Complaint Review: Virginia Surety Company

• In March 2010, I purchased a 3-year extended warranty from The Warranty Group (United Auto Care) for my pre-owned BMW M3.


• On May 23, 2012, I brought the vehicle to a  qualified BMW repair facility to diagnose and/or repair problems with transmission and suspension.


• The repair facility indicated the following problems:

1. Rear Control Arm bushings defective;


2. Transmission paddle shift switches intermittently failing to engage;


3. Fly wheel or clutch problem causing shaking and slipping.

The repair company contacted The Warranty Group (United Auto Care) to initiate service claim,

at which time, The Warranty Group (United Auto Care) stated the following:

1. "Rear Control Arm bushings are a warranty-covered component."


2. "Paddle shifter switches are NOT a warranty-covered component," even though the warranty contract language explicitly states that "manually operated switches are covered," and "mechanically actuated switches are covered."


3. "Fly wheel is a warranty-covered component, but Owner must authorize disassembly of transmission at his own cost of approximately $1,500 to determine whether the problem is due to a warranty-covered component.


4. The Warranty Group (United Auto Care) indicated that they would send a claims adjuster to the auto repair facility to inspect and make a determination of coverage.

As an automobile owner who paid $3,000 for the extended warranty, I feel that United Auto Care is ripping me off.

1. The Warranty Group (United Auto Care) summarily denied coverage for an explicitly covered component (manually operated paddle shifter switches);


2. The Warranty Group (United Auto Care) claims adjuster did NOT even inspect the Rear Control Arm bushings, but denied the claim stating that "there is nothing wrong with the bushings."


3. The Warranty Group (United Auto Care) refuses to accept or decline the hourly labor rate of the repairs, and insists that I must disassemble transmission at an unknown cost exposure prior to dispositioning claim on transmission problem.

It is clear from the way that The Warranty Group (United Auto Care) has responded to this routine claim that they are - in typical "insurance company fashion," attempting to avoid paying a claim to which they are contractually obligated (as illustrated by their summary refusals to pay for switch repairs and bushing repairs).

United Auto Care and The Warranty Group and the Virginia Surety Company are RIP OFFS!