Frequently Asked Questions
General Information
The cost and coverage available in a vehicle service contract is heavily dependent upon the mileage on the vehicle and the condition it’s in. The longer you own a vehicle, the more miles you’re going to put on it, adding to the wear and tear. The better the condition of your vehicle and the lower the mileage, the less you’ll pay.
If your repair is covered under your service contract, then you can you take the vehicle to any certified repair shop nationwide.
Most people believe that purchasing a vehicle service contract, to protect against unexpected repair costs is a smart thing to do. According to AAA, approximately 1 in 5 drivers on the road in the United States today will have a breakdown and that number is growing. It really comes down to your personal comfort level with unexpected vehicle repairs and the chance that they may never happen to you.
A vehicle service contract is an optional service you can buy to help pay for the cost of certain vehicle repairs. It normally picks up once the manufacturer’s warranty ends, but sometimes the two can overlap.
Extended Vehicle Warranties provide comparable coverage to the original warranty, but not exact, and usually have exclusions based on mileage. Warranties are only sold with the purchase of a new vehicle and are pegged to the retail price of the vehicle itself. Legally, only the original manufacturer can “extend” a warranty, so anything else is technically a vehicle service contract.
Vehicle Service Contracts are sometimes known as aftermarket warranties, auto service contracts for cars, or extended car warranties, although they are not actual warranties. A vehicle service contract provides coverage for costly repairs after the manufacturer’s warranty expires and is a direct agreement between you and the provider. Different plans are available with varying degrees of coverage and for different prices that are not tied to the retail price of your vehicle.
Vehicle service contracts don’t cover routine maintenance, like oil changes or new brakes. They typically don’t automatically include emergency roadside assistance, but the better plans do. Since every VSC is different, you would need to read the details of your particular plan to find out for sure what it offers.
