Ensuring Your Extended Warranty

By Dave Trux

Whether you bought your car at a franchise dealership or a pre-owned dealership, chances are good that you financed your car. When you went through the financing company, the finance and insurance representative probably offered you an extended warranty and you bought one.

To ensure that your extended warranty gets honored, you must bring your vehicle back to where you purchased it, no matter how far or inconvenient it might be, right? Wrong! If that’s what you thought, you’re not alone as many people believe that they don’t have the option to choose an independent repair facility while their vehicle is under warranty. The good news is that you can choose the repair facility that best meets your needs.

If you choose an independent repair facility, make sure you let them know that you have an extended warranty as soon as you bring your vehicle in for service or repair. Why? Because the shop you choose needs to be your advocate. A reputable shop will carefully inspect every part of the vehicle that’s covered under your warranty to ensure that your vehicle and pocketbook are safe.

What is likely to happen if you inform your repair facility once the repairs are completed? You will be on the hook for costly repairs down the road if one or more components fail after your warranty expires.

One of the greatest challenges to owning and operating an honest and reputable shop is earning a customer’s trust. If your repair shop thinks that you’re a cash customer, they may be hesitant to let you know if there’s a long list of marginal things that could go wrong in the future. Why? Because they won’t want you to feel like you’re being gouged, overwhelmed and taken advantage of.

When an honest repair facility knows that you have an extended warranty beforehand, they will likely ask for more time up-front to thoroughly inspect your car and make sure you get the full benefits from your extended warranty. That extra time may be a short-term inconvenience, but in the long run Father Time could be your bank accounts best friend.