Apologies to Duncan - we tired old forumers get suspicious of anyone signing up and enthusiastically mentioning a product or service.

The AA one sounds fairly worthless then - they'll only pay the middle £450. Reminds me of the three bears - this repair bill's too small, this one's too big, this one's just right (and it can't be classed as wear and tear), so we'll actually pay out.

The AA one has changed since then. My excess is £35 and it does cover battery and belt failure etc, which would normally be classed as wear and tear. I was very sceptical too, Doofer but for £15 all in it might come in useful one day. I do most of my own stuff anyway and I am very fussy as to who touches my car, so a more substantial warranty would be a waste of money for me.

This is where the AA have been clever. With today's cars it is so easy to top £500 in repairs. Consider a DPF failure, clutch failure, power steering failure for example.

I'm still not ruling out getting an AA warranty despite my natural cynicism. You just have to see it for what it is - a bit of a contribution towards repairs, not complete peace of mind.

I'm generally anti-insurance, as they all make a profit so they must (on average) take more in premiums than they pay out. However, the Croma is a bit of a special case (as it's less reliable than average), so you could easily take more off them than you pay.

I also believe in sod's law, so I just know that as soon as I get insurance the bloody thing will start working perfectly. In that case I'm happy to pay £15 a month to keep the demons at bay.

This type of warranty decision also becomes much harder when you service your own vehicle. Most if not all warranties often state that the car must be annual serviced by a VAT registered garage. So for the DIY car mechanic the cost is a lot more than just the insurance premium.

All warranties will only pay out total claims up to the value of the vehicle. Vital you clarify in writing what they use to value your vehicle. I was given a vague "I think its parkers guide" reply. All the valuation websites vary enormously so beware.

"piece of mind" how much is that worth? whatever car my wife has we get warranty direct. of course its not perfect but it gives me piece of mind hey its a Fiat anything can go!so far only a water pump but with DMF's turbo's and injectors costing far too much for my mind as one off payments 20 pound a month gives me peice of mind if any of these things did go wrong......i'd have to pay a few hundred pound at best not a thousand plus out of my pocket

ban1111 said:

"piece of mind" how much is that worth? whatever car my wife has we get warranty direct. of course its not perfect but it gives me piece of mind hey its a Fiat anything can go!so far only a water pump but with DMF's turbo's and injectors costing far too much for my mind as one off payments 20 pound a month gives me peice of mind if any of these things did go wrong......i'd have to pay a few hundred pound at best not a thousand plus out of my pocket

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Have you ever added up how much you've paid them in total, and how much they've paid out? As their liability is limited anyway, could you be better off putting £20 a month into a piggy bank?

Doofer said:

Have you ever added up how much you've paid them in total, and how much they've paid out? As their liability is limited anyway, could you be better off putting £20 a month into a piggy bank?

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Good point about Self insuring. I'd have spent about £400 a year since May 2009 on warrentees if I took one out on my Stilo and then Bravo - £1600 to date.

On top of this I was looking at a policy that demanded a 10% contribution from me also due to mileage I do.

I've just had to spend £1300 on a massive unexpected repair on the Bravo, however this is still less than I'd have spent on warrentees - £1600, plus 10% of £1300, so £1730+.

All to do with how strict you can be at keeping that money in a pot and not touching it tbh.

Doofer said:

Have you ever added up how much you've paid them in total, and how much they've paid out? As their liability is limited anyway, could you be better off putting £20 a month into a piggy bank?

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hmm and what happens if you get that big bill after 4 month? £80 pounds is going to be really helpful when you have that £1000 bill for a turbo or £1200 for say DMF or injectors...It would be good if we could see into the future then i wouldn't pay fully comp insurance if i knew for sure i wouldn't be at fault
hell i'd pay third party if there was a way to know for sure my car wouldn't be nicked. as there seems to be no way for sure to guarantee the bravo wont get a big bill with today's extortionate prices, then for my piece of mind £240 a year
is well worth it...

ban1111 said:

hmm and what happens if you get that big bill after 4 month? £80 pounds is going to be really helpful when you have that £1000 bill for a turbo or £1200 for say DMF or injectors...It would be good if we could see into the future then i wouldn't pay fully comp insurance if i knew for sure i wouldn't be at fault
hell i'd pay third party if there was a way to know for sure my car wouldn't be nicked. as there seems to be no way for sure to guarantee the bravo wont get a big bill with today's extortionate prices, then for my piece of mind £240 a year
is well worth it...

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No different to playing the lottery tbh.

Most Easterly Pandas said:

No different to playing the lottery tbh.

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hmm struggling to see how one's use a policy of insurance to protect against big repair bills is compared to gaming? does the lottery guarantee to help with the repair bill if you get one?..

ban1111 said:

hmm struggling to see how one's use a policy of insurance to protect against big repair bills is compared to gaming? does the lottery guarantee to help with the repair bill if you get one?..

