Warranty nearing expiry - what to do?

[blaast]

We have a 2009 T5 Caravelle that only has 25,000km on it, has been serviced yearly, and the warranty expires on the 9th December 2012.

It is a little last minute as I have not been able to make a definitive decision as to whether or not to extend the warranty.

I have searched these and other forums for opinions on extended warranty/insurance, and my quotes so far for the 'VW backed' Allianz 2 year insurance is $2,500 (even though the car has done so few kms).

http://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/f136/swann-extended-warranty-really-worth-t5-auto-70555-3.html

http://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/f15/vws-3-year-extended-warranty-28828-71.html

http://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/f112/extended-warranty-39126.html

We purchased the Caravelle after nearly 2 years of saving and driving around in two cars (2 adults, and 4 kids), but 6 months later I no longer had a full-time job and haven't had one since...so $2,500 is a big deal, especially with Christmas approaching.

What scares me is the thought of something going wrong with the car and simply not being able to afford to get it running again and not being able to get our kids around...transmission failure is the big one that worries me!

http://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/f136/hi-ho-hi-ho-its-off-transmision-shop-i-go-77713-2.html

So what am I asking your thoughts on?

Do I get insurance and put a big dent in our budget to provide 'peace of mind', even though it may never be used?

If I don't get insurance and book in to get a 'warranty expiry check/service', what should I get checked, and what should I look out for to make sure they check? Is ~$150 for a 'warranty expiry check' reasonable?


Thankyou in advance for your thoughts and opinions.

[IN2VWS]

If it were me, and I was keeping the van, get the Allianz extended warranty. It is one way to guarantee your transmission won't fail.

[wai]

Whether you do or not is up to you.

Remember, you are NOT extending the warranty. VW have a warranty that has a fixed time and maximum distance during which time they will warrant the vehicle. When that time/distance expires, you can take out an insurance policy through various insurers to give you peace of mind (if that's what you want). This is an insurance policy, and while VW might "recommend" a particular insurer, you are dealing with the insurer in the first instance, and they can literally direct you to have the repair carried out at a non-VW dealer or service centre.

Be sure you get hold of a PDS (Product Disclosure Statement), then read and understand exactly what is and is not covered by the policy. Rememner that insurers did not get to where they are by paying out on policies. They will willingly take premiums but will have limitations on what they will cover. Above all, they do a risk assessment when they write a policy, and they are simply not going to write one for something that is more likely than not to be claimed on.

Yes, if you take one out, then you are probably guaranteed to have no problems at all. The problem is that if that were to be the case, NOT taking one out will probably end up with the same result, only you would have saved yourself some money. Even if something went wrong, chances are that it would not be covered anyway.

Most such policies are for peace of mind, so it comes down to whether you are a risk taker or not. The insurers are NOT risk takers.

[Sunny43.5]

Two questions is yours an auto and which type Tiptronic or DSG , second $2500 for extension bJeeezus I was quoted $4000 by the dealer for our new T5 with DSG , hmmmm wonder if they know something we don,t about possible future problems ????

[jets]

I think wai summed up the situation very well. The big picture is that insurance companies are out to make money. What they are selling is peace of mind. With the mileage you are doing there is a fair chance that it would be a complete waste of money. I remember once reading in an English mag that a key had sheared in a sprocket on some VW model & the insurance company said it was normal wear & tear. It wasn't of course but they didn't pay up. I didn't take up extended insurance with our Golf & I am glad I didn't.
The other advice I can give is don't live your life thinking something could go wrong. There is a guy on the Vortex forum with a Eurovan with an auto that had not given any trouble but he was always worried it would go & decided to sell the van. He is the one that has missed out & the new owner is probably the winner.

[jfoldbar]

i think at that many k's i wouldnt bother. if i ever buy a new car again i will ask them for discount and no warranty as my experiences are theres no point cause they usually dont honor warranty anyway. never had the allianz warranty though so cant comment on their ethics.
i cant think of anything to get ''checked'' at such lows k's. if its going fine then dont worry.

[Ivo]

How long do you plan on keeping it for? With such low k's I would not bother with warranty. When I bought my previous T5 (2005 model) it had 80K on it, I kept it for 3 years and sold it with 150k on it. I got the extended warranty and never made a claim, money wasted. The only time I would take out an extended warranty is if it was from VW itself and it was an extension of the full factory warranty not some third party policy with lots of clauses excluding everything in the fine print.

