Have you ever heard a new noise coming from the engine’s compartment while driving to work one day, when your car wasn’t under the manufacturer’s warranty anymore? Immediately you’ve wondered if this is only a minor problem, or if it is going to use up your monthly budget or do more damage-it does not take even a big problem for a car to cost several hundred dollars these days.
Warranties buy you “peace of mind”
Let’s face it, owning a vehicle while it’s “under warranty” is a nice time. No matter what the problem, you can have your nearby factory repair place take a look at things and if a vehicle part does need repairing, chances are the factory warranty will pay for it. Manufacturers are aware that this peace of mind is great for vehicle owners because it essentially takes away the unknown – the mystery of an expensive, budget-busting repair bill.
Here is a sobering financial fact. The AAA says the typical United States household pays $3,269 on car maintenance per year. Well, cars nowadays are not the simple machines they were in past years. New cars have loads of complex technological and electronic features. Because of this, not only has the cost of repairs gone up significantly, so has the cost of just diagnosing the issue. For example, the average cost to fix an air conditioning unit is $825 these days. Over the coming five years repair costs will increase about 12% per year, so that air conditioner repair today may cost between one and two-thousand dollars only a few years from now.
A solution is to extend the vehicles warranty
Automotive journalists frequently play down extended warranties. They like to tell us that today’s cars almost never need service until they rack up a huge amount of miles and are at a pretty ripe age, and that at this time the manufacturer’s warranty will cover repairs just fine. However, the manufacturer’s warranty usually covers vehicles for an initial time period that is almost always a shorter period of time than you will own the vehicle. Third-party service contracts, also known as “Extended Warranties”, offer a defense against electrical and mechanical failures after the manufacturer’s warranty has run out.
How “Extended Warranties” Work
Extended warranties are offered in a like manner to the original warranty offered by a manufacturer. You are given a list of local repair shops that you may go to, and the rest works like factory warranties. You may purchase a set quantity of miles or a set number of years, like 30,000 miles or 3 years.
Should you purchase one?
An extended warranty can save your neck when your manufacturer’s warranty runs out if something does happen with your vehicle. You will not need to worry about what repairs will cost, or if your repair shop is charging you too much because those things are taken care of–that is the excellent part of an extended warranty. But here’s the bottom line: nobody has to have an extended warranty, but does it relieve budget-busting anxiety? If it does, then it’s worth the money you pay for it. Getting a good night’s sleep feels great!
Thanks to: Fitzgerald Auto Mall
