Auto Warranty
What’s the difference between an extended warranty and a service contract? What are the pros and cons of each? What should I buy in my own situation?
These are all valid and burning questions, as car repairs are a fact of life. You need to be prepared for Murphy’s Law to strike. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, so what’s the best way to prepare for that?
What About an Extended Auto Warranty?
Car warranty companies make a lot of money from the sale of their extended warranty products. One simple reason for this is that, like any good insurance agent, they’ve carefully calculated the actual cost of the service they sell, and they make sure they charge enough to make a profit.
In many cases, that profit is pretty huge.
It’s not as though profits are bad, though — they’re necessary if a company is going to stay in business — but the issue arises when it comes to actually using what you’ve bought, as there can be strings attached.
An average extended auto warranty comes with a lot of exceptions and limitations. For instance, when you drive away from the lot in your new car, you may not really be covered.
This is because, in many cases, there’s a 1000-mile period in which car warranty companies exempt themselves in order to find out whether your car was hiding any previously undisclosed — yet fully present —problems.
They also typically limit you on where repairs are authorized (and it’s probably not your trusted mechanic), and they won’t provide a tow truck, roadside assistance, or a rental as part of their coverage.
What About Car Repair Insurance?
Car repair insurance (or auto repair insurance, as it is sometimes called) is different. The best way to look at this service product is instead as a service contract. What you’re buying is a guarantee that when big repair bills come your way — and they will — you won’t have to apply for a new credit card, sell the TV, or get a second job to be able to afford to pay them.
Engines have hundreds of moving parts. Transmissions have more gears than ever these days. Cars come standard now with more computers than it took to fly to the moon onboard the Apollo spacecraft. Doesn’t it make sense that you would have a plan to protect yourself from all that could potentially go wrong with that much technology?
That’s why there’s CarShield. It’s a great idea to buy a vehicle service agreement through CarShield, given the wealth of options for completely customizable coverage for your vehicle, including:
You can even be covered through CarShield directly for whatever you’re driving now; no need to head to a dealership to buy a different car.
CarShield: The Better Way
It’s always a calculated risk to buy a used vehicle. The main attraction is that, in the beginning, the price of a used car is far less than a new one, but the main anxiety is that a used car, with all its age and miles, has had a lot of its useful life diminished by previous owners. You’re always balancing its current state with its potential for reliability.
A dealer or seller can and will tell you stories all day long about how great it is and how reliable it has been, but the truth is, you need to be ready for it to fail at some point. While you hope that failure isn’t catastrophic, you’re going to need more than hope to get you through if the transmission fails or the engine seizes, and both of these possibilities are real.
Stay prepared for anything by purchasing your custom vehicle service agreement through CarShield today. Don’t get left broke on the side of the road of life by enormous repair bills.
