Car Warranty

If you're having problems with your car and need to get it fixed, paying for garage repairs can make a heavy dent in your wallet.

While this may be worrying for motorists, especially at a time when many of us are already having to contend with high running costs and rising fuel prices, there is a way to protect yourself from costly repairs - and that's by taking out a car warranty policy.

Car warranty can help protect your car against the cost and hassle of unexpected failure and potentially expensive repair bills.

To help give you quick and easy access to competitive warranty deals, MoneySupermarket has teamed up with Warranty Direct and Warrantywise, two of the UK's leading providers of new and used car warranty providers.

Why is a car warranty important?

If you've just purchased a new set of wheels, the idea of repairs may be the last thing on your mind. In fact, if you're one of the lucky ones, you could go for months - or years - without running into any difficulties with your motor.

But the problem is, there's no knowing what will happen to your car in the future, and faults can often occur when you least expect them.

There's always the risk that your reliable run-around will suffer a mechanical or electrical problem - and as anyone who has to pay for repairs will testify, it can cost an arm and a leg to put things right. This whole scenario can prove particularly stressful if you face a pricey repair bill but haven't got the money to pay for it.

Indeed, you could be in dire straits if you rely on your car for work or to ferry the children to and from school. And it would be a huge hassle simply if you needed your car to run errands or simply to get from A to B. Not many of us car-users would be able to carry on normal life without our vehicles.

For all these reasons, having car warranty insurance can make good financial sense. It gives you the peace of mind of knowing that, if you need to send your car to the garage, this type of unexpected repair bill can be avoided.

Car warranty covers you for the cost of any mechanical and electrical repairs that are needed on your car, including parts and labour.

Consider buying a warranty from a stand-alone provider

When buying a car, many people opt to buy new because of the warranty offered. The same often applies to second-hand cars bought through a dealership which come with a warranty attached.

But you can also buy car warranty from a specialist warranty provider. And if you buy a stand-alone warranty, you can attach it to a used car if you have bought your new set of wheels privately.

Equally, if you've bought a car which already has a manufacturer's or dealer's warranty, you can buy an extended car warranty from a specialist provider to improve and extend the cover offered by your existing warranty.

Indeed, before signing-up to the warranty offered by your dealer and paying extra for it, it's worth doing a bit of research to compare prices to see if it's possible to get a better deal by buying direct from a specialist provider.

You could find there are some big savings to be had by going to a stand-alone car warranty provider.

Buying a warranty

If you want to buy warranty on a used car, most providers stipulate that the vehicle needs to have been serviced within the past 12 months.

In addition, once you have been issued with the car warranty, you are required to adhere to the service intervals recommended by the manufacturer.

The cost of a car warranty will vary depending on a number of factors including the make, model and age of the car - along with your personal details.