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Its gambling, you're gambling as to if the car will develop a fault, all insurance is a calculated gamble, just some insurance policies have bigger payouts, and higher premiums as a result. That's how insurance and gaming are compared, its all down to calculating odds.

Most Easterly Pandas said:

Its gambling, you're gambling as to if the car will develop a fault, all insurance is a calculated gamble, just some insurance policies have bigger payouts, and higher premiums as a result. That's how insurance and gaming are compared, its all down to calculating odds.

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your nuts! i am not gambling! i am protecting for the unexpected! i don't wont the unexpected to happen but if it does, i am protected!!!! your gambling and that's your right. imagine another unexpected big bill this year or next year and you might think different about warranty. of course its each to their own but warranty is not gambling!!!

ban1111 said:

your nuts! i am not gambling! i am protecting for the unexpected! i don't wont the unexpected to happen but if it does, i am protected!!!! your gambling and that's your right. imagine another unexpected big bill this year or next year and you might think different about warranty. of course its each to their own but warranty is not gambling!!!

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I'm not nuts, its exactly how insurance works and what it is, its statistical gambling. I'm just doing it in reverse, something I feel safe doing as I have a fairly good knowledge of cars and what is and isn't likely to fail.

As out of the £1300 bill I had only £700 was premature failure and £600 wear and tear parts, in all honesty I'm actually even better off.

Yes, my car could fail again, who knows. But with the mileage its now getting on it as I'm doing 20k miles a year, few companies will cover it. Some could call an unexpected costs part of life and something you should expect with anything.

I could win the lottery next week.....Its all a big gamble and what if's.

Out of interest do you take warranties out on everything then? Such as your TV, Fridge / Freezer etc

I agree - it is similar to gambling.

The problem with these warranties is that, by the sound of it, they don't actually protect you from anything much - your gearbox fails, and the policy will chip in perhaps a quarter of the cost, leaving you to find the rest. So that feeling of security may be misplaced.

I worked in insurance for 5 years. My conclusion is pretty simple - insurance companies pay out for staff salaries, office block running costs, company cars, taxes, meals out on expenses etc, etc. All this comes out of the premiums paid. Oh, and they pay out for a few claims too. At the end of all this, they still usually pay out less than they take in premiums and can hand over a big wad of cash to their shareholders as dividends from all their big fat profits.

So, statistically, it must almost always be the case that you will, on average, be worse off as a result of being insured.

Most Easterly Pandas said:

I'm not nuts, its exactly how insurance works and what it is, its statistical gambling. I'm just doing it in reverse, something I feel safe doing as I have a fairly good knowledge of cars and what is and isn't likely to fail.

As out of the £1300 bill I had only £700 was premature failure and £600 wear and tear parts, in all honesty I'm actually even better off.

Yes, my car could fail again, who knows. But with the mileage its now getting on it as I'm doing 20k miles a year, few companies will cover it. Some could call an unexpected costs part of life and something you should expect with anything.

I could win the lottery next week.....Its all a big gamble and what if's.

Out of interest do you take warranties out on everything then? Such as your TV, Fridge / Freezer etc

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no they are bought new and come with 2 years warranty after that there worth is limited so if they did go wrong after 2 or 3 years i would merely replace.. but the cars different the value is higher as are costs so and i say again for peace of mind the wife has warranty on her Fiat.. now can i ask you do you have third party only on your cars? if not why not?

I am not a big fan of warranties, but sometimes the price does warrant the piece of mind. For example I pay £2.99 a month for my fridge freezer which covers me for parts and labour, plus new for old if a repair isn't possible/viable. It may never go wrong but I don't notice the money going out each month. The same with my AA warranty; it's good to know that if something goes wrong while I am away, at least it can be repaired at a nearby garage without me worrying too much about the cost. If it's something that's going to cost an extortionate amount of money (or it's not covered) then the Relay will get it back to sunny Cornwall, where I can evaluate my options.
Incidentally Quentin just popped up on the telly while I was reading the latest additions to this debate, so I did a quick quote with warranty wise and it came out at £48.98 a month!! That's one set of odds that I definitely won't be taking.

ban1111 said:

... now can i ask you do you have third party only on your cars? if not why not?

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Yes, third party for the last year. I previously had comprehensive with a £1000 excess. I used to save £150 per year by opting for the £1000 excess, so have saved £1500 over the last ten years and have never claimed.

I also believe you are statistically less likely to die or get injured (or injure others) if you have less insurance. By making a crash into a big deal financially, you reduce the risks you take while driving. It really annoys me when people talk about having a "bump" while driving - crashing your car into something should be a big deal.

I also have a £1000 excess on the home contents insurance - it's there for when the house burns down, not for minor mishaps.

Of course we don't have optional legal expenses insurance or any of the other extras they try and con you out of.

And we certainly don't have freezer insurance! I'd bet your freezer contents aren't worth much more than £36 (a year's premium) anyway. These policies must be 99% profit for them.

How much is your insurance?!! I pay just over £300 fully comp with all my mods disclosed and my excess is only £150.