Smart shopping is about shopping for auto extended warranty programs. While that sounds like a simple enough idea, in fact it gets a little tricky. How smart are you and do you know the difference between a warranty program and an extended warranty program? How smart do you have to be to get the best bang for your buck and the least amount of hassle?Â
The easiest way to approach this process is to become smart. Smart in the sense that you want to find the right program. If you don’t, then you’re just wasting your time. There are so many different types of programs and so many companies offering them that finding the right one can take some research. That research could be time consuming and expensive.Â
So, what do you do? Simple: You find a smart shopper. A smart shopper understands that shopping for a warranty is not about price. The price is important, but that’s about the limit of what matters when you’re talking about warranties.Â
How smart shoppers approach the whole enterprise is to use the internet and find the most comprehensive and most cost effective auto extended warranty program. It will vary from company to company, but it will be a good bit cheaper than buying the same exact warranty at different dealerships. You can read about the warranty online at the websites of companies or go directly to the company’s own website to request a quote.Â
Once you have the quote, you can do a comparison shop online. You might also decide to compare two different companies or more. That’s because some plans are better than others for certain makes of vehicles. For instance, the best warranty for your Chevy Camaro won’t be the best for a Nissan Quest.Â
Smart shoppers tend to shop online and offline. The advantage of shopping online is that you can do all the research you need in a few minutes. You can quickly find out what companies in your area cover the extended warranty you want. You can also find out if the warranty they offer is the best one for you. If you’re shopping offline, try to stick to local companies or those with an online presence.Â
One thing smart shoppers tend to do is comparison shops. They’ll look at more than one company online and find out who has the best price. They’ll then compare that price to what they can get locally. This way they’ll know whether or not you really have to buy the warranty. So now all you have to do is find a local company that offers that warranty. Once you’ve done that you can go shopping online and pick out the plan you like the best.Â
When you think about how smart shoppers are, you automatically assume that they’ll know which stores have the best prices on the warranty they need. You wouldn’t believe how many people make this mistake. They think to themselves “well, of course they’ll want to buy it from the local store, or at least the one with the cheapest price.” That’s why I want to encourage you to read more articles like this one, and maybe even learn a little bit about psychology so you don’t make the same mistake many smart shoppers do.Â
Think about it… suppose you go to your local extended warranty dealership, and they have the
cheapest price on an auto extended warranty. How smart do you think that person will be? Do you think they’ll actually tell you about the limited time warranty they’re selling? Probably not. So don’t make the same mistake smart shoppers make.Â
Make your shopping smart, by doing some comparative shopping. The key here is not to compare apples to apples, but to compare plans side-by-side. Find a plan that offers coverage for the year, or as much of it as you need. If you do your homework and compare price and quality you’ll definitely end up with the best deal available.Â
No matter how well of a job you do with smart shopping, there will always be a time when you just buy a bad apple. For example, Subaru Crosstrek years to avoid are 2016 and 2018. It has been known to have major problems with the car stalling or the vehicle losing power.Â
Finally, you’ll also want to use your smart shopping skills, when looking for a good deal. Some people will tell you to pull up the Web browser’s search function and research prices yourself. This tactic rarely works, because the typical auto extended warranty companies know how competitive the marketplace has become. They have deals to give, and are willing to offer you a discount. So the real answer to the question of how smart shoppers should shop for an auto extended warranty is this…simply get a good deal on the best plan you can find.