Do you really need an extended warranty?

This is a question that we receive quite often. Vehicle owners do not want to have to worry about their vehicle braking down, and they also do not want to have to pay a fortune in repairs once the base warranty is over. On the other hand, extended warranties can be expensive, and if you never have to use it, you may regret not putting the money to better use, like taking a trip somewhere.

The extended warranty will certainly give you peace of mind. When the original warranty is expired, you can rest knowing that should one of your vehicle’s major components ever have a problem, you won’t have to take out a loan to get it fixed. That said, do you really need it?

Start with checking the reliability of the vehicle you want to purchase. After all, if the car has no known problems, and historically proves to be quite reliable, or if you are the current owner and are planning to keep it longer but have never had any issues, maybe you can avoid the expense that comes with the extended warranty.

That said, if you plan to change how you use your vehicle, like for example you plan to drive it a lot more or a lot less in the next few years, then you should take that into account. The question you need to ask yourself is the following: “will my car be more or less exposed to problems in the future”.

Another advantage of extended warranties is that they increase resale value should you sell your car when the extended warranty is still in effect. In that case, you may recoup some of the cost of the warranty.

In any case, it all depends on your needs.

Thank you to Surrey Honda for their help with this article!