ACHiPo289

While I declined the extended warranty at the time I picked up the car, I am still considering adding it. The logical side of me sees extended warranties as a money making scheme for the dealer and insurance company. However when looking at all the beautiful tech gadgets in the car, I can't help seeing price tags on the MMI motorized screen, the display, the computers, etc. I plan to hang onto the car for many years (~10), and I don't put a lot of miles on my car (~6k/year).

The dealer sells the Advantage Plan from Protective Asset Protection. Supposedly covers all non-consumable items for $100 deductible at any ASE-certified shop (doesn't need to be a dealer). It is transferrable or refundable for the unused portion.

Does anyone have any experience with this company or coverage?

They quoted $2,399 for 84 months / 75k or $3,470 for 120 months / 75k.

Thanks.

vuvision

The only warranty that I purchased was the tire & wheel. IIRC, they'll repair curb rash up to two times a year. Replace cracked or damaged wheels caused by pot holes. With the 20" wheels in our A7, and the bad roads around the areas that I frequent, this is a no brainer for me.

I've had similar tire & wheel warranty with my previous vehicle MB with AMG wheels, I've damaged one and cracked another in 1 1/2 yrs span. I believe the cost was over $1K per wheel, but N/C for me.

dbs427

Would love to know what people are getting quoted for Platinum warranties out there.

Am attaching a sheet that the dealer gave me that shows purported remit costs and MSRPs for various levels of the Platinum package. I think both figures are way inflated, and that these really do present a lot of pure profit for the dealer. Would love to understand what the true cost to the dealer is of these plans.

I was offered the following by the dealer for the Platinum package:

5 Yr/100K for $3,750
6 YR/100K for $4,427

Would want a 7 yr/100K, which matches my driving ~15K/yr.

Does anyone have a more reliable insight into the true cost of these plans are? Would imagine that are dealers (even my own) who could be a regular on these forums, is I would understand them not wanting to divulge true costs. I'm the kind of guy who is absolutely willing to give a reasonable profit to a dealer in exchange for reasonable value, but want to understand what's reasonable in the first place!

raslam77

I too declined - Not planning on having it that long...

Ali Nassiff

I was going to go with a GMPP (general motors protection plan) I have untill Sept 2011 to decide and lock in the price but from what I priced out it's way cheaper than going with the audi plan.

ACHiPo289

Seems really expensive: ~$2k/ year. I got a second quote for Fidelity Platinum (not Audi, but I think the same): $3,900 for 7yrs 70k miles, and supposedly much better coverage than the Advantage. That's still $1,300/yr.

I'm going to take my chances and go the self-insured route. I have a great independent shop close by that recommended that approach as well.

dbs427

You are dead on correct that it seems expensive -- especially because these kinds of policies are likely pure profit for dealers.

I'm not sure we're talking apples to apples, though (e.g. is Advantage different than Platinum?). Also know that aftermarket policies may or may not be the same as dealer offered policies in terms of who does the labor, what's covered and with what replacement parts, etc.

Not advocating dealer over aftermarket, just pointing out what I've learned in that in comparing policies and costs, it's helpful to match the same kind of policies as closely as you can.

Finally, in terms of math, the policies offered to me extend the coverage for at least 1.3 yrs. As standard warranty is 4 years/40K, with my driving 15K/yr, the warranty will be gone after 2.6 years (I will reach the year minimum far before I hit a 100K mileage limit).

This means that the 5 yr/100K policy extends the warranty 3.3 years at $1125/year at the quoted cost; the 6 YR/100K policy extends the it by 6.3 years at $699/year.

Looking at your policy, the 7 YR/70K coverage extends the basic warranty by 2 years, or 30K miles -- you will reach 70K after 4.6 years assuming you drive 15K/yr.

Which means that in terms of the way I am calculating this, your policy is $1950/year.

This is not meant to be anything but pointing out how I approached calculating the value of these kinds of policies -- by how much cost they are above the free 4/40 policy -- and the benefit to me based on that cost and what I figure my driving habits to be, what the policy actually covers, and what I think is a reasonable piece of mind in case something goes awry.

ACHiPo289

See my comments below:

dbs427

Agreed -- a "dealer" offered extended warranty option can very well be (or may always be, for that matter) a contract with a third-party provider. The one offered by my dealer is serviced through Fidelity Warranty Services.

The variance comes in what the policy covers, and how. i.e., do these policies include deductibles, can you use any mechanical service or only specific repair shops/dealerships, limitations on labor costs associated with repairs covered under warranty, on the process of filing claims, is the warranty transferable, the cancellation policy, etc. etc. This is true whether you are engaging an extended warranty through your dealer or in the aftermarket.

Not sure what you mean by exclusionary -- the Platinum level seemed to cover the most parts/circumstances out of all options; I don't know what the Protective Advantage Plus consists of or how it differs.

As to the math, the way I look at it is based on the standard warranty, and is highly dependent on your mileage per year.

If you are only driving 6K/year (which is really low compared to national averages in the ages between 20 and 64 -- http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/onh00/bar8.htm), you would hit 70K in 11.6 years. This means you would hit the time minimum of 7 years well before the mileage of 70K.

If that's the case, the benefit to you of this policy is an additional 3 years over the already free/standard 4 year/40K policy.

Amortizing the cost of the policy per year that way is $1,300 per extra year of coverage that the policy gives you.

That's the way I look at it, anyway.

ACHiPo289

I don't fully understand what "exclusionary" means either, but I believe it has something to do with specifically excluding what's not covered, i.e. if there are a 5,000 parts on a car that could fail, but the tires, brake pads, rotors, wipers, bulbs, etc. are excluded, then everything else (90+%)is covered.

The math now makes sense. The Fidelity Platinum coverage is ~$1300/year of coverage and the Advantage policy is ~$600/year ($3,500 for 6 add'l years/70k miles).

I still think I'll take my chances.