Should You Get An Extended Auto Warranty?

By Grant Davis

Are you considering an extended new car warranty or used car warranty? Are you uncertain of the value of purchasing such a warranty?

It is important to understand that an extended automobile warranty gives protection beyond the dealership warranty. On top of other features and benefits, an extended warranty allows you the flexibility to have your vehicle repaired at any licensed service center in your area.

In addition to repairing mechanical breakdowns, these extended warranty benefits and options are likely to include:
a) 24 hour Roadside Assistance up to $100 for a specified number of occurrences,
b) Car rental benefits if the car is towed to a repair facility,
c) Trip interruption benefits,
d) Additional towing,
e) Other services such as lock out, replacement of oil, or other fluids, and battery boosts.

Car buyers often know nothing about auto warranties. They think they are getting a magic golden wand that will pay for anything that goes wrong. Not true!

Read the fine print, as even with the best extended auto warranty service plan, there are exclusions to what is covered. Often you will find so many items excluded from the warranty repair that you will wonder what exactly is covered other than the perks of roadside assistance, car rental, and other emergency services.

Many websites give tips on how to buy an extended auto warranty online. Investigate carefully, but remember many companies sell warranties. Don’t buy from the first company you investigate.

Check out several, making sure the one you settle on is a financially secure company that administers their own warranties and keeps high enough balances to pay all repair expenses that stretch into the future. Some places where you may obtain warranties from are warranty brokers, and insurance groups.

While your car dealership may offer an extended car warranty, it is often in your best interest to purchase it elsewhere as the dealership many times will employ the warranty as a means to increase their profit by including it in the financing of the vehicle. This translates to your paying interest on the warranty, increasing your overall costs than if you purchase the warranty from an outside company.

Check a credit union, other insurance dealers, or internet sources for their deals on extended car warranties. Buyers usually can negotiate the price of a warranty. A rule of thumb is that buyers may have a margin of one-third to negotiate the warranty. However, the less age and mileage your vehicle has, the less an extended warranty will cost.

Before you buy, read service contracts with the manufacture’s warranty. These often provide coverage for three years or 36,000 miles or whichever comes first.

If you regularly trade your new car every three years, you most likely will never need a new car extended warranty as new cars tend to be fairly trouble free during the beginning years. However, if you’re unlucky in life, love, and automobiles, then purchasing a new car warranty would be a smart move.

Grant Davis is a freelance writer and has worked in a variety of fields, including teaching. Feel free to use the above article, as long nothing is changed, the bio remains, all hyper links remain as is and the rel="nofollow" tag is not added to any links.

If you need further help, you may want to visit http://www.bestautowarranty.info which covers a wide range of issues and information on auto warranties.