Use the $2500 to keep it serviced and well maintained. The major fault (Auto Transmission) is known so get it serviced regularly.

[IN2VWS]

As has been previously mentioned, read the PDS.
I was told the Allianz new vehicle extension warranty, is pretty much like the factory warranty.
The cheaper, used car warranty, was useless (I think it was offered by Swann). There was a maximum $$$ value which you can claim per year, and once you have made a claim on an item (eg. transmission) then a second claim cannot be made, as they have already paid out on that item once.

It would be good to hear from anyone who has actually made a claim on the Allianz warranty, rather than speculation from people that have never claimed, or from people that had the cheaper warranty (as I already know that is crap).

**EDIT** Spoke to my local service department about the aftermarket warranty. The Allianz one is like the factory warranty with new genuine parts getting used. They will not cover things like interior trims etc.
The cheaper warranty is next to useless. There are arguments all the time regarding claims. They will not use new parts, only used parts.

[blaast]

(this was meant to be posted on the 30th November)

Many thanks for all of your thoughts in helping us make this decision!

From what has been said so far, maybe I shouldn't worry due to the low kms, and the seemingly high likelyhood of the insurance company finding an 'out' on any claim.

For interest sakes, here are the best prices I could get on a couple of different policies (Tiptronic, not DSG):

Volkswagen new vehicle extended warranty (Allianz Insurance Australia)
2 years/unlimited kms, after the manufacturer warranty expired.
2 years roadside assistance
Genuine factory parts use guarantee
No excess payable on claim
No limit per claim
Policy premium of $2,475.00 inclusive of G.S.T.

Automotive Global Insurance
Additional 3 years or up to total 200,000kms, whichever comes first
3 years roadside assistance
No excess payable on claim
No limit per claim
Policy premium of $1,945.00 inclusive of G.S.T.


I also found this article regarding partnership between Allianz and VW:

https://www.allianz.com/en/press/news/business/insurance/news_2012-09-26.html

We had our hearts set on one of these over the iMax or Carnival, but reading the horror stories has me concerned...but then again, you only ever hear about the horror stories, and I would probably have had the same issue with any other vehicle anyway!

[blaast]

Well, I am thinking of not going ahead with the warranty/insurance, but thinking I should get it serviced and checked over at a VW dealership...this will cost $580 for the service!!!

I usually go to an independent so it's more than I'm use to, especially when he said that it takes $200 of oil (plus oil filter and air filter)!!!

My thought in doing this is that if something were to happen after having it 'thoroughly' checked over then at least I have a fall back...or am I being naive in thinking this?

Also, are their services warrantied, and if so, for what period of time?
Again, my thought is that if something happens I can go back to them...

[blaast]

Forgot to ask....

....does anyone with a T5 find that their climate control settings change when you start the vehicle compared to last time you used it?

Ours does...sometimes the aircon will be on even when it wasn't on previously, the temperatures will almost always be different, and the 'auto' control will change.

[IN2VWS]

Going to resurrect this topic.......

My warranty expires in 6 weeks. Was quoted over $4k for the Allianz warranty initially. Today I was offered it for $3500.
Anyone haggled a lower price?

[Sunny43.5]

Do you have any info on what they cover and terms conditions etc , I am interested as well .

[IN2VWS]

From what I understand......
No single claim will be accepted if the value of the claim exceeds the current market value of the vehicle.
The VW branded Allianz policy only uses genuine VW parts, as opposed to the Swan and Allianz policy purchased through a broker, which will use non-genuine and used parts where possible.


I found this post from last month in the Golf forum. It looks like there is some wiggle room:

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...)

[Sunny43.5]

Pretty well makes it unusable lets see if the DSG goes out to lunch from what I have read its a $15000 replacement part . Based on it happening outside warranty and the years of age with VW 's somewhat reputation with autos I would imagine that the current market value would be almost line ball based on what a VW dealer will offer as a trade in these days . Yes other models of VW owners have come forward with documented reports of dealers offering ridiculous low values which I would imagine the insurance company would partly base their valuation on . Sounds good on paper but in reality is it going to hold water .