Broncboarder

I'm currently in the middle of buying my first Audi, a 2004 Audi A4 1.8T with 61k on it. I'm trying to decide if I should purchase the extended warranty for 3 years and cost about $2,000. Does anyone know if this is a must with Audi's or am I wasting money by purchasing it?

juttin

The warranty could save you on a costly repair. I just got a 05 a4 with 55k miles and am thinking about it. I do have a 99.5 a4 with almost 300k and have done most repairs myself saving me a lot of money since I didn't have warranty after 50k. Most repairs were small axles , control arms , abs unit , ignition things ,vacuum related hoses and parts. You gota see what warranty will cover. If engine or tranny blow next week will you have money for replacement that would be rare but do you have all sevice history for cars past 60k miles?

lyleswk

You need to do just what juttin said; study the warranty and see what it covers. I am pretty sure none of them cover maintenance items (timing belt...which you probably need to do soon, brakes, etc), so you still have to figure that in the cost of buying. Most of the ones I have been exposed to feel more like "maintenance prepayment" than insurance.

Broncboarder

It does seem to have a clean carfax and the dealer is paying for the 60 mile inspection and if anything needs to be repaired, he is covering those costs. I totally here what you are saying if something major needs to be replaced, but I assumed that would have come up in this inspection that they are doing. I know that I will have to replace the timing belt at 75k, but the warranty won't cover that. Have you decided if you are going to get it for your 05?

Broncboarder

That is what I am hesitant about in buying the warranty. The fact that it won't cover the maintenance and have heard there can be certain loop holes where the warranty company can get out of paying for something saying that wasn't included in the warranty.
Have you had experience with warranties?
Thanks for your reply

Bruce M

I have sold over 4000 extended warranties, and most of those to Audi owners. If you want to discuss here I'm happy to, or if you want to email me contract, price, term, etc I can give you my opinion on if what you're looking at is worthwhile.

No extended warranty covers routine maintenance. That is always the responsiobility of the owner. Oil changes, tune-ups, etc. Timing belt job is expensive, but it's just routine maintenance as well. They also will not cover consumables or defined-life items (brake pads, filters fluids, spark plugs, etc). And anything non-electrical or mechanical in nature (glass, upholstery, body panels, chrome, etc). These are not warranties in the legal sense of the word. They are mechanical and electrical breakdown policies, so keep that in mind when shopping.

My email is brucem105@comcast.net.

Bruce

lyleswk

I will give you my 2 experiences with extended warranties and why I took them although they are very different from yours. Note they were both factory backed which I believe makes a difference. Also note I am not saying don't do it, just make sure you know what you are buying and decide for yourself if the situation (state of the car, knowledge of previous work done, potential Audi weak spots like CVT, your financial situation, risk taking nature, can you work on your own car, etc) makes sense.

1) 1985 (yes I,m old) and I am buying my first car out of college; a 1984 Nissan 300ZX turbo (which I still have). Car listed for $27K and change (yeah a lot back them), they were asking $20K, it had about 1000 miles on it, and had been a demo for a year or so. I paid about $750 for a 7 year / 100K (versus 3 year / 30K standard) factory backed (let me say again) factory backed warranty that was bumper to bumper and included interior bits. Primary consideration was that it was a first year model with a the new VG30 V6 motor and that the design wasn't completely sorted out yet. Over the 4 years that the extended warranty covered (I reached the time before the miles), I basically broke even (maybe saved $200) as all of the "design wasn't sorted out" items were taken care of in the first 3 years of the standard warranty.

2) Fast forward to 2000 and a wife and 3 boys later, I am buying a year old Mercedes ML320 with 17K miles that was a Starmark car. They offered me a 10 year / 100K factory back extended warranty for $1200. I snapped it up again becuase the ML I bought was an early second year truck, Mercedes had never really done mass production trucks (the G's don't count as mass production in my book) and I knew that one major item would more than pay for itself. Well, I had 2 big items, one dealing with suspension which I think was more of a dealer blunder an a transfer case. Those 2 alone were in the $4000 range, so it definitely paid for itself.

hdmyers

up to you...that's low miles. Change the timing belt and pay your own maintenance. ...too much fine print in the warranty.

mwspera

Here is the deal:

German cars generally require about $600 (retail) per quarter (3 months) in maintenance. These aftermarket warranties cover some of it. VW/Audi has ignored chronic problems for 20 years (plastic coolant outlets that leak, crap door wiring insulation, weak heater cores and evaporators, etc.). Audis also have extensive computer controls in just about every part of the car (each door has its own controller!). There are 11 or so computers in my 2003 A4. They are all prone to sporadic failures because they are made to meet a price point, not a reliability metric. All this gives their dealers a guaranteed annuity stream fixing all their known design and materials defects. The aftermarket warranties are usually only covering major drivetrain components, not the constant electrical problems. So, a majority of the failures are generally not covered, or they are horrendously expensive to cover.

Anecdotal Data Point:
I had a warranty on an old 1983 VW Quantum (Audi 4000). The trans went and the $750 warranty saved me $2500 in repairs and $450 in car rental. I got the warranty for free as a trade for the dented bumper cover that magically appeared after I paid for the car just before I picked it up. The dealer also waived the $100 deductable because they took so long to fix the trans (6 weeks). They kept ordering parts but discovered they needed more. This one saved me but I would never have paid for the coverage. I got lucky negotiating it as a trade for the damage.

The CVT trans in my Audi A4 costs just North of $7000 to replace. Audi won't repair them, they need to be replaced. Or, you can take your chances with an independent rebuilder and get it done for $5000. These warranties USUALLY cover this. BUT!!!! The maintenance schedule shows you need the trans fluid and filter changed at 105,000 miles. The cost? $750 because NOBODY but Audi makes the filter ($350) or the fluid ($150). And, few independents will touch that trans so you are stuck going to the (overpriced) dealer for the labor. Some warranties require that you provide proof that you had the scheduled service performed on the failed part(s). If the trans fails and you never had the juice/filter changed, they will likely deny the claim. Also, some warranties will only cover you by providing a rebuilt trans and not a new one.

The heater cores clog in these cars. With a warranty they may cover replacement, but they will likely make you get it flushed, which is usually only a temporary fix. Most warranties don't cover it at all. Again, some that do may also require scheduled service. Audi usually calls for a cooling system flush every 30k or 60k miles. If you cannot prove it was done, they likely will deny the claim.

Break the timing belt and trash the valves? You need to prove you did the timing belt AND the tensioner at the scheduled interval or they can deny the claim.

So, they are a crap shoot. You should read the contract carefully before you agree to it. Have an attorney read it. The repairs these cars USUALLY need are not covered. Those that are covered can come with an asterisk (some goofy exception or condition where they can deny the claim). Think about it, who would provide insurance for any amount of money if they KNOW the car will cost more to fix? Not a very sustainable business model...

Good Luck,
Mike

Broncboarder

Thanks for all your feedback and input, I really appreciate it.