The car warranty law is written to cover every possible situation that could happen with regard to the status or sale of a car. So don't be surprised if you try to read it and become more confused than ever. There's nothing to get excited about, however. The only parts of the car warranty law that concerns you are the ones pertaining to your state and the fundamentals that are observed in every state in the U.S.



If your car is older and doesn't pass the emissions test when you go to renew your registration, be prepared to pay to have the emission controls replaced. It isn't cheap, and you can't do it yourself because in some states you have to prove that you had it fixed by a professional. Since emission controls are the parts of your car that limit how much carbon your car puts out into the universe every time you take a spin, consider your repair bill as your contribution to saving the ozone layer. Or if you live in California the smog index may just drop a degree or two.

If you have a brand new car and the emissions controls fail, you can take it back to the dealer and use the federally imposed car warranty law to have the parts fixed or replaced for free. Because the emissions controls aren't something that people think about, it is a good idea to find out how long you can take advantage of this offer or get an emissions test performed at a local garage.

Part of the new car warranty law requires that manufacturers provide a certification with the new vehicle. This certification requires that the car be operable and that it has been tested for quality control of various important components that keep the car running such as the engine, transmission and other parts.

It gets better because in order to perform a thorough and in-depth analysis on every car to really ensure that every car was absolutely safe, companies like General Motors and Ford would go bankrupt. Since they are major campaign contributors, who ever passed this legislation that a car must pass in-house quality controls with no sort of guidelines for testing whatsoever must be a political genius. They were able to keep campaign contributions while at the same time getting the public excited that their car was in fact, not just safe, but certified.

The "As Is" part of the car warranty law pertains to pre-owned cars and protects the buyer and not the seller. Usually, this section of the law is brought up in small claims court when a teenager, who has spent their entire savings on a car, has to have it towed halfway home from the dealership. But because the car was marked "As Is" neither the manufacturer nor the dealer has any responsibility to repair the car. So the dealer walks out of court a few thousand richer, with one less broken down car on his lot. The teenager learns that the best reason to purchase a car "As Is" is to use it for spare parts.

Most car buyer's don't go to used car lots and believe the sales person when they say, "That's just the battery. I'll have it fixed as soon as you get back with that cashier's check!" They may not be familiar with the car warranty law that protects used car dealers from having to make repairs to the buyer's car unless they are written in the car warranty area of the purchase contract. If the buyer wants to purchase a car that seems okay except for the muffler, they will want the muffler replaced under the warranty. The sales person might write "replace muffler" in the right place on the contract but if the muffler isn't working three months later and you take the car back to the dealer, he may just look at you and say, "I did what you asked, but all I had was an old rebuilt muffler. There's nothing I can do now." Unfortunately, he's right because he fulfilled his written contract. What the buyer should have done differently at the signing of the contract was be more specific. Here's something more like what should have been written on the contract under warranty. "Replace muffler with brand new name-brand muffler within 24 hours of contract signing." You can't be protected the car warranty law unless you understand it.

The car warranty law that is mandated by the federal government states that no dealership or person can represent that the car has warranty when in fact it does not. Also, the dealership or the person selling the car cannot in any way misrepresent the condition of the auto. This protects the consumers from purchasing a car and not being told for example that the clutch will need replacement in the next couple of weeks. Get more advice on car warranties at http://www.carwarrantypolicies.com

A salvage vehicle is one that has been wrecked and was deemed a total loss because of the wreck. The car is then required to have a salvage title assigned to it by the department of motor vehicles. By the car warranty law, salvage vehicles cannot be covered any type of warranty.

Car rental companies may sell their autos that are no longer being used for clients. In addition, they may by the car warranty law sell a limited car rental warranty to the buyer. It is important to note that these warranties are extremely limited because car rentals typically have excessive number of miles for the age of the car.