TheSamba.com :: View topic - Who's had to use AUL or other 'extended warranty contracts'?

Sun Aug 26, 2007 9:03 am

I'm faced with making a claim on my warranty contract. Naturally, it has about a billion 'outs' for the warrantor, so I'm sure I'll be lucky to see much. I'll almost certainly be going after the dealer for some of it.

Anybody have any experiences to relate, or tips on how to level the field a little when dealing with the warranty company?

Sun Aug 26, 2007 2:06 pm

Looks like I may be the first. I'll post all my results when it's all said and done. There's a reason I've never bought an extended warranty before, and I suspect (after this is all done) I'll never again...

I'll work up a nice long post about my whole EVC buying and repairing experience, as soon as it's 'over'.

The worst part is that if I had time, I would love to do the tranny swap myself. There's just no way right now, though.

Mon Aug 27, 2007 2:15 pm

It might be worth giving gowesty a call to see what they've experienced with AUL. They sell these warranties with a lot of thier vans so Id imagine they must have had some success with them? MAybe? Look forward to reading the reality...

Tue Aug 28, 2007 10:35 pm

Ok, I've called AUL and initiated my claim. They told me to have the shop diagnose the problem. The shop said, "Uh, the transmission doesn't work!" So AUL instructed them to obtain authorization from me to remove the transmission and ship it to Bend for tear-down and analysis. Since this is occurring in Portland, it could definitely be worse (Bend is about a 3 hr. drive).

Hopefully AUL won't require one of their own inspectors to come and look at the opened up tranny, since that would probably take long enough to kill our vacation plans.

After German Transaxle in Bend opens up the tranny, they, or AUL's agent will report their findings to AUL, who will decide if I have a claim.

Darryl at Precision Motor Car has been terrific so far. He seems genuinely interested in my plight, and has called me back both tiimes when he said he would (amazing that that is noteworthy, isn't it?). Darryl says one gotcha might be AUL attempting to cover only the repair of the defective part inside the transmission, and re-use the rest. In that case, I would be left to decide whether to pony up for a complete rebuild (no-brainer). Needless to say, I hope German Transaxle finds a big wad of mangled metal in there when they open it up.

It will, no doubt, be interesting to see what AUL says. I'm trying to prepare myself for all of the usual trickery and finger pointing, but I'll try to keep an open mind as much as possible. Who knows? Maybe they'll step right up and do the right thing! :) Either way, you'll hear all about it.[/i]

Wed Aug 29, 2007 11:01 am

Good luck with that whole after-market warranty thing. I will never buy one again. I got one with my Syncro Westy purchase from a dealer in Colorado. It is called SafeChoice. What a joke. Even if you do exactly what they say, you still don't get a warranty and they find a loophole. "A fly landed on the right side windshield and splatted on the window and that put excessive drag on the co-efficient driveability of the engine ratio and therefore, we will not accept your claim".

A joke but that is what you get with these people. This SafeChoice place I had is not open weekends, and I had a break-down of a covered item while on a business trip and it happened on a weekend. I called them to let them know what happened but no one would answer. They are closed. Even when they are open, you do not get a live person to answer the phone. They tell you like 80 times to send an email to blahblahblah.com and someone will get back to you in 48 hours. So, they expect you to sit on the side of the road until they get off there butts. No emergency contingency there. I saved all my receipts and showed I kept up with all their oil changes (pro done) and VW maintenance (pro done) and the issue was supposed to be covered. Arrived home, showed them all the details, and they declined because they did not approve of the service. I told them I called but they were not in. I asked them did they expect their customer to just sit on the side of the road until they get back in the office but since I have to send a request via email, how the heck can I do that on the side of the road.

A joke.

Anyway, I hope you have a better experience than I.

