Eglu Go With 2m Run For Sale

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I've got another thread going about buying a new car, but thought a separate thread on this topic might be spotted by more people who may have opinions/advice .

 

The pre-registered car we're looking into has lifetime Vauxhall warranty (worth £500) but I gather you are tied to using a Vauxhall approved garage (for everything, presumably?) and have to "activate" it each year or it's void.

 

I currently use a small private local garage which I trust. I don't like the big faceless dealerships we'd have to use where it takes ages to get an appointment and it's really inconvenient location-wise.

 

Is the benefit of a lifetime warranty really worth these fairly minor annoyances?

[Snowy]

We had the same query recently with a Citroen - but we challenged them as we also have a reliable local garage. Turns out it remains valid as long as they use genuine Citroen parts, I don't think they can tie you to a specific garage. Might be worth checking?

[merlina]

No! (generally speaking)

As you say they tie you in to very expensive servicing etc

I've been very unimpressed with our vauxhall dealership (they said I needed a whole new expensive rear window heater, I actually needed a fuse ) - they don't seem

'interested'

It's really a case of weighing up how catastrophic it would be if something went seriously wrong vs the cost/irritations of the warranty

Unless you are unlucky enough to have a real 'Friday afternoon car' (in which case the dealership should fix it anyway) the lifetime warranty isn't worth maintaining

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I think you've both confirmed my gut feeling . I did ask Arnold Clark about using my own garage and he confirmed if they use genuine parts it's OK but I wonder if I'd have jump through hoops to claim on the warranty. I take it you have to pay up front then claim the money back from Vauxhall?

[Space Chick]

I had a brand new Astra (company car years back) and they tried to get out of the warranty because I had tyres from Kwik Fit

 

To be honest, whilst I like Vauxhall cars (hubby has an Astra now) I wouldnt trust them with warranties.

[Olly]

I was going to say the same as above - the small print usually says that they must use Vauxhall (or Ford or whatever) parts, but you don't have to use a Vauxhall dealership, although of course they'd like you to. There will usually be exclusions, e.g. it won't cover wear and tear so things like cam belts and tyres and so on aren't covered and they don't usually cover filters and so on that are usually replaced on a service.

 

Personally I wouldn't bother - add up the cost of the warranty + the cost of using Vauxhall not generic parts + the cost of having it serviced perhaps more regularly than you would otherwise do, against the likelihood of something going wrong that is covered by the warranty ... doesn't work for me. Also, if you resold it in a couple of years would you be able to assign the warranty (and would it be attractive to another buyer)?

[donald]

Hi

 

I did a 3 year service contract with Citroen which was good as I did a lot of mileage however we had an extra top Warranty with Land rover for our Freelander and it was an utter waste of time, we had a problem early on and they wriggled and ducked out of it, after initially saying it was under warranty etc.

 

I had a company car Toyota Avensis and it had just been delivered. A couple of buttons disappeared into the dash board an hour after it was delivered brand new. I remember thinking if I had just bought this I would be very upset. One day I noticed the bumper un-clipped, I leant on it and it just popped back on. I found out that Toyota had cut back on the amount of clips they used in their cars. So hence everything popping off. Another friend had a major brake failure with her Avensis on M25 and was told she was very lucky to not have been killed. It was around the time there were lots of problems with the brakes. Otherwise I was happy with my Avensis it was a nice car. I think its pot luck mostly like most things.

 

Yes been told it has to be ie whatever manufacturers it is parts. Most garages we use to buy in the branded parts etc.

 

A bit like you we have a couple of trusted local garages with good reputations and I have used them for years a lot cheaper etc and havent been ripped off.

 

Personally I wouldnt pay anymore out if I bought a new car. Most have a years warranty etc. Its no different to all the fridge/vacuum etc

My cheap little citroen C3 diseal has been the best car I have ever had its on 90K and has been very reliable(Cost £8k brand new in 2006)

Good luck though.