Many manufacturers have made their warranty booklets available and in some cases downloadable online. Even if a vehicle is still within the time and mileage of the warranty period, there are situations under which the manufacturer can nullify the warranty.
Remember: Vehicle warranties are not unconditional. Look for the 17-character sequence of numbers and letters between the windshield, along the door jamb or numerous other spots. Finding your car’s unique Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN, is easy. If for some reason your local dealer is not helpful, any dealer of your brand of vehicle can get you the information. If it’s more convenient, you can also go to the dealership in person or contact them by email (this is where the photos can come in handy).
The easiest way to check on your warranty status without leaving the house entails calling and letting them know you want to look up your warranty and that you have the VIN and odometer readings ready. The dealer for your brand of vehicle has a computer that can do a VIN lookup (likely in the service department). Track down the phone number, physical location or email address for your car’s nearest dealership. This is the part you’ll have to look up yourself. As with the VIN, it’s a good idea to take a clear, closeup picture of the current odometer reading from when you took hold of the vehicle. The odometer will show the number of miles the vehicle has been driven, starting the mileage count. The VIN will help determine when the car was first sold, starting the time clock. Most vehicle warranties are based on two things: A specific time window and number of miles driven since purchase, whichever comes first. Liz Hafalia/The San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images Snap the Odometer It provides crucial info when checking on the car’s warranty status. Take a pic of the odometer as soon as you get the car. Write it down, or better yet, take a clear, closeup picture of the entire VIN. If for some reason it’s not there or has been defaced, that’s not good, but the VIN is in several other places in most vehicles, including at the front of the engine block, inside the driver’s side door jamb, on the driver’s side doorpost, by the latch, under the spare tire, inside the rear wheel well and on the front of the vehicle’s frame near the windshield washer reservoir. There’s an embossed metal plate between the steering wheel and the windshield, facing outward. Just look through the windshield from outside the car. Of all the cars manufactured since 1981, when the VIN format was standardized, no vehicle has ever had or will ever have the same VIN (the United Auto Workers union has a helpful chart breaking down what those 17 characters actually tell about a given vehicle).įinding the VIN is easy. Find the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)Ī car’s Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN (friendly reminder, “VIN number” is redundant) is a 17-character sequence of numbers and letters that’s like a snowflake: No two are alike. Once you’ve got all this info you can do a VIN lookup and get updated on your car’s ownership and warranty status. Then there’s a third thing that you won’t find in the car, but it only requires a quick call, email or possibly an in-person visit. The good news is that your car always has two pieces of information you need to find out if it is under warranty. If you just purchased a new-to-you used car, it might not have all the paperwork. And it might not be so easy to look it up if you lost important paperwork in a flood, fire, burglary or at the hands of a careless moving and storage company. You might not know the answer off the top of your head. You need to collect a few pieces of information to know more about your car.
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