Can You Buy An Extended Warranty After Purchase?
You can buy an extended warranty after purchasing the vehicle from most dealers but most won’t sell extended plans after your factory warranty expires.
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Key Points:
- You’ll have the option to purchase an extended car warranty at the time you buy your vehicle at your dealership or later through third parties.
- Many extended auto warranty providers offer multiple coverage options, ranging from bumper-to-bumper to powertrain coverage.
- Some plans also come with lower deductibles to give you peace of mind protection with minimal out-of-pocket costs.
If you’re purchasing your car from a dealer, the salesperson might tell you it’s a great time to get a warranty. They also might say it’s your only opportunity, but that’s not often the case. While there are a handful of dealers that only sell extended plans on the vehicle purchase day, third-party providers often have much longer purchase windows.
In this article, we’ll dive into whether you can buy an extended warranty after purchasing your vehicle, the type of warranties available, and their estimated costs. We also researched the best extended car warranty companies to consider for auto repairs coverage.
An extended car warranty refers to mechanical breakdown coverage offered by a vehicle manufacturer. However, this term is often mistakenly used to describe coverage from third-party companies. Independent providers offer similar protection through vehicle service contracts, but we’ve used the terms interchangeably in this article for convenience.
Can You Get An Extended Warranty After Purchasing A Car?
You can purchase a vehicle service contract after you buy your vehicle. To qualify, your vehicle must meet the standards set by the provider or your manufacturer. Often, these requirements involve your car’s age or mileage.
It’s true that some dealers only sell extended warranties on the purchase day or within a short window, like 30 days or 1,000 miles. Most dealers allow a bit more time, but won’t sell a plan to you if your factory warranty has expired.
For example, if your car’s factory warranty is 3 years or 36,000 miles, that’s how long you have to decide if you want the manufacturer’s extended plan in most cases. Of course, you can get a third-party warranty after your factory warranty expires, and aftermarket providers typically don’t have such restrictive purchasing windows.
Is It Better To Get An Extended Warranty At Vehicle Purchase?
If you have your heart set on getting a plan from your car’s manufacturer, you’ll get a better price earlier in the car’s life. You might find the best price on day one, or it might be the same price for the first year of owning the vehicle. Ask the salesperson to explain the pricing differences as the car ages. Some manufacturers automatically charge more for an extended warranty after a car is a few years old.
Even if there isn’t a set increase, just having normal wear and tear on the car can increase the price of a warranty. If you drive more miles than the average person, the dealer might mark up the plan more since you put more wear on the vehicle than average. Make sure you read the fine print of a warranty contract before signing on the dotted line.
Should You Finance An Extended Warranty?
Another point the salesperson might make is that you can finance the extended warranty within your new car loan. This option is convenient, since you don’t have to worry about a separate payment or pay anything up front.
However, if you choose to finance an extended warranty, you’ll pay interest on the plan for the life of your auto loan. Say you get a 10% auto loan for 48 months. Your extended warranty cost will also carry those interest terms if it’s lumped into the loan.
Let’s say the warranty plan costs $3,000. Using a loan calculator shows paying 10% interest on a $3,000 loan for 48 months will turn it into $3,652 in the end.
You might not feel the increase compared to an auto loan payment of a few hundred dollars, but it’s something to keep in mind.
Consider Costs Of Parts And Labor Can Increase
Extended warranties are priced to cover the cost of parts and labor. As these costs increase in the market, extended warranty prices also go up. Buying a plan earlier in your car’s life can save you money years down the road as costs rise.
For example, the Chevrolet Protection Plan can cover up to 8 years/100,000 miles, which is 5 years/64,000 miles longer than the factory warranty of 3 years/36,000 miles. Whether you get the automaker’s plan after a day or a year, it will cover 8 years/100,000 miles from the in-service date.
You’ll get one price if you buy the protection plan at the same time as your new Chevy. You’ll probably get a higher price if you come back two years from now to get the same plan.
What Are Extended Warranties?
An extended warranty is a protection plan designed to cover unexpected repairs for your vehicle when it breaks down. Some warranty companies offer plans that resemble your vehicle’s manufacturer warranty in coverage. Others provide supplemental services that cover repairs to your automobile’s electrical, computer, and cooling systems.
