A new Volvo comes with a four-year/50,000-mile factory warranty that pays to repair or replace certain mechanical parts if your vehicle breaks down. That means your vehicle will only be covered for four years or until you drive over 50,000 miles, which is risky because your car is increasingly likely to break down as it ages.
Fortunately, you have several options: sell the car and buy a new one with a new warranty, pay repairs out of pocket, or buy an extended Volvo warranty. In this guide, we will explore your options, what each one covers, and other details to help you make a wise financial decision.
What Is the Volvo Warranty?
Volvo’s new vehicle warranty is comprehensive, making certain part replacements and repairs free with no deductible. The limited warranty lasts four years or 50,000 miles and covers almost all major components of your car. The powertrain coverage is combined with a bumper-to-bumper warranty and has the same length of coverage.
What Does the Volvo Warranty Cover?
Here are Volvo’s main car warranty plans:
New Vehicle Limited Warranty
This warranty plan lasts four years/50,000 miles and covers almost all replacements, adjustments, and repairs of defective parts. It also includes powertrain warranty coverage.
Corrosion Warranty
This warranty lasts 12 years with unlimited miles. It covers the aluminum body and sheet metal panels that might have rusted because of everyday use.
SRS and Seat Belt Warranty
This warranty lasts up to eight years with unlimited miles. It covers an air bag supplemental restraint system and safety belts.
Emissions Warranty
The emissions warranty lasts eight years or 80,000 miles. It covers defects in emissions components, such as the catalytic converters, to meet California and federal standards.
Adjustments Coverage
This warranty lasts 12 months or 12,000 miles. It covers minor refinements to original factory fittings.
Roadside Assistance Coverage
Every new Volvo warranty also comes with four years and unlimited miles of roadside assistance coverage, which includes:
- Fuel delivery
- Towing and winching services
- Lockout assistance
- Trip interruption benefits
- Battery jump-starts
What’s Not Covered Under the Volvo Warranty?
Like any other warranty, the Volvo limited warranty comes with exclusions and limitations. Here’s what the new Volvo warranty does not cover:
- Wear items such as tires, wiper blades, and brake pads
- Glass replacement
- Routine maintenance or regular car services, such as oil changes
- Damage caused by accidents and environmental factors such as floods
- Parts or components that didn’t originally come with the vehicle
- Parts damaged because of poor or improper maintenance
Is There a Certified Pre-owned Volvo Warranty?
Certified pre-owned (CPO) Volvos purchased in November 2018 and after have a five-year/unlimited mile coverage period. If you bought your car before this date, your CPO warranty lasts seven years or 100,000 miles. CPO vehicles also have roadside assistance for the length of the Volvo warranty. The 24/7 emergency roadside assistance includes lockout services, towing, jump-starts, and trip interruption benefits.
Volvo Extended Warranty
Volvo extended warranty plans provide coverage after your factory warranty expires. The extended Volvo warranties protect vehicles for up to six years or 120,000 miles. You can choose from three VIP coverage levels that have the same duration but include different parts.
You can buy the extended warranty upon purchasing the vehicle or extend the coverage when you have no warranty remaining. The VIP options include Powertrain, Platinum, and Gold. Depending on your choice, you can spend up to $250 on deductibles. The higher the deductible, the lower the warranty’s upfront costs.
What Is an Extended Warranty?
An extended warranty is a service contract that extends beyond your factory or manufacturer’s warranty. It provides coverage for repairs and replacements of defective parts after your factory warranty expires. Unlike the factory warranty that comes with the initial car purchase, the Volvo extended warranty comes at an extra cost.
An extended warranty provides peace of mind for CPO Volvo owners and drivers wishing to keep their cars after the limited factory warranty has expired.
Do You Need a Volvo Extended Warranty?
If your factory warranty has expired, you can choose to buy an extended warranty or pay for repairs out of pocket. You can purchase your extended warranty from Volvo or a third-party provider.
It’s essential to understand your options, do calculations, and conduct enough research to know whether you need an extended warranty. You want to know the reliability of your vehicle based on the RepairPal rating, which is 3.5 out of 5.0 for Volvo, your average annual repair costs, frequency of repairs, age of the vehicle, and extended warranty costs and coverage.
Volvo prioritizes safety over reliability. As such, it ranks 17 out of 32 car brands for reliability. A 2021 Vehicle Dependability Study ranked Volvo 26th out of 32 brands for overall dependability.
When it comes to Volvo maintenance and repairs, RepairPal estimated the annual cost of maintaining or repairing a Volvo to be $767 per year. This falls above the industry’s average of $652. Without a warranty, you must pay these costs yourself, which can affect your financial goals. Therefore, a Volvo extended warranty can be a reasonable option.
What Does the Volvo Extended Warranty Cover?
Here is what the Volvo Extended warranty covers:
- Platinum Coverage: A comprehensive exclusionary coverage protects all your Volvo’s mechanical parts and components.
- Gold Coverage: Covers hundreds of your Volvo’s most critical parts, including the air conditioning, brakes, and electrical systems
- Powertrain Coverage: Replaces or repairs parts within the engine, drive axle, transmission, electric, and hybrid motor components.
Take your time when evaluating your warranty needs and choices. Whether you’re purchasing a new or CPO Volvo, it’s critical to research warranties before buying the car. You should also assess whether purchasing from the dealership is more practical and affordable than buying from a third-party warranty provider. However, third-party warranties have many benefits you might want to check out, such as low costs, wider warranty selections, low deductibles, and free cancellations.
At FIXD, our mission is to make car ownership as simple, easy, and affordable as possible. Our research team utilizes the latest automotive data and insights to create tools and resources that help drivers get peace of mind and save money over the life of their car.
