New and Used Car Warranties Explained

## What is a car warranty?

A car warranty is an assurance or guarantee that your manufacturer will take care of your car repairs should any arise (depending on certain conditions). The warranty will also still depend on the stated amount of mileage and time the car has been driven.

Most brands and manufacturers offer the usual 3 years of warranty, but some brands have broken stereotypes over the years and have been offering a 5-year unlimited mileage warranty (though some brands offer these kinds of warranties only on certain vehicle models).

For these kind of warranties, it is important to keep track of the time, no matter how long it is. It also varies on the dealership or manufacturer, but usually, a car warranty period will start on the day the vehicle is sold to you. Here is everything you need to know about new and used car warranties:

### New car warranties

When you buy your brand new car, it will usually come with a warranty from the manufacturer. The coverage will vary depending on the manufacturer so you will need to study and understand the limitations very well. What you need to know is that there are several types of warranty manufacturers usually cover. These are:

- __Basic Warranty or Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty__ – this warranty will cover the repairs of the manufacturer-supplied parts of the car that are not considered ‘wear and tear’. Wear and tear parts are parts that can deteriorate or be damaged due to continued use. These may include car parts such as brake pads, rubber parts, spark plugs, bulbs, fuses, bearings, belts, wiper blades, and etc.

- __Powertrain Warranty__ – this warranty will cover the repair of any damage to the engine parts of the car, the transmission, or any other mechanical parts.

- __Corrosion Warranty__ – this warranty will take care of the repairs needed due to rust and corrosion of the metal sheets of the car.

- __Roadside Assistance Warranty__ – this warranty will lend a hand in towing the car when you run into some kind of trouble on the road.

It is important to know that there are certain car parts which are not covered by the basic warranty your manufacturer will provide. These parts will typically have their own separate warranties which will be offered by their own respective manufacturers. The tires, batteries, audio system, air conditioning system, and back-up sensors are some of the car parts that are included in the group.

There are a lot of things that can give you peace of mind when you are behind the wheel, like the different safety features installed in the car and your car insurance. Having a car warranty will also offer you comfort, as well, but you will need to be very careful!

As with any other warranty, you have to remember that not all damages are covered by a car warranty, too. Each manufacturer will most likely have their own rules on their respective warranty coverages so you will need to know these very well to know what to keep an eye on and what to avoid doing.

Take note that almost all manufacturers usually do not cover taking care of damaged parts due to: the improper usage of the car; accidents; modifications; alterations; tampering; acts of God; cosmetic conditions; and lack of maintenance or negligence.

When your basic car warranty runs out, you can get an “extended warranty”. An extended warranty can also be purchased when your basic manufacturer warranty is still active. This warranty usually has a period of 12 months and will cover the maintenance and repairs of some certain parts of the vehicle.

### Used car warranties

Some people prefer to buy second hand cars because they are significantly cheaper than brand new cars – especially if these people do not have the means to buy a brand new car. Fact is, there certainly are pros and cons in doing so, but one of the risks in buying a used car is that there can be repair costs sooner than expected, especially if the car went through a set of different owners and may have a bunch of problems already present in it.

Car warranties are usually transferrable to another owner when a car is sold, but be wary since used cars may or may not have car warranties included! It is still safer to buy a certified pre-owned car from a dealer, as those usually come with a car warranty.

Aside from warranty, manufacturer-certified pre-owned vehicles are also screened and checked meticulously for their technical systems, mechanical gears and controls, so you will be assured of their quality. Most, if not all dealerships typically offer 12 months or 1 year of warranty on their certified pre-owned cars, like Toyota for example.