Customers planning to buy newer cars always ask us if aftermarket car warranties are worth buying. In our experience the quality of aftermarket warranties can vary wildly. Some aftermarket warranties are a pleasure to work with as they require typical paperwork and diagnostics to approve the work. Other companies require a ton of jumping through hoops only to reject the warranty claim.

There are many aftermarket companies to choose from and they offer different levels of coverage at varying price ranges. When choosing an aftermarket warranty we recommend our customers to read the contract very carefully. Make sure you fully understand what you are buying. This is particularly important if you are buying the warranty for a luxury car such as a Mercedes, BMW, Infinity, or Audi. As their parts costs and labor hours can be pricey.

Make sure you read all the fine print and keep your insurance contract in a safe place. Every month we get a handful of customers who bring us their car for repair and have their warranty claim denied. We ask, “Why”, and they specifically point to the fine print which excludes the repair required. Other times customers bring us their car for aftermarket warranty repairs, but can’t find their insurance policy document or remember the name of the company they bought the policy from.

Some aftermarket warranty companies put us in a catch 22 dilemma. When a warranty claim requires something expensive the insurance company will request pictures of the part that failed. If the failed component is inside the engine. Then engine disassembly will be required to take those pictures. If the aftermarket warranty company were to deny the claim after the pictures are submitted. We wouldn’t be reimbursed for the time and resources spent taking the engine apart and the customer would be stuck with a car in pieces.

Getting a claim approved through an aftermarket warranty can be a lengthy process. Your car has to be brought in to Tolimas Auto Center for diagnosis. We submit the claim to the insurance company and wait a couple of days for the warranty company to review the claim. Then the warranty company will send an independent agent to confirm the necessary repair or they will ask for more evidence such as pictures or video. This process can take as little as one week to a couple of weeks. During this time you will not have access to your car.

When you consider the negatives, are they still worth buying? The answer is yes, but it depends on the company. There have been customers who bought these warranty policies and saved thousands of dollars in repairs greater than the amount they paid for the policy. Also have had customers with policies that didn’t cover any repairs. We always recommend reading and understanding your policy in full to understand what you are buying. Do your research and see what people say about the company offering you an aftermarket warranty.