Tips When Looking For A Warranty Plan
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
If you were to buy a new car, then you’ll automatically be entitled to the manufacturer’s warranty plan, which covers free repairs and reinstallation of all covered parts that may have failed due to flawed equipment. In most states, the “lemon law” legislation offers consumers a replacement or a refund if the car can’t be repaired after a certain number of attempts. If you’re buying a used car, then you’ll have many more extended warranty plans to consider. If your car is over 60,000 miles, then you may have a tough time finding a warranty company at all.
You may be wondering, “Do I need to purchase a warranty plan, or will I be covered by my car manufacturer’s warranty?” In some cases, people have purchased two-year extended warranty coverage only to find that they had already been covered just fine by their manufacturer. According to the consumer site Carsmart.com, the best coverage is on high-end luxury sports Cars, like Aston Martins, Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Rolls-Royces, which are covered until 999,999 miles.
At the next tier, you’re covered for five years (or 60,000 miles) if you drive a Mitsubishi, Kia, Infiniti or Hyundai. You’re covered four years (or 50,000) miles if you have an Acura, Audi, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Hummer, Isuzu, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Maserati, Mazda, Mercedes, Mini, Porsche, Saab, Volkswagon or Volvo.
You may want to consider purchasing an additional warranty if you’re rough on your mid-range vehicle or if you buy a lower range vehicle from Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Saturn, GMC, Honda, Jeep, Ford, Mercury, Nissan, Pontiac, Suzuki, Scion or Subaru (whose manufacturer warranties only cover 3 years or 36,000 miles.) If you drive a 2008 or later GM model, then you’ll be covered for 100,000 miles or five years.
Sometimes when you purchase an automobile, you receive an “in-house” warranty plan. This means that you’re entitled to some free maintenance and repairs, but only if you come back to the dealership to have the work done. Coverage varies significantly, but should cover major components like the engine, transmission, axles and drive train. It’s a good idea to have the salesperson list what is and isn’t covered for you before you purchase the extended warranty coverage. Sometimes dealers call their plans the “50/50 warranty,” which means the dealer garage charges for parts and labor, then you pay 50% of the total invoice and the garage covers the other half. 50/50 warranties are considered to be a fair deal and the “in house” plans sometimes throw in routine oil changes as an added incentive, which may be a good deal if you live close by.
At Warranty Direct, the cost of waiting to buy a warranty plan can be quite hefty. While you don’t have to be pressured into buying from the dealership immediately before you drive your car off the lot, there are some obvious advantages to buying before you reach 100 miles or 14,000 miles. For a regular sedan, your warranty will cost $1,100, covering you for 7 years or 100,000 miles from the purchase date, if you buy it before you reach 100 miles. Say you wait one year (or 14,000 miles) to buy their warranty plan. Then you will be paying $1,400 and receiving 6 year or 100,000 mile coverage. The following year, you’ll lose a year of coverage and add on an extra hundred as well, so the cost of buying a used car warranty just before the manufacturer’s warranty expires will actually be $675 more than if you had bought it when your car was new, plus you’ll be getting just 4 years or up to 100,000 miles of coverage, when you could have had 7 years.
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