Hi - I recently bought a 2nd hand car and the Mechancial Protection Plan was offered that is through National Roadside Assist. I am in Canberra and have never heard about them. Google search gets me some information about the company and it is not good. Anyone out there who have used them and can comment on their support and quality of services please.
And it has to be "on time". A few km over and it's gone. A few days over and it's gone. And the service intervals for these plans are sometimes absurd. Some are 2,500km or every 3 months.
And don't forget that repairs often have capped prices on them. Some items that could run into the thousands, ie: gearbox or engine, will often have a capped payout of $500 to $1000. Barely enough to cover the labour costs, let alone the parts.
Whenever I buy a vehicle and they offer this as a selling point, I just cut them off and tell them I don't want it because they are not worth the paper they are printed on. "but but but… it's freeee!!"… No, not it's not.
National roadside assist use local contractors so the actual level of service can vary a lot. They are also very strict with their rules so you need to understand what they cover.
Thanks for your responses. I wish I had sought your advice earlier. I agreed to taking the Plan (know now that I was fooled!) thinking that instead of paying NRMA $100 a year for Roadside Assistance, I will get the 'same' cover from this mob. The Plan offered to me was for $1,100 covering me with the Roadside Assistance for 10 years - so I thought it is OK to go for it as the cost equated out and some form of 'insurance' is also coming through.
So, NRMA for $100 or this mob for $1,100 for 10 years?
So far, NRMA seems the better deal multiplied out x10. Also, this company may not exist in 10 years, so what's it worth in 5 when the company folds?
You need to pull out the terms and conditions of what you bought, what it covers and what your end of the deal is. Only then will you know what its value is.
I agree to your comments Pegaxs.
Maintain the car properly, have a phone and tow truck number, all the insurance you will ever need.
You have a 5 day cooling off period in Canberra.
Is it too late to pull out of the deal?
It'll cost you 0.25% of the purchase price but if you can pull out it might be a good idea to do so.
Only finished my Mechanical Protection plan in September after five years, is it worth it? Depends on your luck.
My car had a faulty power windows panel (centre console) and it was replaced for free, the only other thing it was used for was an OBD scan, which for some reason would cost 170+ to plug it in and read a code.
If you look at what's included, you have to have some horrible luck for those to go wrong (refer back to my is it worth it comment).
In hindsight, i wouldn't get it and save truckloads on my repayments, join the NRMA (or similar) and jobs done.
tldr; don't do it unless you have horrible luck
Sincere thanks all - most useful!Regarding the 5 day cooling off period - I called the dealer and he said 30% of the price will be deducted even though it has been 2 days since I bought the Plan. Is there any legal reference that I can use to enforce the refund during the cooling-off period?
Contact ACT Office of Fair Trading. They can tell you exactly what you can and cannot do.
(02) 6207 0400
Thanks
Hopefully you didn't pay for the 'Mechanical Protection Plan' as it's not a factory based coverage but an add on feature that the dealership gets a huge commission for.
The 'Plan' is full of get out of jail free clauses including you must have your car serviced only at their service centres, often at greatly inflated prices.