Auto Warranty

When one thinks of the auto warranty, it is either the new car warranty that comes to mind or the extended warranty.  The new car warranty is the first warranty that any vehicle would ever carry – it is the warranty that comes from the manufacturer of the car or at least from the approved car dealership company (approved here simply means that the manufacturer would have given permission to the car dealer to sell on its behalf).  The new car warranty provides a range of coverage for your new vehicle that would be valid for a certain number of years.  New car warranties however specify that only the manufacture or the car dealership company or any listed auto repair shops approved by the dealer are allowed to service or perform repairs on your new vehicle.

The used auto warranty is a warranty that is not as comprehensive as the new car warranty, and it is usually valid for shorter time periods that the new car warranty is.  Extended warranties are best used in such cases to both extend the parts of the vehicle covered by the warranty and to lengthen the time period that the warranty would be valid for.

 

While car warranties are not necessary by law (at least in some states), and while you can very well get along without a car warranty, the purpose of a car warranty is to save you money during times when your car would need servicing or repairing.  While auto insurance is made to cover you and your car against accidental damages, it does not cover the basic wear and tear damages of your car that occur from day to day.  You might be thinking that these repairs are minor, that you do not need car warranty coverage to assist you here.  But think instead about the money that you would have spent to maintain your car for a total of three years, and now think if you had saved that money instead, what you could be doing with it – a vacation, new rims, even put it towards your retirement fund!

 

How do you save money?  If your car is a new car, then most often it is automatically included with the purchase.  And all your repairs (check the actual term of coverage though) would be covered by your manufacturer for the time specified.

 

An Auto warranty is a very essential service for all vehicle owners. Just as important as it is to insure yourself in the event of a major emergency, it is just as important to have coverage for your vehicle in the case of an unexpected emergency.

 

Auto warranties can provide coverage to your vehicle for times of repairs – whether your vehicle has broken down or simply whether you took it in for a servicing.  Auto warranties are numerous, and so can the coverage that is provided by them.  For some auto warranties you would have to pay an additional cost for coverage (these are the extended warranties, also considered the equivalent of the warranty service contract), while some you are automatically covered for by state laws (lemon law and the limited law with specific reference to used cars) or by the vehicle manufacturers (new car warranties or manufacturer’s warranties).  Some warranties provide full coverage and others will only cover you for the basic packages (breakdown repairs versus wear and tear repairs, power train coverage versus bumper to bumper coverage).

 

Irregardless of the type of auto warranty that you have or whether or not you purchased yours, in the end, warranty coverage will save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars worth of repairs or replacements on your vehicle.

A useful auto warranty tip for first time car owners, and any other vehicle owner for that matter, is figuring out whether or not to invest in an extended warranty at all or if it is even worth the extra cost that you would have to pay for it.  Most people buy used cars because this is all they may be able to afford at the point in time.  But ambitions are set higher and most of those same individuals dream of the day that they will drive a brand new car.  So buying a used car is the immediate solution to one problem, and the stepping-stone to achieving greater things. 
It is also a temporary move with the intention that the car would be sold in the not-so-distant future – as short as a couple of months or as long as a couple of years.  The question to ask oneself is therefore: do I, or do I not invest in an additional warranty plan for this vehicle?  True, it would save you the hassle of breakdown repairs and even roadside service assistance, but in the long run would you be paying more money for this plan than you need to for your immediate use?  Is the additional investment a worthy one?  Chances are that if your car is in good condition and looks to need little or no repairs or replacements, then your best option altogether is to forgo the extended warranty!

A car warranty is like your vehicle’s health insurance – you can use it during the insured period to help with the cost, or at least part of the cost, of repairs to your vehicle.

But just as a person’s health insurance policy is issued based on his or her current state of health, so too is your car warranty issued based upon its age and current state of fitness (which would include the vehicle mileage used to date). Much like your health insurance coverage is based upon your age, so too is your vehicle’s warranty based upon it’s life – if your vehicle is too old or has a high mileage , then it become increasingly difficult to issue a car warranty to cover its ‘life’.
Additionally, a health insurance will not cover you for every single sickness, disease or virus that you may come upon. It does not cover certain fatal illnesses or sudden death coverage. Your car warranty works very much on the same principle. Some warranties, for example, cover the cost of repairs for all the parts of the car while others cover only specified parts. Which coverage you have or do not have depends a lot on the age and health of your car.

