Mech Warrantys

[thorns]

Just looking at a 2003+ Legacy Wagon, turbo, or 3.0r for the right price.

We had a 3.0R lined up, but the car reeks of tobacco smoke, so have given it a miss now, so back in the market.

Quick question re warrantys. Are they a must have do you believe? Or is it worth taking the 1k or so that a warranty would cost, and look to buy a car in perhaps slightly better condition, or lower kms, or even alternatively, putting it aside in a car fund to put towards any work or issues that may come up with the car down the road?

Now that the 3.0R is out of the equation, we are probably leaning towards a turbo, however perhaps I'm still living in the past comparing turbos to those of the early 90s turbo jappas which seemed to get a name for themselved as cars that wont last forever.

Modern 03+ single turbo Subys, are they a car which you would consider not getting a warranty with, or are they a must have in your opinion. We have set the limit at 15k for everything, so that figure should get us a tidy GT with a warranty, or without a warranty we could perhaps be looking at a nice GT B spec wagon, or an even lower kms GT wagon.

Thoughts

[D-Style]

+1 on warranty. It likes like parking a Subaru in south auckland without insurance. Sure it may never get broken into or stolen, but if it did, u lose to the sum of $15K.

End of day its better to buy it and never use it, than not buy it and having to repair a BEB or Tranny.

[lunchie]

What does the warranty cover and what does it not cover.

EG Engine, Transmission, turbo, etc etc etc

Also consider what the excess is, some companies have no excess some companies have an excess as high as $500

Also consider the cost of the warranty vs the cost of normal maintenance.

Consider buying a warranty for 3 years for $2000 which is what AA charges

For this situation we will assume an excess of $400.

Lets say that during the course of the warranty your transmission fails.

The warranty companies says no worries, we will fix it.

So you fork out 400 and they fix it, then you get sent a bill for consumables (such as oil etc as warranty doesnt cover this).

Lets say they charge you 100 for consumables.

That comes out at a total cost of $2500

Now I am not saying that buying the warranty is a bad idea I am merely saying that it is a good idea to consider how the cost of buying and USING the warranty vs just budgeting a small amount for repairs.

[kiwisurf]

+1 for Lunchie....

[boon]

Bear in mind that if you modify a damn thing on the car the warranty is probably goneburgers...

[Divine]

Plus you HAVE to service it every 10,000k's otherwise the warranty is voided.

[Eight_dollar]

my cars in under warrenty atm, so i would def say get one lol, new bottom end etc, unless u wanna save up to do that kinda stuff yourself, a warrenty is well worth it

[thorns]

The servicing costs dont concern us as its something we would be doing anyway. Most warrantys seem to be 12months/15,000, whichever comes first these days.

Can anyone reccomend some of the better companys, have heard good things about AA, however they seemed quite pricey, not sure on there payout limits though. Vero seem to be another good one, however I emailed them today just seeing if they do private cars and they said they won't. However have heard of a few people saying they have managed to get one on a private sale, so perhaps a phone call might get different results.

[subieboy]

Warranty without a doubt, buying any 2nd hand car without one is pure folly

In my case the warranty paid for a new centre diff, plus freight from Auckland overnight, plus accommodation and food...

Best money I ever spent

[lunchie]

If you intend on getting one I would suggest use this

http://www.autosure.co.nz/products/mechanical-cover-summary.htm

Get the EXTREME cover as its limit is $12,000 per claim.

This may not seem important but MANY warranties have a max claim limit of 5-6000 and if you truly do a number on your late model subaru engine you could very well end up with a bill of more than 6000

So yeah, my bet is Autosure extreme cover.

[kwikaus]

when we got ours it was covered by drive right, had done both head gaskets cost us $200, only $100 per side, they also done front seals and as they had leaked all over the timing belt, that was replaced as well, cost us $100, also had all four bilsteins rebuilt, that cost us $100 per shock as well, only problem was it all happened at once, only thing is like what's been said, you cant modify your car and it must be serviced every 10000kms with out fail by an approved mechanic, shop around, dont be afraid to tell them you are getting other quotes, companys are fighting each other for business, so you may just pick up a really good deal.

[subieboy]

 3.0R FTW said:

i would suggest you get a warranty i have bought a car with 32k on the clock and did not get a warranty as i never thought i would have needed it. Unfortunatley the inevitable happened and i paid 6k for a rebuild,where as the 1200$ odd dollars would have been a better way.

Im sure the AA warrantys cover clutch ??

someone may be able to confirm this.

Most warranties will cover the clutch for manufacturing defects/failure due to the item, however none cover for wear and tear...

[Guest]

I think if you are not going to mod the car then get one, if you are its a waste of money as they won't pay out if you mod it.,

[lunchie]

 3.0R FTW said:

my mods are listed on the warrenty ie Suspension ,pod filter so if any mods are already done to a car check to see if they can be listed on the warranty.

Also you can also write a letter to the warranty company stating mods you were considering and they will determine whether or not they will allow it and then add them to your warrenty.

Although i suspect these would be suspension and air filters at the most .

But unless your going to get into track work there is not much point to modding anyway. As not every car or car owner gets the urge to mod.

At one point I was considering buying a wrx with a warranty and alot of the companies I contacted wouldnt allow a pod filter. But as you said it may be a different story if you are buying it already in that condition.

Moral of the story is IF you do buy a warranty and the car has even an after market set of dam pedals tell the company or they will bounce your ass so fast when you make a claim

[DRFVDR]

also like any insurance/ warranty make sure car is wofed and reged AND that it is at wof state all the time ( ie bald tires) because they will take any reason not to pay out

[thorns]

Have a car lined up through a dealer again now, so will be taking a 3 yr warranty thrown in with the car.

The peace of mind is definitly worth it to me after thinking abbout it now.

[clintondane]

Our mechanical warranty is through VERO and they've been awesome. Gearbox shat itself and cost nearly 4 grand to repair, our excess is only $150. From what I remember they cover us for 5 grand per claim, up to $20 grand a year. We've used it a few times, O2 sensor replaced, knock sensor replaced, radiator top tank replaced and a couple other things, insurers never had any issues. Would definitely recommend them ;D

[thorns]

The warranty the car comes with is a Vero one, and believe its up to 12k per claim.

On another note, not really worth starting a new thread for. The car we are looking at only has the one key. Is it reasonably cheap to get a spare key for these? Or are they a 'special' kind that Subaru will take great pleasure in charging you an arm and a leg for?

[Guest]

Just a kidney for the key,

$20 approx for cutting

and an eye ball to program it

$350 approx retail for complete job - supply / cut and coding

[thorns]

Any other places have the ability to do it cheaper? Locksmiths etc?

[Guest]

some can do

They "clone" your key chip and fit it to there key

but there keys dont have the remote functions

Cost is $180 ish -- dont quote me on that tho

[DRFVDR]

 Ichi Ban said:

some can do

They "clone" your key chip and fit it to there key

but there keys dont have the remote functions

Cost is $180 ish -- dont quote me on that tho

Sounds about what we have been paying to get extra keys for the vans

[thorns]

Back to square one on the Legacy hunt. Had a Gt checked by Stubaru today, poked turbo, poked shocks, and also surface rust on the underside...

Anyone know of a mint 03+ GT or GTB wagon in CHCH for sale? :

[Guest]

100% sure you want a wagon?

[thorns]

 Ichi Ban said:

100% sure you want a wagon?

I wouldnt mind a sedan, but the Wife is set on a wagon.

Do you know of a tidy example for around the 15k mark?