I just bought an 04 A4 1.8T FWD CVT w/ 55K on it. I am looking at a warranty from CARCHEX, for somewhere on the order of 3K that is bumper to bumper and for 4yrs/48K miles. What do you think?

 

Depends on what it includes, deductible, labor rate, etc. Find a mechanic you trust and have him read the contract.

 

The deductible is $100 and the labor rate is based on the national average. I was told by the guy at the stealership that typically, the amount of money you would pay for such a warranty is a waste; rather, I should just set aside the same amount and pay for repairs as I go, as Audi's tend to be fairly durable. However, upon reading on this forum, it seems that problems seem frequent, which is why I am considering this. Let me know what you think.

Thanks

 

My audi service advisor told me I shouldn't own an Audi without one. So far I have had $2600 worth of repairs covered with my extended warranty. I'm sure more stuff will need to be replaced and I have only had the policy since May (I think). Guess it depends on what you want to pay. I like the peace of mind and spreading out the cost of repairs (at 0% interest by the way).

 

What 3rd party warranty do you recommend? I have a year left on the CPO one, but I want to keep the car forever , so I will need to get another at some point.

 

I have the extended certified pre-owned warranty from Audi and it's really nice. I've been through 2 fuel pumps, had my lighting system fixed, mass airflow sensors, and altinator repaired all under warranty. Towing was free and they provided me with a free loaner vehicle for the duration of repair. Lets face it, nobody expects to break down, especially in a high end car, but it happens. Having the peace of mind to not have to pay out of pocket and be covered is a really nice thing to not have to worry about.

 

I have a bumper-to-bumper extended warranty from Warranty Direct ($0 deductible, 48 months or to 100,000 miles). I got it for about $3k and have already had repairs up to $2600. I've only had it since last December (about 9 months) and it's already pretty much covered itself!

My recommendations on a warranty company is to worry about labor rate...make sure you have no problems with that because that's what's so expensive to repair these beautiful german cars. On top of that, make sure that you don't have to pay for it up front and submit a "claim" to get reimbursed. The warranty company should have to pay up front for your repair!

Many times, the warranty premium will go up after another calendar year goes by, so pick it up before 2009. I picked mine up on December 30th, 2007 and saved around $200 just for doing it in the 2007 calendar year.

I wouldn't recommend having an Audi without a warranty to anyone. Yeah, they last great and the PARTS are usually not too expensive...it's the labor to get to repairing the parts that's expensive.

Good luck shopping!

 

Ask the shop you will be taking it too, generally they deal with those guys and know who the least problematic people are.

 

research. warrantiesgonewild.com