Three individual warranty claims on used cars sold by the RAC Dealer Network topped £6,000 each this year, new figures show.
A list of the priciest repairs paid by Assurant, which partners with the RAC in the warranty and aftersales sector, to RAC warranty holders shows a claim for a first servo at £6,687, an oil pump at £6,504 and gear bearings at £6,270.
The top 10 then makes its way down from a supercharger at £4,107 to an offside rear drive shaft costing £2,632.
Kellie Grocott, RAC director of sales at Assurant, said: ‘Overall, we believe that these figures underline the value of warranties to used car buyers across the RAC Dealer Network.
‘A warranty exists to protect the holder against unexpected costs and these figures show the types of claims that can be made and the significant bills incurred.
‘The dealers in our network go to great lengths to source and prepare very high-quality used cars.
‘But the nature of running any vehicle over time means that problems can and do occur, and the propositions that are built by our dealers, placing our warranties at their heart, provide very strong protection for motorists.’
She emphasised that many of the most expensive issues in the list would have been undetectable during even an extensive test drive or detailed vehicle inspection.
‘However thoroughly potential buyers approach their car search, some issues won’t show up even to an expert looking at a used car.
‘For most motorists, these faults will have come out of the blue – and their warranty has protected them from some extraordinarily steep bills.’
The top 10 individual claims for 2020 paid by Assurant (parts, labour and VAT cost)
- First servo: £6,687
- Oil pump: £6,504
- Gear bearings: £6,270
- Supercharger: £4,107
- First brake band: £4,014
- First clutch pack: £3,496
- Engine – complete exchange unit: £2,785
- Torque converter: £2,698
- Nearside rear drive shaft: £2,633
- Offside rear drive shaft: £2,632
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