If you own a car, possibility of its wear and tear is always there with it. In such circumstances, when fluctuating fuel prices and high running outlay are already bothering us, taking the dented car to garage repairs can make a big hole in our pockets. But there is a way to protect us from dear repairs by taking a car warranty policy. You need not to put much efforts to get a warranty as many of the automakers themselves come with warranty on the models sold by them. Before elaborating more about this policy, let’s take a look what exactly a car warranty is. Well, it is a guarantee offered by the manufacturer for a list of different aspects including electrical and mechanical parts of your vehicle. This policy also covers faults in which the respective part would be replaced without any extra cost. In short, the Car Warranty can help save your car against the expenditure and aggravations of sudden failure and potentially pricey repair bills.
Understanding the Basic idea about the Car Warranty
How does it works – In order to lure customers, almost all the carmakers today offer a fixed warranty of 2 years or a set number of kilometres whichever happens first. This policy ensures that your vehicle is covered for a fix period of time and in between this period, if there is any issue with your car, the dealer would replace it without taking any additional charge. In that way, the buyer has peace of mind having no worry about his vehicle. However at some places, authorized dealers try to persuade buyers with an extended warranty limit at an additional cost.
Situations under which the warranty voids - It is not like that your car will be covered under warranty even if you breach some rules regarding this. Whenever a customer decides to take his vehicle for servicing to unauthorised dealers due to their low cost, the warranty invalidates almost instantly. Here is the list of warranty policies offered by automakers in India.
Honda – Honda India offers warranty of 2 years or 40,000km, whichever comes earlier across its entire product line-up. And beyond the criterion warranty, there is an option to get extended warranty from its authorised dealers for a titular amount before the end of standard assurance. During the mentioned periods, if your vehicle face some issues, the authorised dealer will repair and change the substandard parts if needed at no extra cost.
Ford India – The company offers a standard warranty of 2 years or 1,00,000kms, whichever comes first. Similar to Honda, here too is an option to extend it for nominal price before the expiry of the standard policy.
Nissan- The Japanese carmaker offers standard warranty of two years or 50,000kms, whichever is earlier, while in case of extending it, one can choose additional 2 years or 80,000kms after the lapse of standard warranty.
Maruti Suzuki – Maruti offers on its entire range of models a warranty of 2 years or 40,000 km whichever comes first from the date of purchase. Similarly, one can also extend the cover by one or two years by shelling out a nominal price. However, Maruti carries out extended policy function in two categories of Gold and Platinum. Where the Gold policy covers your car for 3 years or 60,000kms (whichever comes first) from the time the vehicle left the dealership with its first owner, Platinum includes 3-4 years or 80,000kms (whichever one comes first) from the date of purchase.
Hyundai – The Korean auto giant Hyundai has a different policy of car warranty. It offers 2 year basic warranty on Eon, Santro, i10, i20, Elite i20, Xcent, Accent, and Verna with indefinite kilometres guarantee. However on Elantra, the carmaker offers basic warranty of 3 years or 1,00,000kms, whichever comes first, while New Sonata and Santa Fe come with a warranty of 4 years or 1,00,000km and 3 year or 100,000km respectively. As Hyundai offers different warranty policy for its different models for the purpose of extended assurance, you should refer to the Owner’s Manual to find out the time period and amount to be paid.
Chevrolet and Volkswagen – As per the Chevrolet cars, they come with 3 year warranty or 1,00,000kms (whichever one comes first) as standard. While VW cars get the cover of 2-year warranty with unlimited kilometre scheme. Volkswagen also provides a 3 year warranty against any defects in their paintjob. This is not available in any other manufacturers warranty policy.