Unsaltanium

Hello, I just signed for a 2024 A6 Allroad. It's my 1st luxury brand car, but my 8th car. The last five cars I bought new and kept for 10-15 yrs each. With respect to extended warranties, I have not taken them for cars in the past, instead following the principle that the warranty business is basically like a casino - ya win some ya lose some but in the overall scheme it's set up so the house comes out ahead, so in the long run you win by not playing. Now, for something like your home or your comprehensive auto insurance of course not having adequate coverage is an abysmally bad idea... But, this approach for car extended warranties so far seems to have served me well as I do not recall having to make repairs on any previous car that would have been covered and added up to the same or more than an extended warranty would cost. I wonder though if I should treat this new case as different, in that a) it's a significantly more expensive and complex vehicle than all the previous ones, and b) parts and labor are crazy expensive nowadays, fueled further by rather high inflation and the general state of an industry in flux. I live in Montreal so we do get winter, lots of potholes, and generally crappy roads. I have put only low to moderate mileage on my cars in the past - mostly in the 6,000-12,000 km/yr range - but I do hope/plan to be out and about more in the coming years so let's assume up to 20,000 km (12,500 miles) / yr.

I guess I'm still having a hard time getting my head around the possibility that I'm more likely to come out ahead by taking an extended warranty... again due to the aforementioned casino principle. In my mind they just wouldn't let that happen! For reference, on the chance that I would have 'won' by playing, I can tolerate some risk of paying out of pocket for repairs exceeding what the extended warranty would have cost, eg: if at the end of 10 yrs I look back and see that I spent, say, $4-5K more in out-of-pocket eligible repairs than the extended warrant would have cost, well, I wouldn't be happy but could probably stomach that - but just how bad can it get with these cars? Is there a realistic likelihood I'll have more than $15K in repairs (at today's prices) that would have been covered?

Anyone have thoughts / opinions to share on this?

michaeljk1963

I am in pretty much exactly the same boat as you, for all the same reasons (I like the casino model idea, which gives a name and conceptual framework to my decision never to get an extended warranty on a car in the past). I don't keep cars as long as you, and am not sure how long I will keep my 2024 AR. It is my understanding that you can buy an Audi extended warranty anytime before the original warranty expires. So, buying it when the car is new seems kind of silly, unless Audi gives you a better deal if you buy it when the car is new-er, and that did not seem to be the case. The other thing is, I don't know if I will want to keep the car for a long time until after I've owned it for a few years. This will depend both on the car and where things are with EV battery and charging technology (e.g. actual range and longevity). It is transferrable only if you sell the car third-party (as opposed to trading it in). I also want to see how many miles I am putting on it so I have a better idea of which plan to get (how many miles/years extension beyond the original). I tend to put quite a few miles on my cars (around 15K-18K), but maybe will do less with this car due to recent move, only working in the office two days a week now, and going to my cabin less frequently, but for longer periods.

Here's my plan.... After owning the AR for 3-3.5 years, I will review how long I still plan to keep the car (how well it continues to serve my needs). If I still think I want it for at least two years beyond the extended warranty, I will probably buy the Audi Pure Platinum Plan for 7 years and an extra 3 times the annual mileage I've put on it. I can say for sure, if I plan to keep this car more than four years, I will definitely be getting the Audi extended warranty (which will be my first time) for all the reasons you said, and truthfully because, although Audi offered the best set of features and car style I wanted in a car, it's reputation for reliability is not great and fixing them are stupid expensive.

Unsaltanium

Thanks very much for the input, you make many good points. They told me I can purchase the MBP later on during the 4 yr manufacturer warranty period but that the longer I wait the more expensive it gets. Not sure whether that's just due to inflation, a vehicle verification fee of some sort, just them trying to scare the money out of me now, or a combination of those things... I will squeeze them for more details on that. I am confident that I will be putting more miles on in the future due to expected changes in my current life situation (retiring soon) and that this is a vehicle that will suit my needs perfectly. As it is we keep using my wife's wagon to go everywhere instead of my sedan just for the added practicality - if I'm ponying up for a nice car I want to use it a lot. Still, it might be smart to wait and see now much mileage I really do add on (to tailor an MBP accordingly) and just how lucky/unlucky I am with this car in the first 4 years. Based on those two criteria I may have a better gut feeling over whether I want an MBP at all and if so how many miles to pay for (pretty sure I'd go the full 10 yrs with the car).

rmcd

Thanks for this thread. I also just signed the papers for a new A6 Allroad and got the same pitch for extended warranty. I declined --- for now. I appreciate the discussion and the "casino analogy". I think I'll stay out of Vegas. Or for my friend in Montreal ... Casino de Montreal .

Regard from up the 401 in Toronto.

pdxrapp

I also just purchased a 24 A6 Allroad. My first Audi, but my second VW group car (had a Jetta sportwagen manual TDI that I loved, but felt very deceived by the whole emissions scandal and thought I was done with the company). My last car was 2016 Volvo XC90 T8, and I had enough issues during the factory warranty that I opted for a 3rd party extended warranty offered by my dealer. The warranty recently expired because it had a relatively low mileage cap on it, and my annual miles picked up after I had purchased the warranty. But, I can tell you I definitely got my money's worth out of it, as I encountered multiple multi-thousand dollar repairs that were covered. But honestly, what made the 3rd party warranty worth it is my dealer did all the submissions for it and I never had to deal with submitting claims or anything like that.

I love my Allroad so far, but I will make my decision on an extended warranty once I decide how long I'm going to keep it, and what sort of relationship I have with the Audi dealers in my area after a few years. But I'm definitely leaning toward the idea that IF I decide to keep it beyond 5 years, that I will likely get an extended warranty just based on the complexity of the car and the high cost of repairs as described above.

Those of us with 24 Allroads also have the benefit of seeing how the earlier versions of the C8 perform over time, so should be some good info coming through in the next few years.