One commonality found among most plans from warranty providers is they won’t cover wear and tear items like your windshield wipers, brake pads, and light bulbs. They also won’t reimburse you for routine maintenance items like oil changes and tire rotations.
When your vehicle breaks down, you’ll take your vehicle to an approved repair facility. Then you’ll contact your extended warranty provider to ensure your contract covers the car repair. If it’s approved, you’ll pay your deductible and the company takes care of the rest of the repair bills.
Benefits Of Warranty Coverage
Along with offering financial protection from expensive repairs, some extended warranty plans provide other benefits. Added benefits usually include:
- Emergency roadside assistance: Roadside assistance typically covers towing, flat tire fixes, fuel delivery, and locksmith services when you’re broken down.
- Rental car reimbursement: Some providers will pay your rental car costs while your vehicle is in the shop for an approved claim. Rental car reimbursement usually comes with a daily and maximum cost limit. Keep in mind you’ll be responsible for fuel, tolls, and any security deposits.
- Trip interruption: If you’re a certain mileage away from home when your vehicle breaks down and your provider approves your claim, trip interruption will cover lodging and food expenses you incur while your vehicle is in the shop. Like rental car reimbursement, trip interruption coverage comes with a daily and maximum limit.
Types Of Extended Warranties
When you’re considering buying an extended warranty after purchasing your vehicle, you’ll need to know what type of warranty covers what parts. In general, there are two standard coverages with warranty plans: bumper-to-bumper and powertrain.
The bumper-to-bumper warranty offers the highest level of coverage, paying for repairs for most parts of your vehicle. It’s most similar to your car’s original factory warranty. A powertrain warranty is more basic and covers costly repairs for your vehicle’s most critical systems, like its engine, transmission, and drivetrain.
Exclusionary Vs. Inclusionary
When you’re shopping for a plan with third-party companies, you’ll find they’ll list their protection plans as either inclusionary or exclusionary. Inclusionary tells you specifically which vehicle parts your plan covers. This can include drivetrain, engine, air conditioning, transmission, and electrical components.
Exclusionary plans, also called comprehensive or bumper-to-bumper plans, offer the highest level of coverage. Unlike inclusionary plans, these vehicle service contracts list the parts or services they don’t cover because it’s shorter to list the exclusions.
Extended Warranty Cost
Extended warranty costs range from about $1,000 to $4,400, depending on factors like your coverage level, vehicle details, and more. We found that the average warranty costs $977 per year of coverage, so if you get a three-year plan, it might cost around $3,000. You can use this to compare quotes you receive and see if they’re a good deal.
What Affects the Cost of an Extended Car Warranty
There are many factors that impact what you’ll pay for extended warranty plans, like:
- Your vehicle’s age and mileage: If you have an older, used car with higher mileage, you will likely pay more for coverage since you’ll use it more.
- Your car’s make and model: The frequency of repairs for certain brands, like BMW, can be higher than other brands and impact how much you pay for coverage.
- Coverage levels: The more comprehensive your coverage is, the more you’ll pay for it.
- Your location: If you live in an area prone to more inclement climate or other risk factors like theft, you could pay more for your warranty plan.
- Deductible: Many providers allow you to set your deductible, which is what you pay for a covered claim. A lower deductible means less out-of-pocket expenses, but a higher monthly payment.
- Fees: Some providers might require you to make a down payment to start service. Others might have recurring or one-time fees.
- Payout limits: Car owners can expect to receive close to the total loss amount as the maximum benefit of these policies. That’s why you want to anticipate and budget for any expenses that exceed these liability limits like if you have a higher-valued car or one where the parts are more expensive.
- Driving habits: The more you drive, the more wear and tear you’ll have on your vehicle, resulting in more repairs. And while this might not impact costs on your first vehicle protection plan, it can impact the cost of ones moving forward.
Should You Buy An Extended Warranty?
Deciding if an extended warranty is worth it can be difficult. There are some instances when you should buy an extended warranty. They can come in handy if you don’t mind paying a lower monthly premium now to bypass the cost of repairs later. They may also help if your car is unreliable or prone to costly repairs. Here are a few benefits of extended warranties:
- Predictable monthly expenses rather than a sudden repair bill
- Lower overall expenses for unreliable cars that need frequent repairs
- Extended car life and driveability
- Peace of mind that repairs are covered
You can either purchase an extended warranty plan from a dealership or from a third-party provider.
