Should I buy a used car without a warranty?

Buying a car privately

Buying a car privately will always be cheaper than buying from a dealership. While the cheaper option is always the attractive one, have a moment and think about the possible long-term consequences of going for the cheaper option.

Here is what the law suggests

When buying a car, buyers would always prefer warranty on their cars if it wasn’t for the more expensive prices. It’s common knowledge that when buying private, the car won’t have any warranty.  Used car dealers, however, usually offer a warranty with their cars.

Buying a used car with no warranty bears the risk of costly breakdowns and fixes, it’s something that didn’t really exist in the past where only brand new cars came with warranty. Thanks to the fierce competition between used car dealers, you can now buy 2nd hand cars and still have a warranty.

Jack Haley – an advisor from NRMA, claims that any car bought from any dealer are subject to Australian Consumer Law which will be on your side if your car have issues after buying, regardless of whether it warranty or not.

What does a warranty cover?

There is not a single universal warranty policy so it will depend on the specific place you are buying your car from. It should be noted that not everything is under warranty when you buy a car. In addition, even during the main warranty period, units subject to normal wear and tear are covered with limited or no warranty at all. So, for brake discs and drums, shock absorbers, a battery, oil seals, gaskets of various types, clutch, stabilizer bushings for front and rear suspensions, shock absorbers, and other quickly wearing parts, the warranty sometimes does not exceed a year or 20-50 thousand kilometers. 2 years and 50,000 km, huge restrictions are imposed: for example, after three years, the warranty on all engine attachments expires on most policies. With private dealers, warranties may be even shorter.

And filters of all types, drive belts, spark plugs, brake pads, operating fluids, bulbs, and fuses are not covered by the warranty in principle.

Can a repair be refused under warranty?

Nobody refuses warranty repair. There are simply warranty cases, and there are non-warranty cases. As a rule, a breakdown is considered out of warranty when the car owner violates the operating conditions or the car’s warranty policy provided by the manufacturer. Here are the most common situations when this happens:

• Accident. These breakdowns are handled by insurers, not the car manufacturer. And this is not only about collisions: damage could have occurred due to a bad road. For example, you bent the disc due to a pothole or a stone flew into the windshield.
• Self-repair and unauthorized intervention and modification of the vehicle structure. Car manufacturers trust their authorized dealerships, which operate strictly according to standards, rules and regulations. But they cannot vouch for the work of third-party car services and motorists, for the quality of their consumables and materials used. Therefore, the automaker is not ready to bear warranty obligations for breakdowns that occur due to repairs from third-party services. By the way, tuning – the independent installation of an audio system, additional headlights, screens and other things – also belongs to unauthorized interference and changes in the design of a car.
• Poor quality fuel. It’s better not to take risks and refuel at gas stations that you trust.  
• Maintenance not done on time. Usually, scheduled maintenance is done every 15 thousand kilometers or once a year (whichever comes first), and it is recommended to do it in an official service. Some automakers are ready to close their eyes to the fact that you rolled 300-500 extra kilometers, but you should not abuse it.

If you are looking to buy a used car but need to get rid of your old car first, you can sell it at Trade Cars For Cash. We will pay top dollar for your and come take it away for you.