Avogadro

Hi - I'm happy to be here. I just bought an '02 A4 1.8T. It's great.

While sitting in the Finance office of the dealership, I got the pitch for an extended warranty. $2,700 (+tax) for 4 years / 48000 miles. The company is National Warranty Corp.

The warranty has $0 deductible and it covers everything, but maintenance. The catch is the mechanic (or me) has to call for authorization or they won't pay. Should I just save my money and pay for the repairs as they happen?

Are these warranties worth it? I have a 30-day money back guarantee. Do most mechanics honor the warranty? Are they a real hassle?

Thanks in advance.

bla4ck

i regret not doing so when had the opportunity. FYI, i've easily spent more than the cost of a warranty in repairs. parts, especially NEW, are not cheap at all.

whoever you decide to go with, read all the fine print to be sure you won't get screwed from any exclusions in their policies. also, IIRC most extended warranties can be used at independent mechanics, not just at Audi dealers.

autumn

a lot of these extended warranties don't cover things like rattles, which are quite common among A4's.

jacket88

They've done the numbers so most likely it'll cost you more for the warranty than the repairs would have cost you (unless you run into major problems). My opinion is that if you never buy an extended warranty for any car in your lifetime, you will probably come out ahead than if you had bought the extended warranties.

MB The Body

I chose not to get one

a4tis™[Bye Turbo]

business? They have crunched the numbers, and they know that their odds of making money off of you are better than you getting your money's worth.

Potomac-Greg

I think you need to look at it as a tradeoff. If you put a high value on peace-of-mind, then a warranty should protect you from unusual expenses and keep ownership costs under control.

One of these days, a car maker will come out with a cost-per-mile program that covers costs of repair and maintenance. Trouble is, that number is going to be scary. People are more willing to pay stupid money for repairs when they have no choice.

Lastly, warranty companies go bust pretty regularly. That kind of kills the "peace-of-mind." Policy holders get stuck.

Matt Devo

bought the car new, and could have purchased an extended warranty then, or before I hit 50K. I passed on it and haven't had an major expenses, but I do all my own work. At 91k now and plan to keep her for another 91 at least =)

shadyraven

If you've got the space and time, doing your own work is the way to go.

user 7208203

2nd