I'm just in the process of buying a Fiat 500 Twinair Cult. It is a demo model with v low mileage. Bristol Street motors offers a further 3 year extended warranty on the same terms as the manufacturer's warranty, but it includes full AA membership for the three years. It costs £600. This warranty has to be bought at the time of purchase as it is a BSM warranty not one of the separate stand alone warranties sold later in the sale process. Any advice welcome! Thank you.
500 New member: is an extended warranty worth it?
- Thread starter Fionna
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500 New member: is an extended warranty worth it?
Hello, and welcome to FF,
your FIAT should have 3 years warranty anyway..so is this 3 + 3 = 6 years..??
you can buy your own warranty from a broker..(eg. warranty direct)
charlie
your FIAT should have 3 years warranty anyway..so is this 3 + 3 = 6 years..??
you can buy your own warranty from a broker..(eg. warranty direct)
charlie
ahmett
Prominent member
I would not go for it. It probably has many hidden terms and conditions in the small print that may let you down 5 years into ownership of the car.
How old is this demo model?
We bought our 'brand new' TA at the very end of last November and it came with the remaining 20 months Fiat warranty (it had been registered 31st July 2013) and of course the Fiat 3rd year dealer warranty comes with it. You will get a letter of confirmation from Fiat about the 3rd year warranty if you buy the car, as although technically you won't be the first owner (the garage will be listed on the V5 as the first registered owner), you will still get it. Be carefull about this though, I noticed on our paperwork that the garage charged us at the point of sale for the transfer of the 3rd year warranty. If you do the deal, make sure you negotiate this as a freebie.
Personally, if it were me, I wouldn't buy the extended warranty, but that suits my circumstances. I'm no financial advisor and what you choose to do is your own choice. Be aware though that as Charlie has stated, you can buy perfectly good extended warranty cover from online providers (just do your research) and GAP cover can be had for a third of the price that some dealers offer it at.
We bought our 'brand new' TA at the very end of last November and it came with the remaining 20 months Fiat warranty (it had been registered 31st July 2013) and of course the Fiat 3rd year dealer warranty comes with it. You will get a letter of confirmation from Fiat about the 3rd year warranty if you buy the car, as although technically you won't be the first owner (the garage will be listed on the V5 as the first registered owner), you will still get it. Be carefull about this though, I noticed on our paperwork that the garage charged us at the point of sale for the transfer of the 3rd year warranty. If you do the deal, make sure you negotiate this as a freebie.
Personally, if it were me, I wouldn't buy the extended warranty, but that suits my circumstances. I'm no financial advisor and what you choose to do is your own choice. Be aware though that as Charlie has stated, you can buy perfectly good extended warranty cover from online providers (just do your research) and GAP cover can be had for a third of the price that some dealers offer it at.
If (IF!) that continues the warranty on the first two years of warranty terms and you're not mechanically minded or confident, I'd certainly take a punt on that, especially if the AA cover is a decent grade. Bear in mind the twinair has yet to prove itself over the longer term- towards the end of the six years that could start to pay for itself.
The terms are vital though- if it's terms as per the third year warranty, maybe not, and if it's worse than those definitely not. I presume they tie you in to servicing at BSM for the warranty- again if you're not confident about these sorts of things that might not be a huge deal breaker.
<awaits barrage of people saying that everything that could possibly go wrong on a twinair could be fixed by a monkey for the price of a packet of crisps and a snickers, people who go for extended warranties are mugs, etc. etc.>
Agreed, reading the T's&C's of any warranty are absolutely vital. The small print in these can reveal things you might never have envisaged.
I've just turned down a servicing plan because despite the nice looking leaflet, there were no T/C's attached to it and I couldn't be arsed anyway to sit down and start trawling though whatever they might have had.
Going back to the third year warranty. When I first joined this forum, there were people absolutely adamant (and I bet they remain so), that the 3rd year dealer warranty was crap and they wouldn't spend the £27 on transferring it across to themselves as a subsequent owner in the third year. To be honest, even with our old POP, if as the second or subsequent owner and it only had six months remaining in that 3rd year, I'd still have bought the warranty because as it turned out, buying that 3rd year warranty saved me and the missus over £1k at Fiat's parts and labour rates on the items that were replaced.
