Used Car Warranty Facts You Should Know!
If you’re in the market for a used car, you need to know it is important to check if the preowned vehicle has a warranty and service plan left over. It might not be something you’ve considered, but a warranty and service plan will protect and cover you for any costly and unforeseen faults. Comparing warranties should be as important as comparing things like engine specs!
What You Need To Know
As cars age, they are at increased risk for mechanical issues. Even if they are quality vehicles anything could go wrong, and you don’t want to be stuck with unexpected and expensive car repairs.
A warranty generally covers the engine, transmission, drivetrain, electrical components, suspension, steering system, brake system and air-conditioning system.
Note that warranties are usually transferable, but they may have some limitations or fees, so you should find out from the dealer what is possible before deciding on the used car. For example, Nissan South Africa’s new vehicle limited warranty is transferable provided that the vehicle is maintained and serviced by an authorised Nissan dealer. You will need to check the terms and conditions of each car you are interested in to find out the ins and outs.
When it comes to service plans, they are also transferable, but they may require a transfer fee or a vehicle inspection. Maintenance plans, on the other hand, are usually not transferable, unless the seller pays a cancellation fee and the new owner buys a new plan.
3 Types Of Warranties
- Original manufacturer warranty: This is the balance of the original warranty offered with the vehicle and you will get the balance of years or kilometres left on the warranty with the pre-owned vehicle.
- Dealer warranty: If manufacturers sell their own used cars, in most cases, they carry the balance of original warranties over, but where those warranties have expired they will offer another type of warranty that is held by a third-party provider.
- Aftermarket products: If the original warranty has expired and the dealer you are working with does not have an aftermarket offering, you can opt to take out a warranty with a third-party provider.
Will The Warranty Do For You?
So how do you know what you need and if the vehicle is worth purchasing, based on the length of the warranty left? The best way to determine this is to consider how much you drive each month, which will help you to work out what warranty you need.
For example, all new Nissan cars come with a 6-year/150,000km warranty, which means that you would then be able to drive about 2083km per month, but if you drive more than this then this warranty may not be sufficient for you. In this case, you would be better off with a 5-year/200,000km.
It’s important to note that in terms of the CPA (Consumer Protection Act), there is a cooling-off period of six months where you can return the vehicle and reverse the sale if there are major issues with the used vehicle that were not disclosed.
Claiming against your warranty will require you to know what the warranty covers, over what distance, and what can be replaced at no cost. These details are available in the owner’s manual or within the purchase documentation.
Some Used Car Examples
All new Nissan cars come with a 6-year/150,000km warranty, which covers the:
- engine
- transmission
- drivetrain
- electrical components
- suspension
- steering system
- brake system
- air-conditioning system and more.
If you then purchased a used 2021 Nissan Almera 1.5 Acenta, which had 30,000km on the clock, then you would deduct two years or 30,000km off the warranty in 2023. That means that you have a 4-year or 120,000km warranty remaining.
New Renault’s and Chery’s come with a 5-year/150,000km, but for loyal customers who follow the terms and conditions of the warranty, Chery will offer a 10-year/1,000,000km engine warranty!
A new Mahindra comes with a 4-year/120,000km warranty. If you found a preowned 2023 Mahindra XUV300 1.2 W8 with 2000km on the clock, as an example, you would deduct the age or mileage from the car, which would mean that you would still have a significant amount of warranty left over.
Mitsubishi which when new comes with a 3-year/100,000km warranty, that covers the:
- engine
- transmission
- drivetrain
- electrical components and more
As you can see – Mitsusbihis offers a significantly lower warranty than the other brands, so keep this in mind if you’re looking at secondhand cars manufactured by this brand.
If you are concerned about the warranty on a specific car that you are interested in, our sales executives at Group1 are ready to discuss these with you before purchasing any car from us!
