a hell of a fight to get them to pay.

E93 owners and Mini cab owners, you have been warned!

They tell a good story on the phone, and yes are very pleasant whilst relieving you of your cash, but never again for me.

[roofer]

Never had a problem with BMW warranty claims, so i stick with them.

[Mud]

As all above, I would rather stick £500 in a saving account at the beginning of the year, ever year to cover any issues then give the same money to WD or BMW.

[rogerxp]

Bloody Hell, wasn't expecting such a Warranty Direct bashing there, other threads have been quite positive about them. Thanks for your honesty though.

I'll give BMW a call tomorrow and see if they'll at least match the WD figure. Must admit I usually go for manufacturers back-up (i.e HP cartridges in a HP printer being a simple example) so not sure why I considered a third party offering here (probably being a tight sod given the current climate!!).

Still got the dilema of do or don't bother with warranty at all but I suppose I can only accurately answer that at the end of the next 12 month period!!!

[pjs]

Mine runs out 6th May, and assuming same prices it'll be the BMW all singing one. Not Warranty Direct bashing though.

Why?

Well i reckon i'm stuck with mine for another 2 years

Its done 73k now and worth shag all, probably £12k privately

So i'll be running it up to 120-130k miles. I fI do sell, the BMW warranty will be a big bonus to a private buyer I think

And if somethings goes wrong, it'll be a big one. I've posted previously that I broke a gearbox on my last 330d with 4 days of warranty left. Got sorted no prob, but was a £4.5k bill for BMW.

I think a lot of posters on here will have the same decision to make this year

[jjbirch]

wow reading this thead made me think i am glad i went with bmw, i phoned them up this monday morning as my warrenty ran out, after i rang wished i shopped around,i went for monthy bills as i could cancel if i sold it this summer, its only £39 all in with breakcover too,really its just piece of mind and saving £4 a month of other warrentys would allways be on mind if they would ever pay up,
bmw warrenty said they would only cover upto 100k miles

[rogerxp]

I'm starting to lean towards BMW Warranty to be honest even thought it'll work out at £468p/a (vs £380) as I'm probably going to pay monthly due to other expenses this month have wiped me out. Still need to call BMW but doubt very much they'll be flexible on price.

Funny you should mention a gearbox 'pjs', mine is booked in on 8th April for a new one and my current warranty expires on 13th April!!! About to post another thread on that issue.

[rogerxp]

Spoken to BMW who have no flexibility in their prices however you can remove breakdown cover which reduces the annual figure from £427 to £349 for comprehensive cover. £78 for breakdown cover seems alot to me however I beleive it covers Europe too. Given that the AA offer basic cover for £30 I might go down that route. You can tell there's a credit crunch on!!!

[mikem]

TBH Roger £78 for the level of breakdown cover it provides, is very, very cheap.

[rogerxp]

Must admit Mike I haven't looked into the breakdown bit in too much depth; just looked expensive in the face of it. I've only needed to call breakdown services once in God knows how many years (when my 335i chewed up the RFT and I was stranded) so for an absolute emergency £30 seemed reasonable to me. I'm never really that far from home and the AA would at least get me home in an emergency.

That said, as my car gets older, I may require breakdown a little more often (touch wood!!!)

[ShereKhan]

If the recovery includes europe and you travel out to europe often then its worth having. If you don't you can get cheap RAC et al with your car insurance just ask them to beat the £78 you've been quoted and they will normally give you a good price.

[pjs]

thats the robbing bar stewards at Mercedes Benz who want £913 to extend my c class warranty for a year. Runs out in 3 weeks so almost certainly going to flog it. Makes the BMW warranty a bargain

Sadly, BMW not doing deals like a new clk with sport pack for £1250 dep, then £314/month for 2 years or Volvo doing new V70 R Designs for slightly less. Sad, but true. Now if I could get a 535d touring for £10k I'd be your man, I'll now shut up so I dont hijack this thread....