A few years ago, I attended & participated in an industry training for WA State DOL Traffic Safety Education. A proposal that came from a panelist was to use The Legislative process to reduce the number of “old vehicles” on the roadway. The reasoning was that they have a higher occurrence of breakdown/failures on the roadway which creates traffic flow & hazard issues. While perhaps well intended, this would be a horrible approach for many reasons.
On here, I will offer the same alternative which I offered that day. All vehicles (new & old) are susceptible to the same challenges & proper inspections, maintenance & repairs are the actual solution. New cars always come with a warranty of some type. Many used car purchasers have the option to purchase an aftermarket warranty from the dealership, 3rd party through the dealership or 3rd party in the open marketplace. I have personally purchased these aftermarket warranties 2 - 3 times & have generally been happy with them. A problem with them, from personal experience, is that it can be difficult to get repairs covered or diagnostics of a problem done before the warranty expiration date.
Here is the proposal:
Every warranty provider must be required to cover a warranty inspection in an interval of every 18 1 - 2 years & within 6 months of the expiration of that coverage. The mechanic/dealership performing that service would have a checklist of covered parts, components & systems to follow for a thorough inspection. All faults found within coverage would then be immediately submitted to the warranty company for prompt approval of work.
Unfortunately, many people who purchase these valuable warranties don’t get the purchase value out of repairs and/or diagnosis/approval can get dragged out past the coverage expiration date.
It is my belief & experience that, if such a policy could get fully developed & implemented, the consumer would realize the value of their purchase, many vehicles would have an extended safe operation life, people would not be legislated into making large purchases & being burdened with unnecessary debt.
Thank you for considering my new policy proposal & I look forward to seeing Policies for People members feedback.