A question that might not be in the right section and one that equally applies to whatever motorbike owned here on this forum, however, as I own a Multistrada 1260, here it is. Has anyone got any positive experience about extended warranty cover outside of the standard Ducati cover, from a reliable, genuine company, that doesn't look to charge the earth? My bike is 4 years old this month and as a result, goes out of the 4-year EverRed cover, hence the question, due as we all appreciate, when, not if, something goes wrong with the bike, costs pretty soon mount up, even for the most basic of defect repairs. Any thoughts of benefit welcomed. TonyMN
My experience of 3rd party extended warranties goes back 25yrs so might not be the case today but just check what exactly is covered. I bought a 2yr old ZXR 400, it came with the dealers extended warranty (which I think I paid extra for at the time?). The cam shaft failed and was classed as wear and tear by the warranty and they wouldn’t cover it, fortunately Kawasaki UK stepped up and supplied all the parts free and the dealer repaired at cost, I think they ditched their association with the warranty company after that.
Had a quick Google and not wowed by the limited number of hits. There was a bit about bike warranties on the gocompare wed site that I didn’t delve into but that’s one avenue. I’d go and have a look at some 2nd hand bikes and ask the salesman who provides their warranty. A bit cheeky but hey. As @Ackers said, be absolutely aware of what is excluded and IIRC, going back several years, someone on here posted aftermarket warranties for Ducatis had the most exclusions. Andy
I'm very much in the same boat as you, my EverRed warranty expires next month, although I'm not quite as pessimistic, I'm not expecting things to start going wrong . My 1260S has just had it's 45k service and apart from a few minor warranty issues over the last 4 years it's been ultra reliable and never let me down on the road, I don't see why it should start now, time will tell of course but I'm not looking for further extended cover, which may or may not be worth the paper it's written on. Be interesting to hear if you do find something worth the money though, good luck .
When I bought my 1200DVT - I wanted the Ducati extended WTY - but it was not available from them at the time (2015) So when my 2 year WTY ran out - I changed the bike to a new one - with an extended WTY - which Ducati was then selling (2017). The reason to change the bike was that I could only find one WTY provider on the aftermarket - the cost was high - the cover was questionable and the feedback was not lets say encouraging. I can not remember who it was - but it was a big company. EDIT - was Warranty Direct...
This, https://www.best4warranty.com/products/auto-cycle/motorcycle-warranty-auto-cycle/, is an example of what is out there. Vehicle must be less than 10 years old with less than 100,000 miles at the start of the policy. Major point to note, servicing must be carried out to the manufacturer’s schedule and by a VAT registered garage. Andy
Thanks for the responses so far and yes I had taken a look at 'best4'...... One thing I did note, in addition to those outlined Andy, was the first quote I got back was £335 pa, with a limit on repair claims of £1k, which in reality ought to deal with most things. When increased cover to £5k, the annual price rose to £465, which to me is rather a lot. I have previously held a warranty from Warranty Direct, on a 2010 Mutli, which did in fact look after me quite well, when I had a BBS breakdown issue on a motorway in Belgium. Perhaps I'm being a little over-cautious, that said, to date, even on a bike that has significantly less user mileage on it than Ackers, I've already had my fair share of warranty issues with the bike, e.g. rear suspension unit replaced, front cylinder likewise, fuel gauge x 2, new QS, new sensor for the front suspension, heat shield replaced on the external rear battery housing (minor admittedly) and numerous other software updates, which are pretty normal TBF. So............
I tend to not bother with warranties beyond what you get when its new... Reasons being, 1) you simply cant take extended warranties on everything you buy in life, the cost would leave you broke. 2) warranties are there to make money for the insurance company first and foremost. Therefore they have calculated the odds are they wont have to pay out. 3) modern stuff is usually pretty well made and reliable 4) I was offered an 3rd party warranty on my 1260 at about £300, I didn't take it, and the year is almost up, no problems for the limited miles I do, and so I can buy a new £300 crash helmet for free ! (That's my man math's at work ) 5) Suppose you buy a warranty every year for 3 years, almost a grand, then you get a problem "that's a big "if") then whatever the cost of the repair your already £1000 spent anyway, and some policy's only pay "up to" a certain amount etc. 6) Buy a decent bike in the first place and look after it, then what will happen will happen. That's just life. Just my 2p worth
like private health insurance. i left my last 'proper' job with all the trimmings over a decade ago. thought about paying for private health ins for the family but sooooo expensive didn't bother. thank god, haven't needed it and assume NHS always there in emergency - and saved (in theory) enough for a new ducati..........
In many respects, echoing what's really in my mind, as I rarely, if ever, take out warranty packages with anything, except as mentioned about the 2010 Mutli. Your thoughts are relevant, thanks for sharing.
The trick is to save the money you would have put into private health insurance, and leave it for if/ when you need an urgent operation that the NHS will stick you on a long waiting list for. If you don't have any health issues, after a few years you'll have enough for a new bike and money in the bank should you need urgent medical help.
I think given my experiences with older Multi’s I’m glad I had warranty cover then (I’d paid to extend the Ducati cover). I suspect that if I still have this bike for a couple of years after the cover has lapsed then I wouldn’t use an external company for an extended warranty as I wouldn’t be sure it would give the same level of cover. I had a Warranty Direct policy on a Alfa Romeo I’d bought as a direct import. They weren’t that great and refused to pay for a gearbox oil seal failure (wear and tear apparently) although they did pay for a electric window motor.
Extended manufacturer's warranty, so long as it's not too outrageous I would seriously consider. Had have had one for my 1260 Mutley (4 year EverRed) and also one for my VW Tiguan (5 year VW). Both are effective extensions on the factory warranty and are pretty comprehensive. Both will expire this year and I've only used the Ducati one twice, once inside the original two year included period and once with the additional 2 year EverRed extension. The latter I could have bought the part for £80 and easily fitted it myself, far cheaper than the cost of the warranty extension. So, in my case, thus far, money I needn't have spent. However, peace of mind for the duration. The VW warranty hasn't been used and my experience with the marque over many years and vehicles supports that. Though given the cost of parts and labour, again peace of mind. Both vehicles, under current circumstances, are keepers in the long to medium future but will be without warranty cover later in the year. Third party warranties, forget it; too many get outs and limitations. I'll take my chances unless one is offered included in the purchase price of a used vehicle.
After over twenty years as a trader I haven't seen a single aftermarket warranty that I would pay for other than an extension of the factory one, simple as! Like others have said put £400 a year in a slush fund for when things go wrong and use it as a saving scheme if not needed!
You would have to save a lot of cash to pay for the ops needed. A hip op is circa £15k if done privately. Some health insurances are worth the cash, IMHO. We pay into one that will cover you if the NHS wait is over 6 months amd also provides GP consultancy via phone, which is currently all our NHS GP currently offers anyway, but again there is no wait.
