Thread: Extended warranty is it worth it

Originally Posted by Tombie

Have you always had it dealer services and had a good relationship with the dealer? If so this goes a long way towards "good faith" for the 12 months after warranty.

I have a 2010 D4 and agonized at the 3 year mark whether to buy the extended warranty. As the vehicle had been perfect I decided to give it a miss.

At 4.5 years and 66,000km the high pressure fuel pump failed on a caravan trip and was towed back to the closest dealer. As I had serviced the D4 at a dealer up to that point, Land Rover replaced the HPFP & Low pressure pump under a Good Will warranty without any problems. I did cover some of the initial diagnostic costs plus testing of the injectors and cleaning of the fuel system. All up it cost me approx $1000, which I thought was quite reasonable in the end.

My thoughts on extended warranty.

I bought an extended warranty with the purchase price of my new RRS in 2010. From memory it was about $2,000 for three years at the time. Well worthwhile in the end, as I sold the car just shy of the first three years and the buyer paid what I asked almost entirely because of the extra 3 years warranty.

I now have a 2012 Vogue TDV8, and extended the warranty by two years for $3,500 in August last year, just before the expiry of the manufacturer's warranty. It's a factory-backed warranty, underwritten by Allianz, and it's already paid its way, with a new aircon compressor required a few months ago (about $3,000) and an oil leak and faulty memory seat/wheel module a month ago (another $800-odd).

I've always had the car serviced by an independent (Wilf Chambers in Osborne Park) yet have always taken the car to the dealer for warranty work, and have never, ever had a quibble from them. They just do it, no questions asked.

For peace of mind - particularly since we go off-road towing a heavy camper trailer - it's invaluable. I believe the extended warranty matches the manufacturer warranty, that's my experience. I'm a big fan of warranties, particularly LRA's. They pulled us out of the Kimberley two years ago due to a blown rear shock, it cost them well over $25K for the exercise, paid for everything including air fares, tilt tray, charter flight, accommodation etc.

If you want peace of mind, aren't particularly mechanically minded, or can't be bothered worrying about that stuff...spend the money. You won't regret it.

(Having said that, at $5,000 they're having a lend of you. Offer them $3,500 at the top. That's what I did. Offer accepted.)