do auto manufacture warranties transfer when you sell your car?
I'm in the market for a 09' Hyundai Sonata and Carmax as a few on their lot. I also contacted a Hyundai dealer to see what they had in stock and was told that only certified Hyundai's from a Hyundai dealer will only retain the 10yr/100,000 warranty when I mentioned seeing a few at Carmax. Anyone have some experience with this? If it is some kind of gimmick to have me purchase from them, well then it failed.
2011-01-21T09:52:08Z
thanks everyone for the replies. i'm not exactly sure what is covered by the hyundai 10yr warranty. I'm going to look it up online. If it is the same type of coverage I would get from buying an extended warranty from say carmax and will transfer over, then I'll save the $1,000+ for that. If the warranty doesn't transfer over or covers only limited things, then getting the extended warranty may be the way to go. I've saved over $800 on using purchased warranty on one engine repair before; oil was leaking into the spark plugs or pistons, something that was extremely labor intensive. Only paid the $50 required. That one repair trip made up more than half of the warranty cost in savings.
I'm going to contact a few dealers and see what they say. If its a matter of paying a fee for them to certify the car and transfer the warranty then it would still save me a chunk in the wallet.
2011-01-21T11:47:16Z
Ha-ha Mike I like your style. Thanks for clearing up the different warranty options and what the dealer was telling me.
Mike2011-01-21T10:10:43Z
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Previous answers have been pretty generic. You need specific regarding THIS vehicle. So, here it is....
The Hyundai you are looking at came with a 3-year/36,000 mile comprehensive warranty. (That's 3 years from the original in-service date, which any dealer can tell you, or you can get it from a CarFax report.) So, if the car you are looking at has been in service less than 3 years and has less than 36,000 miles it is still under the factory comprehensive warranty. And THAT warranty stays with the car, and thus transfers to you if you buy the car.
The car also came with another warranty. A 10-year/100,000 powertrain warranty, which covers internal components of the engine and transmission, plus a few other related items. (A powertrain warranty does not cover things like electronics, computers, suspension, brake system, fuel system, air conditioning, starter, alternator, radio, etc. Those kinds of things are only covered by the 3-yr/36k comprehensive warranty.)
The 10-yr/100k powertrain warranty DOES NOT transfer to you if you buy the car from Carmax. It only transfers to you if you buy the car certified from a Hyundai dealer.
However.... if you buy the car from Carmax, you still get extended powertrain coverage to 5-years from the in-service date or 60,000 miles. (Just don't get the full 6/100.) Not a bad deal.
So, sounds like the dealer was giving only enough info to scare you off the Carmax vehicle.
** Also, a dealer can't certify the vehicle after you've bought it from someone else. They can only do that while they own the car. If you think you need more coverage than what you get (as detailed above) an extended service contract may be a good choice to add additional time and miles. TIP OF THE DAY: Only buy a service contract from the dealer where you will be servicing the car. They are the only ones who will stand behind it and not leave you stuck with a worthless piece of paper when your third-party provider goes out of business or refused to pay.)
There is no hard and fast law or anything which governs whether a warranty is transferable or not. Some are and some are not. Many will have certain conditions which must be met to transfer the warranty. Read the fine print in the sales contract for where you are thinking of buying. Make SURE it specifies whether there is a manufacturer warranty or NOT, AND verify it through the manufacturer BEFORE signing on the dotted line. All you need is the VIN to check the status through the manufacturer. Many used car dealers only offer their own 30 or 60 day warranty and do NOT transfer a manufacturer warranty even if they CAN simply because it is "too much trouble" to meet the conditions which would allow the transfer to you as a buyer from a previous owner. THAT is how a buyer loses the remaining YEARS on a manufacturer warranty the buyer is entitled to take on as theirs. This is a case where you should be skeptical. Ask for and get PROOF that what they SAY is true fact. If they say there is a manufacturer warranty that can be transferred to you, verify this is fact through the manufacturer. Do NOT believe the salesman when he SAYS it is transferable. It is what is in WRITING in the sales contract that you SIGN that counts!
RE: do auto manufacture warranties transfer when you sell your car? I'm in the market for a 09' Hyundai Sonata and Carmax as a few on their lot. I also contacted a Hyundai dealer to see what they had in stock and was told that only certified Hyundai's from a Hyundai dealer will only retain the 10yr/100,000 warranty when I mentioned seeing a few at...
When I was going thru this w/ Toyota a few yrs ago, I called various dealers' finance managers about Toyota Factory warranty issues and got various and contradictory answers.
I'd call T finance Headquarters for what I assumed was the final word. I got copies of the various levels of Bumper to Bumper [dont get Drivetrain or Powertrain if you can avoid them] warranties & studied them. That's an eye-opener.
For it to be transferrable, the vehicle may have to pass Hyundai's pre-warranty inspection. Toyota charged about $100 for that. [Of course it's negotiable]
Dont go by what one Hyundia dealer tells you. Call a few of em, and call Headquarters, too.
Get names, dates and job titles.
If someone in authority @ Hyundai tells you what you want to hear, send them a letter confirming the convo, and mail it Certified, Return Receipt Requested.
And as posted, write on you sales agreement what the warranty deal is.