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How to Transfer a Car Warranty
If you want to sell your car and buy a new one, you should know whether it’s possible to transfer the car warranty to the new car or to the buyer of your car. Thus, when purchasing a car, you need to ascertain there is enough warranty coverage for your vehicle. This can be obtained by a car warranty transfer.
Transferring a Car Warranty:
- In most cases, new car warranties stay with the car, as these warranties are identified with the Vehicle Identification Number and not with the owner’s name. Since they are all updated in the national database of the manufacturer, there is nothing to worry about in the case of new car warranty transfers.
- Some manufacturer and dealership warranties are non-transferable. Thus, any term or mileage remaining on the warranty can’t be transferred to the new car or the new owner if the car is sold within the warranty period. It’s thus best to confirm whether a warranty is transferable. If it’s not, you might consider buying the warranty through a car warranty broker as brokers do sell transferable warranties.
- Some used car warranties are also non transferable and become invalid when the car is sold. This can lower the selling price of the car. Thus, it’s important to read the fine print on the warranty contract carefully, to ascertain whether your car warranty is indeed transferable.
- As a general rule, extended car warranties that are bought through dealers are transferable in terms of both time and mileage. Depending on the type of vehicle and the current mileage on the newly bought vehicle, most warranties bought through auto warranty brokers are also transferable.
- To transfer the warranty to the new owner, you have to send a letter to the auto warranty company stating that the car has been sold and inform them of the name of the new owner to whom the warranty should be transferred. This might not always be necessary, as some extended car warranties are transferable to the new owners automatically.
- You should also provide the company the warranty contract, the transfer fee and written evidence, such as receipts and records that prove that all the maintenance requirements of the warranty have been met.
- You should also provide the mileage of the car, as noted on the date of transfer of the car’s ownership and all other documentation concerning change of ownership.
- If applicable, you should also provide photocopies of all documents sent to the vehicle manufacturer, thus verifying transfer of the factory warranty.
- It should be noted that the extended warranty may only be transferable to another owner and not to another vehicle. Moreover, the company would require that they examine the car before transferring the warranty.
- It should also be noted that leased vehicle warranties can only be transferred if the buyer is the original lessee.
- The transfer should take place within 30 days of transfer of ownership. You should contact the vehicle owner and ensure that the transfer has been completed. All remaining underlying warranties should also be transferred to the new owner.
Thus, if all the conditions for the transfer are met, it’s possible to transfer your car warranty with relative ease when selling the vehicle.
