Car owners often come across extended warranty solicitations. These communications tend to be far more than simple advertisements – usually, they write the book on the hard sell approach.
Call-to-action terms such as Final Notice, Last Chance and Deadline Approaching are only the beginning.
They tend to bend and stretch the truth in all kinds of ways to get your interest.
They tell you that your car's regular warranty is about to expire when it isn't, quote scary, inflated parts prices for what you may have to pay if you don't have coverage and lie to you about warranty blacklists In short, they do anything and say anything to make a sale.
Extended warranties certainly are a good idea. They could give you thousands in the event of a transmission breakdown, a blown engine or a failed suspension. When you buy an extended warranty by someone other than the manufacturer, though, how do you know if they will make good on it?
Certainly, quality third-party extended warranty companies do exist.
They are rare, though.
Scammy Extended car warranty providers are surprisingly common.
Who exactly is a third-party warranty provider?
Auto manufacturers underwrite most extended warranty contracts. They are always a sensible choice because you know that they’ll always be around. Third-party providers, on the other hand, are usually small entities. Just as with small insurance companies, these providers usually don't stay in business for long.
Even if they do stay in business, it can be difficult to know anything about the level of service that they offer for instance, they might have inconvenient exclusions in their fine print or may reserve the right to not use genuine, manufacturer-sourced parts. It's also important to understand that extended warranties often don't offer the same level of coverage as regular warranties. Rather, they simply offer some kind of help when your car needs repairs.
If you're buying a third-party extend ed warranty, keep these pointers in mind
Third-party extended warranties are such a troubled business area that the FTC has a blanket warning on its website, warning all customers to double-check any business before signing up with it. If you pick a bad company, you lose far more than what you pay for your extend ed warranty. You end up having to pay for your expensive car repairs, too.
Don't pick a third-party warranty for the savings: People usually pick third-party warranties over manufacturer-provided extended warranties because they ten:
to be slightly cheaper. A few hundred saved, though, is completely immaterial for something as important as warranty protection that can save you thousands.
Check it out on Google and the BBB: The BBB lists consumer complaints against dozens of third-party car warranty providers. If you see many complaints against a warranty provider, you should stay away from it.
When a complaint appears on the BBB, usually, providers rush forth and make amends to keep bad publicity to a minimum. Then, the BBB lists these complaints as Resolved. Many consumers tend to believe that resolved complaints indicate an honest company. This is exactly what dishonest companies hope they will think.
In reality, most customers would never go so far as to write to the BBB if a company was the least bit responsive. Dishonest companies make a show of making amends just so that potential customers aren't scared away. They still treat all their other customers terribly – they aren't visible on the BBB, after all.
Make sure you read the terms: The dense fine print on a warranty contract can be difficult to go through. Bad extended warranties often have severely restricted
coverage, though.
