Auto Warranty

Do you need hybrid car auto warranty coverage? 

Paying top dollar at the gasoline station is hard for consumers, commercial institutions, and government agencies alike.  The recent drop in fuel prices being temporary at best doesn’t help matters for anybody.  Especially because deep down, we know it’s more than likely true that prices will go up again soon. It’s no wonder then, that hybrid and other recently improved cars are in such enormous demand. 

What does this mean for your budget?  Gas will continue to be a ridiculous amount of your spending.  It also means auto warranty coverage is going through some changes specific to the new emissions reducing technology.  Both hybrids and energy efficient vehicles require more costly new energy efficient parts and hopefully will be far more expensive to repair.  Don’t get caught with one of these very high repair bills, put a high priority on purchasing solid hybrid auto warranty coverage to keep your environmentally efficient vehicle on the road as long as possible.

Australian auto-makers are now only three now that Mitsubishi closed its Adelaide plant yesterday.  The closing will effect the community as it has cost it 930 jobs.

Even after receiving millions of dollars in government grants Mitsubishi said its Australian plant and operation had lost over $1.5 billion dollars during the past 10 years leaving no choice but to close its Adelaide manufacturing plant effective next month.

Repercussions  and jobs lost among car parts suppliers and other businesses that relied on the plant will be significant.  Australia’s Innovation and Industry Minister said the pullout was seen coming for quite some time and was immminent. Nevertheless, it was still very disappointing.

Mitsubishi manufacturing closure in Australia comes 16 years after Nissan’s closure of their plant in Victoria.

The industry’s fear now focuses on Ford which is one of three remaining car-makers left operating in Australia in addition to Toyota and General Motors.   Mitsubishi has assured owners of its cars and trucks, including the 380 model, that they would continue to provide parts, auto warranty and service support from its network of dealers.

The company also said that past and future buyers of the remaining 380s would automatically get an extension of the original 3 year auto warranty to 6 years.

Recently market indicators began to make it look like automobile manufacturers auto warranty costs were on the rise.  As it turns out, it seemed to be a simple market adjustment as the costs to warranty their new vehicles has begun to stabilize.  Manufacturers and their supplier’s costs have remained consistent with just a small gap between the two.  The great news is that what auto warranty expenses are no longer skyrocketing which makes US automobile manufacturers feel fairly confident they will continue to even out.

Since September 2007, another quarter has gone by and about $4 billion has been spent processing auto warranty claims.  The auto warranty industry awaits the manufacturer’s filings of their annual spending reports which will probably be available sometime in March.  It will be interesting to see how the trend has continued in the past two fiscal quarters.

In most years the fourth quarter is one of the most expensive for automotive warranty providers in the United States.  We’ll have to wait and see, but it is possible that the fourth quarter of 2007 could have been the most expensive ever.

What would the automotive world be like if General Motors and Ford merged to become one single giant company?  The idea of this potential alliance is very exciting.  Two of the major international automobile players would make industry news and turn the automotive market completely upside down.  If General Motors and Ford put their two very experienced and monumentally influential companies together it would be quite a risky business move.  A general business concern would be what exactly it would do to the auto industry.

The industry would certainly feel the effect of the two automotive giants’ merger, but if it failed both companies would suffer globally.  Many large companies in similar industries have merged successfully but this would be one of the largest mergers in history.  Both companies have a solid reputation and broad product base but may end up competing only with themselves.  Reports of a possible merger General Motors and Ford are stirring up quite a bit of interest in the automotive world.  Just the effects on the auto warranty industry would be enormous.  I certainly am not holding my breath.

A new car franchised dealer located in the southern United States has been found to be selling fraudulent extended auto warranties to its customers.  These accusations have been made by several customers when they attempted to use their auto warranty coverage, only to find out it was not valid for the repairs it described in their contract.  It turned out that there were many backdoor outs the dealership had given itself when preparing the contract forms.  These customers complained that the dealership would not on the coverage as written, leaving the consumers with repair bills they believed were covered.  It was later learned that several other customers that actually did get claims paid for work done at a variety of repair shops complained of a lengthy and difficult claims process.

Stories like these are precisely why any auto warranty offered by a dealer, or even an aftermarket auto warranty should provide clear terms and conditions understandable by a consumer.  You should not need a lawyer to interpret what is considered a covered breakdown and what is not.  Consumers should also be wary of any contract that does not clearly describe itself in the layman’s terms.

