Should I get a warranty with a cheap second hand car?

Should I get a warranty with a cheap second hand car? I'm buying a second hand car from a dealer and my price range is between €1,500 and €3,000. Should I expect not to get any warranty? If not maybe private sale is better for me.

Mark Jordan (Dublin)

Jun 2013 Filed under: warranty

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Expert answer

Hi Mark,

If you're buying from a reputable dealer, then you should expect to get at least a six-month warranty, and indeed there are car company-backed approved second hand programmes where you can get as much as a two-year warranty, which is pretty good. 

That said, buying an aftermarket warranty is a pretty good idea, once the costs work out. You'll have to decide on the model of car and year in order to get a quote, as it's basically like an insurance system for your mechanical parts, and make doubly sure you read all the small print and know for certain what's covered, under what circumstances, whether knock-on damage (i.e, when the failure of one component causes the failure of others around it) and if there's an excess etc.

Hope that helps

Neil Briscoe - Complete Car Adviser
@neilmbriscoe