Extended warranty

I don't know about Australia as I'm in the UK but personally I wouldn't consider it for myself. You need to ask yourself a few questions:

* Are you likely to keep the car longer than 3 years? Sounds obvious but I get itchy feet and trade in by then!
* Will you get that cost back if you do trade in or sell - You won't, for sure!
* How reliable is the extended warranty? They are rarely as comprehensive as original manufacturer and may well have mileage, wear, parts and labour limits. You need to read the small print very carefully. It's an insurance policy after all and the dealer gets a sizeable commission for selling it.

** You can buy similar or probably even exactly the same at any time during the first 3 years you own the car so why stump up a lot of money in advance for something you might not want?
The odd occasion I've kept a car ( Audi and BMW ) past 3 years the manufacturer has contacted me near the end and offered extended warranty anyway.

Just my opinion of course but I wouldn't rush into it.

Bob

hi MyMerc,

me again,
Did some research online, downloaded a few contract Terms and conditions.

OMG ..could not figure out what they all mean...the lists of inclusions and exclusions go on for pages.
you would have to be a mechanical engineer to understand what they all mean
..and who knows how they get applied ....until you make a claim.

It really comes down to how much you are willing to pay for some 'piece of mind'.


I decided not to go down that path. My reasoning:
Australia has some reasonable consumer advocacy laws, they could be better, they could be worse.
Basically they say that a product has to be fit for purpose ...so if it turns out not to be so ....the place of sale has to offer some remedy.
The grey areas creep in as the product ages and what is typical 'wear and tear' ie usage.
If my GLC suffers some large failure with a big spend to fix, then I should be able to get some or all of this covered, even outside of the warranty period. You don't need 'extra' insurance for this. But you might have to be willing to negotiate towards the fair outcome for all parties. The obligations of the place of sale does not end at the expiry of the Warranty.


Of course your evaluation and perspective on this may be different to mine. But given the complexities in these contracts, it's a tough call.