Extended warranty costs... exorbitant???

[eanders]

This is the quote I just got from Century Warranty Services (Costco's program):
3 YR, 36K mile
Deductible at 250: Price $7,508
Deductible at 500: Price $5,861
(price was like $9k for 100 deductible)

This is an exclusionary contract that covers wear and tear... probably the best coverage I've seen, but boy is it pricey. My beast has 72k miles on it - is near the cutoff for what they'll insure.

I have no point of reference for what others paid for "good" coverage, but this doesn't seem to make sense for me... will self-insure at these prices. Thoughts?

I am getting a quote from TSP at the advice of a forum member. Thanks

[twinsteve]

I paid $4,000 2 years ago for Fidelity Platinum (top of the line coverage from Audi) on my Audi with 45,000 miles....

[lswing]

Doesn't seem so bad if the coverage is good, you could spend $5k a year if things don't go well...not sure which rate I would choose though.

[eanders]

The contract offered by the used car dealer, American Auto Guardian (Wheelz product) is looking better to me now... was priced at $3,100 for 3 YR / 36K miles. This was an exclusionary contract, which is good, but doesn't have the wear and tear provision. This company based on my research may be more inclined to challenge claims. If anyone has experience with this company (AAGI or Wheelz), good or bad, I would love to hear it. I feel exposed with this car and no contract.

[vitalian]

I paid $4500 for 3 year/36K zero-deductible comprehensive coverage (including wear and tear) from National through the Audi dealership where I bought my car.

[alrightroad]

I paid $2,950 for 3/36 and $50 deductible. The inclusionary list is a mile long including struts. "Lexus Gold Care" is the name of the company... through Totyota.

[ben916]

I paid $3300 3yr/36k mile with $200 deductible on mine when mileage was at 36,300 miles thru Protective/Prism.
That was 2.5 years ago.
I don't have the phone numbers handy but there have been prior threads to this and I did list the phone number.

Mine covers suspension systems with a "variable dampening system" = I read that as the DRC
I was most concerned with Transmission and DRC and valve cover gaskets...

[makaveli42]

i got a quote of $3400 with $100 deductible for a 5/yr 60k/miles thru Pinnacle....and my car has 97k miles. covers bumper to bumper

[eanders]

i got a quote of $3400 with $100 deductible for a 5/yr 60k/miles thru Pinnacle....and my car has 97k miles. covers bumper to bumper

I called Pinnacle... really high pressure sales call... quote was $4,300 for 4YR / 48K mile stated coverage contract (not exclusionary, which is preferred). I did like the fact that they have an option / ryder to cover posted labor rates... that is a gap with many of these coverages (i.e. American Auto Guardian).

I would need someone to tell me that they have a Pinnacle contract and have been pleased with the coverage... was really turned off by the high pressure sales call - felt like I was being scammed.

[makaveli42]

I called Pinnacle... really high pressure sales call... quote was $4,300 for 4YR / 48K mile stated coverage contract (not exclusionary, which is preferred). I did like the fact that they have an option / ryder to cover posted labor rates... that is a gap with many of these coverages (i.e. American Auto Guardian).

I would need someone to tell me that they have a Pinnacle contract and have been pleased with the coverage... was really turned off by the high pressure sales call - felt like I was being scammed.

Yeah they r high pressure...I just kept asking if that's the best they could do, each time I asked I got transferred and the price got cheaper lol. I Plan on getting a warranty thru them, just have some other stuff I need the mobey for first! Let me know if u go they then it not, they provide rental cars and towing too!

[RSSIK]

Fidelity is actually a great company. I bought mine through the Audi dealership and since then that is all who takes care of my car.

[eanders]

Final post on this... a synopsis of my research on warranties (really service contracts).
There are a few good ones (companies / plans), but they are expensive. People rave about Fidelity, but I couldn't get them to write mine... didn't buy the car through Audi. An Audi dealer recommended a company called Easy Care, they were very expensive ($9 for a 3 / 36k). Costco's program (Century Warranty Services) may also be a good one... would need to do more research on them, though.

Then, there are the 90+ percent of warranty companies that range from out-n-out crooks to iffy. The prices look good, and in some cases even the contracts (Wheelz), but at the end of the day I was very suspect that the warranty company would either a) stay in business, b) not fight every claim, c) leave you on the hook for the posted labor rate gap, d) use inferior parts, e) make the repair process a complete hassle.

I think I am going against the grain of the forum here and self-insuring my beast (absent finding a "good" company in the next week or so). We'll see how I make out... praying for at least a solid initial trouble free run.

[kday]

I don't think self-insuring is against the grain, there just isn't much need for discussion of it.

I tend to do my own work and can be without the car for a while, so the warranty didn't make sense for me.

Incidentally, according to car fax, the first owner of my car lived in Chagrin Falls.

[4.2Crew]

I don't think self-insuring is against the grain..... I tend to do my own work and can be without the car for a while, so the warranty didn't make sense for me.

Agree... Everyone has a different set of circumstances (ie. risk tolerence, DIY ability, initial investment price point in the car.)

I am always creep'd out the TC or tranny will dump. But, the cost of an extended warranty from a reputable source was almost the same cost as TC/tranny refresh anyway. The only certainty is the warranty times out after 3-5 years!....

