I have a 2012 audi a1 sports plus done 12000kms and has just gone out of factory warranty. I would like to get a 3 year warranty, have been recommended auto sure but has anyone go got any recommendations.
sw20,
Apr 27, 7:48am
Will a dealer sell you a warranty on a car they haven't sold?
siobhan41,
Apr 27, 8:05am
Have no idea don't really want to be tied into a giltraps one
brapbrap8,
Apr 27, 8:28am
Would you really be expecting anything to go wrong with the vehicle in the next few years? If it has been reliable so far, chances are it will keep being reliable for a few years yet.
No idea how good it is compared with the other options. Searching for "breakdown insurance" should provide more options.
siobhan41,
Apr 27, 8:35am
Has been 100% reliable and only do 4000kms a year but have heard it isn't hard to rack up a huge bill.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 27, 10:24am
Yes you can buy aftermarket warranty's direct from the likes of the AA and others. However, you need to read, understand the policy and do the math very carefully,
By the time you take in to account the considerable cost of the warranty, the absurd premium they put on for "european" vehicles, the massive list of stuff they don't cover, the excess and maximum annual claims. There really is very little left on the car that can go wrong which will cost you more than the Warranty + Excess.
Obviously you could just get incredibly unlucky and have a failure that would actually give you some benefit from having the warranty, but the odds are well stacked against it.
Personally, whenever I have done the math it's always made much more sense to put what you would pay for a warranty aside as your own warranty fund. One with a guaranteed payout, no excess and a full refund if not used.
Of the literally dozens of far higher risk Italian and German cars I have owned, only two instances I can think of would have made a worthwhile claim. Those instances less my premiums still leave me literally tens of thousands of dollars ahead of the game.
Lastly, the A1 is really just a VW Polo with a hot VW Golf engine underneath. Parts are very good value in this country for those and reliability is very good. If you do get incredibly unlucky, having the freedom to shop around (and ask on here for advice) can save you a fortune. Most of those "big bills" you hear of are from people who have taken their vehicles to places that can charge several times as much as other options for the exact same job.
Also, aside from your own "insurance fund" properly servicing your A1 will greatly increase your odds of success. That means servicing as per the manufacturers schedule, no shortcuts and MOST importantly with a VW make sure you stick EXACTLY to the manufacturers recommended fluids. In particular the proper VW coolant and proper VW approved oil.
Your car will be due a brake fluid change if not already done
Best of luck with it.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 27, 10:26am
Also. make sure you run it on BP Ultimate 98, absolutely never ever 91 octane, and only 95 when BP Ultimate is not available, and try to keep this to an absolute minimum.
It's also my personal opinion that biofuel blends such as purchased at Gull and some Mobil stations are an absolute no no for your vehicle.
Running the wrong fuel will greatly increase the risk of a very expensive repair.
If you have been running low octane fuel in your A1 get a warranty NOW but don't hold your breath on them covering damage from the low octane fuel. (worth a try though)
buyit59,
Apr 27, 10:37am
Jazz makes the best point. service it. service it. and service it correctly. !
lusty9,
Apr 27, 10:41am
A car of that mileage I wouldn't even bother getting a warranty period, spend the money you'd pay for the warranty to keep it maintained.
jmma,
Apr 27, 10:42am
12,000 km's, warranty, you are joking surely? My Corolla has 265,000 km and no problems (o:
curlcrown,
Apr 27, 6:31pm
Audi Corolla?
extrayda,
Apr 27, 8:14pm
I half agree with Jazz on this one, and that is pretty low mileage. I have had two policies in the past - a Turbo Skyline (small claim for a coolant pipe at the rear of the engine - not even sure what that was), and a Toyota MR2. The MR2 Air Conditioning died as we were trying to sell it (the Skyline A/C died a bit earlier) - surprise surprise the exact part that failed was specifically excluded in the warranty - it did help with SOME of the cost though. If you included both cars, we might have almost broken even (got the warranty at a "discount" when we bought both the cars from the same place at the same time).
extrayda,
Apr 27, 8:22pm
Jazz, this is an interesting comment. "Of the literally dozens of far higher risk Italian and German cars I have owned". What are they, and why higher risk :-) To me all modern cars seem to be high risk, given the amount of computerisation going on, and general complexity. Things from the 90's and prior no risk in that area, just the dreaded rust, and generally less safe.
cubasesx,
Apr 27, 9:49pm
We deal with Autosure and Provident regularly and they are both very good. Avoid Janssen above all else, they are the worst to deal with and try everything not to approve claims.
kazbanz,
Apr 27, 10:56pm
Autosure. -Just do it.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 28, 1:18am
Similarly sophisticated but much older and higher km's, VW's Alfa's, Fiat's etc.
For what it's worth, I much prefer the later more computerised cars. Not only are they nicer, safer, more efficient and better equipped. They are generally easier to diagnose, it's just a different mindset/skillset. Later model stuff is generally less worn out too.
siobhan41,
Apr 28, 1:25am
Kaz are you able to sell them?. I see it like any other insurance hopefully I won't need it but if I do have a dsg gearbox failure and an 8 grand bill I will be pleased I have it. Car has always been serviced as per hand book including brake fluid etc.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 28, 1:33am
Your DSG gearbox has another 2 years factory warranty on it yet. It's a 5 year unlike the rest of the car's 3 year. Go and look at the Audi NZ site and see for yourself. Also. a DSG box failure is highly unlikely to cost you anything like 8K if you go about it right.
Be aware too, once you are out of the factory warranty on the transmission. If you then get an aftermarket warranty and have a transmission failure, the warranty company will only pay to fix the part in question and it can't be a wear item (like clutches in the transmission). Even if it isn't a wear item, what happens is they pull everything apart, replace only what has actually broken and ignore anything else in there that is worn out.
What you DO need to be VERY careful with with your particular car/engine is what fuel you are running it on.
alfa13,
Apr 28, 6:15pm
Agree with above put money aside as your own warranty fund and keep serviced. And yes have sold car warranties previously for many many years!
mopsy3,
Apr 28, 10:19pm
Janssen have been bought out by Vero and are a lot better to deal with now. Actually, would have to say, one of the best.
kazbanz,
Apr 28, 11:29pm
Im sorry Im just a ghost of the internet with NO association with any dealership anywhere. -(Think Troll narc,etc ) im sure some dealer somewhere would be able to help you though.
luke041,
Apr 29, 12:28am
What a load of rubbish have got a dsg a part at the moment. Worn syrco and autosure are replacing all of them plus a clutch assemble, all wear issues. Had one a while ago with a shudder and they replaced the clutch with no issues,
kazbanz,
Apr 29, 6:09am
Mate--don't let the actual truth from someone dealing with autosure day in and day out get in the way of the google warriors stories/agenda.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 29, 6:53am
Kaz, you need to make a decision.
Either keep deliberately sniping at me, and not pack a sad when I bite back.
OR
Leave the cheap shots alone and I will leave you similarly be.
You can't have it both ways.
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