New purchase - C6

[Vallunstein297]

Hello! I've been on the ride for purchasing a Citroën c6 for quite some time. I've had some specifications one of which was that the car should be a V6 petrol, which is quite rare unfortunately. After a long search, I happened to find 3 cars that suite my taste. All of them 3 located in Spain.
Now, I love roughly 3000km far away from Spain, and the dealership that sells one of the cars that I liked, claims to provide a 12 months of warranty for the vehicle. My plan is to purchase the vehicle and drive it straight back to my hometown basically. My question is, what do such warranties cover (usually) and in theory, will they help me if the vehicle has a breakdown on my way back?

I'm sorry if this topic has been discussed before, just couldn't find any information on it.

Thanks in advance

[Paul-R]

I think your biggest concern would be that the warranty won't cover you in a different country 3000km away regardless of what it might cover in Spain. This is something you should clarify with the sellers and/or the warranty companies.

[GiveMeABreak]

What any warranty covers will be entirely dependent on the company issuing the warranty and you should make sure you get an advanced copy of the coverage before purchasing to see if it meets your needs. Sometimes warranties are offered at different levels, with the dealer offering a basic level of coverage and sometimes offer the option to upgrade the warranty for an increased payment which provides more coverage.

However warranties rarely provide any breakdown cover. You should therefore make sure you have your own comprehensive international breakdown cover before deciding to purchase the vehicle. Remember your existing breakdown coverage very likely won't apply outside Bulgaria, so you'll need to consider upgrading it.

Having arranged breakdown cover, you also need to bear in mind that if you do breakdown and have recovery included, you generally only get a choice of getting the vehicle towed to a local garage or to you home address - again you really need to read the detail of your breakdown cover and make sure it covers you for every eventuality.

[Vallunstein297]

I think your biggest concern would be that the warranty won't cover you in a different country 3000km away regardless of what it might cover in Spain. This is something you should clarify with the sellers and/or the warranty companies.

Hi! My biggest concern would be if there happens to be any breakdowns during my way back to my home country. This is my concern honestly, if either the gearbox might fail, an oil leak might occur, or any leak from the suspension. As the car is 14 years old and 135,000km (according to the dealership) I really don't know if i should be worried for anything that might happen

[Paul-R]

Breakdown cover is different as Marc says. That would have to be arranged separately.

[Gibbo2286]

Find a car transporting company and have it shipped on a trailer, there are companies who do at a reasonable price if they have an empty return run.

[Vallunstein297]

Find a car transporting company and have it shipped on a trailer, there are companies who do at a reasonable price if they have an empty return run.

Of course i have thought about it, but the shipping companies want quite some money, because the distance is very big. None of them have empty returns really. Even if they do, they'll squeeze the max out of everything.

[PaulC5]

The C6 3 litre petrol seems to give about 25 mpg so it might cost around 500 euros in petrol to drive the car back. I would not pay anything towards the car until you have inspected it and in the UK companies like the AA and RAC will do car inspections if you pay them. If there is something similar in Spain it may be worth the cost since it should highlight any problems with the car and you could then change your mind. Being an older car it is possible Citroen no longer supply some parts so something to consider.

[Vallunstein297]

The C6 3 litre petrol seems to give about 25 mpg so it might cost around 500 euros in petrol to drive the car back. I would not pay anything towards the car until you have inspected it and in the UK companies like the AA and RAC will do car inspections if you pay them. If there is something similar in Spain it may be worth the cost since it should highlight any problems with the car and you could then change your mind. Being an older car it is possible Citroen no longer supply some parts so something to consider.

A friend of mine will be overlooking the vehicle for me. Of course we plan the inspect the vehicle at the time we are there with diagnostics tools. My friend also told me that there is the possibility to pay a small fee, and get the complete history of the vehicle. Lastly, i know the car is not the most fuel efficient and I know there are some issues with some certain parts, but overall the engine is lot more bulletproof than the diesel variants. Besides, the C6 is already considered not very reliable. I don't want to worry about failure of the diesel engine, the egr systems, the twin turbos nor the fap system.

[GiveMeABreak]

... or the auto gearbox oil cooler... which happened to a member here on bringing his C6 back to the UK from France:

viewtopic.php?p=624799#p624799

One other thing to be aware of is the lack of windscreens now for the C6. The insurance company wrote David's car off as he could not get a replacement windscreen, despite there being a used one available on the second hand market. Citroen don't make them and they aren't available new anywhere he could find.

[Vallunstein297]

... or the auto gearbox oil cooler... which happened to a member here on bringing his C6 back to the UK from France:

viewtopic.php?p=624799#p624799

One other thing to be aware of is the lack of windscreens now for the C6. The insurance company wrote David's car off as he could not get a replacement windscreen, despite there being a used one available on the second hand market. Citroen don't make them and they aren't available new anywhere he could find.

Well, to be fair UK is far closer than Spain is to my home country (Bulgaria)
On the other note.. I would really need some kind of insurance just only for the trip back (Around 3000KM). I'm not sure where I can purchase one, or get an offer for one.
Other thing to note, the car is with spanish plate numbers. The only websites I seem to find insure only UK vehicles. I suspect local spanish insurance policies might be able to help.

[GiveMeABreak]

You should be able to arrange actual car insurance cover for a limited period for this purpose. Have a chat with your current vehicle insurer and tell them you are thinking of purchasing another vehicle and need some temporary cover (or full-time cover if you are going to be driving it once you get it back home) and they should either be able to add it onto your existing policy or provide temporary cover for an agreed period for an additional payment.

[Vallunstein297]

You should be able to arrange actual car insurance cover for a limited period for this purpose. Have a chat with your current vehicle insurer and tell them you are thinking of purchasing another vehicle and need some temporary cover (or full-time cover if you are going to be driving it once you get it back home) and they should either be able to add it onto your existing policy or provide temporary cover for an agreed period for an additional payment.

I did give them a call, but they said it's absolutely unthinkable since the car has foreign registration. If I want such services with local insurance company, that has to have Bulgarian registration number.
I think i will be looking into spanish companies for that matter

[GiveMeABreak]

A bit of a quandary for you then.

Most people would have the vehicle exported to them, which negates the need for insurance and breakdown cover, as these costs would likely be covered within the overall price of delivery to you. It may be expensive to do, but once you factor in the issues you are having of insurance and breakdown cover, the choice becomes understandable and may not be as expensive after all with all things considered.

[Vallunstein297]

A bit of a quandary for you then.

Most people would have the vehicle exported to them, which negates the need for insurance and breakdown cover, as these costs would likely be covered within the overall price of delivery to you. It may be expensive to do, but once you factor in the issues you are having of insurance and breakdown cover, the choice becomes understandable and may not be as expensive after all with all things considered.

True that. I will be asking my friend what options do the local insurance companies provide and choose carefully. I've been asked for about 950€ for transportation of the car. On the other side, there is the opportunity for very very nice road trip with the car, If it happens to be trouble free, maybe at a slightly smaller cost.