I will not buy one again and this SafeChoice, what a joke. My father-in-law told me so, and I did not listen, paid good money for the warranty, and then they find loopholes that they make-up themselves to trap us I bet.

tj

*So I have decided to just do my own maintenance on my own ride now and will not even try to keep up with their expensive "pro" maintenance requirements anymore. I of course pray nothing major happens and all is well. :(

Wed Aug 29, 2007 11:09 am

Yeah, the AUL contract has all of those cute loopholes, too. They do however offer coverage for repairs that are 'emergency in nature'. Also, they have been quite good about answering the phone, and have been very informative and courteous thus far.

Of course, talk is cheap!

No, I would never buy one either (nor on any other kind of purchase), but this one was 'included' (I should have specified that it be left off).

Live and learn. Sometimes even things you thought you already knew! :roll:

Wed Aug 29, 2007 11:37 am

Kuhlbox wrote: Yeah, the AUL contract has all of those cute loopholes, too. They do however offer coverage for repairs that are 'emergency in nature'. Also, they have been quite good about answering the phone, and have been very informative and courteous thus far.

Of course, talk is cheap!

No, I would never buy one either (nor on any other kind of purchase), but this one was 'included' (I should have specified that it be left off).

Live and learn. Sometimes even things you thought you already knew! :roll:

Will keep my fingers crossed for you.

This SafeChoice required I add their special coolant additive in order to originally start their warranty. It supposed to make everything run cooler. Yeah right! They would not allow my to pour in myself. They required I have a pro lube shop pour it in my overflow tank and then get a computer printed receipt. So, I did that even though it takes two seconds to put in myself for free but I guess they don't trust customers to do this simple task. I could understand if the task really needed a mechanic but to add a coolant additive. This is end user stuff that anyone can do. Sheesh.

They also required I have all oils replaced at a pro shop and I was fine with that. Tranny fluids flushed and all other fluids. I did the whole ball of wax.

I hated doing these things as I like to do my own oil changes so I can learn the basics but they required only pro shops do them all and every 4K miles for oil changes. You miss doing the oil change by 1 minute, they cancel your contract. So, if I went 4 months and 1 second instead of exactly 4 months or less, canceled. These folks are that stringent. I put like 4000 miles in a whole year on this Syncro and not just 3 months. So, I was getting oil changed that had only been used 500 to 900 miles or so between changes. That drove me nuts also. This Syncro is mostly a summer mobile for camping so I put very few miles on it. A waste of oil and it never had time to even get dirty. But I stuck with it every 4 months. When it came time where I was about to sell my Syncro, I was going to transfer ownership of this warranty to the new owner. They declines to do it because one oil change I did it at 4 months and 1 day. Only had like 500 miles on it that time. They said exactly 4 months or less. All my others were well under 4 months. They said the if I wanted to send them another $50, they would re-instate my policy but at that time, they would not allow transfer and said the contract is not covered anymore unless I pay them more $$.

Real pieces of art these folks. Not like the olden days where people cared and did their best for you. They did not find loopholes in those days. I can understand if I went 4 months and 31 days or something but we are talking about 1/2 day off here. They should date in their warranty 120 days or less, not 4 months. To me, 4 months could be 4 months and a day as fine.

Anyway, got my fingers crossed for you.

tj

Fri Aug 31, 2007 8:13 pm

kulbox,
am i missing something here? not to be nosey, but
you bought your evc from gowesty and the transmission puked on the way home? and they are not helping you out?? and are making you wade thru the aftermarket warranty maze?
you from another thread -
"I'm not surprised that they didn't paint the interior. My EVC from them was detailed in a very half-assed manner, so to me, that is the norm from GW"

Sat Sep 01, 2007 8:26 am

No, doesn't sound like you're missing a thing. And they have to be in the black well over $10K on this particular van, after selling it a couple of times now. I don't blame them for not doing anything until the warranty coverage is determined, which is why I haven't rendered my final verdict on them yet. Still, had it been my shop, I would have said, "A new tranny is on a truck. We'll figure out the money later. So sorry for the trouble!"

Sat Sep 01, 2007 8:00 pm

Kuhlbox,

Just to let you know, I had a good experience with AUL. My EV AC went out, and they paid for just about everything to get it fixed. So they have already lost money on me.

