TVR Cerbera - Warranties

The clutch release bearing failed in my 92 Griff 4.0l and was replaced under the Warranty supplied with the car. I had to pay for the clutch plate and cover but Warranty Holdings paid for everything else. When the car was reassembled it wouldn't go into gear. A second dismantling of the gearbox found some damage (a broken washer!) which again was paid for by Warranty Holdings. Reassembling the car again, it still wouldn't go into gear. The car was trailered to Aldershot to a gearbox specialist who determined the problem as a misaligned gear linkage. The work was paid for by Portfields. In my experience Warranty Holdings and probably others are more inclined to pay if a dealer who sells their policies makes the claim. Every time I have tried to make a claim personally it has been rejected.

Here's a word of warning for all you Cerbera owners from your Uncle Dubbs. I took DUB13Y into WLA after the steering wheel controls started failing apparently a known problem on Cerberas. What you have is a ribbon cable several feet in length going to the wheel controls, over time this cable can get itself twisted around the steering column and either pull itself off or snap. Surprise, Surprise in my case it had snapped. Ok, no problem, warranty covers that right? WRONG ! my 5 star Gold TVR warranty doesn't cover it, page 3 or 4 I think, at the bottom it says cables aren't covered. What a load of old crap !

Anyone had any experience of claiming for this fault ?

I have the Warranty Holdings Gold Cover on the Cerbie and have had the following work done:

Air con re-pressurized twice.
Rear suspension wishbones, anti-roll bar mounts, rear shock absorber replaced.
Steering rack replaced
Crank shaft seals on engine done.

The key I believe is having the dealer (and Factory) on your side. If they put up a good case, then in my experience they will pay up.

The rear suspension stuff was picked up through a combination of the factory, Team Central and WH paying for various bits and pieces. All in all, the cover which was included in the purchase price and is recommended by John Hunter has been worthwhile. TC have been good at arguing the case with both the factory and WH. So in this case, it has been worthwhile and yes I will probably renew it as well.

Has anyone ever managed to get a claim through a warranty company. I have a 2 year warranty with Warranty Holdings, and they have yet again refused to pay out. My problems so far and the results...

1. Total brake failure
Claim turned down, as an external object had holed the brake pipe. External causes of failure not covered, as well as the pipes themselves

2. Lack of power / Poor running.
No claim made, as it was a combination of a loose cable on the lambda sensor, and the leads and plugs were shagged. A bit surprising that as the car has been through 2 services in the last

3. Clutch stuck then failed
Claim turned down. The cause was that the clutch release arm sheared, and jammed in the clutch, trashing the whole lot. Whilst the clutch is covered, the arm, (and in fact anything connected to the clutch), is not covered, therefore any failure that is caused by a part not covered is not covered.

So I've spent well over 1k on repairs in the 6 months that I've had the car, and I've yet to get a penny out of the warranty. Having argued with them for most of the day, they pointed out that the details of what's covered are listed, (it's a very generic list), and the exclusions are in the terms and conditions. When you look into them, I can't see that you could ever claim. The exclusions are as follows:-

No liability will be accepted for damage caused by :
Neglect                  (Fair enough)
Corrosion                (OK sort of)
Any foreign matter getting into or onto a part (Er excuse me. So all parts must remain pristine, no oil, dirt, dust etc. Only possible in a vacuum)
Lack of servicing       (Fair enough)
Over heating or freezing        (So a loss of coolant for any reason will mean that the claim will be turned down.)
Abuse           (Whatever that may be, it's pretty subjective)
Damage to parts not covered by this policy (What they've used to not pay on point 3, and as most parts likely to fail are the minor parts that cause a major failure it's not too likely that a successful claim can be made)
Parts which have been fitted incorrectly
The effects of poor repairs
Faults or defects at the time of sale (So if anything goes wrong after you've bought it, it's not covered because of this clause. So what's the point of the warranty?)
Parts which have been made or designed badly (What's the definition of a bad design then? They can decide not to pay out at any time and say that they think it's a bad design)
Parts not fitted as standard
Optional extras fitted by the manufacturer, unless cover for such items is agreed beforehand

Having looked at this lot I can't see that a claim will ever be paid. I don't know if there are any lawyers out there, but having read this, I think that this constitutes an unfair contract.

I have to say that this is not the TVR dealer warranty, but the Select Extra that is part of Warranty Holdings, and underwritten by NIG Skandia. Is the TVR dealer warranty this restrictive?

I sent off a claim to them today for a starter motor. The garage failed to use the warranty at the time, so no doubt they'll use that excuse not to
cough up.

I did speak to them, and they said if I sent all the paper work in they'd consider it. Only talking about Ł175.

Fingers crossed.

DATE	PROBLEM	LABOUR	PARTS	SUB	VAT	TOTAL	BALANCE

Wednesday 28 January 1998	Ice warning thermistor	Ł9.13	Ł3.45	Ł12.57	Ł2.20	Ł14.77	Ł674.23

A renewal came through the door today. Upon ringing, I was offered the following :

When I said I wanted to think about it he came out with the old " I'll have a word with the boss. If I can reduce it by a fair bit would you take out the policy today? " routine.

Being the gullible sort, I plumped for the revised : Ł689 or Ł69 deposit & 10 monthly payments of Ł62. This equates to 95p per day.

There are two warranties your TVR dealer will be able to offer currently underwritten by NIG Scandia and made available by Warranty Holdings Ltd. for TVR.

He will probably try to fob you off with the cheaper of the two, the 5 star, but the one to have is the FIVE STAR GOLD. Here is why : After I part ex'd my Lotus Carlton it was sold on with the standard warranty. Within 1 month the air conditioning packed up. It was the condenser BUT the warranty only covered the compressor. 4 months later the clutch fork snapped and it was discovered that the clutch slave cylinder bleed nipple had been sheared off in the past and all attempts to bleed the system were in vain. The replacement is now on order from Germany but the warranty covers NONE of this. It is still off the road. Now you know why you MUST get the GOLD warranty.

This GOLD covers ALL MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS of the insured vehicle.

The standard 5 star warranty has a list of items which are covered but as is always the case the bit that fails on your vehicle will be the bit which isn't mentioned.

The cover is available on vehicles up to 5 years old for periods of 3, 6, 12, 24 and 36 months. Individual claim limits are : Ł100, Ł150, Ł200, Ł250, Ł300, Ł350, Ł500, Ł1000 and up to the retail value of the car.

It is a condition of the warranty that the vehicle is serviced by the supplying dealer or a TVR franchised garage.

Additional benefits include Car Hire, Recovery, Overnight Accommodation & Rail Fare, 60 day Continental Use, a Renewal Option and the ability to transfer the policy to a new owner.

I seem to remember being quoted about Ł450 for 12 months and Ł700 for 24 months when I bought my Cerbie. Whether that was for 5 star or GOLD I don't know. Nor do I know what the claim limit was. I am looking into it again though as the manufacturers warranty runs out at the end of July 97 and I need to make sure that the 6 month extension my dealer is giving me is not going to be the standard 5 star.

They are usually given 'free' with the vehicle, their cost being added to the sale price. If you can offer any further insight in to the trade or retail costs or you have had cause to use the warranty please mail me.

An 2 page article with a score card which allows you to amass points using your existing policy to see whether, in their opinion, your warranty is worth the paper it's printed on.

It also lists the top 10 claims by volume & the top 5 claims by price. In the former list, the top 3 are water pump @ Ł200, alternator @ Ł150 & the head gasket @ Ł300. The most expensive claims are all at Ł1000 and are for the turbo, engine overhaul & electronic ignition.