It’s a tough decision to make on the spot. Extended warranties for your vehicle have become a joke on social media in recent years, thanks to all of those annoying telemarketing calls.
But if you’re buying a new car, you’ll likely get offered one before you sign on the dotted line. So, what should you do?
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Brad Johnson was at Pacific Beach, enjoying the day as the former lifeguards do every year. He talked to us about his purchase.
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“I only got 20,000 miles on it, and I don't expect anything to go wrong, but you never know," he said.
And because you never know, Johnson says he bought the extended warranty offered to him on his truck once the lease was up, and he decided to keep it.
“As soon as you say, 'OK, I don't need this,' wait just wait, Murphy is waiting for you,” he added.
Benjamin Preston from Consumer Reports is not as big on extended car warranties. He says dealerships sell them to make money just like everything else on the lot.
“They’re betting that the car won’t break, or if it does, they’re not going to have to shell out too much for it,’ he said.
Preston says buying an extended car warranty that kicks in after the manufacturer warranty expires is paying for something you don’t even know you’ll need or can use for that matter.
“You really have to read the fine print carefully on these extended warranties. They don’t always cover everything you may think they cover,” he added.
This is a point of sale offer that may catch car buyers off guard.
Here are some tips:
- Research warranties ahead of time.
- Before you head to the dealership, check out the terms and conditions of their extended warranties.
- Ask the dealership for time. If you didn’t ask if you could take a day or so to look into them and then decide, why the rush?
- Wait until the manufacturer's warranty expires.
- You can also shop around for an extended car warranty once the manufacturer’s warranty is about to expire. You’ll have a better feel for your car’s reliability by then.
- Set the money aside.
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Meanwhile, you could save what you’d be paying for the extended warranty and have it ready to cover repairs. It will be money in your pocket if you end up not using it.
Unless you have a specific model you want to buy when you shop around for a new vehicle, put more stock on car reliability reports to decrease the odds something will go wrong.
