Extended warranty

[OldTrout]

The warranty that came with my car will expire at the end of the month. At 9 years old and ~112,000 miles the car is eligible for the 24 month extended warranty and I have been quoted £1095.

At the last MOT 6 months ago all four dampers were mentioned in the advisories as misted with oil. Given the cost of replacing the dampers the extended warranty would seem to be well worthwhile.

I may also go for a service and MOT package.

Anybody any experience of these packages?

John

 

 

[IanA2]

I'd bite their hand off....

[Shahpor]

Yep.

I have an extended warranty on mine and it is very good.

It has been used a few times, and apart from one instance, has been quick and hassle free in sorting out the problems.

The last instance was a few weeks ago for a stuck rear caliper:  The warranty company got back to the dealer within one hour of submitting the claim approving the work.

Mine has paid for itself at least 3 times over, and if you need dampers, then it is really is worth your while getting it.

[PCM]

I've had 3 air suspension bits replaced at £1,200 each, under warranty.

Callipers too. Well worth it on a more mature car!

 

[Z28DUNC]

Hi John, we have the same year of GS. I took the extended warranty out two weeks ago and the service plan over 3 years. I think its well worth it when the cost of major parts on these cars are so high (shocks, gearbox etc). The service plan works by you having a pot of money and then the services being done at a discounted rate paid out of this pot. So if you have a service due soon you may have to pay more a month for the first few months to top this pot up. At least thats the way it was explained to me.

[Diesel Do Nicely Brian]

I have recently bought mine and also bought the warranty (it will be 10 in November).

The rear dampers were leaking when I bought it, and the car needed a warranty inspection at the dealer first, before the warranty was approved.

They'll spot the shocks and not cover them - I asked another dealer (not the one it went to).

True enough, once I had the shocks done, the warranty sailed through (and I had the 100+ service done at the same time) - not a cheap day!

But - 10 year old car, 2 years total peace of mind, and it comes with Lexus Assistance (which is worth £270 over the two years).  No brainer.

Brian.

[OldTrout]

Thanks for the recommendations guys. I took out a 24 months warranty after the major service.

At this service one damper was noted as failed and the other three got comments too. Lexus Swindon have tried to claim for me under the warranty but this has been refused on the grounds of "pre-existing condition". This is not a valid reason as the claim is under my old warranty which would not have been issued if there were problems not under the new one which was taken out after the service. When this was mentioned they shifted to "wear and tear".

It would be good to cite others who have had dampers replaced under warranty besides Shahpor. Anyone?

John

 

[Shahpor]

Sorry, perhaps I didn't make my post clear, but I haven't had the dampers replaced under warranty.  I just thought that if you needed them it would be a good idea.

Was your previous warranty also a Lexus one?

I can't comment on the previous warranty, but under the extended one it is covered, which suggests it shouldn't be classed as wear and tear.

 

As you can see, no mention of suspension in the 'not covered' section, but it is listed in the 'covered' bit.

Of course, being a pre existing condition, I can appreciate why the new policy won't agree to replace them.

[Malc]

....... as a prior car dealer it was always a major issue finding a warranty to sell with a car, that would actually ever pay out when a seemingly legitimate claim was made.

We only sold good used vehicles and every one seemed all ok on the day of sale etc  ...  saldy faults develop, sometimes very quickly and like all insurance companies, they want your premium but make an art of wriggling out of paying ! 

The key to a successful claim always seemed to be a great rapport with the warranty selling agent itself, their reputation is at stake if they put you into one that's too challenging to deal with.

Just ask at the time ( prior to ) purchase exactly what is covered under the warranty being sold to you. Most sales people will obfuscate and be very very vague but you have to persevere to get clarity and to the actuality of the facts.

Hope this helps a little

Malc

[OldTrout]

Thanks for clarification Shahpor - I misread sorry. Thanks too for little jpg of covered/not covered item which I have sent to chap at Lexus Swindon.

The previous warranty which came with the vehicle is a Lexus extended warranty. The paperwork is slightly different in its format and the old one adds the words "5 Year Plus" in its title but otherwise the words are the same. The only specific mention of shock absorbers is in clause 5.7 for "MOT Protected Parts" where they are covered unless they are not an MOT failure item. Failed shocks are an MOT failure aren't they? I guess that by the time of the next MOT in February all four shocks will have gone.

 

[Shahpor]

No probs.

I am getting a little frustrated with the Lexus Extended Warranty.  Not from a personal point of view, since I have had my claims accepted, but from others having problems with items that should clearly be covered.

We had one not to long ago where they denied a claim for a hybrid Battery, even though it is specifically mentioned as being covered by the warranty.  Took a bit of back and forth before it was settled.

And now we have dampers, which again should be included.  If you go through the documentation, it is quite specific on what is parts are covered, but of course, there is mention of serviceable items, which is vague.  As you can see in the picture I posted, suspension is mentioned, so how can they deny the claim?

As for the MOT protected parts, what I was told was that they are only protected if in a dangerous state.  Normal wear and tear isn't included.  The example given was a suspension ball joint.  Apparently, if it just worn, it is down to you, but if it about to fall off completely, then they will take care of it.  Strange one, and in practice, the MOT cover doesn't really do anything and is meaningless.

Either way, I would pursue it all the way to the ombudsman if I were you, unless they can provide you with written documentation that states it isn't covered. 

[Diesel Do Nicely Brian]

I have just had my first claim on my extended warranty (took it out at the very end of July after I bought the car, replaced the rear shock (£800) and the 100+ service (£595) and MOT at Lexus - before discounts).

My passenger headlamp (main lamp and full beam lamp) was misting up when I bought the car, but causing no issue (and one back taillight too).

It was on my list of jobs to strip the front end and dry it out, reseal it etc.  However, the light stopped working - dead - one night, and dead for days, even when I tried swapping bulbs left to right, hairdryer on it etc.  Called Lexus, got it booked in for inspection a few days later - in the interim it started working again!

Diagnosed by Lexus as a failing ECU (the ballast) the seal no longer working on the lense and needed a new bulb - £937 fitted!

Waited to hear back from warranty when filed, did tonnes of research and was ready to do all the work myself (new ballast, pair of bulbs, strip & reseal lamp etc).

 

Came back - fully approved - all cost covered.  The car is 9 years and 10 months old today.  The warranty has now paid for itself in one go!!

Always been good for me in the past - both Toyota and Lexus ext. warranty.

 

[Carl911]

Yeo, agree with all, worth every penny. My warranty has paid for itself several times over.

only today I took my car in as the driver washer jet was blocked and the wing mirrors were not tilting down correctly.

turns out a new washer jet is required and two new mirrors as both had faults.

bill comes to just over £1000 and all covered by warranty.

definately buy it.

[OldTrout]

Carl

Perhaps I should come to Gloucestershire rather than Wiltshire.

John