A quality extended auto warranty can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars, but only if it is written in a way that allows it to be recognized by repair shops and dealerships nationwide.  It should also only be purchased from a company that has a solid reputation and is a member of the Better Business Bureau.  An investment in an extended auto warranty from an upstanding company should always mean that there will never be a question about whether your coverage is valid when it is needed.

Until very recently nobody believed the auto warranty industry could support a trade association.  But a warranty seminar was held in Detroit and sold out so people will take notice. So who can host a workshop for warranty pros?  The notion of an industry association for auto warranty professionals seems as unlikely as, say, the idea of a publication about the warranty industry. Who would read this, and who would come to the meetings of such a group? 

The answer to the first question is already known. Several thousand auto warranty professionals in 29 countries read Warranty Week either by email or on the Web. The answer to the second question is not known yet. Could there be demand for a auto warranty industry association a warranty interest group? 

It’s up to the readers of Warranty Week to answer the question. Currently, there is no Auto Warranty Industry Association and nobody’s suggesting one should be created.  There is some interest in forming one though. While there is no yearly convention at Walt Disney World for the warranty industry, there might be at some point 

The important question to answer is does anybody know about a group that already exists that may support the needs and interests of auto warranty professionals? And if the answer is no, is there a need for one to be created?

Road service refers to assistance extended by auto warranty providers to vehicle owners at times of distress.  It is not obligatory that a road service plan be included with new car warranties or used car warranties.  They are however, important and assist customers in distress, especially when they are stranded on motorways when their vehicle breaks down.

Normally, the road service is offered by cars manufacturer but expires with the original coverage.  Sometimes dealers may offer independent road service for their customers but this is very rare and is only for breakdowns in their region.

At the time of delivery, insist on an auto warranty that offers a road service program. Road service includes range of services starting from repairs and maintenance of the engine to flat tires service.

Usually road service operates through a hotline telephone number and has a toll-free number to call whenever vehicle owners are in distress and help is usually there in less than 45 minutes.

Automotive performance and sporty looks are brought together without the need for gasoline.

Tesla, based in San Carlos California is trying to reshape the automobile industry.  They recently introduced the Tesla Roadster, and hot looking, future thinking, all-electric sports car. That’s right, it’s a sports car. It is an open topped rear wheel drive and can get from zero to sixty in about four seconds.  A great engine design keeps the car at full torque at all times.  The body, made of all carbon fiber is lightweight and strong. Its Energy Storage System allows the vehicle to get a surprising 250 miles per single charge.

Auto warranty is still a question mark as there are no aftermarket auto warranty programs that currently cover all-electric vehicles.

A real bonus though, is that there are no waste products pouring into the air which eliminates the need for an exhaust pipe.  Tesla said it best when they stated “The roadster offers the power of a sports car, the driving range of a hybrid, and the environmentally friendliness of a bicycle”.

Even at $100,000.00 each, they can’t build them fast enough.  Could all-electric be the future of all cars in the U.S.?

Sure, you want to be environmentally friendly and don’t want to put any more money than you need to into the pockets of the fat cat executives of the oil industry.  But is purchasing a new hybrid vehicle a good way of going about it.  I believe the answer is yes.  The demand for hybrids has been increasing at a rapid pace for the past decade or so.

In addition to being fuel friendly, these vehicles are also environmentally sound and produce far less emissions than standard vehicles.  This newer hybrid technology has also made these vehicles far more complex than cars and trucks of the past.  This has forced auto warranty providers to make adjustments to their coverage to allow for much of this new technology.  Now, more than ever, an extended warranty is an essential piece of the new car purchasing puzzle.

An ecologically conscious consumer will surely be smart enough to choose to add the purchase of an auto warranty to their decision to make a hybrid a part of their family.

Many auto dealers offer vehicles they call “program cars” in addition to the new and used cars a consumer would be traditionally familiar with.  These program cars are sometimes an excellent bargain as they are generally near new with low miles and have some manufacturer’s auto warranty remaining.

One of the problems I find in the way dealers offer these program cars are that they don’t always tell you the whole story of where they come from.  Program cars, many times are former rental vehicles that have been turned back over from the major rental companies for sale to the consumer.  As you may already know, rental vehicles are not traditionally treated very well.  It is for this reason that if you are purchasing a program car an extended auto warranty should be an essential part of the purchase.  When purchasing any car or truck that does not show a trail of its history is a risky proposition.  And auto warranty purchase almost completely eliminates this risk.

Do your research prior to purchasing and you will almost always be pleased with the product that you purchase.