Common Types of Warranties For Used Vehicles

There are fewer warranty options for used vehicles than for brand-new cars, but are still equally important for consumers to be aware of. A Buyers Guide, which contains information about the car warranty and any negotiable changes to the warranty, are posted in the vehicle as a precaution for consumers and the dealerships. The Buyer Guide plays an important part in the sale contract and can override any contrary provisions. For example, if the Buyers Guide of a particular used vehicle comes with a warranty but the sale contract does not include that warranty, the dealer must abide to the Buyer Guide and give the buyer the warranty. Warranty is an important factor in the purchasing decision of a used vehicle. Here are five common car warranties to help consumers make an informed decisions.

As-Is Warranty

As-Is warranty or "no warranty" are rarely provided to used cars as it does not provide assistance or protection for the consumer. As-Is warranty allow car dealerships and private sellers to sell a car "as-is" or without offering any warranty. When dealers do carry as-is warranty, more likely they will offer a minimal warranty, only paying for a percentage of the cost if specific components of the used car fail. These types of minimal as-is warranty often have a limited shelf space and can range from 30 days to up to one year after the purchase of the used car.

Extended-Length Warranty

Extended-length warranty; often called service agreement, service contract, or maintenance agreement, is an agreement by the seller to the buyer to help pay the maintenance cost for an extended period of time or for a certain amount of mileage, such as up to 100,000 miles or up to 5 years. Extended-length warranty policy range from to another, some covers only regular maintenance, while others only cover serious engine failure. Extended-length warranty is a good option to have in protecting used car owners from costly failure down the road, but often it carries a higher deductible, putting more of the out-of-pocket expense on the consumer.

Certified Pre-Owned Warranty

Certified pre-owned warranty (CPO) are usually offered  to late-model cars that have been fully inspected, refurnished and certified by a manufacturer. This type of warranty provide extra coverage such as bumper-to-bumper and powertrain warranties to go along with the higher cost of the used vehicle. Bumper-to-bumper warranty covers most component cost for only a short period of time while powertrain warranty provide a longer coverage cost, nearly all CPO provide roadside assistance.

Implied Warranty

Implied warranty are the most common warranty option for used cars as most states require car dealers to have it. Dealers can get away with selling any used cars that runs, but with implied warranty, dealers make a "promise" to sell used cars that are fit to drive, that are reasonably safe,  without major defects and have a certain amount of quality to it of similar cars available on the market within the same price range. Therefore, if a buyer drive his one-week old used car and finds out his engine stop working and the mechanic can prove that whatever caused the failure existed at the time of sale, the seller might be obligated to pay for the repair cost.