Time sensitive RS3 purchase decision - advice needed!
 

Hi everyone, new to this forum from Canada and just wanted some advice before I make the purchase for an RS3. It's a 2018 model (in service since August 2017) that comes with Tier 1 Audi CPO which extends it to August 2022 and 100,000 kms (it currently has only 17,000 kms). The dealer is giving me the option of spending an extra $1000 CDN to extend the warranty to Tier 2, which covers it until 2023 and 160,000 kms. Is this worth it? It basically adds 1 more year of warranty and an additional 80,000 kms (which I probably won't use all of, but nice to have)... is this worth it for $1000? Thanks.

Personally I would wait until the Audi Factory Warranty is close to running out.
Then and only then get the (Extended) warranty !!!

Here's why I say that.
I purchased a new Challenger Hellcat and also because Chrysler was running a Special on their Extended-Warranty I jumped on it.
Bad-Bad Move ............
Because in my situation when I checked on getting a Refund I instantly found out that even though I had the car for like maybe 4-6 months, maybe, don't recall now.
It had no miles hardly on it at all as it was just a Guy Toy.
Anyway, so I check on the Refund and found out even though the Hellcat was still under it's factory warranty I was actually being (CHARGED) everyday I had the car on the Extended-Warranty.
I think I took a HIT of like $600 US Dollars but decided right then to take the Refund and if I did end up keeping that Hellcat then and only then get the Extended-Warranty.
That new Challenger Hellcat was traded in on the ordered 2019 RS3.

I have not a clue how things work in Canada but I'm sure some of the Canadian Guys will know.

Terry

The new Hellcat at the house.

https://i258.photobucket.com/albums/...psbppi2mtp.jpg

And the guys from Audi Nashville, TN. USA picking it up when I traded it in.
I'm the guy in the (Center).

https://i258.photobucket.com/albums/...psexpefp6v.jpg


.

I personally would say no, and if you still own the car at the end of the expiry of Tier 1, evaluate then whether you wish to extend as you will have a pretty good idea of issues the car has had. Wow only 17,000 km on a two year old car, it is just broken in. Also, ask the dealer to show you any warranty issues, not servicing, that have been been done previously , the VIN number will reveal that.

Here’s the issue with both of those answers. Neither of them explain the fact that once you run out of CPO coverage you can no longer upgrade your agreement to the next tier of coverage. At the end of the warranty you’ll have the option of purchasing a used car warranty which will cost you a lot more money for a lower level of coverage. The reason this is offered to you at point of sale is because the dealership guarantees the condition of the vehicle and even pays Audi a fee to get the warranty that’s on there already. This is on top of all the other rigorous requirements that Audi has before you can even certify the vehicle. A thousand dollars for 1yr/40k additional seems expensive but I don’t work at an Audi dealership, I do know on some of the higher end products we do have it can cost a lot of money to put a warranty on your car.

Now to answer hellcat guy, the warranty and vehicle service agreement run concurrently. There’s a reason for this. If you wait and buy at the end you get a used car warranty with less coverage(typically) for more money. Also, just because the car has a 3/36 or 4/50 warranty on it from the factory it doesn’t mean they’re going to cover your vehicle 100% of the time. This is why the verbiage is “New Car Limited Warranty” there are some conditions under which your warranty will not cover stuff so they send the claim to your Vehicle Service Agreement company and they should pick it up. So there is a benefit to having it run concurrently with your vehicles new car warranty and I didn’t even bring up the road side assistance or trip interruption that comes with most of these things.

At the the end of the day it’s a completely personal decision. Some people see the benefit and others don’t. The average of repairs seem to only be climbing so for me it made sense to get it. But we’re definitely not the type of dealer that will hammer you for hours trying to make it happen. If you want it you want it and if you don’t there’s nothing I’m gonna say that will make you want it. But if you have any questions about that type of stuff you guys can always DM me or post and I’ll try to give you the best answer I can.

The thing you need to know about extended warranties is that it is a source of profit. In all likelihood you'll end up paying less in repairs than the extended warranty will cost you. That's just what happens on average. It pays off for a few folks with bad luck, but unfortunately you can't predict the future. I've never bought an extended warranty in my entire life, and I've never been in a situation where I wish I had the warranty. I've had some out of warranty repairs on pretty much any car, I've owned, but the warranty would have never paid for itself. It's an easy business with consumers. Consumers view paying for a repair as a loss, but they don't look at buying an extended warranty as a loss. It gets viewed as an insurance policy essentially. As with insurance, most people never get their money's worth. We all buy insurance, because we fear loss, but in reality most people never experience as much loss as they are paying in insurance premium. I think the biggest reason for buying insurance and extended warranties is the fear that if something happens there is no money in the bank account to pay for the loss, and it's somehow viewed more manageable to pay upfront, because then it can be financed easily as well with the entire purchase. I would recommend that if you don't have enough savings to tap into in case of a loss or unexpected situation, that you put the money you would pay for an extended warranty aside into an investment vehicle or at least something that earns you interest and then tap into for eventual repairs in the future. Keep adding to it to have a nice reserve to pay for repairs in the future and don't take the money out for anything else if you don't have any repairs.

this is a very good point. Most people don’t know that 2/3rds of the American public can’t afford an unexpected $1000 bill should it come up. Unfortunately with our cars, that’s basically every dealer visit lol

I know my X5 had at least $15k in parts alone to attempt to fix it. They never did, so I got my moneys worth out of buying CPO.

Extended warranties and protection plans on new cars can usually be purchased much much cheaper from a 3rd party. Maybe CPOs even, I'm not sure.

The warranties are sometimes reasonably priced but most people tack it onto their finance amount here, which means they end up paying more for it in the long run.

People talk about how the maintenance plans are a good value, too. Again, many people are financing this so they dont actually save much on maintenance costs, even if they use it completely over the course of the 4 years or however long. When I sold an A3 back after a month of ownership and got an S3 instead, I had to file a complaint through AOA to get the AudiCare refunded. They definitely do not refund that normally, you cannot cancel it if you wreck the car or sell it, the maintenance plan stays with the car.

Extended Warranties ..........
 

Guys,

My take on extended warranties and Pre-Paid Service agreements.
I worked for multiple New Car Dealerships for plus 20-years and held many positions over that time frame.
Anyone that knows anything at all about how dealerships actually operate ???
Should know that the Business Office is a {MAJOR-PROFIT-CENTER} !!!
In many-many cases on a new car purchase there is more monies generated in the Business Office versus the actual sale of the new car.
(Especially if there is No-Car traded-in)
I could sit here and type all the separate things that are OFFERED to the Customer but it would be waste of my time and below is why I say that.
Those that know the inner-workings of a car dealership know (BEFORE) they walk into the Business Office what they are and are NOT going to do and be SOLD.
The people that don't know how a dealership actually operates are many-many-many times at the MERCY of Mr. Slick the F&I Manager and sometimes referred to as the Business Manager.

So, with above said, to each their own guys ................

Terry

Thanks everyone! At the end of the day they are actually including it free of charge as part of the deal. Will be taking delivery this Friday and can't wait!