It is now in for some ABS work, a sensor is down, and they are saying that is NOT covered. I will be taking that up with GW, since the ABS light went off not but a few miles after GW purcahse. Took it back to GW, and they said they could find no code, and the light was out... until I got about 200 miles away. Go figure!

So I will be interested on how they handle your case.

Peace,
DWB

Sat Sep 01, 2007 9:07 pm

That's good info., thanks. I suspect that AUL is like many, in that they will cover a certain limit 'willingly' but after that will fight for every dollar. What is their rationale for not covering your latest claim? Also, if you don't mind, what was the ballpark repair cost for what they DID cover?

Thanks again, and don't hold your breath for GW to help you out...

Sun Sep 02, 2007 10:57 am

Kuhlbox,

The AC repairs totalled out at $1,974 for compressor, receiver/dryer, expansion valve, and other parts and labor. Of that AUL paid $1,847. So you could say I broke even for the cost of the contract (its not free).

However, yours is a different case. GW recommends getting a AUL contract to cover exactly what is up with yours, the sometimes problematic EV transaxle. You can read it over and over again in their blurbs giving the detail on their site, and in the article on transaxles on their library. So, I would imagine that GW would be on your side to get AUL to fix it, since GW sells a lot of AUL contracts (if their site is accurate). Think about it, not every EV trans goes bad in 24k, so AUL in the long run of things AUL should still be ahead of the game. Thats what we paid for: for them to be a bit ahead of the game (profit), for our piece of mind (what Lucas advertises).

Not to overly defend GW, but I had to bring my EV Weekender back for a not just the ABS light, but a couple of other defects, the largest of which was a leaking fuel tank, which they put in as part of the rebuild. They had put in a used one that turned out to be bad. Now, of course, I showed up in their drive way with gas leaking all over creation, but they did do justice. They put in a new tank, paid for the expedited shipping, and got me on the road again faster than I expected. I think Lucas was embarrassed, and they even apologized which you don't get much of in today's world. Thankfully I was on "vacation" and had the time to deal with it.

So, I hope it all works out for you too. Too bad your EV is down over a holiday weekend, as is mine.

Take care,
DWB

Sun Sep 02, 2007 1:52 pm

Well, let's hope you're right, and not me! It's still not all over, so we'll see how it goes. My transmission was shipped Friday from Portland to Bend (still enroute?). Then German Transaxle has to crack it open and render a verdict to AUL, or let them inspect it themselves. We are trying to be on the road by mid-September...we'll see. Not too hopeful right now, though.

Mon Sep 03, 2007 1:44 am

I had AUL on a lease return Jeep I bought from the Dealer
I got the full coverage and after driving the vehicle for a week I noticed a slight whine from the rear end
After the Service Mgr went for a drive with me he said they would replace what ever it needed
AUL paid out more than the cost of my Warranty ($1500) to replace the entire rear axle
of course it came in handy a few more times
the point is...I had no problems dealing with them

Tue Sep 04, 2007 5:56 am

Hi: I'm a newbie to this forum, but I've been a lurker for almost a year now and finally I feel I have something to contribute!

I too have AUL and have had to use it for a few things. As I have vacationbrain right now (I'm up in Newfoundland at the moment and don't have access to my repair records) I can't be specific as to all the work I've had done so far. Also, I am nowhere near as mechanically savvy as most of you on this forum so I am not confident about getting certain details correct.

But, DWB, I do recall having a rear brake sensor replaced as my ABS light also was going on and AUL did pay for that repair. We've had some other what my husband would call "teething" issues with the EVC and have had to use the warranty a few times.

And, yes, I too have come out ahead on this warranty by a hundred bucks or so.

I am blessed to have a mechanic whose shop manager has been running interference for me with AUL. I've run into shops who won't accept warranty work because they've said they've had a lot of problems dealing with them. One of them said he would have to wait 6 months or so for payment!

