Why You Need a 3rd-Party Extended Warranty on your Nissan or Infiniti

Nissan’s Successful Appeal Necessitates 3rd-Party Extended Auto Warranty

In a recent class action extended auto warranty lawsuit against Nissan of North America, Nissan successfully appealed the court’s decision. While this does not mean that they will never have to honor the warranty claims, it does mean that the owners of these cars will have to wait longer to have these claims be honored by Nissan. On the surface, this may not seem like a very big issue, but the problem is an old one.

The Malfunction and Nissan’s Slow-Moving Extended Warranty

In the currently defunct Nissan FX models from the years 2002 to 2007, the dashboards began developing bubbles in more humid climates. Nissan became aware of it in 2006 and changed the curing process for the materials. Not long afterward, this problem cropped up in less humid climates like Missouri. By the year 2007, it became clear that the new curing process did not solve the problem.

So, Nissan went to completely new suppliers and used all new materials for these dashboards. Finally, Nissan included the dashboards on these cars in 2009 — two years after they quit manufacturing the FX. This slow-moving extended warranty process meant two big problems for customers, especially the ones who bought the 2002 models.

First of all, this kind of problem takes longer to appear than most new car warranties’ lifespan. Since Nissan became aware of the problem in 2006 and waited until 2009 to issue a specific extended warranty for the dashboards, that meant that the owners of the older FX35 and FX45 models had to wait 7 years to be able to file a warranty claim.

More Problems with Nissan’s Extended Warranties

Another issue with Nissan’s (and other manufacturers’) extended warranties is the laundry list of conditions that have to be met in order to have the warranty claim honored. Some conditions are perfectly reasonable, ie. that the customer has to keep up with routine maintenance and be able to prove it. Others have little more use than to inconvenience the customer for the sheer sake of keeping their expenses low.

They have a tendency, like any manufacturer, to portray these restrictions as being in the interest of the customer. Phrases like “only factory-trained technicians” and “genuine Nissan parts” suggest that these are somehow preferable to other licensed mechanics and aftermarket parts, which is not true. While they do make allowances for events where you cannot make it to a dealership for your repair and you can use aftermarket parts, they create additional hoops for you to jump through. You have to call a different department, argue your case and basically hope that they are in a generous mood.

These problems simply do not exist with a high quality third-party extended car warranty provider such as CARCHEX. There is no need to go to a dealership to determine if your repair is covered by your warranty (although you can have your repairs performed by the dealer if you choose). You do not get the run-around about who can actually repair your vehicle, and there are no spooky unsubstantiated warnings about using aftermarket parts. Your convenience is the priority with CARCHEX, not keeping your money in the corporation.

We hope this saves you some money (and hassles)!

Here’s a lot more information on extended warranty coverage for your Nissan or Infiniti – It pays to educate yourself!