Car Used Warranty
Despite the fact that used warranties carry a lot less coverage options than their new car counterparts, the policies can be just as tricky. For example, they don’t fit with the car they’re bestowed upon and create all kinds of discrepancies. Most of the time they just come as packet of coverage options all mixed up and some quite useless. They are seen more like ways to reduce liability.
Even so, many customers don’t see much difference between used car warranties and new car warranties. The idea is that both cover just about anything, starting with the powertrain and ending with the electrical system and accessories. Some might pay only a part of the repair costs. The experts from Consumer reports have composed a list of the most common types of used car warranties.
The basic warranty. This is the most commonly used warranty. In most states, just about any dealership that wants to sell its cars fast, has basic warranty coverage. These offer a minimal warranty and usually help out selling the car. People get sucked in by the idea that in case of something going wrong, they have the coverage. Unfortunately most don’t know that, usually, these warranties only pay for 50% of the repair costs and labor done to the car. Not to mention that the expiration period can be anywhere from 30 days to one year.
A more “serious” warranty is the extended length warranty. These policies are offered either by automakers or insurance companies. Also known as service contracts, these coverage options are very similar to the extended warranties placed on new cars. They protect the customer from costly repairs, and cover up to 100.000 original miles. These kind of policies come in various coverage options. You can cover important systems such as the powertrain, engine or electrical system, or you can cover just about anything besides the regular maintenance.
The Certified pre owned policy is probably the most reliable of them all. It brings just about all the coverage options of the extended warranty, but also provides bumper to bumper. It also comes with a little extra coverage to offer a bit more appeal to the car. These programs (similar to extended warranties) cover the powertrain for a longer period of time, in some cases reaching the 100.000 miles cap. Some automakers may offer several bumper to bumper policies that fully protect your car for a little while after the purchase. Just about all of them have deductibles and also provide roadside assistance.
Implied warranties are the ones that answer to the requirement posed by some states in the US, which state that no used car should be sold as is. In these states, if the driver would drive the car for a week and its wheels fell of, and a mechanic could provide evidence that the trouble was already there before the car was sold, a seller would have to make all the necessary repairs.
The aftermarket accessories warranty covers just about anything from stereos and audio systems to navigation and GPS. The only problem is that these systems come with a warranty of their own that, could sometimes get in conflict with the car’s original policy. You need to read these warranties carefully because some tend to cover ONLY the aftermarket component installed in the car, and not the other components that might be damaged as well.
And finally, a decent and useful coverage is for replacement parts. If the parts are bought from a dealership or from the manufacturer, they carry reliable warranties of over one year.
Post tags: Tags: automotive articles, car used warranty