My mechanic seems to think that AUL has been pretty decent to work with. My shop's owner perused the contract and said he thought that AUL's coverage seemed to be more fair than most.

However, I too have been informed that a new transmission will be in my future after noticing the rough shift from first to second gear. The shop has phototagraphed the transmission fluid for documentation (said they saw metal parts in it) and has replaced it.

Don't know when this unblessed event will happen, but I too will eagerly keep an eye on this thread for updates.

Good luck to all of you, espcially to Kuhlbox and DWB.

Wed Sep 05, 2007 7:33 pm

Now German Transaxle wants the shop in Portland to check my engine for excessive crank end play as a possible cause of the tranny failure. I'm not sure if they are just defending their prior work (presumably they did the rebuild that failed after 20K miles), or if it is standard during all transmission rebuilds, or if they see something specific that makes them suspect crank end play.

Tomorrow the verdict will be handed down:

Will we make our vacation in the van...or not (drum roll please...)

Keep the fingers crossed!

Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:12 pm

Kuhlbox,

I hope things get better. What year is your EV? (I'm wondering which engine you have) Have you called GoWesty?

On my ABS issue, now it turns out the ABS Control Unit is out, and AUL is going to cover it (thankfully).

I did email GW about this issue and got a response back right away. GW's email back to me basically was wondering why AUL wasn't going to cover the speed sensor repair, and thought someone mis-communicated it as a pad wear sensor, which would not be covered.

The dealer I took it too has basically dealt with AUL directly and I haven't had to get involved, which is nice to this point. The drag is that it is now almost two weeks in the shop. I think everyone involved is a bit embarrassed its taken this long.

I'm wondering if the EV platform is really more reliable and less mechanically troublesome than the old Vanagon. At least on the Vanagon, good or bad, I could attempt to fix it myself. The EV is a different beast all together.

DWB

Thu Sep 06, 2007 8:45 am

It's a '97 Eurovan Camper (in name only- in reality it's a huge paperweight).
GW knows about the problem, but they are waiting to see how the AUL coverage comes down. I should get a call of some sort today...

Glad to hear you're getting fixed up! 2 wks in the shop would have been terrific for us!

Fri Sep 07, 2007 4:56 pm

Ok, AUL says the repair is covered.

BUT (you knew it was coming):

The only want to pay the mechanic for his parts and labor, conveniently leaving out his margin on the rebuilt transmission AND the shipping to send the tranny, (quickly), back and forth to the transmission shop, which was AUL's requirement.

This leaves me about $700 short.

So, the glass-half-full guy says, "Hey, it was a covered repair! Whoopee! That's $3300 you might have had to pay yourself! Everybody knows how those policies are written. You could have been denied in a heartbeat! Pay the $700 and skip off down the road with a newly rebuilt tranny for only $700!"

That other guy says, "Your policy says you shall be made whole. If the repair costs as determined by the shop doing the work are $4K, then, by gum, that's what AUL should pay, (since they determined it a covered repair). My policy cost more, in part, because it has no cap on repairs, other than the actual value of the vehicle itself. You should fight hard for that money! That's $700 freaking dollars! That's a respectable solar panel for the roof of that van!"

Opinions?

Edited to add:

Use Precision Motor Car in Portland! Darrell has been just awesome answering questions and hustling to help me get the van back in time for vacation, not to mention relating his helpful experiences with warranty outfits.

Fri Sep 07, 2007 9:21 pm

kulhbox,
i am glad to hear that at least things are moving forward
regarding your situation, i think that i would be making a telephone call to gw.
"IF YOU EXPERIENCE TROUBLE WITH YOUR RECENTLY PURCHASED VEHICLE YOU HAVE OUR PROMISE THAT GoWesty WILL WORK DILIGENTLY TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM IN A FAIR WAY, WHETHER THE ITEM THAT FAILED IS WARRANTED OR NOT."
if they wouldnt cover the $700 completely maybe you could agree to split it 50/50.
none of which compensates you for your time and piece of mind
best