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This is a very important point, and I am keen to get some response, that is why have posted this here as well as in the warranties section of the forum.

With Audi charging £1582 for a one year warranty, it is crucial to see if we can reduce the costs:


My warranty runs out in November.

I had an Audi S4 before my RS6 and got a 'Warranty Direct' warranty for 3 years. It worked well, they covered wear and tear, unlike most warranties and I certainly got my money back. Last year I was thinking about a further policy with them, but I found out they did not cover cars with engines as big as 4.2 litres. I had a look around to see if there were any other alternatives and I came up with : http://www.warrantyworks.co.uk

They offered £523.88 for one year platinum package, max claim £2500. Now I have no experience with them and my feelings are that it is quite possible to get a claim with a value more that £2500.

Anyway after reading the threads here today, I phoned up my local dealer and they are still selling the 'Audi' warranty at £1582.

So I went back to the http://www.warrantydirect.co.uk website and phoned them up. Today they were able to offer me for £850 coverage for 1 year, commencing when my warranty expires in November. There policy has a limit of £5000 per claim, but you can claim as many times as necessary. They offered me Gold cover, with work done at Audi garages.
I am keen to read what you all think as I have had problems with the 'Audi' extended warranty before: They would not pay for faulty mannifolds for my S4 as they were part of the exhaust system - Warranty Direct would have.


Summary of cover:

Parts and labour covered:

Warranty Direct covers the cost of mechanical and electrical failure. Wear and tear to a covered part and damage to an insured part caused by an uninsured part is also covered. Others exclude such cover so beware inferior imitations! For comparison, we estimate these two items to be worth 40% of your premium.

Breakdown Recovery:

Policy includes up to a maximum contribution of £150 toward recovery cost if breakdown is a result of failure of an insured part and if you do not have cover elsewhere. If you prefer, Motoreasy Recovery or Recovery Plus can also be purchased from us at unbeatable prices.

Car hire:

Policy includes up to a maximum contribution of £30 per day for up to 7 days car hire if your car cannot be fixed in first 24 hours if a breakdown is a result of failure of an insured part and if you do not have cover elsewhere.

Emergency travel:

Policy includes up to a maximum of £25 towards the cost of alternative travel (coach, train etc.) if your car cannot be fixed in first 24 hours and breakdown is a result of failure of an insured part and if you do not have cover elsewhere.

Overnight Accommodation:

Policy includes up to a maximum of £100 towards the cost of overnight accommodation if your car cannot be fixed in first 24 hours and breakdown is a result of failure of an insured part and if you do not have cover elsewhere.

Cover from day one:

Sudden and unknown/unexpected failures are covered from the day your policy starts. Others implement exclusion periods! Study the small print!

Instant claims authority:

Your selected garage will call us for immediate claim authorisation.

Direct settlement with garage:

If you select a member of our approved network for repairs we will settle agreed payments with the garage. Otherwise, we will settle with you directly.

Your choice of garage for servicing and repairs:

Tell us when buying whether you want to take your car to a network garage or a franchised dealer/non-network garage for future repairs. Our experience of many different types of garage leads us to recommend independents for all our work - but the choice is yours.


Failure of timing belts, when failure is within manufacturer's guidelines:

As long as you have, or have had, your timing belt changed at the recommended interval failure of the belt and resulting damage is covered.


Wear and tear is always an issue, but up to 70000, not here:

Mileage-------------- Parts Labour
Up to 60,000 miles 100% 100%
Up to 70,000 miles 90% 100%
Up to 80,000 miles 80% 100%
Up to 90,000 miles 70% 100%
Up to 100,000 miles 60% 100%
Over 100,000 miles 50% 100%



The full policy is:

GOLD
for general details of cover see Policy Documents

The items under the following list are covered. Any item not specifically mentioned is not covered.