The first tip about purchasing an auto warranty is that you never purchase is warranty unless it is truly an auto warranty and not some plan where you get minimal warranty coverage.  Both new auto warranties and used car warranties should be provided upon purchase of the vehicle, or not at all.  Sometimes even if these warranties are included, you might need to pay for transfer to your own name.
The only auto warranty that you should purchase is the aftermarket warranty.  It is advisable that you never purchase a warranty from the car dealer from whom you bought the car.  This is simply because all car dealers mark up their prices by as much as thirty percent and over.  Also, you must never buy an aftermarket auto warranty that is included within the final price of a car that you purchase under loan agreement.  This is because all loan purchases will carry an interest charge that would be spread over the total period of payment – that means that if your warranty was included in that price that you would be paying interest on it for years to come.  This could amount in hundreds of dollars unnecessarily spent on a warranty coverage that is worth less than twenty five percent of that.

Auto warranty reviews mostly apply to aftermarket or extended warranties or service contracts.  This is because these are services that you must pay in addition to the cost of what you paid for your car.

 

Most auto warranty reviews would tell you if the company is one that honors its claims, or how common the occurrence of unpaid or unsettled claims within that company is.  It is very easy to become trapped in warranties that contain little clauses that may be intentionally included or excluded as the case might be just so that the company doesn’t stand responsible for the claims made against them.

 

Auto warranty reviews also provide you with guidelines that can assist and prevent you from investing in fraudulent warranty companies or companies that do not really offer you what they advertise.  Most people get tricked out of their money this way, for they invest in a warranty online that says one thing, but doesn’t clarify its statements and leaves you little room to realize that they are doing this.  Unfortunately you would find out the hard way if and when you do try to file a claim.

An auto warranty can take the form of a manufacturer’s warranty, a used car warranty, or an aftermarket auto warranty. A manufacturer’s warranty comes with the purchase of a new car and is included within the vehicle’s purchase price. In other words, you pay no additional costs for a manufacturer’s warranty or a new car warranty. Used cars on the other hand, may or may not carry used car warranties .

In some states it is the law to provide a used car warranty with all used cars sold. The law can vary from state to state however, so you need to check to see if you are entitled to the used-car warranty coverage with the purchase of your used car. Another type of auto warranty coverage thatr is optional is the  extended warranty or the aftermarket warranty. This warranty is one that can be used in conjunction with a new car warranty or a used car warranty to extend the time frame or total coverage of your vehicle.

An aftermarket warranty however is more of a service contract than a warranty agreement, meaning that you have to pay additionally for this coverage feature. A point of interest to remember though is that all cars are covered by an implied warranty unless specifically stated otherwise in a contractual auto warranty agreement that most dealers would provide in writing.

 

One of the best auto warranty tips that you will ever receive is undoubtedly this one: be aware that a vehicle for sale ‘as is’ means just that – as it is.  This means that the vehicle will be sold or bought without a warranty of any kind.  In the event that you come out lucky enough to find that the vehicle does have warranty, then you will be unable to dispute or query any claims or liabilities that may come as such.  This simply means that if your warranty states one thing but the dealer promises you another, then the written warranty stands over any other type of agreement.  Likewise, if you choose to buy a car without a warranty and you are promised accessories or repairs or whatever else you may agree upon with the salesperson, dealer or the current owner, if they choose not honor their word then you do not have any right of way in a courtroom. 

 

Any promises or assurances that you are given, make sure you obtain these in writing.  Make sure that you never fall victim to the ‘as is’ clause.

A variety of online auto warranty review sites are now available over the internet that evaluate and analyze the services offered by so-called auto warranty companies.  Some of these companies are in reality are fraudulent companies and publish auto warranty reviews about themselves to fool ignorant prospective buyers into believing that they are real or that they can offer the best services at the lowest prices.  And unfortunately, some people never find out the truth until it is too late – when they try to make a claim or call for some sort of assistance.

Most auto warranty reviews warn prospective buyers about these fake companies by telling them to look out for reviews and other information on claims paid and not paid, but it is still very easy to be fooled on the internet by such companies.  It is very possible that some of the positive reviews that you are seeing and reading about were submitted by themselves!  Some of the better known auto warranty review sites online however insist that warranty companies that have been reviewed by them publish on every page and claim the trademark logo for that auto warranty review site – that way, the reviews are somewhat authenticated back to a site that can be traced or tracked and be held accountable for that review.