Consumers' Checkbook: Beware of third-party car warranties

Those who haven't received astatine slightest 1 car warranty scam truthful acold this twelvemonth should see themselves lucky.

RoboKiller estimates they'll beryllium the apical telephone scam of 2021, projecting that 13 cardinal specified calls volition beryllium placed this year. The institution estimates car warranty robocalls volition go the biggest telephone scam since it started monitoring robocall trends successful 2017.

There are plentifulness of morganatic extended car warrant plans available, but determination are differences betwixt the contracts sold by 3rd parties and those sold by caller car dealerships.

Consumers' Checkpoint, a nonprofit group, recovered a batch much third-party warranties mightiness not beryllium worthy the money.

"It was leafage aft leafage of things the argumentation excludes, and we truly had a hard clip knowing what it mightiness adjacent cover," said Kevin Brasler, the enforcement exertion of Consumers' Checkbook.

Common exclusions connected third-party warranties see exceptions to covering braking systems, exhaust systems and catalytic converter seals.

"Even erstwhile the policies bash screen a repair you mightiness need, we recovered that a batch of these companies person thousands of complaints lodged against them with the Better Business Bureau and different user agencies astir denial of claims," Brasler said.

Consumer's Checkbook besides recovered third-party companies usage deceptive income practices, similar robocalls posing arsenic car manufacturers oregon sending retired mailers that marque it look similar they're being sent by either the authorities DMV oregon the carmaker.

Consumer's Checkbook says extended warranties sold by dealerships person been approved by the manufacturer. There are inactive immoderate exclusions to coverage, but they don't look to contradict claims astir arsenic overmuch arsenic third-party companies.

Despite that, user experts accidental it whitethorn not beryllium indispensable to bargain a dealership warranty.

"If you've bought a caller car, it's going to travel with a three- to five-year warranty, and the caller car warranties that exists — those that you get from car manufacturers — are beauteous good," Brasler said.

Brasler says that if a operator notices an contented with a caller car, and a "reputable authority" similar Consumer Reports confirms that the exemplary has a way grounds of issues, past it's a bully thought to bargain an further warranty.

When buying for a warranty, Brasler recommends that consumers telephone aggregate dealers and archer them they are buying around.