ENGINE
Cylinder head, internal bushings, oil pump, crankshaft and bearings, tappet gear, valves & guides (excluding burnt or pitted valves), pistons & rings, cylinder bores/liners, con rods, distributor drive, starter ring gear, flywheel, autodrive plate, camshaft drive belts, camshaft & cam followers, cylinder head gasket, cylinder block, crankshaft pulley, turbo/intercooler units, rear main seal, rocker assembly, push rods, timing gears, timing belts & chains.

CLUTCH
The master and slave cylinder, clutch cable and pedal assembly.

TRANSMISSION (Manual, Automatic and Overdrive)
Manual Transmission: gears, synchromesh hubs & rings, selectors, shafts, bearings, drive chains plus gearlever and bushes. Automatic Transmission: torque converters, brake bands, valve block, governor (manual & electric) oil pump and seals, drive chains, gears, input shaft oil seal, clutches, servos and modulator valve, bearings plus gearlever and bushes. Overdrive: Gears, shafts and bearings.

FRONT WHEEL DRIVE UNIT
Crown wheel and pinion, differential unit, bushes and bearings, plus external drive shafts, couplings, C.V. joints and rubber boots, hubs, drive flange and universal joints.

REAR AXLE
Crown wheel and pinion, differential unit, shafts, bearings, C.V. joints and rubber boots, oil seal and rear hub, & drive flange.

FOUR WHEEL DRIVE SYSTEM
Front differential, inter-axle differential and lock, rear differential and lock, bearings and shafts, couplings, C.V. joints and rubber boots, hubs and drive flange.

PROPSHAFT
Propshaft, universal joints, centre bearings and oil seals.

SUSPENSION
Shock absorbers, upper and lower wishbones, bushes, springs, spheres, displacer units and wheel bearings, self levelling suspension unit, reservoir, pump and regulator valve.

BRAKING SYSTEM
Master cylinder; brake servo unit, diesel vacuum pump, callipers, wheel cylinders, pressure regulator, ABS pump and control unit. ABS pressure reducing and proportioning valves, handbrake control cables and linkages, brake pedal assembly, self-adjusting mechanisms, abs sensors.

COOLING SYSTEM
Radiator, thermostat, water pump, heater matrix, engine oil cooler, viscous fan, thermostat housing, temperature gauge, electronic control units and control linkages.

STEERING
Rack and pinion, steering box, idler box, column shaft, couplings, steering column tilt mechanism, power steering unit including pump, pressure pipes and reservoir.

FUEL SYSTEM
Mechanical and electrical fuel pumps, airflow meter, injectors (including injector cooling system), overrun cut-off valve, pressure regulator, sensors, throttle body, fuel gauge and tank sender unit.

DIESEL INJECTION SYSTEM
D.I.S. unit and controls, injection pump, injectors, glow plugs, electromagnetic cut-off.

ELECTRONIC IGNITION
Ignition ECU and Ignition Coil where fitted as standard by the manufacturer.

AIR CONDITIONING
Air conditioning compressor pump, condenser, electronic control unit, sensors, magnetic clutch and valves, evaporator and reservoir, fan control and sensors.

ELECTRICS
Internal failure of the starter motor, alternator, regulator, distributor, windscreen wiper motor and tailgate wiper motor, heating fan motor, cooling fan motor, horn, central locking solenoids and motors, electric window motors and sunroof motors, electric door mirror motors and aerial motors, front and rear windscreen washer motors, headlamp adjuster motors, cruise control unit, relays and wiring looms, rev counter, radiator cooling fan, indicator flasher unit.

CASINGS
Casings are covered provided they have been damaged as a result of failure of an insured part or by the consequential damage of an insured part failing.

OIL LEAKS
Notwithstanding exclusion 11 of the policy, this covers seal or gasket replacement that necessitates the removal of the engine, gearbox/drive unit and drive shafts or differential unit to carry out repairs.

BODYWORK
Tailgate suspension struts.

Only the components originally fitted as standard by the manufacturer are covered unless agreed in writing by us.

