DallasDave

I'm contemplating purchasing an extended warranty and thought I would ask for some advice. Here's the scoop - I just purchased a 2020 S8 that has the original factory coverage until mid-July. The car has ~20k miles.

• Should I stick with an extended warranty through Audi?
  • It's $3,220 for two additional years (my mileage is so low, I'll never hit the warranty mileage limit)
  • There's a $250 deductible
  • Both local dealerships quoted me the same thing
• Are there other/third-party warranties that should be considered?
  • I have always been a little worried about third-party warranty claim rejections, but my only experience was many, many years ago
  • Are there any that are recommended AND are they less expensive that the "Audi option"?

I've always been anti-warranty, they have never been worth it to me in the past. When I purchased my 2016 CPO S8 Plus, I was quoted over $7,000. I laughed and firmly stated, "NO"...I think the finance manager was offended, lol. During my 55 month ownership, I probably paid around $4,500 in unscheduled repairs (motor mounts, air quality sensor, two or three O2 sensors, etc.). The most expensive repair was the turbo oil supply line screen, but Audi reimbursed me for that so it is not included in the figure. With the exception of the motor mounts and a few other repairs, I did all the work myself (front upper suspension arms, two of the O2 sensors, etc.).

So what's the verdict? I don't want to spend $3,200, but it seems almost reasonable based on my previous ownership experience.

aeggroup

2 year warranty IMO will not make any sense for 20K miles car. I had Fidelity and SNL warranties before and have not had any issues with any of them. I'd buy the plan for at least 4-5 years if possible ( depending on a price).

angrypengu

I generally stick with Audi. In Canada, I bought the 10 year 120,000km warranty for $3300 (note: I have connections). I think retail is like $4K or something. The warranty I bought is through the Audi Mechanical Breakdown Protection. It's as close to OEM as possible (e.g. Audi endorsed, but administered by Symtech Canada and underwritten by VW Canada).

I absolutely will not own a flagship vehicle like a D5 without warranty. One air spring is like $3000 (not that the air spring is covered in Canada. I believe it may be in the US). Devil is in the details. Read the T&Cs and know what you're buying/not buying, of course.

If I could buy warranty beyond 10 years, I would. $3K or $4k or $5k is nothing compared to the cost of repairing things on the D5.

Put it this way. Rocker arm failures are a possibility on the EA839 engine and those typically 'go' before 60,000 km. The repair job alone on that one is $3k+. The cool part about the one I bought is that if I go claims free, I get $2k off my next Audi or $1K back via a cheque in the mail (provided I actually 'drive' enough to meet the minimum threshold of mileage). Again - devil is in the contract

Not here to jinx myself, but say the BSG fails after the 7 year mark. The part alone is $1600...with labour, probably around $3K. So that's one repair versus an extended warranty...

aklim69

I would consider the manufacturer warranty or say a Carmax warranty but much of the aftermarket ones are a bit too dicey for my liking.

If a person thinks the warranty is to make money, they should NOT get it. The warranty is to MITIGATE risk. They will charge some money for that work and that's that. They get some money to MITIGATE your risk and you pay some for the same reason. I look at it as a "win-win" deal. You don't expose yourself to as much risk and they win if you don't have too many issues. OTOH, if you have a bunch of issues, they lose and your losses are capped. THAT is what you are paying for. So with that in mind, what is it you hope the warranty will do for you?

KK22

Get the Audi warranty, negotiate zero deductible if you can as a CPO.

KK22

Super deal. If I was offered 10 years for double that I would have taken it. I will revisit when my CPO runs out.

aklim69

Why? IIRC, manufacturers only have to keep parts available till the original warranty runs out. What good is your warranty if the part is not available?

KK22

I seriously have no idea of what you’re talking about.

aklim69

From what I read, a car manufacturer has to have parts to fix the car during the original warranty period. So if the car line ends in 2020 and the last warranty expires in 2025, then after 2025, they are not obligated to make parts available. So if you have an extended warranty till 2030 and your infotainment screen fails in 2027, the problem I see arises when you have an extended warranty that will fix it BUT Audi has decided that it isn't profitable to keep making infotainment screens for that car. So, how would you get it fixed?

Torque450

It's availability for 12-15 years after final series production for parts from Kassel (VWG central warehouse). For example, I could still order air suspension parts for my 2006 A6 Allroad in 2020.

On the warranty question, I would also not have a D5 A8 without a warranty - in the UK I will stay with an Audi one to give me the highest chance of the part being covered under warranty!