Car Leasing and Warranty

Car warranty will protect you from any mechanical or manufacturing faults when you get a new vehicle, safeguarding and giving you peace of mind on the roads.

With regards to warranty, there are a number of things to consider. Both RAC warranty and AA warranty are great for roadside recovery. However, this may not actually be necessary for a car that has been leased. All cars that you lease from us come with a manufacturers warranty, ranging usually from between 1 to 5 years. Often these can include roadside assistance and emergency breakdown, and with the option for an extended car warranty.

What is a Car Warranty?

A car warranty is a sort of guarantee to protect your car should it get a manufacturing fault within a certain amount of time or usage, it is essentially covering you should the car stop working through a mechanical flaw. For this reason, most lease cars will be covered under the initial warranty from a manufacturer as if you bought the car outright from them.

Should your car suffer a breakdown due to engine failure, or anything related to the mechanics and inner workings of the car, you will be covered for the damages and won't have to pay. Some of these warranties even include roadside assistance, so you won't be left in the cold should anything happen.

Types of Warranty

There are a number of different types of warranty that you can have on your car. Whether you're leasing or just looking for information on warranties, you have a number of options available to you.

Manufacturer's Warranty

With LeaseCar, we offer brand new vehicles for leasing and therefore you are most likely to be covered by a manufacturer's warranty. Later on we'll be looking at what to expect within a warranty cover, but now we'll focus on what a manufacturer's warranty is. This is most likely the warranty you will receive with your new leased car, and will most likely cover you up until the end of a lease.

A manufacturer may also cover certain pre-used car models, providing they are sold through a registered franchise. This is because the cars will undergo strict inspections from the manufacturer to ensure they meet the high standards they have for all their new vehicles.

Be sure to check what the warranty is valid for, as often it can be to a specific mileage or have unlimited mileage. If your car is damaged and then doesn't qualify for the warranty cover, it can end up being a very costly and expensive repair, so make sure you know exactly what to avoid when under warranty.

After-Market Warranty

If you are undergoing purchase hire or leasing with an idea to buy then you may want to consider an aftermarket warranty when you're coming to the end of your lease. These frequently offer a tailor made cover policy, and are dependent on the mileage, model, make and age of your car. These are frequently done by third party companies, but you can also look into extending your manufacturers warranty.

The key to a good aftermarket warranty is shopping around to find the best and most appropriate deal. If you have a rarer or older car it may mean that parts and skilled labour are harder to come by and therefore it may be more difficult to find cover.

If you are getting a warranty for an older car, it will also have to be roadworthy, so be sure that if the vehicle is over 3 years you have proof of it passing an MOT and that is has undergone a service every 12 months. Having a warranty means that sometimes you will not be allowed to modify your vehicle and might have to conform to certain mileage and servicing standards beyond the norm.

Breakdown Repair and Cover

Frequently, certain vehicles by manufacturers offer roadside assistance and breakdown cover, such as Ford. This is becoming more and more common and they will cover you for parts and labour, call out costs and replacing your vehicle if it will take time to be repaired. Something to watch out for though it whether you're covered in the case of an accident.

As most manufacturers' warranties only cover mechanical issues, you may not be covered if you get a flat tyre on the road. Companies such as the AA and RAC offer their own breakdown coverage 24 hours 7 days a week with emergency call outs as an option. If you want breakdown cover with these companies, you will need to check if you need a policy and cover. Often you can buy both at the same time.

What's covered in a warranty?

This is wholly dependent on what the manufacturer or other companies agree to cover, with some covering the basics to others going the extra mile. Here's what we would suggest are the things a good warranty will cover, essentially the major mechanical components:

• Steering and handling
• Ignition and fuel systems
• Coolant and cooling systems
• Electrical components
• Transmission
• Clutches that are non-frictional
• Gearbox
• Components in the brake system
• Vehicle Suspension

The general rule to think of here is that a warranty will cover anything that could break over the course of use that isn't your fault.

Things that aren't covered

Again, these are all subject to specific terms and conditions of a car makers own coverage, but to give you an idea here are some of the things that you shouldn't expect to be included as standard:

• Wear and Tear to Tyre and Wheels
• Bodywork such as denting and scratches
• Brake pads and most clutches
• The car's catalytic converter
• Glass in windows
• Headlights
• Air Conditioning systems
• Audio equipment
• Built in Sat Nav equipment

As you can see, an awful lot of these would be classed as cosmetic damage, and others are normally the result of the driver instead of the manufacturers. A warranty acts as a way to safeguard the quality of the vehicle. Every car that is built in a factory will be a little different and so some may have different mechanical issues, even if they're the exact same make and model.

A warranty is not Insurance

Something that you should be fully aware of is that you are still required by law to take out at the legal minimum third party insurance. You can read more about the laws on insurance here, but third party insurance will only cover damage you cause to others and not the cost of repairs to your own vehicle. At LeaseCar, we know that our drivers travel with the utmost care and consideration, but the UK roads can be dangerous, so making sure you get good insurance is a great way to protect yourself and your vehicle from any accidents.

A warranty does not cover car maintenance

As well as not protecting you in the case of accidents, a warranty does not guarantee you maintenance and servicing. A lot of warranties may include servicing vehicles within their policy, which is an excellent way to get the most out of your vehicle. Unless the damages found in the service are mechanical, however, you will have to pay for repairs.

At LeaseCar, we offer an option to add maintenance to your vehicle lease where we will make sure it is kept in the best roadworthy condition possible. Be sure to check our maintenance guides on this website to know what you can do to ensure your vehicle's in top condition.

How long will my warranty last?

As mentioned before, a warranty can last anywhere between 3 months to 1 year, or even up to 5 years, depending on the provider. An average warranty will normally last for around 3 years or up to 60,000 miles, whichever comes first. This is also how services are measured, therefore the more you use your car the more you will have to have it serviced or take out extended warranties on it.

Have a look through a manufacturer's warranty conditions to see what the maximum mileage your warranty covers, before it means the warranty will no longer cover the vehicle. If you drive your car over the limited mileage allowed you may no longer be covered by warranty servicing and breakdown, and also have to pay a mileage excess on your lease deal.

To give you an example of how one of the warranties on our cars function, have a look at one of our best contract deals, the Nissan Juke. The standard 'factory' warranty for a Nissan Juke is 3 years or 60,000 miles, whichever happens first. This is the case with most car makers warranties, as it has become an industry standard.

Fortunately for you, the average lease will last around 3 years, and if you plan on getting a 5 year lease you can get an extended warranty to cover the time. The main issue is with how often you plan on driving and what distances you will be travelling. If you frequently use your car for long journeys, you will probably have to look into other types of cover to protect your vehicle.

Car Leasing and Warranties

As you can see, there are a number of things to be aware of when looking for car warranties. If it's an extended car warranty, a used car warranty or a manufacturers warranty, we hope that here at LeaseCar we've helped give you an insight into how the various types available operate.

If you have any other questions about Car Leasing, or car warranties, please don't hesitate to contact our helpful and friendly staff. You can contact us online or call us on 0344 745 1818.