What is Warranty Direct protection and why do I need it?

Every new vehicle comes from the manufacturer with a basic factory warranty.

This agreement states that the manufacturer will repair or replace any part of the vehicle in the event of a mechanical malfunction for a limited period or limited number of miles.

Sometimes, even these warranties are not worth the paper they are written on, as was the case for Rover owners in recent times.

Once this warranty expires you have nothing to protect yourself from expensive vehicle repair costs. Warranty Direct will protect you for a specified amount of time and/or mileage.

Can't I get this kind of protection through a dealer?

You could, but plan on paying between 50% to 100% more for the same coverage. Warranty Direct eliminates the middleman and passes the savings on directly to you. What's more, most other schemes will require you to use specified, and often expensive, repair facilities. We honour the work of any VAT registered garage. With Warranty Direct you have the freedom to go wherever you like for repairs and service.

I still have time left on my manufacturer's warranty. Why should I bother purchasing your protection now?

Now is precisely the time to buy a warranty because by acting now, you guarantee tomorrow's repairs at today's prices.

My dealer has given me a 3-month warranty, what can I do?

Dealer warranties often give reduced benefits and cover limits. Read the small print carefully. If the benefits and cover limits are still satisfactory, you can fix the price by taking out our warranty now. If you make a claim, which is not covered by your Dealer warranty it might be by ours. If you don't make a claim on our warranty, then we will re-start it from the day your Dealer warranty expires.

What do I have to do about servicing my car once the policy has started?

You must have your vehicle serviced at a VAT registered garage in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. If you choose our "franchised" option where you can have your vehicle repaired at a franchised dealership then it must be serviced there also.

Do You Limit Labour Rates?

At Warranty Direct we want you to be able to choose where you take your car to be repaired. However we feel that an additional premium should be paid by customers who want to take their car to a franchised dealer, or an expensive garage, to have their car repaired, rather than to an approved repairer that is willing to work at our network rate. This is because franchised dealers charge on average 75% more than independent garages. Other policy holders, who are happy to use the independent network, should not subsidise these higher labour costs.

If you wish to use a franchised dealer, but have decided not to pay the additional premium, we will pay up to our network rate and you will have to pay the difference between the network rate and the dealers rate for any repairs.

Our network labour rate is £60 per hour across the whole of the UK.

If you choose to take your car to one of our network repairers or an appropriate independent garage you will benefit from our central billing process which means that you will not be out of pocket for any length of time and we will settle directly with the garage.

Please bear in mind that the average booking in time in an independent garage is 2 days, the average at a franchised dealer is 7 Days.

Using an independent garage, to undertake the repair on your car, WILL NOT affect the resale value of your car. You can still have a full main dealer service history yet have your repairs done at independent garages.

What if I sell my vehicle?

Call us on 0845 052 1175 and we will explain your transfer options.

How does this coverage work? What do I do if I have a breakdown?

Your chosen recovery company will move your vehicle to a VAT registered garage. During open hours the garage can call us for repair authorisation and we can settle any approved claims directly. Outside of opening hours you may have to settle and submit your claim to us for potential reimbursement. If the cause of breakdown is a covered part we will also reimburse you for the recovery costs in the UK & Europe.

How can you give all this protection so cheaply?

This is a direct contract between you and us, thereby eliminating the middleman - the dealer - who usually marks up the policy by 50-60%.

We also have more experience than anybody else in this sector. Our underwriters understand the risk and by dealing directly with you, we reduce our costs.

I've heard a lot of people have had problems with warranties from dealers. Why are you different?

We do not deal with dealers and our responsibility is solely to you. Our business depends on your recommendation, so we will be looking after you, not a dealer.

Does my car have to have a full service history to get protection from Warranty Direct?

Your car must have been serviced in the past year to get full protection from Warranty Direct; it does not have to have a full service history. Once on cover you must follow your vehicle manufacturer's recommended intervals.

Which types of payment options are available?

We offer two policy types -

Continuous policies which enable you to pay by direct debit continuous authority until you decide to cancel the scheme. The first month's payment for this scheme must be paid by a suitable debit or credit card.

Annual policies for either one, two or three years. These can be purchased online and paid for in one payment - Alternatively you can call us on 0845 052 1175 to arrange to spread the payments with installments.