There are masses of confusion between a motor warranty and a service plan. This is only natural because these plans only took effect in the last 10 years in South Africa. There is even more bewilderment because the suppliers of these products usually pool them together!

Let’s look at the difference between a motor plan and a service plan.

Today, most new vehicles can come with a maintenance or service plan – but these are an optional extra that is built into the purchase price of the new car.

This is why many owners believe that services are included in the warranty, which they’re not, but they are part of the new car price. So, to all extents and purposes, it does cover services. But it doesn’t. Get the meaning? Of course, you do.

Car warranties

The new car’s warranty is a binding agreement by the manufacturer and you. What it declares is that mechanical or electrical defects will be replaced within a period or amount of mileage. Items mostly covered by warranties include the engine, gearbox, electrical systems, fuel systems and sensors.

Items that will not be covered are wear-and-tear products like tyres and brake pads and reckless driving damage. Abusive damage could render the warranty null and void, as could alterations that are done on the car after purchase. Your warranty will have all this kind of information readily at hand so nothing should come as a surprise or nasty shock.

Service plan

This basically states the obvious. It means it will cover services on your vehicle. This includes the labour and replacement cost of air, pollen, fuel and oil filters, cam belts. Brake fluid, oil and gearbox oil, spark plugs and coolant. These services must be handled by an authorized service centre or dealer network to comply with the terms of the service plan contract. Usually, the service plan applies for cars not older than eight years and not more than 180 000 on the clock.

People taking out a service plan normally do so for a used vehicle, but as noted above, it’s not possible for cars over the 180 000-mileage limit. Normally, a car’s service has two elements – a major service which usually includes a cam belt change, and a minor service, sometimes called an oil service.

Major and minor service procedures do vary from vehicle to vehicle. Ensure you are fully okay with what is covered and what isn’t when you take out a service plan.

Many owners also get confused with a service plan and maintenance plan, so what is a maintenance plan? It’s a wonderful plan but is only available for a few select types of vehicles. It includes a warranty but also covers all wear and tear items as well as all the usual elements of a service plan.

It’s no wonder that it’s called “the super plan”, because it has the elements of all the plans combined into one. As noted, though, it’s only for the select few.