Car warranties are usually not thought about until there is a problem with the vehicle. Nevertheless, after your contract expires, every repair becomes your responsibility. You should start planning for life beyond coverage if you get to the end of your car warranty. Keep reading and check to learn how to keep your car costs low if your contract is about to expire – and how to use it now.
Understanding Your Coverage
There is no one factory warranty program that is the same for every driver. Depending on your make and model, a factory warranty may include a powertrain, maintenance, corrosion, and emissions coverage. Also included will be an expiration date, which designates a specific number of months and miles after which the warranty will end. Your responsibility as the owner is to know what your factory warranty coverage includes and excludes. Here are two places you can find all the details:
- Your vehicle purchase documents, and
- The vehicle registration documents. Visit the Brands website.
Make Sure You Know When Your Factory Warranty Expires
You should double-check the start date of your warranty, even if you remember the exact day you picked up your vehicle at the dealership, to determine when it expires. You can check your factory warranty by VIN (vehicle identification number). The number is on your registration card, insurance card, or vehicle title. When you find the VIN, you should contact the service department servicing your brand to track your warranty by VIN.
Keep Your Vehicle In Good Condition
The best way to use your warranty is to follow a regular maintenance schedule, even if your contract is still active. The warranty is a contract between you and the manufacturer or dealer. As part of that contract, you must take care of your car to reduce the likelihood of something going wrong. When something goes wrong, your car will be repaired by the manufacturer or dealer. If you fail to follow a maintenance schedule, you will have a void warranty. You should maintain records of all maintenance and repair work.
You May Want To Consider An Extended Warranty
A new car buyer can purchase an extended warranty to enhance the factory warranty. Often, these Extended Warranties cover items that the standard Factory Warranty does not, for an extended period or both. You can decline the extended warranty upfront when you take your vehicle’s delivery, but you can still pick one up before your factory warranty expires. Nonetheless, it would help if you decided whether the benefits of an extended warranty will outweigh the costs.
Is It Time To Trade-In?
As your warranty security net disappears, you may want to assess whether your driving car still meets all your needs. Since taking possession of the vehicle, something may have happened that makes it no longer the right choice for your family or your budget. The used car market is currently booming, so you may be able to get even more trade-in credit towards a new car or CPO model that would meet all of your ‘must-haves.’
