The new car warranty, also commonly referred to as the manufacturer’s warranty, is a warranty that provides repair and/ or maintenance coverage for a new vehicle. A new vehicle is clearly defined as one which has not been driven prior to its purchase.
Sometimes it is possible to get a new car warranty with the purchase of a used car if its former owner had bought it brand new and had sold it long before the new car warranty had expired – either in terms of its coverage period or its mileage coverage. In such cases however, the new owner of the car (now considered a used car) does not automatically gain coverage for the new car warranty – he must pay certain fees if he wishes to get the warranty onto his own name.

It is normally worth the used car owner’s while to pay for the new car warranty coverage if the car still has a long way to go before expiry in terms of both coverage period and mileage coverage. If however the car is due to exceed its new car warranty mileage coverage within a few months or even up to a year from its purchase, then the new owner must consider carefully if it is worth his time to pay the fee or simply to get another type of warranty coverage.