---------------------


I would like to hear see some comments. Does the policy miss anything, bearing in mind it will only cover what is stated?

One last question to those of you who have extended their 'Audi Warranty'. Have you had any problems?


Mark

Isn't the 5k limit worrying? Has anyone priced a new gearbox or new engine + labour?
Is there a claim limit with the Audi warrantee? I would be pretty pissed off if I had paid Audi £1582 and had 'problems'!

I may be wrong, but I'm sure I've read a lot of bad reports on other boards about Warranty Direct wriggling out of claims.

The £5k claim limit is also a concern. The main value in an extended warranty for me would be insurance against the small chance that something very serious does go wrong (replacement engine/gearbox etc), so I'd much rather be able to buy a reasonably priced warranty with a high excess but no claim limit.

My warranty expires in March 2007 and I'm still not sure whether to keep the car without warranty, extend the warranty or swap it for something else. The problem with the latter option is of course, what on earth do you swap it for?

I'm sure a replacement engine or gearbox will cost way over 5k if being done at main dealer.

IIRC £15,000 for a new Cosworth Engine, and £7,000 for what was the modified S8 gearbox.

ashleyadam wrote:I'm sure a replacement engine or gearbox will cost way over 5k if being done at main dealer.

IIRC, when i had my entire gearbox replaced under warranty, it was just over £12K As you'd expect, most of the bill was labour as it's a full front off & engine out job (still makes me cringe when i recall seeing my beautiful engine dangling from a winch).

I'd not own an RS6 out of warranty as the potential for claims is huge & so are the relevant bills. If i did own one out of warranty, then i'd defo opt for the Audi extended warranty.

W8PMC wrote:it was just over £12K

So Audi has a goose around our neck !

I recently paid up for my warranty ....has been the worst part of Audi ownership to date, but with figures like these what choice do you have !

Wolverine wrote: I recently paid up for my warranty

Wolverine - are your dealership aware of the mods you've got on your car and did they mention anything about them when you coughed up for your extended warranty?

When mines due again back end of this year I'll be asking specific questions like "is the gearbox/engine covered considering I've got an aftermarket exhaust on and it's been remapped". If the answer is Yes then no probs and I'll hand over my credit card. If the answer is No then I'd be struggling to justify spending nearly £1600 (I presume the price hasn't changed) to cover the less expensive bits on the car.

I was just wondering if you'd had a similar conversation with your dealership?

Rich.

I'd stick with the Audi Warranty. Mine's in Camberley at the moment having had an oil leak noticed on a regular service. They were unable to trace the exact source of the problem, so off came the front and the engine came out. This then revealed a need for a new intercooler, new pipes, and some turbo issues, all resolved under warranty with no questions asked - total cost of the work £4,700. Added to the £2k+ done this year already on various bits.. The piece of mind of knowing that you don't have to worry and it's all sorted by the dealer is worth the extra IMHO. Usual excellent service from camberley as well - a nice Q7 courtesy car while mine is off the road.

I extended mine through Audi problem with some of the other warranties is they do not pay the labour rate, plus if there is something not covered under the Audi warranty you are more likely to get goodwill from Audi as you have trioed your best to protect your investment.

I had new gearbox, oil leak,front arms, a/c unit and TPM sensor replaced and the bill was £6k ish to the warranty company and with the rate that DRC goes wrong you get your money back.

Plud you get Audi assistance too so you know you will be getting a loan car every time

Hi, on the subject of Warranties check out some of the previous posts specifically one catchily titled Warranty.......

There are some advantages to a non Audi Warranty.

I recently switched to Warranty Direct Luxury option........... £800.00 which includes pretty much everything......(see my previous posts for details)

Plus I made sure I would be able to use Non Audi parts which they confirmed in writing

So the next time the DRC goes instead of having to go to Audi I can go to see a real speciallist and have the DRC ripped out and replace it with coilovers.

I haven't had to make a claim yet so will let You know how good they are at paying out when I do.