What Does a Typical New Car Warranty Not Cover? A Comprehensive Guide

Car warranties are not insurance policies but they do cover cost of repairing or replacing parts of your vehicle that break down over time. Learn about five parts that are not covered by vehicle warranties.

What Does a Typical New Car Warranty Not Cover? A Comprehensive Guide

Car warranties are not insurance. They do not cover damage caused by accidents, theft, weather conditions, or other factors that have nothing to do with the quality of the car. For these, you'll need car insurance. An extended car warranty, however, covers the cost of repairing or replacing parts of your vehicle that break down over time.

This type of plan is useful if you're not prepared to pay for repairs, especially those that cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. Most manufacturers offer a standard warranty that may cover some parts of your car. However, these standard warranties generally don't cover all repairs. For example, a transmission can fail for many different reasons, meaning that the usual warranty might not cover the part.

This blog from Cecil Atkission Toyota, Orange, TX, will look at five parts that are not covered by the vehicle warranty.

Items exposed to normal wear and tear

, noise, vibration, or deterioration are not guaranteed. Noise and smell induced by foreign substances are also not acceptable. If filters, fuses, windshield wipers and bulbs (except headlights) need to be changed after six months, this is considered normal wear and tear and is not covered by the warranty. This is the warranty that gets the most attention as an extended warranty.

It covers almost every part of a car when it is delivered from the factory. Exceptions are made for components where normal wear is expected (tires, windshield wipers, brake pads) and abnormal wear can be due to misuse, such as tires (any coverage for these components comes from the tire manufacturer). A new car comes with a basic or limited warranty, which covers everything except body panels, powertrain components, and wear items such as brake pads, oil filters, and windshield wipers. Part breakdowns caused by defects in vehicle production and repair workmanship are covered by the car warranty.

A car warranty typically only covers components that fail during routine use of the vehicle and not wear and tear damage. For example, component systems such as the powertrain would be covered by the warranty but routine maintenance such as oil changes would not. Traditionally many warranties don't cover vehicle upholstery, moldings and even glass and other cabin surfaces. This is because most warranties only cover items that are due to the manufacturer's fault.

For example, if your seat belt stops working it's probably covered. However if there's a hole in the skin and you have an ink stain they might assume that the culprit was a pen not a production defect. If interior finishes begin to peel off crack or show signs of design defects take them to a dealer as soon as possible to document the defect. It also includes a transmission warranty which covers most of the parts that make the car move such as the engine transmission drive axles and driveshaft.

However some manufacturers include a few years of scheduled maintenance in their new car warranties. Analyzing the different options can help you find the car warranty policy you prefer and that is most suitable for you rather than simply taking the one offered by the dealer. There are several different types of warranties for cars and the two main categories are factory warranties and extended warranties. Common coverage exclusions and additional benefits that may come with guarantees will also be described.

Instead the warranty comes from the tire manufacturer and is described in a brochure that you should find in the glove compartment of your new car. This type of warranty is normally offered for new vehicles and certified used vehicles (CPO) but the details may vary accordingly. If the car has already reached these milestones another year or 12000 miles will elapse from the delivery date whichever comes first. Learn more about car warranties from manufacturers and used car warranties including coverages they offer and conditions under which they may be included.

The exact parts that a car warranty covers will depend on details such as type of warranty level of coverage make and model of the car. If you buy a used car from a dealer and manufacturer's warranty has expired you may be able to purchase a warranty from dealer. Since transmission coverage excludes car's engine it's difficult to recommend it except possibly as an extended warranty for cars over 100000 miles. Confusion can arise about car warranties because there are several different types available and even same types of warranty may have slightly different names.

This car warranty covers large number of components and is offered under both factory warranty and extended warranty. If your car is damaged by an accident flood trailer theft fire vandalism or any other natural disaster manufacturer's warranty will not cover loss.

Célia Peals
Célia Peals

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