Warranties are safeguards, so good, some not so good and as always whether or not to buy one, is a personal choice/risk.
I certainly wouldn't buy it just for the sake of breakdown cover. For 3 years I bought full UK RAC joint cover with recovery etc, for £56 exchanging Tesco vouchers. I no longer need to do that because I now have a bank account which charges a tenner a month that provides breakdown cover on both our vehicles (plus I get worldwide travel insurance and mobile phone insurance included in that cover) and the bonus is, it doesn't actually cost me anything in real terms because the interest I make monthly on my current account covers the 10 quid a month anyway!
I think if you only keep the car for a couple of years, then the extended warranties might not be so great, but if you are in it for the long term, then it could work out for you. I thought I was in it for the long term with our old POP but the TA sparked our imagination. Jeez, we didn't even take the bloody thing for a test drive before we bought it, we listened to one on a youtube video and took the plunge....scary or what! At least it did come from a Fiat dealer.
I've just turned down a servicing plan because despite the nice looking leaflet, there were no T/C's attached to it and I couldn't be arsed anyway to sit down and start trawling though whatever they might have had.
Going back to the third year warranty. When I first joined this forum, there were people absolutely adamant (and I bet they remain so), that the 3rd year dealer warranty was crap and they wouldn't spend the £27 on transferring it across to themselves as a subsequent owner in the third year. To be honest, even with our old POP, if as the second or subsequent owner and it only had six months remaining in that 3rd year, I'd still have bought the warranty because as it turned out, buying that 3rd year warranty saved me and the missus over £1k at Fiat's parts and labour rates on the items that were replaced.
Warranties are safeguards, so good, some not so good and as always whether or not to buy one, is a personal choice/risk.
I certainly wouldn't buy it just for the sake of breakdown cover. For 3 years I bought full UK RAC joint cover with recovery etc, for £56 exchanging Tesco vouchers. I no longer need to do that because I now have a bank account which charges a tenner a month that provides breakdown cover on both our vehicles (plus I get worldwide travel insurance and mobile phone insurance included in that cover) and the bonus is, it doesn't actually cost me anything in real terms because the interest I make monthly on my current account covers the 10 quid a month anyway!
I think if you only keep the car for a couple of years, then the extended warranties might not be so great, but if you are in it for the long term, then it could work out for you. I thought I was in it for the long term with our old POP but the TA sparked our imagination. Jeez, we didn't even take the bloody thing for a test drive before we bought it, we listened to one on a youtube video and took the plunge....scary or what! At least it did come from a Fiat dealer.
This is incredibly helpful...and the generous response from you and others provides a real 'feelgood' factor in becoming a Fiat500 owner. Thank you one and all (does everyone who has so kindly responded get this response? I'm a site-virgin!). I shall do some further research about the T&Cs and report back to the group. I have asked if the warranty terms are equivalent to the original manufacturer's warranty. I've been told that it comes with a 3 year warranty...not two... So the additional purchase of a warranty should take it to 6 years. I am bothered by suggestions that standalone late purchase warranties provide less cover so good to get a flags up about being cautious!
Interesting re your bank account. I've been wondering about upgrading from a standard to a premium account with Nationwide... Now will look again. Thanks +++Agreed, reading the T's&C's of any warranty are absolutely vital. The small print in these can reveal things you might never have envisaged.
I've just turned down a servicing plan because despite the nice looking leaflet, there were no T/C's attached to it and I couldn't be arsed anyway to sit down and start trawling though whatever they might have had.
Going back to the third year warranty. When I first joined this forum, there were people absolutely adamant (and I bet they remain so), that the 3rd year dealer warranty was crap and they wouldn't spend the £27 on transferring it across to themselves as a subsequent owner in the third year. To be honest, even with our old POP, if as the second or subsequent owner and it only had six months remaining in that 3rd year, I'd still have bought the warranty because as it turned out, buying that 3rd year warranty saved me and the missus over £1k at Fiat's parts and labour rates on the items that were replaced.
