Car Warranty - Frequently Asked Questions

If a warranty company refuses to pay you for what you believe is a legitimate claim, take these steps:

• Take you policy documents to the garage that has your car
• Have a garage provide a letter summarising their assessment of the problem using the same technical language as the warranty documents
• Send this to the warranty company, with a letter explaining how the garage's views is that the claim matches the terms of the warranty
• If the garage opinion and terms of the warranty clearly show you should be paid, then the warranty company should pay
• Tell them you will take them to the small claims court if they don't pay

See the next point 'I am in dispute' with my car warranty company to find out more on how to do this

I am in dispute with my car warranty provider - what can I do?

 If a warranty company won't pay out on your claim, and you think they should, follow these steps:

• Put your complaint in writing.
  
• Try to include a letter from the Garage supporting your claim that the problem is caused by an insured part.
• Send copies of the relevant part of your policy.
• Write "complaint" at the top of your letter. And make sure you include important details like your customer number or your policy or account number.
• Keep things brief and to the point. Set out the facts clearly and in a logical order. Say why you're not happy and what you want the business to do about it. This will make it easier for them to look into the problem and sort things out.
• Keep a copy of any letters between you and the business. You may need to refer to them later.

Ultimately, if the warranty company is not prepared to back down and you believe you are right, or if you are not sure of your rights, contact the Financial Services Ombudsman:

• Consumer helpline on 0300 123 9 123
  (8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday)
  They'll be happy to phone you back, if you're worried about the cost of calling us.
• Email complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk
  They will usually be able to deal with phone queries on the spot - so phoning might be quicker than emailing.

How do I get best value from my warranty?

There are 3 key things that will help you get good value from your warranty:

1. Buy the best level of cover that you can afford
2. Put your policy documents in the car and  make sure you and the garage consult them whenever you take the car in for a service or MOT.
3. Keep the warranty for as long as possible - it's obvious really, but statistically, if you hold a warranty for more than 3 years you are more likely to need to claim and more likely to get paid back more than you have

Are car warranties worth it?

A used car warranty provide peace of mind and protect the second largest asset you are likely to own from being made worthless overnight.

While certain smaller components are never covered, all the major surprise bills will be covered by a good independent warranty.

While none of the car warranty companies have a perfect record on paying out, most pay out more often than they don't and Warranty Expert can help you make sure you get treated fairly by your car warranty provider.

If your car is worth a sum of money that is significant to you, then having a warranty to ensure a major failure doesn't render it too expensive to repair is sensible.

The key clauses to look for in a warranty are:

Does it cover you for failure caused by wear?
This means if a covered part fails and the failure is as a result of wear you are covered. AVOID policies which only cover premature wear or charge extra for wear or dont cover wear at all.

Does it cover failure of parts as a result of overheating?
Overheating claims account for a large proportion of all warranty claims and cause big bills - you need cover on your cylinder head and cooling system.

Does it cover failure found at a service or MOT?
Your car is up on a ramp 2 or 3 times every year and this is when a garage will find problems on your car. Make sure you have this valuable cover.

Does it cover failure caused by non insured parts?
An example of this is an alternator belt braking and getting caught in the timing belt causing engine failure and a very big bill.

Does it cover your suspension?
Shock absorbers and springs fail regularly causing regular car repair bills.

Visit our comparison table to see who covers all these.

It is very hard to provide full car warranty reviews because the policy documents and marketing materials from all the independent car warranty providers and car manufacturers vary enormously. It can feel like you are comparing oranges with lemons.

So Warranty Expert has created a car warranty comparison table that categorises the key elements of cover you need to be considering before buying an extended car warranty.

We also publish the marketing materials for every car warranty on the market so that you can use these as car warranty reviews. Reading through the marketing of the car manufacturer extended car warranty, then looking at the offer made by the independent car warranty provider is about as close as you can get to a full car warranty review.

As you read you can see which ones offer most - if a company doesn't offer a certain benefit or is cagey about what parts they cover, then you have to question if they are going to pay you when you make a claim.

Our advice when reviewing car warranties is to buy the best cover from the company that ‘speaks most clearly.'

You need to be careful about how much weight you give to car warranty reviews on forums. Most of the people who are motivated to post car warranty reviews on a forum are angry because their claim has not been paid. What you don't know is if they breached the terms of the warranty, such as not getting the car serviced.

If Warranty Expert discovers that warranty companies are not being fair and reasonable about paying their claims, we will review whether to take them off this website. Please contact us if you have had a problem with your car warranty provider.