Warranty Direct Question

[jr-323i]

I have a dilemma with Warranty Direct, which I hope you can help with...

My car (Audi A4 avant 1.8t 190 CVT) is currently in with Audi Watford due toa gearbox judder on take-off and slow down. They have confirmed a new gearboxis needed at a cost of 4.5k!

NO worries I thought, I have theExtra Care Warranty Direct protection. But as with all Warranty companies, it is not plain sailing - they want to uplift my car and move to theirpreferred gearbox repair shop A1 Transmission in Biggleswade.

I am insistent on a qualified Audi technician, using genuine Audi parts replacingthe box as opposed to another outfit using whatever parts they choose andoverhauling the box. I have done a lotof research on the CVT gearbox and some parts can be replaced, however they arean over-engineered unit requiring very specialist tools to get into the guts ofthem and ideally should be replaced when they fail, as at some point othercomponents will fail.

Warranty Direct finally said today that yes Audi could carry out the repair,but to authorise this, it will need to be stripped down first(10 hours labour)and photos submitted with the internal damage proving where the failure in thegearbox has occurred. They basically want to verify which complements havefailed, which is common practise. Only then will they approve the repair. Ittakes a further 6 hours to replace the unit so 16 hours in total at £120 perhour(£1920 + VAT) + the cost of the box = an eye watering £6500 + VAT.

They will only pay the amount A1 Transmission would charge to overhaul thebox (approx £1800) and I have to make up the difference!! That's not going tohappen.

Legally Warranty Direct cannot force me to use A1(I know this as I had topush them hard to keep my car at Audi), however can they dictate a maximumcover for the repair, as my policy sates unlimited repairs and down not mention"a maximum" payable per claim.

Any Warranty experts or drivers that have had experience in this, please getin touch ASAP, as I need to thrash this out tomorrow.

[jr-323i]

Sorry, not sure why the weird spacing above, re-typed below...


I have a dilemma withWarranty Direct, which I hope you can help with...

My car (Audi A4 avant 1.8t190 CVT) is currently in with Audi Watford due to a gearbox judder on take-offand slow down. They have confirmed a new gearbox is needed at a cost of 4.5k!

NO worries I thought, I have the Extra Care Warranty Directprotection. But as with all Warrantycompanies, it is not plain sailing - theywant to uplift my car and move to their preferred gearbox repair shop A1Transmission in Biggleswade.

I am insistent on aqualified Audi technician, using genuine Audi parts replacing the box asopposed to another outfit using whatever parts they choose and overhauling thebox. I have done a lot of research onthe CVT gearbox and some parts can be replaced, however they are anover-engineered unit requiring very specialist tools to get into the guts ofthem and ideally should be replaced when they fail, as at some point othercomponents will fail.

Warranty Direct finallysaid today that yes Audi could carry out the repair, but to authorise this, itwill need to be stripped down first(10 hours labour) and photos submitted withthe internal damage proving where the failure in the gearbox has occurred. Theybasically want to verify which complements have failed, which is common practise. Onlythen will they approve the repair. It takes a further 6 hours to replace theunit so 16 hours in total at £120 per hour(£1920 + VAT) + the cost of the box = an eye watering £6500 + VAT.

They will only pay theamount A1 Transmission would charge to overhaul the box (approx £1800) and Ihave to make up the difference!! That's not going to happen.

Legally Warranty Direct cannotforce me to use A1(I know this as I had to push them hard to keep my car atAudi), however can they dictate a maximum cover for the repair, as my policy satesunlimited repairs and does not mention "a maximum" payable per claim.

Any Warranty experts ordrivers that have had experience in this, please get in touch ASAP, as I needto thrash this out tomorrow.

[danclyon]

Warranty Direct - be warned Basically their numbers and warranty are ALWAYS priced based on an hourly rate of about half what most prestige main-dealers charge (no matter what you think you've bought). The process you outline is normal practice and they will only want to use their specialist suppliers. I did ask them this when I decided to NOT take out a warranty as in order to get main-dealer price cover you had to nearly double their quote - and actually at that point the audi extended warranty was actually cheaper!!

I would suggest you suggest to them that you go to Indie Tech at Milton Keynes as they have a good rep for this gearbox and would be the 2nd choice after a main-dealer touching it......it's still going to be expensive, but their contribution may be higher. Also, don't expect to know what is wrong with the old gearbox - sometimes it's just "knackered"....

Cheers,
Dan.