5 Red Flags That The Worst Car Warranties Have In Common

All new cars come with manufacturer warranties to provide assistance in the case of manufacturing defects. Manufacturer warranties don't typically cover things like routine maintenance, and usually have hard stopping points based on time or mileage. A manufacturer warranty can be helpful, especially if it's from one of the better brands, but if you're looking to get a little extra peace of mind with your car ownership, that would be a job for an extended warranty, also known as a Vehicle Service Contract (VSC).

An extended warranty is intended to give you more long-term care coverage for your car, supporting payments for regular service and upkeep and generally lessening the overall cost of car ownership. At least, that's the intention, but as with most things, you've always got bad actors looking to make a quick buck on something that's supposed to be helpful. We're not even talking about those scam robocallers that bug you about your extended warranty during dinner — even genuine extended warranty providers can employ some shady tactics that may end up costing you more down the line. The most important thing is to keep your eyes peeled for red flags before you commit to an extended warranty to save yourself a potential headache.

Even before you purchase an extended warranty contract, you should examine whatever salespeople you work with using a critical eye (and you want to do this in person if you can). A salesperson from a good-natured, reputable warranty company knows that they're there to help you find a package that suits your needs. They'll work with you to explore packages at your own pace and find a good compromise. A salesperson from a bad warranty company... doesn't do that.

Salespeople from shady warranty providers will often employ high-pressure, jargon-filled tactics to browbeat you into signing a contract you haven't actually had time to read. They don't care what you want out of a warranty, they just want to get you on board with their most expensive plan and out the door before you can realize you're being fed a line. If you feel like you're being double-talked, ask them to slow down and provide clarifications wherever you need them. If they're being cagey and uncooperative, there's probably something in that warranty they don't want you to see. Take your business to a company that properly respects your needs and time.

Warranty companies often have formal partnerships with various automotive service providers, either individual garages or chains. This is understandable to an extent — a single warranty company can't be best buds with every single automotive garage on the face of the Earth. That said, a good warranty should offer you a reasonably wide array of garages and chains you can visit if you need service. This is especially true if you live in a more rural area and don't have as wide of a selection of garages that you would in an urban area.

A bad warranty will only provide you coverage for service provided at very specific garages or chains. Even if you don't actually have one of these garages or chains in convenient driving distance, it doesn't matter; it's their way or the highway. If you try to solicit service at a garage outside of the warranty's specified partners, they'll leave you out in the cold to pay for that service all on your own. Make sure you get a comprehensive list of all garages you can get service from when considering a warranty, and that you can easily access at least a couple if necessary.

Here's an annoying scenario: let's say you're having some manner of problem with your car's headlights. You take it to the garage, confident in your assumption that your warranty will handle some of the cost, only to find out that you've been billed in full. You check your warranty to figure out what happened and discover that what you thought was an all-encompassing package only provides assistance for drivetrain repairs. Congratulations, your warranty is worthless for everything but hyper-specific drivetrain work.

In a similar vein to pushy salespeople, some shady warranty providers may employ vague terms in their warranty packages that obfuscate their actual purposes. What may be billed as a general-purpose warranty may actually be a partial-coverage warranty that only helps with certain kinds of repairs and service. Even if you have a warranty that's supposed to help with any kind of repair, there may be a hefty exclusions list that denies assistance for certain kinds of parts. If it's not covered, you can't get any kind of service involving that part. Whether you're buying a general plan or a partial-coverage plan, give the exclusions a thorough read-over to ensure you won't get stymied when you actually need help.

In the event you need some kind of work done on your car, you want your warranty to be in your corner. The entire you reason you even got a warranty in the first place was so it would help you out when you need it. If you've got a good warranty and can provide a reasonable amount of documentation, you should have claims approved with little difficulty. A bad warranty may have extremely strict or arbitrary claim conditions, all engineered to ensure it doesn't have to give you any money whatsoever.

A common complaint about bad warranties is that they'll refuse claims or even void the whole plan at the smallest perceived slight. If you don't have complete documentation of every single little bit of relevant work you've had on your vehicle, right down to the most incidental oil change, the provider will treat you like a crook and deny your claim outright. A little bit of strictness is understandable in this kind of field, but if they won't give you any money at all in any circumstance, why are you even paying them?

Owning a car is a multi-year journey, and as you take that journey, your needs will probably change. Maybe you can't spend as much money, your service priorities are shifting, or it's just time to get a new car. Whatever the reason, a good warranty provider will understand and allow you to cancel your policy, providing a refund for whatever you hadn't spent in a particular year. For a bad provider, though, one less customer means one less stream of cash, and they can't have that.

Shady warranty providers will often go out of their way to keep you from canceling your plan, to say nothing of getting a full or partial refund. They may give you the runaround when you try to cancel, avoiding your calls or emails, or they could try to pressure you into staying on your plan even if you don't need it anymore. Before purchasing a warranty, check the refund policy and make sure you understand it in its entirety. If they're going to play hardball, you can take your ball and go home.