At a dealership, your salesperson might have an incentive to sell you an extended auto warranty when you buy your vehicle. They do this because dealerships often mark these plans up past what they should cost. If you buy an extended warranty from a dealership, pay close attention to your final paperwork, as some dealerships may try to add this protection (and its costs) to your contract automatically.
And if you finance your vehicle, dealerships might try to roll it into financing. So, on top of paying more for something you can get cheaper with a third-party provider, you’ll pay interest on top of that. Unless you use the coverage often, you might end up losing money going with this approach.
However, an extended car warranty from a third-party provider could provide a few benefits, like:
- The flexibility to choose among a wide network of repair shops
- Added perks like roadside assistance and trip interruption
- Long coverage terms–some providers have plans up to 300,000 miles
- A larger variety of plans to fit your budget and needs
Our Take: Can You Buy An Extended Warranty After Purchase?
You can buy an extended auto warranty after you purchase your vehicle, provided it meets all qualifications assigned by the provider. Dealerships have stricter rules and smaller purchasing windows for purchasing extended warranties, while third-party providers typically allow you to buy a plan further along into your car’s life cycle. Third-party providers also allow drivers to use any licensed repair shop of their choice, instead of restricting them to using a specific dealership.
Top Extended Warranty Providers
It’s good to shop around when choosing the right provider for you. We recommend Endurance and Carchex as two providers to get quotes from.
Endurance: Best Overall
Endurance offers six levels of coverage options that can last up to 8 years or 200,000 miles and we award it as the Best Overall provider. When you buy a plan, you’ll also gain access to emergency roadside assistance and a free year of Elite Endurance membership, which includes reimbursement for two tires annually, $500 of collision protection per accident, and key fob replacement.
Keep reading: Endurance warranty reviews
Carchex: Best Industry Reputation
If you have a used vehicle with higher miles, then Carchex could be a great choice for you. It offers five coverage levels, with protection of up to 10 years or 250,000 miles. You also gain access to perks, such as the freedom to choose your repair facility, 24/7 roadside assistance, and trip interruption coverage.
Keep reading: Carchex reviews
Buying An Extended Warranty After Purchase: FAQ
Below are common frequently asked questions about buying an extended warranty after purchase:
Can I still get an extended warranty after purchase?
Yes, you might be able to get an extended auto warranty after purchase if your vehicle meets mileage and age requirements from car warranty companies. Manufacturer’s extended warranties typically need to be purchased before your limited warranty expires, though.
Is it too late to buy an extended warranty?
It’s usually not too late to buy an extended warranty as some providers, like Carchex, offer extended auto warranty for vehicles up to 10 years or 250,000 miles. Even if you have an older vehicle with more mileage, there are providers out there that can cover you.
Is there a time limit on how long an extended warranty is good for?
Yes, each provider sets requirements for how long their warranty lasts. For example, Endurance offers warranties for up to 8 years or 200,000 miles, while Carchex’s maximum term limit is 10 years or 250,000 miles.
How We Rate Car Warranty Companies
Our review team extensively researches extended car warranty providers to deliver informed and unbiased assessments of leading companies. We evaluate several key rating factors that are important to consumers to determine which providers are the best in the industry:
- Reliability: Warranty providers that earn strong ratings from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), work with reliable partners and administrators, and have a long history in the warranty industry score well in this category.
- Coverage Plans: We take a close look at the coverage plans available through each provider, including how many are offered, maximum term limits, plan exclusions, and more. We also evaluate the added benefits companies include with their warranty plans, such as roadside assistance and trip interruption benefits.
- Pricing: Our team performs a secret shopper analysis for a variety of vehicles and coverage plans to get a sense of a provider’s average costs. We see how each company’s pricing, deductible options, and discount opportunities compare to competitors when determining this score.
- Transparency: We evaluate the availability and transparency of each company’s contracts, as well as whether each provider offers a money-back guarantee.
- Customer Experience: We consider customer reviews and complaints from sites like the BBB and Trustpilot. Our team also reaches out to customer service reps during our secret shopper analysis to get a sense of the customer experience with each company.
*Data accurate at time of publication.
