I'm in the process of buying a 2nd hand car and the AA site has some cars that could be the one/s to buy. They come with the AA dealer promise, is this actually worth anything as the 3 months warranty is just about everywhere from any dealer. Anyone bought like this before?
Come on guys, I don't want to buy another nail. Already lost money this year on a supposedly great Passat, although I did get my money back I lost on the insurance and 1 months tax.
I viewed the other one and drove it as well. It wasn't until I got home and started driving about that the problems started.
What are you after? How much is it? How old is it? What's the test history like? Why buy from a stealer and not privately?
So you did well - they took it back and you're moaning about losing a months tax and insurance ?? It's a total lottery , win some lose some ... Sent from my SM-A320FL using Tapatalk
To be fair....the original post is asking if the AA scheme removes some of the risk of said lottery. Personally I don't have experience of that scheme, I'd examine the small print on the warranty.
New fresh off the line cars can have faults/need recalling. So used cars can break no matter how many checks it has had. It's just the protection you have in being able to return it if it fails. Won't help you with cost incurred on insurance but does mean your not left with a nail.
Thank you for reading the post properly, much appreciated. Just to reply to @Lasty, you don't just lose a months insurance when this happens, they sting you with a cancellation charge which in this case was over £70.
Dunno about the AA scheme but last time I bought a used car the garage who were selling offered a total cover 6 months parts and labour warranty for £120 ish . Alternator and a temperature sensor were replaced so it easily paid for itself . Still a lottery whichever way you look at it , it`s all about minimising the risk but you might have to shell out for the prevelige ...
I once bought a car for a silly price £6000 for a 2 year old car, and then had to buy a £1000 ' parts policy' which I never had to call on. But when I finally read it I realised that the policy number and insurers phone number had been printed in a big font and vanished off the right hand side of the paper. So I didnt have the necessary data to make a claim. Still have that car, 13 years later . Now bits are wearing out. Ex Peugeot lease car, returned because somebody had clocked up 27k miles in under 2 years in it. So far the policy of buying 1 or 2 year old secondhand cars (early life faults/recalls dealt with) and then driving it until I would be lucky to get £1000 part exchange has worked for me. Basically any car under £1000 is a complete lottery of pending electrical faults, intermittent electrical faults and rot.
I do the same - buy a 2 or 3 year old car with about 20 or 30k on the clock and which is half the original price - then keep it until it i 10 years old or so. The Mondeo I have now was on a 3 month warrantee - which I used when clutch bearing started squealing so got a new clutch.
My humble opinion is that you will never realy know until you need to make a claim , then its in the lap of the gods perhaps even as basic as who you talk to on the phone to make a clain , to you the policy holder and how forceful you can be whilst being polite. Human nature is that we all complain about bad service whenever we get the chance,facebook is full of such storys , but how often do you find reports of excellent service being spread far and wide. Businesses are in the game of making money and if they can squirm out of making a payment on your policy then they will do so, but its buyer beware and you should read the small print BEFORE purchase and then if a claim is to be made be sure you understand that small print and stay firm
Read the policy rather than believe what the salesman tells you... I almost bought a 3 Series hardtop convertible. The dealer specifically told me the gold RAC warranty covered the hood motors. When I read it, they were specifically excluded. Used car salesman are second only to estate agents.
I’ve won the used car lottery 3 times using the Volvo system. Spend £1-2k on an 6-8 year old Volvo with 60-80k mileage, and full service history. Check it’s had a cam belt change at the right time. Then drive it till the MOT costs more than £500, use it for the life of that MOT and then scrap it. Don’t be scared off by the high mileage as long as it’s got the service history. Volvo’s just run and run, I’ve had 3 in 20 years, each going to the scrappy with 160k, 180k and 240k mileage. The only thing that stops a Volvo engine is the cam belt and maybe a brick wall. Warning: this system will not work if you want to look cool! But you’ll be comfy, safe and they’re great for transporting sofas and fridges.
