Mechanical Protection Plan - Is It Worth Maintaining?

LPhillisdsa on 22/03/2021 - 10:50

I have 2016 Nissan Pulsar. The manufacturer warranty has run out but I still have a "Mechanical protection plan" on the vehicle, which requires me to get my car serviced at the dealership to maintain.

Unfortunately the local dealership which I was getting my car serviced at was sold, and I have to take the car to a dealership much much further away to maintain the "mechanical protection plan". I have a 5 week old baby, and I'm really trying to work out if it's worth making the trek to the new dealership or not?

My car so far, has had no issues and has only had standard servicing and has only done 45,000km.

I'm leaning towards not going to the new dealership and giving up the "mechanical protection plan". Any thoughts?

Automotive Nissan

Comments

  • apsilon on 22/03/2021 - 10:56
    +6

    These are rarely worth the paper they're printed on anyway so IMO definitely forget about it and have your car serviced by a reputable local business.

  • BertieBrown on 22/03/2021 - 10:56
    +1

    What’s covered by the mechanical protection plan?

  • bobbified on 22/03/2021 - 11:01
    +4

    Once you've taken out all the "wear and tear" exclusions, there wouldn't be much left to be "protected".

  • Gronk on 22/03/2021 - 11:02
    +3

    Completely useless, they're only included in free to try and lock you into servicing with the dealer.

  • toomuchdogfur on 22/03/2021 - 11:04
    +1

    A few more details needed to make a better decision:

    • How much longer does the plan last?
    • What are the exact T&Cs of the plan?
    • How much cheaper would it be to service the car at a 3rd party mechanic?

    In general I'd lean towards abandoning the plan and servicing locally - it'll be cheaper (time and price wise) and these plans are usually pretty poor value anyway (e.g. manufacturer's warranty covers most failures at no cost to you, but a "plan" usually just covers up to $XXXX amount or has a high excess/co-pay on repairs that make it un-economical to use in many cases).

  • godofpizza on 22/03/2021 - 12:00

    i also had one of these plans as well and only covered $5000 of repairs.

    You need to weight out the risk:

    • on how much of the Mechanical Protection Plan is left? what it actually covers?
      does you pulsar have CVT transmission, because Nissan have really bad CVT? if it fails it's very expensive to replace.

    • how many services do you need to do

    • what your local is offering
  • Williwill on 22/03/2021 - 12:38
    +1

    In my experience, they always have a reason for not paying any repair. Those Mechanical Protection Plans are used by dealers to make you feel safe when you buy a used car but are useless.

  • pharkurnell on 22/03/2021 - 13:54

    Your car is barely run in - 45,000klms??

    Dont bother with it!

  • Brian McGee on 22/03/2021 - 16:56

    Totally up to you whether you maintain the "Harrier Handcuffs' warranty or not.

    Benefits are you have a reasonably low service plan locked in for the next 3-5 years.
    If something major mechanical or electrical goes wrong you will have some protection.

    Drawbacks are that the liabilities are generally capped, so you may still be out of pocket for repairs (e.g: major transmission repairs/reconditioning might be covered up to $3000 but it costs $5000 to repair, leaving you $2K in the hole. A/C compressor costs $1500 to replace but A/C repairs are capped at $1000). And that you have to drive further to do this.

    Is the 2 days a year worth the risk, only you can decide. Can you transfer the warranty plan over to the new owner given they are the dealership location you purchased from? Is the nearest 'old' dealership outside the boundaries of the contract (there are usually sections regarding if you are X amount of kilometers from the dealership it can be serviced elsewhere with permission, I think it's usually 100km, check the booklet)?

  • deme on 22/03/2021 - 23:46

    Extended Warranty how could I lose.

  • Euphemistic on 23/03/2021 - 06:01

    Generally not worth it and definitely not worth it if it creates a headache getting to the required service centre.

  • Phillisdsa on 23/03/2021 - 11:04

    Thank you all for your replies, which pretty much confirmed my thinking. I have 10 months left on the plan. I have a recommendation for a good local service centre so I think I will go there.

    • Euphemistic on 23/03/2021 - 15:05

      For 10 months you are only talking about one or maybe two services. As much as the ‘protection plan’ dont cover much it might be worth one day of pain to get the service done if it’s not too far from home. An extra 30min in the car could be worth it. Can you get someone else to deliver and pickup the vehicle for you?

      For what it’s worth, we booked in a first service at the dealer that sold us out current family car. Was a 2hr drive away, but meant a day visiting family. It would have meant their ‘free’ cover continued for a couple of years. Circumstances changed and we couldn’t get there for the first service so the plan expired. No big loss.

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