[mmaturo]

My 2 cents get a warranty if you can...key besides the most complete coverage and the labor rate gap coverage is one that you can refund if you sell or wreck the car and that refund is based on time and not claims against it...unless you are like a few of the guys here that really can tear the car down and put it back together (trans/engine drop)...as a former owner that had a car that ate transmissions/torque converters literally once every year and a half regardless of driving...some abused with track days/aggressive driving launches all the time...why own an RS6 if you aren't going to drive it like one...last one though...babied heavily and still went. I traded it in as fast as I could after my warranty ran out and anyone I checked with that seemed good or I had used in the past successfully on multiple cars wouldn't touch the car knowing the claim rate. If I thought it would be just one tranny replacement later that would be one thing but not on this car. Don't get me started on control arm replacement frequency either.

[eanders]

My 2 cents get a warranty if you can...key besides the most complete coverage and the labor rate gap coverage is one that you can refund if you sell or wreck the car and that refund is based on time and not claims against it...unless you are like a few of the guys here that really can tear the car down and put it back together (trans/engine drop)...as a former owner that had a car that ate transmissions/torque converters literally once every year and a half regardless of driving...some abused with track days/aggressive driving launches all the time...why own an RS6 if you aren't going to drive it like one...last one though...babied heavily and still went. I traded it in as fast as I could after my warranty ran out and anyone I checked with that seemed good or I had used in the past successfully on multiple cars wouldn't touch the car knowing the claim rate. If I thought it would be just one tranny replacement later that would be one thing but not on this car. Don't get me started on control arm replacement frequency either.

Is mmaturo's experience common with the TC, tranny and control arms, or a result of harder than average driving / use? Good comment from the forum on this - agree the warranty decision is a function of a lot of things, but in the end, all are a moot point unless I can find a legitimate company with a decent contract that pays their claims. Where I am in Ohio, USA, I have not been able to find such a company. I am expecting to pay 3-4k / year on maintenance / repairs, which is tolerable based on what I paid for the car... naturally hope it's less, but it's good to have reasonable expectations. My beast has 72k miles and thus far has been great. Separately, to my knowledge their has been no repairs / rebuilds to the TC or tranny on this car. Should I be expecting something in the near term?

[lswing]

From what I've read over the last year, mmaturo has had the worst experience, thankfully covered by warranty. My assumptions are that a combination of hard driving and poor quality replacements/mechanic work caused the issue to be so bad. Luckily I've only had the TC swapped on mine and I'm third owner at 92,000 miles now. I'm putting a good amount of extra power into the car and know that one day the trans will pay for it. That said I do my best to care for it without too much flogging. Rebuilt the TC right away with ACE. My drive to work is about 3 miles city, so I can get away with reducing wear and saving the hard driving for weekends.

mmaturo, I wonder if you would have had them rebuilt out of pocket it might have been worth it and kept you in the RS6? I'm guessing you expected the problem to be fixed though, that's a bummer of a story. All that time down must have been a pain, but looks like you've got some good car options.

When/if the trans goes, get a rebuild that is stronger, along with the TC. Sounds like that has been good to many folks. I've heard a few people talk about our trans still being a "normal" one, so rebuild isn't too crazy, certainly nobody wants to spend $5k for rebuild and labor. A rebuild or new trans on a newer M5 is $10-15k, we don't have it so bad. Personally I think the shifting is great for an auto, certainly acceleration! And tip mode gets the job done on back roads.

I had the TC covered by the dealer, or at least $2k of it, and put another $4k or so into various repairs in the last year. Many of these repairs should last a long time, and the beast has been great. Although I've got a cv or control arm clicking on occasion in the front, my car seems to like eating cv joints

[mmaturo]

You guys all need to read deep in these forums if you think the trannys are ok. I drove the car like an RS6 for 6 years as a daily driver, but as i said above the last one went even though i drove it very lightly the last year and not daily with no track or even jumping off lights as was coming off warranty and knew I wanted to sell or trade it in. The first transmission (the original) was failing when i bought the car a year used and it was driven by a lady in Orlando as a daily driver...I don't think she was jumping on it much. I have had plenty of other cars and now my S5 with Stasis tuning to 400hp with zero issues and same driving style including a couple of track days...my TT zippo. The transmissions and TCs fail in these things people. I posted elsewhere also yesterday that all but one former or current RS6 owner I personally know had replaced a trans/TC...one at 13K from new, That number including mine is 6 out of 7. I have seen personally 3 for sale more recently that i looked at for others and one for a forum member here that was at auction and it was so far gone the car could only go into reverse and the other two were slipping or hesitating (when coming to a stop a long and abrupt shift into first gear is a good sign its going).

That said though your budget of 3 to $4K should do you just fine as long as you do not loose a tranny and or even if it does it will average out over time. I'm just worried about people who buy these things and do not prepare like you do for what will be high costs due to parts that are weak on the cars and the fact that most everything needs to be shipped from Germany and is $$$ as these are low production special cars. The only cheap parts are the common A6 pieces and thankfullyfor you guys cheaper brake/rotor/pad combinations now. MTM TCU reprogramming is defense number one though. I loved my RS6 and regardless was one of the most fantastic cars I have owned and I'm on my 6th Audi with an RS5 coming in a month so I'm not negative on Audi or the cars but this one you got to know what you are getting into. It could go well but more than likely I think it will be $$$$ to own over the long haul.