Should I Buy An Aftermarket Warranty For My Subaru?

One of the questions that comes up typically when buying a new to you used car is “Should I Buy An Aftermarket Warranty For My Subaru”?

Generally speaking I usually suggest no.  If you have done a pre-purchase inspection and had it deemed a good candidate for purchase there probably is no compelling reason to spend that kind of money on an insurance policy.

Let’s be clear about what an aftermarket warranty really is, Insurance against catastrophic failure.  The everyday maintenance isn’t covered, nor is repairs if the maintenance is kept up on.  Internal parts that won’t fail unless abused are covered but again if the engine is starved for oil and damage occurs there is no warranty.  This is why I point out it is an insurance policy against catastrophic component failure.

Possible scenarios in which an aftermarket warranty is typically considered is the original factory warranty expiring, you have just purchased a late model used car and want some piece of mind that it won’t drain your bank account.  This is known as hedging your bet, and is a good idea in some cases but if you have bought the wrong car there is no hedging that will help.

On most, not all mind you but most,  other than a head gasket repair there isn’t much that will come up on the majority of the Subaru’s out there, and the aftermarket warranty will not cover 100% of the true costs of the head gasket replacement.  Many warranties, in fact do not cover the Subaru Head gasket. In the small print, “gaskets and seals not covered if the vehicle is sold with blank mileage”   Or Coolant leaks are covered but oil leaks from the head gaskets are not.

I can’t speak to every make and model; I am sure that for some cars on the road it does make sense for to purchase an aftermarket warranty do to the extremely high costs of ownership after 60,000 miles such as a European import, but for the most part it just won’t work out in your favor with a Good Subaru.  If you are buying a questionable Subaru well buying the warranty may seem like a good thing to do but may represent no real value in terms of price paid, possible interest payments, the $100.00 dollar deductable at every visit Vs the actual costs to repair over the covered time frame.

In the Seattle area we have really yet to have a major repair covered 100% by an aftermarket Warranty company on a customer’s Subaru, what instead tends to happen is time consuming frustration on the vehicles owners’ part.  Did you know that many policies’s state that the vehicle must be torn down for inspection prior to any decision is made on whether or not the repair is covered?  The Driver can responsible for the tear down costs in some case if it is covered and most definitely if it is not a covered repair.

There is a flood of companies out there offering policy’s, be sure to read the entire policy and research out the likelihood of your era Vehicle developing covered repairs.

Good Maintenance practices on a good car is the best insurance policy you can buy for your Subaru.

Thanks for Reading

Justin