Even when we buy a used car, the dealer often offers us a warranty. It seems like a good idea, and to be sure, we don’t want to feel like we’ve bought a lemon if something goes wrong months later. However, those warranties only cover a short amount of time at the beginning of your ownership period. This is the exact time when things are less likely to break down. To draw coverage out longer, you can purchase an other kinds of warranties for your car.
More Tech, More Warranties
There are various reasons why more and more owners are going for longer-term warranties, and much of this comes down to technology. In decades past, if something went wrong on our vehicle, it might be something we could fix ourselves with a trip to the auto parts store.
If not, we surely had an uncle or neighbor who knew how to work on cars. And pretty much any garage could handle the basic mechanisms of our make and model at a decent price.
Today, however, cars are rapidly transforming into computers. Even used cars several years old contain computers. Sensors detecting air pressure, engine temperature, and more feed information to the computer/s in your car. Identifying the problem requires computer diagnostics.
This is on top of other computer-controlled features your car may have such as keyless entry, smartphone integration, air bags, and brakes. If you own a luxury vehicle, it might, at its core, be more of a computer than a car.
Diagnosing and fixing these computer systems can be very expensive. It’s not something the average person can tool around with in their garage, either. Purchasing a warranty is a simple way to rest assured that when one of your car’s systems goes on the blink, you won’t go broke taking it to someone who has the equipment to deal with it.
How Do You Choose a Warranty?
You insure your vehicle so that in the event of an accident, you’re not just eating the loss. You can think of factory and aftermarket warranties the same way, in that what you pay now can prevent major expenses later.
On your quest to find affordable used car warranties, be sure to do the math and read the fine print. The first thing you want to know is exactly what the warranty covers. Is it powertrain only, or does it resemble more of a bumper-to-bumper agreement? Is there roadside assistance? Ask other questions pertaining to the amount of the deductible, and where you can take your car to be serviced.
Then, look at the length of coverage. For instance, a warranty might cover you for a few years, or up until your car hits a certain number of miles. If you’re reasonably close to hitting that mile-mark, years-worth of coverage may not be the best choice.
Technology has made cars smarter and safer, but they now require more skill for many repairs. Purchasing a warranty to cover you after your initial one expires is the best way to ensure you won’t have a string of huge breakdown bills. Find a provider who is accredited by the Better Business Bureau, and drive off in confidence.