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.
Most cars that you will find in Japan are likely to have low mileage, in fact, it would be almost impossible to find a car that has a mileage over thirty-seven thousand and five hundred miles. The street condition of Japan is usually found congested with vehicles. There are numerous traffic lights and the drivers in the country harbor safe driving habits and the safety test of the vehicles in the country is also very strict, hence, you can be sure that a car in the country is very well serviced and maintained and has almost never been used roughly.
When you bid in a used car auction, if there are defects in a car, they are usually mentioned. And the information provided can be, very much, relied upon, as it is a matter of reputation of the organization holding the auction. Hence, if you have any suspicion on the car you are purchasing, just ask the dealer for the inspection sheets.
The fact that the drivers take good care of their vehicles, particularly, makes the purchase of a used car from Japan, the safest bet. Japan is serving various countries with used cars, by exporting large numbers of used cars to countries all over the world. And, it has become easy too, to purchase a car from the country, from anywhere in the world, as the purchase of a used car can now be made online, from the website of a used car sales organization that provides its services online.
There still is a little complication in the purchasing process if you are not from Japan. When you first start looking for a used car, the very first complication you will face is which car exporter to choose as there are numerous in the country. If you contact with a dealer in your own country, they will take care of all the complications of choosing an exporter and making sure of the condition of the car and all related concerns, however, in return you will have to pay them a fee for their service which is an added cost. But, you may choose to not have to pay for this cost, by contacting a car exporter in the country directly by yourself. The exporter should be able to deal with all the paperwork that is necessary to export and ship the car, but, you will also need to contact a local importer to receive the car and pay all relevant taxes for importing.
However, some aspects you should take into consideration when selecting an exporter for used Japanese cars are mentioned below:
?Make sure that the exporter is officially a government recognized trading body.
?Try to confirm that they are a registered firm.
?Ask them if they provide detailed billing.
?Make sure they have a good customer care.
?Request an auction inspection sheet. All good companies provide one upon request.
Overall, it is well worth of buying a Japanese used car. Furthermore, if you plan to import these cars and sell in your local market; this can turn out to be a very good business as well. Choice is yours.
Both Thomas Jones & Tomoki 07 Jimbo 07 are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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