New Car Warranty | Extended Warranty
New vehicle warranties are designed to provide peace-of-mind and several years of worry-free service. It is often in the best interest of the manufacturer to provide a wide range of warranty services and coverage. After all, the longer the warranty the greater the perception of quality attributed to the vehicle.
Traditional warranty coverage offered by the domestics has been 3-years or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first. However, several years ago import brands began offering longer warranty terms to bolster reliability perceptions. Now, nearly all manufacturers offer warranty services that exceed the typical 3-year/36,000 mile bumper-to-bumper coverage. These increased cover ages might take the form of longer terms, roadside assistance, vehicle telematics, and other perks of ownership.
A common set of exclusions applies to almost every vehicle warranty, and these normally include brake pads, filters, wiper blades, light bulbs, hoses, belts, batteries, and tires. Batteries and tires are covered by warranties offered by their manufacturer, rather than the automaker. Warranties can be voided by using bad or contaminated fuel, modifications to the vehicle, accidents, misuse, improper maintenance, or attempts to fix the vehicle yourself. See your warranty details for specific information on exclusion and void clauses.
Basic Warranty
The basic warranty is the typical bumper-to-bumper coverage that provides protection for all vehicle components not excluded under the terms of the warranty or covered by other warranty provisions. Traditionally this coverage has been 3-years or 36,000 miles, which ever came first. However, some automakers have upped their basic bumper-to-bumper coverage to 5-years or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first. Manufacturers of exotic cars, whose coverage can be less than 2-years or 24,000 miles, offer the shortest warranty periods.
Powertrain/Drivetrain
The powertrain or drivetrain warranty covers the engine, transmission, axles, driveshaft, and internal components of those pieces of equipment. The best powertrain warranties come in at 10-years and 100,000 miles but 7-years and 60,000 miles is average.
Rust, Corrosion, and Anti-Perforation
Rust and corrosion coverage protects against the corrosion of the body of the car and occasionally areas of the vehicle not normally accessible from the outside, such as floor plans, trunk pans, firewalls, and other surfaces prone to corrosion. Depending on the terms of the warranty, this coverage may only come into play if there is perforation of the sheetmetal surface. Corrosion caused by accident, damage, abuse, modifications, corrosive cargo, or non-perforating corrosion such as that caused by sand, salt, hail, stones, or other road debris. The best rust-through protection on the market is currently 12-years with unlimited miles; however, the average coverage term is much shorter and can be as little as 3-years.
Replacement Parts and Accessories
Replacement parts and accessory warranty coverage covers factory-authorized dealer-installed accessories which are installed prior to deliver, factory-installed accessories installed prior to delivery, or both. This warranty coverage may also apply to individual replacement components. Many individual replacement parts have their own independent warranty that often takes over from the factory warranty once the part is replaced. This individual component warranty may not cover labor involved and may only cover the cost of the parts or accessories.
Federal Emission and Performance
This federally required warranty protects the vehicle owner from the cost of repairs for emission related failures due to defects in materials or workmanship. This warranty comes into effect if the vehicle exceeds federal emission standards or if an emissions-related part fails during the warranty period.
The performance portion of the warranty covers components that cause failure of an emissions test and the range of covered parts can be quite broad, as there are many components affecting vehicle emissions. The design and defect portion of the emissions warranty covers emissions-related parts that become defective during the warranty period. Usually, the parts covered by the design and defect portion of the warranty must have the primary purpose of controlling emissions.
Emissions warranties cover items such as the oxygen sensor, catalytic converter, engine control module, on-board diagnostic devices, and other electronic emissions control devices. The emissions warranty can even cover items for which the primary purpose if the part is not emissions control yet impact vehicle emissions in such a way the failure of the part causes the vehicle to fail an emissions test. These parts can include turbochargers, fuel injection systems, intake manifold, exhaust manifold, and ignition system. In addition, any hoses, gaskets, brackets, clamps or other accessories used in an emissions system are covered by this warranty. This is just a sample of the many parts potentially covered under an emissions warranty. See your specific warranty documentation for details.
California Emissions
Vehicles with this specific warranty coverage are subject to California standards that essentially provide amounts of coverage, but the coverage is expanded to include more cars for longer periods than the federal emissions standards.
Roadside Assistance
Roadside assistance warranties offer assistance in the event you lock yourself out of the car, run out of gas, get a flat tire, or are otherwise unable to operate your vehicle due to minor problems. These warranties may also offer limited towing services, rental cars, loaner cars, jump-starts, and assistance if the vehicle breaks down and needs to repair when far away from home. The best roadside service coverage comes in at 5-years or 100,000 miles but the average term is usually identical to the basic warranty coverage.
Used Vehicle Warranties
There are three types of warranty coverage available for used vehicles: the original remaining factory warranty, extended warranties, and dealer coverage.
Depending on the age and the number of miles on the used vehicle in question, the car may have the remainder of the factory warranty still in place. This factory coverage usually entails the full benefits the original owner of the vehicle enjoyed.
Extended warranties are readily available for nearly any used vehicle which is five years or newer and has less than 50,000 miles on the odometer. It is possible to find coverage for used vehicle as old as 10 years and up to 150,000 miles but these plans tend to be rather expensive.
The most typical coverage found on used vehicles is limited coverage offered by the dealership directly. Usually this coverage only applies to major components and then only for a very short period, sometimes as little as three days or 1,000 miles. However, it is possible to find dealerships that warranty their cars for up to 12 months. This is especially true of dealerships that sell factory-certified used cars extensively reconditioned for resale.
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