Car warranties

Every brand new car is supplied with a manufacturer's warranty, which is an assurance by the carmaker that the vehicle will meet certain conditions and if this fails to materialise then the buyer can get some sort of remedial action.

This means that if the car develops a fault during the warranty period, the manufacturer is obliged by the terms of the guarantee to fix it. But most warranties will only cover faults related directly to the manufacturer and not defects that develop due to poor usage. Damage to a car in an accident, for example, will not be covered.

Car warranties are typically based on mileage, for instance the first 100,000 miles, and/or duration, in which case the car will be covered by the guarantee for usually at least 12 months.

Most warranties will have a combination of both, but with a clause stating "whichever comes first", which means one will cancel the other. So if you hit the warranty mileage limit before the duration of the guaranteed period expires, then the assurance will be considered to have expired. Likewise if at the end of a one-year warranty you still have mileage to use up, the remainder of the miles won't count.

Intense competition between car manufacturers has led to a steady increase in warranty durations, with Korean manufacturer Kia now offering one of the longest - seven years for all its models.

Rival carmakers also offer between three and five-year warranties, but the devil is in the detail, so ensure you read the small print carefully if you want to base your decision to buy a car on this.