Car Warranties: are you covered?

Given that car warranties often involve a fairly hefty financial investment, it's surprising how little time many of us spend on choosing the right policy. In fact, it's often the case that we give very little thought to making our choice.

Speaking to other car owners, it's clear that many view selecting a car warranty policy as a simple case of wandering along to a local car retailer to purchase an extended warranty policy.

Since we do put such a lack of thought into choosing policies, it should probably come as little surprise that we often end up paying over the odds. Car retailers tend to sell warranties at higher prices than could be secured by buying direct from independent car warranty specialists.

A simple online search can reveal a number of independent car warranty companies that are willing to sell direct to consumers online. We have access to the policy details, allowing us to compare prices and the extent of the cover on offer.

Unfortunately, few of us take the time to look at such options. We prefer to take the easy way out and end up paying more for it.

But is buying a policy from a car retailer really the easy way out? The answer to that question often arrives when you need to make use of the warranty for the first time.

Thinking that we've already bought peace of mind, it can come as quite a shock when we find that there is more money to pay, since we were unaware that the policy carried a heavy excess.

Maybe we also failed to notice that the warranty did not cover the cost of us having replacement transport available while our vehicle is being repaired.

Such problems can be avoided by reading the policy in detail before purchasing. It may be boring, but it could save you time, money and effort at a later stage.

You may have a car warranty policy in place but are you really covered?