Warranties are perpetually a blessing and a pain when it comes to any major appliance, and cars these days are no different. Thankfully, with these new hybrid cars running around, the warranties on hybrids are typically better than gas-powered vehicles, and one reason is that you are paying so much more for them upfront, as well as the fact that manufacturers have enough faith in the actual value of hybrid cars, especially in the long run. To be blunt, the manufacturers don’t honestly think that the car is going to need repairs during the warranty period, because the parts are meant to last. That doesn’t always happen, though, and it’s important to look at what exactly you’re in for.

1. What’s Actually Covered – Okay, so, let’s figure out what’s actually covered in your warranty. For most standard warranties on hybrids, the actual battery pack, as well as the hybrid’s parts are under warranty for 100,000 miles or 8 years, and if you’re lucky, as far as 150,000 miles or 10 years. That depends on the state where you buy the car and live in, but either way, this at least covers when parts go bad for no apparent reason, or something happens to fail in a bizarre way. Even manufacturer defects are covered. Many other hybrids also have an additional warranty which is standard, giving you much of the same warranty coverage like a conventional vehicle, which is about 3 years.

If you’re lucky, you might have the power train warranty, which takes care of items like the engine, seat belts, airbags, and even the front-wheel and rear-wheel drives, and tends to last around 5 years. The major thing to look out for is that most warranties assume you’ll at least travel 12,000 miles, and that is per year. If you don’t actually take advantage of that, you’ll lose money and will be wasting the money you spent on your warranty.

2. The Really Fine Print – Okay, so, here’s the tricky and sucky part. Not everything is covered on your warranty, and so you need to be sure you actually take good car of a hybrid vehicle. Otherwise, when you suddenly forget to find a mechanic in the area, then that snowballed into forgetting to chance the oil for an entire year, well, you’re probably out of luck.

3. Should I Keep Going – The last question is to figure out if you even really think it’ll be worth picking up a hybrid and then getting the warranty in the first place. Thankfully, when you buy a hybrid, the extended warranty is a blessing, especially if that battery pack you’re expecting to last forever happens to fail right at the 100,001 mark. The hard part is that the extended warranty may cover your battery problem, but look out at how expensive it could be up front. The dealer, the type of warranty, and even information about yourself may be incredibly important in trying to figure out which warranty to get.

Thankfully, many of the extended warranties are actually worth the money. Just make sure not to go with dealer-specific warranties, non-transferable warranties, non-refundable warranties and any program that says you need to pay them right upfront. Also, be sure that if you buy a warranty, it’ll allow you to go to a licensed mechanic in your area, as the last thing you want is to find out that you don’t have anywhere to repair it from.

A word to the wise, though: While a warranty is a great safety net, there is a lot of fine print on what doesn’t get covered by the warranty so make sure to read it all.



By: Thomas Jones

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Mazda van servicing is now much cheaper, for those in the know.

Thanks to European legislation, you no longer have to be tied to high Mazda van service costs, dictated by your local dealer.

In October 2003 new European legislation affecting the motor industry came into force called “Block Exemption Regulation” 14002002 (BER), and this now means that you can book your next Mazda van service online and save up to 50% on what you might pay at your local Mazda van dealer.

Before the law changed it was difficult to have new vans within their warranty period serviced outside a franchised dealer. If you wanted to shop around for the best prices on Mazda van servicing, your hands were tied.

The change in the law now gives every van owner the freedom to service their van away from the main dealers, and still have their warranty protected.

Thousands of Mazda van owners have now taken advantage of their new right and reduced their Mazda van serving costs, whilst benefiting from the convenience of booking with national car service providers such as Service A Van.

Service A Van is a leading online van servicing network that prides itself on the quality of its Mazda van servicing, their customer service and transparent pricing. Because the company is not tied to any particular van manufacturer, they are able to service any make of vehicle and compete freely in the market, on a like-for-like.

Every vehicle is rigorously serviced according to the manufacturer’s servicing schedule, using genuine recommended parts fitted by qualified technicians. This means that every Mazda van service fulfils the warranty criteria and there is no compromise on the servicing standards of a main dealer.

