Are car warranties transferable to someone else?

This article will clearly explain that car warranties are usually transferable. Maybe all the extras and perks in a warranty for a first-time customer might not be able to be transferred but the main coverages for a car will be able to be transferred to someone else. Are car warranties transferable? Not in all cases. But if the warranty is transferable there is definitely a procedure to go through to do it legally.

A general point about a car warranty

One outstanding thing about a car warranty is that it is tied to the car, not to the owner of the car. Anyone can buy a car with its accompanying warranty. In the same way, if a car is sold to a second buyer, the buyer gets the right to the warranty of the car, of course, provided it’s still valid, otherwise there is no point getting the warrant.

From a seller and buyer’s view

If you are planning to sell your car, either as a private party or through a dealer, having a valid warranty is a plus point for you. you can ask for a good price.

From a buyer’s view, well, the car is still in some form of good shape for sure, it can’t be that old. How old the car is can easily be confirmed by checking out the warranty for the car. Even if the warranty is not transferable you can tell how old the car is and which parts really might still be in good condition. Of course, you might still need to get it checked by a mechanic to make sure the powertrain section, emission system, and all the other parts of the car are in good shape as it was supposed to be covered by the warranty.

General matters about the transfer of a car warranty

Very little details have to be seen to by both the seller and the buyer for a car warranty to be transferred. All automakers have a database set-up that relates warranties with the cars sold. The warranty particulars are connected to the VIN(vehicle identification number)of the car concerned.

If a car is sold again, and it has about 18,000 miles recorded on its odometer, the manufacture will still have to cover 18,000 miles of usage by the new owner, since usually, all cars come with 36,000-mile warranty coverage. Or if years are considered, usually a warranty is valid for 3-years. Now if the first buyer of the car has used the car for 18 months then the remaining 18 months is still covered by the car’s warranty.

Whoever owns the car gets the right to the coverages stated in the warranty.

The steps to follow for a transfer to be made legally

The transfer of the warranty to the new owner must be made within 30 days after the transfer of ownership of the car to a new owner.

The auto warranty company must be informed by a letter. In this letter, it has to be stated that the car has been sold to a particular individual with his/her name clearly stated, to whom the warranty must be transferred.

The photocopy of the original warranty must be submitted, a transfer fee must be given, and receipts and records proving maintenance requirements of the warranty have been met.

The mileage of the car, as recorded on the day of selling/transferring the car to the new owner, and all the documents proving the transfer of ownership of the car to the new owner should be submitted.

All photocopies of official documents showing the transfer of the car to another person and the transfer of warranty to the same person should be sent to the automaker too to verify the legal transfer of the original warranty.

In this way, the new owner will have the rights over the warranty that covers the car.

When are car warranties not transferable?

Some car warranties are said not to be transferable. That is in the case when it is explicitly stated in the warranty. This practice is to probably bring the car price down. But in practice, usually, all warranties are nowadays transferrable as this appeals to a first-time buyer. Who can tell when you would want to sell your car at a good price.

Conclusion

The procedure to transfer a car warranty does vary from state to state and from country to country. The procedure here is to give the reader a general idea what to expect. Are car warranties transferable? Generally stating, yes, they are.