Warranties are safeguards, so good, some not so good and as always whether or not to buy one, is a personal choice/risk.
I certainly wouldn't buy it just for the sake of breakdown cover. For 3 years I bought full UK RAC joint cover with recovery etc, for £56 exchanging Tesco vouchers. I no longer need to do that because I now have a bank account which charges a tenner a month that provides breakdown cover on both our vehicles (plus I get worldwide travel insurance and mobile phone insurance included in that cover) and the bonus is, it doesn't actually cost me anything in real terms because the interest I make monthly on my current account covers the 10 quid a month anyway!
I think if you only keep the car for a couple of years, then the extended warranties might not be so great, but if you are in it for the long term, then it could work out for you. I thought I was in it for the long term with our old POP but the TA sparked our imagination. Jeez, we didn't even take the bloody thing for a test drive before we bought it, we listened to one on a youtube video and took the plunge....scary or what! At least it did come from a Fiat dealer.
TrevC
Established member
Fionna, all good advice above, especially reading the T&Cs. A few years ago I bought an approved used Mazda with a Mazda used car warranty, so I wasn't too bothered when the aircon failed. The dealer reported that it was a corroded aluminium pipe, and that pipes and hoses were not covered, that will be £600 to repair please!
Conversely, when a Renault we had reached 3 years old, we were invited to take out an extended warranty for a further 2 years by Renault, for £300. This was very comprehensive, and specifically included pipes, hoses and aircon in the items covered. I now use these items as my benchmark for appraising warranties!
Conversely, when a Renault we had reached 3 years old, we were invited to take out an extended warranty for a further 2 years by Renault, for £300. This was very comprehensive, and specifically included pipes, hoses and aircon in the items covered. I now use these items as my benchmark for appraising warranties!
Yep, the 500 does come with a three year warranty, but it's not quite that simple.
Years 1 and 2 are covered by FIAT directly- AFAIK this is a pretty good warranty and (dealer issues aside) there's generally not much that's excluded (trim, fair wear and tear parts such as brakes, tyres etc. come to mind). This transfers with the vehicle automatically. It's also worth mentioning that as a demo car the timer will be ticking on the warranty already.
Year 3 is a little different. This is commonly called a "dealer warranty" and has, historically, carried a longer list of restrictions and been a little more difficult to get stuff out of at times (presumably because it's the dealer paying).
HOWEVER, I've just been on the FIAT website (http://fiat.mopar.eu/fiat/uk/en/warranty-servicing) and found this:
FIAT UK Website said:
This either means that my memory is shot, or something has changed relatively recently. I'm pretty sure the warranty wasn't unlimited mileage either as recently as 2011, when we were looking for a car for a relative who was doing mega miles.
If you can confirm (in writing) it operates under the same terms as the FIAT warranty (which will almost certainly beat anything you'd buy from warranty direct type places), considering you've got a twinair I would definitely go for it. The piece of mind in year 5 or 6 would be worth it alone- I'll be amazed if we don't see some fairly serious repair bills once twinairs get past 4 or 5 years old. 18k miles/2 year servicing on a highly stressed turbo engine? No thanks.
Assuming you're planning on keeping the car for long enough/do enough miles to take full advantage of it!
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Yup, I completely undestand that some owners may have had difficulties with the 3rd year dealer warranty, but to be fair, with our old POP and despite the fact we did not buy the car from the previous Fiat franchise we used for servicing and warranty repairs, they never once complained or made excuses, they just called the Fiat assessor in who approved the work and the jobs were done. I was particularly surprised where the electric steering motor was concerned. That was picked up in the third year and replaced FOC.
That's who I'm with and I also recently upgraded my Lloyds account because they changed the terms on how much interest they paid on current accounts.
As always, make sure you do your research!
That's good to hear. As I highlighted above, I suspect that rather recently (post 2011) there have been some rather large changes to the third year warranty provision.
The presence of an assessor would sort of hint it's not so much a "dealer warranty" anymore as a "FIAT UK warranty"?
