If you have a Saab you now know the answer to this question.But how do the rest of us know if we’re covered under warranty? Usually a vehicleis covered under warranty for a certain amount of time or a certain amount ofmiles driven, whichever one comes first. If your oxygen sensors or mass airflow sensors turn out to be defective, a base factory warranty will usuallycover parts, labor and cost of towing. But what if these parts went bad due toan accident?
A part going bad due to any external damage is not going tobe covered under warranty. If you’re cruising home from work, someone rear-endsyou, and then you start having problems with your a/c compressor, you’reprobably not going to be covered. Most manufacturers offer different warrantiesfor different amounts of time. A bumper-to-bumper warranty usually will covermost items on your vehicle but last a shorter amount of time, while a powertrain warranty usually covers fewer parts but lasts longer. Whichever warrantyyou have on your vehicle is determined by the agreements between the dealer andthe manufacturer.
Whether or not you are covered under warranty isn’t asblack-and-white as we’d all probably like. When you take your car to adealership they not only look for the problem, they look for the cause of theproblem. If the failure is due to lack of maintenance, an accident, misuse, orany other fault of the driver (and they will look for reasons), you will not becovered. For this reason it is important to check your manual and onlineresources to find out details specific to your vehicle before taking it intothe shop. And for all of you holiday & end-of-year shoppers this Decemberread the fine print! No one likes surprises that can cost a few thousanddollars down the road. Oh, and if you own a Saab, ignore the above.Unfortunately you’re not covered.