Companies like Service A Van, who fulfil the warranty criteria when servicing your Mazda, are able to maintain your service book, just as main dealer can – thereby protecting your warranty and helping you to maximise the resale value of your Mazda van.

Of course, booking direct with a national car servicing network has its own advantages:

· You no longer have to do all the running around. Service A Van collects your Mazda in the morning and delivers it back that afternoon, free of charge

· You pay a fixed Mazda service price, which can be up to 50% below the price at the Mazda servicing desk of your local dealer

· No additional work is carried out without your agreement, which means no nasty surprises when it comes to paying the bill

· Trained Customer Advisers are on hand throughout the day to keep you informed of progress, and report back on problems you asked to be investigated as part of your Mazda service e.g. knocks and rattles

· You simply pay with your credit or debit card and your van is delivered back to your home or work address.

Our advice for saving money on Mazda van servicing is to contact a national car servicing network, who is not tied to any one particular van manufacturer, like Service A Van.

So, before you book your next Mazda van service, why not ask your local dealer to tell you the cost of the service (plus parts, oil and any extras) and then compare it with a fixed price quote from a national servicing network, like Service A Van?

Happy motoring,

Howard.

Chairman Service A Van



By: Howard Thomas

About the Author:

Content

How to save money on your next Mazda service

Mazda servicing is now much cheaper, for those in the know.

Thanks to European legislation, you no longer have to be tied to high Mazda service costs, dictated by your local dealer.

In October 2003 new European legislation affecting the motor industry came into force called “Block Exemption Regulation” 14002002 (BER), and this now means that you can book your next Mazda car service online and save up to 50% on what you might pay at your local Mazda dealer.

Before the law changed it was difficult to have new cars within their warranty period serviced outside a franchised dealer. If you wanted to shop around for the best prices on Mazda servicing, your hands were tied.

The change in the law now gives every car owner the freedom to service their car away from the main dealers, and still have their warranty protected.

Thousands of Mazda car owners have now taken advantage of their new right and reduced their Mazda serving costs, whilst benefiting from the convenience of booking with national car service providers such as Service A Car.

Service A Car is a leading online car servicing network that prides itself on the quality of its Mazda servicing, their customer service and transparent pricing. Because the company is not tied to any particular car manufacturer, they are able to service any make of vehicle and compete freely in the market, on a like-for-like.

Every vehicle is rigorously serviced according to the manufacturer’s servicing schedule, using genuine recommended parts fitted by qualified technicians. This means that every Mazda car service fulfils the warranty criteria and there is no compromise on the servicing standards of a main dealer.

Companies like Service A Car, who fulfil the warranty criteria when servicing your Mazda, are able to maintain your service book, just as main dealer can – thereby protecting your warranty and helping you to maximise the resale value of your Mazda car.

Of course, booking direct with a national car servicing network has its own advantages:

·         You no longer have to do all the running around. Service A Car collects your Mazda in the morning and delivers it back that afternoon, free of charge

·         You pay a fixed Mazda service price, which can be up to 50% below the price at the Mazda servicing desk of your local dealer

·         No additional work is carried out without your agreement, which means no nasty surprises when it comes to paying the bill

·         Trained Customer Advisers are on hand throughout the day to keep you informed of progress, and report back on problems you asked to be investigated as part of your Mazda service e.g. knocks and rattles

·         Your Mazda service includes a free wash and vacuum clean

·         You simply pay with your credit or debit card and your car is delivered back to your home or work address.

Our advice for saving money on Mazda car servicing is to contact a national car servicing network, who is not tied to any one particular car manufacturer, like Service A Car.

So, before you book your next Mazda service, why not ask your local dealer to tell you the cost of the service (plus parts, oil and any extras) and then compare it with a fixed price quote from a national servicing network, like Service A Car?

Happy motoring,

Howard.

Chairman Service A Car



By: Howard Thomas

About the Author:

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