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Possibly, all I know is that they would not under any circumstances, carry out the work until an assessor had visited, so I was restricted to what day I could take the car in for repair.
In the case of the steering motor, they discovered that on a free diagnostic check. I pressed them on this about how it could 'show up'. They informed me they had only had one other vehicle that showed the same symptom in the previous couple of years, so hardly a common issue. They fixed it and I PX'd the car six months later.
Wow, Zanes. You're a star. I've just been looking through the Fiat website and you are right. If BSM confirm the further 3 yr extension is on the same terms then it is prob worth it. I also see, from looking at the FIAT website that it is possible to have 12m free roadside assistance when one has a Fiat dealer service, and given the initial roadside assist lasts for just 12m that is pretty handy..I think you have to sign up for a myFiat card to benefit.
Hence why I do annual servicing and swap out oil and filters every 5 to 7k on every car I own. I wouldn't ever put any faith in 2 year service intervals and that is my choice. I would say though, anything that is treated with a modicum of care and isn't stressed beyond the manufacturers intended parameters, stands a pretty good chance of faring well in the long run. Sadly, you will always get people pushing the boundaries and then blaming others for their lack of understanding of the limitations of the product. And thus, there will be people out there who treat their cars like white goods, run it until it breaks or stops or continually cane the backside out of it, and of course that is their choice.
As for the warranty Fionna is looking at, if it ticks all of the boxes for her, then she should go with what she feels is best for her situation.
I am not a fan of warranties. However, that is just my opinion, I would rather stick the 600 quid in a bank account.
My only advice would be:
Get BSM to confirm in writing that the further 3 yr extension is on the same terms as the original Fiat warranty.
I would be extremely surprised if it is. My tuppence worth.
I agree that we have to be careful about warranties... And have asked them to confirm in writing (thank you everyone) that it is one the same terms as the original Fiat warranty. If it is not I agree that it would be better to keep my £600 in the bank, get my car main Fiat dealer serviced and make use of the Fiat AA roadside assist free programme. I shall let you know the outcome.
Warranties (as so many have noted) are only as good a) as their terms and b) the quality of the dealer supporting the warranty. There is a reputational risk for dealers (that needs to improve in Fiat's case) that we can either help to build (if they are good) or publicise if poor. If the warranty is high quality then it improves the saleability of the car. If delivery against the warranty is also good...top banana from me. If poor then simply not worth the money. I did have a poor repair (not guarantee) experience from my dealer re paint chips. However the Managing Director stepped in and they resolved it really well. Hence me giving them a chance this time around.
So grateful to everyone for their precise feedback and also caution.
Warranties (as so many have noted) are only as good a) as their terms and b) the quality of the dealer supporting the warranty. There is a reputational risk for dealers (that needs to improve in Fiat's case) that we can either help to build (if they are good) or publicise if poor. If the warranty is high quality then it improves the saleability of the car. If delivery against the warranty is also good...top banana from me. If poor then simply not worth the money. I did have a poor repair (not guarantee) experience from my dealer re paint chips. However the Managing Director stepped in and they resolved it really well. Hence me giving them a chance this time around.
So grateful to everyone for their precise feedback and also caution.
Looks like you plan to keep this car for at least six years. Can you be so sure you will? Sorry for sounding a wee bit patronising, don't mean to be, forums are very difficult to say something without sounding like an arse.
Almost every car I have purchased I planned to keep for many years. Just never worked out that way, and probably kept most of them for no more than three years, most less than that. After the novelty wore off I would look for something new.
Almost every car I have purchased I planned to keep for many years. Just never worked out that way, and probably kept most of them for no more than three years, most less than that. After the novelty wore off I would look for something new.
PsFiat
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My car came with the standard 3 yr warranty, part of my negotiation with the dealer was an extended 3 year warranty which kicks in in year 4 of ownership ... I did not pay for it, I asked for it after I locked in the purchase price. The deal is that I have to have the car serviced at an authorised Fiat dealership. I'm happy to get my car serviced at my local dealership as it's only a 20 min walk from home... Other customers I've spoken to are quite ok with costs etc.
