Used cars warranties - worth the paper they're written on?

[inchy1981]

I'm looking for a new car and have seen a 2007 Mondeo for a decent price.

They are offering 12 months warranty for £100.

Are these warranties any good? You here stories of people buying these, having a fault, only for the warranty company to say its not covered...

Is this a case of stupid people buying the wrong warranty, or are the warranty companies all sharks?

[Lord Percy]

I guess the best thing would be to read what the warranty covers?

[LustyLew]

I've had two cars with warranties.

First was a 2005 Freelander TD4, got the warranty as it was high miles without service history. I never needed to claim on it. The warranty was with the AA.

Current car is a Citroen C2 which came with a years main dealer warranty.
Exhaust manifold bolts sheared resulting in a whistling from the join. Fixed without issue. This was a known problem thought.

So I guess I've never had issues. Read the information very carefully. Some parts like clutch and gearbox may not be covered.
____________________
Like a Yorkie - I'm not for the girls

[JP7]

Be very careful with used car warranties. The warranty providers love the phrase "wear and tear", and will use it to try and wriggle out of many claims. Blown turbos on an 80000 mile car... a failed clutch... they'll try and get out of them, generally.

A lot also only cover failed parts. So for example, you've got a wheel bearing on the way out and it makes a horrible noise. Their view is that, as the wheel still goes round, it hasn't failed. I actually had a claim refused on that basis on a used car I sold.

It depends who the warranty provider is, some are better than others. If it's manufacturer-backed, it's generally more comprehensive than the RAC/AA type ones.

Have a good read of the exclusions in the warranty document. That said, £100 for 12 months isn't too bad. But on a 2007 Mondeo, I bet they could chuck it in if you asked nicely.