Important discussion about vehicle warranties

[Hammy1962]

Why would you buy a car which is a five hour drive away?

 

BF, Warranties offered by franchised and independent garages are not a 'Con trick'.

Here on CAG you see a large two handfuls of posts relating to cover and transactions which have gone wrong. Just like any other business.

 

I can tell you, in fact I have almost daily contact with, companies which transact thousands of claims every month. No-one ever posts to say 'I had sudden mechanical failure of my £800 Alternator and the warranty company paid for it'.

 

Independents and others offer these warranties as a way to their reduce costs. They can shift the 'Statutory Rights' cost onto a third party warranty company which more often than not pay out claims without issue. Clearly, not all vehicles have a failure and the ones which don't support the ones which do. Warranty company issues are almost always down to miscommunication and a failure by either the Seller or the buyer to understand what should be covered.

 

Labeling them a con trick is a generalisation too far.

 

H

[dx100uk]

as long as the consumer has not paid for the warranty....

[Hammy1962]

Would you rather the cost was hidden in the purchase price, or made a feature of the sale so the buyer can see its worth when and if it is necessary to use it.

 

Mr Dealer to Buyer - 'You paid £200 for that warranty and it's just paid out £800 for an Alternator'.

Which means, I can advertise the car for a slightly lower price because I don't have to worry about warranty cost for 12 months.

[dx100uk]

shouldn't have to pay anything for a part that fails if its within any warranty period - that period is a small part of n vastly extended period covered for free under your consumer rights ...

[Hammy1962]

But that is just my point. A Warranty, whether or not you like it, pays parts and labour for the majority of claims. Of course there are going to be exceptionstions but hardly con-trickery.

 

Customer rights (Whatever they are....) need to be funded. A bit like the NHS, free at the point of delivery but they certainly have to be paid for.

 

All Warranties have to be funded, for New Cars it is in the production cost of the vehicle. They are called Warranty Accruals and use a very complicated algorithm.

 

For used or independent sales the seller could build the cost of a warranty into the cost of each of his stock vehicles, making them all a little bit more expensive. A £50 charge on each sale would build up a nice little nest egg to pay for any repairs to the vehicles he has sold.

 

Or he could be open and get the customer to 'pay' for the warranty, this makes the stock a little cheaper and gives the customer 'ownership' of something which adds value to the sale.

Everyone knows you don't get something for nothing, no such thing as a free lunch.

 

These things have to be paid for, how, and how this is communicated, is up to the seller.

 

The Rogues will always be there, whether or not they are are Motor Trade or Builders. It is not the 'Warranty' which is bad, its the poor business practices of the traders. 

[unclebulgaria67]

Given that warranty issues have featured on many consumer forums for years and on many different TV consumer programmes,  it is easy to understand why many people hold negative views.

 

Stating that most claims are settled correctly and quickly without problems, is very unlikely to change public opinion.  

 

Having worked in Insurance and dealt with claims, I will probably have a different view to members of the public who are cynical about Insurance companies.

 

Perhaps @Hammy1962 you could add to this thread details of the legislation that applies to sale of warranties and adminstration of clams.   Are there any gold standards regarding the quality of the warranties ? What should consumers look out for, when agreeing to buy a warranty.  By providing more information useful to consumers, this might help give those who read your information more confidence.

 

[Andyorch]

https://www.hants.gov.uk/business/tradingstandards/consumeradvice/goodsandservices/guarantees