ohbw

I'm looking at a 97 A8 that comes off its Audi extended warranty in June. Does anyone know if it's possible to buy any kind of aftermarket warranty for a car that old with 75K on the odometer? Does Lloyds of London insure 97 transmissions? The thought of a big bucks tranny job is making me toss and turn, and I know nothing about the warranty market. Thanks.

Ross:D

Shop around and negotiate - they have huge markups. Some companies won't insure over 80k miles. Find a company that's been around a while.

Dave G

I think some people here have replaced their transmissions for total costs in the $3K range.
I'll bet an extended warranty for you would be at least $3K.
It seems that AAA extended warranties have the fewest complaints on the various forums that I've read.
Keep in mind that many aftermarket (non-Audi brand) warranties will not pay for everything, and for the things they will pay for, they will not pay for all of it. The warranty won't say that, but you'll see it when you have a warranty claim, and the warranty only pays $30/hour shop rate, or $50/hour shop rate; when the reality is that dealer shop rates are $80-$110/hour (or more).

As an aside, I think the general consensus is that the way to avoid transmission problems is to change the transmission fluid, following the instructions in PaulW's audipages.com website. You should change the fluid at least every 40K miles. I can tell you that its the same for many other cars. I even notice a difference in the way my cars run (smoother) after a trans fluid change.
If you haven't changed your trans fluid, get it done right away (because you have 75K miles on your car). That may be your best bet. I've heard people report that they've had independent shops do the trans fluid change for roughly $400.

Good luck.

bschaber

They ask why I wanted to do it and I said why wouldn't I? The dealer said it is a good idea and recommended every 50k. I had the thump when I got my car with 69k and after the fluid change have yet to see it again. Best advice around.

GlenC

I got an aftermarket warranty through AAA last year. I've only had to use it once so far, but they were very reasonable. If you're looking for a 97, you should take a couple of things into consideration. You're likely due for a timing belt change soon (that means at least 1K), you'll want to flush the transmission fluid (at least $350), and you may need brakes, tires and other wearable items. Other problems to look out for are leaking coolant tanks at about 70K miles (pretty common in that car). If you're really serious, you may want to take a look at my car. I still have two years left on my warranty (transferrable to anyone with AAA), I recently changed the timing belt and flushed the tranny fluid. I also have upgraded to tiptronic (an essential upgrade in this car), added the newer fat armrests, tinted the windows, hardwired an mp3 player into the head unit, and have an extra set of rims/tires. I'm looking to upgrade to a newer model at some point in the next few years. So check out my picture poster and contact me if interested.

Ross:D

I paid $2k for 3 yr/ 45k mi/ zero deductible policy when I bought my car a year ago. Like I said, shop around. The person who gives you a quote probably works on commission and can be very negotiable.
My mechanic charges $90/hr and they had no problem getting reimbursed for some work. But Dave points out some good questions to ask.

ohbw

GlenC -- please contact me at ohbw@comcast.net about your car.

ohbw

the thump? whazzat?